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A software update was released last week to owners of iPhones, iPads and iPods to protect users from "an attacker" who may "capture or modify data".

It was later discovered that the problem also existed on Apple laptops and desktop computers running OS X.

A security fix has not yet been issued.

The problem was first spotted on Apple's mobile devices which run the iOS 7 operating system. It relates to the way secure connections are made between Apple's safari browser and websites, including banking sites, Google and Facebook.

These sites have digital security certificates that allow an encrypted connection to be established between a user's computer and the website. This means any data that is sent over the connection should be secure.

Dropped the ball However, a vulnerability in the code for Apple's iOS and OS X operating systems meant the security certificates were not being checked properly. This meant hackers could impersonate a website and capture the data that was being sent over the connection before letting it continue its journey to the real website. Apple released a fix for mobile devices running iOS 7 last week but a spokesperson issued the following statement about OS X: "We are aware of this issue and already have a software fix that will be released very soon."

According to researchers the security flaw had existed for months but no-one had reported it publicly.

Graham Cluley, a security analyst, said it was a failing by the company that it had not been identified earlier.

"It's pretty bad what Apple have done, they've seriously dropped the ball. How much the problem has been exploited is hard to say. Hackers may now be trying to take advantage while users wait for the security fix."

He advised users to take care when using the web and consider using an alternative browser to Safari until the problem was fixed.

Now that the curtain has been lifted, here's what we know about the successor to the Galaxy S4, which is coming in April to the major U.S. carriers, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless.

The new S5 is water resistant, has a 5.1-inch full HD 1080p display, with technology that Samsung claims takes brightness levels to new highs and dimness levels to new lows. And as rumored, the home button has an embedded fingerprint scanner that not only locks and unlocks the phone but that authenticates purchases made through the likes of PayPal.

This fingerprint scanner, Samsung's answer to a feature introduced by Apple on the iPhone 5s, can also be used to unlock pictures you want to keep private, or to take the place of other Web passwords. It works with up to eight fingers. You swipe down to perform the unlocking function, but I haven't gotten a chance to have it recognize any of my own digits yet.

The phone incorporates an advanced flavor of Wi-Fi, supplementing the fast global LTE bands that are also supported. Samsung says downloads of large files are extra speedy — 1 gigabyte in just 30 seconds, a potential boon to people who like to watch movies on the go.

Samsung has always piled on a bevy features to its devices — sometimes bordering on overkill — with many of those features focused on the camera. Among the tricks Samsung is touting this time around: a "phase detection" feature found on digital SLRs that speeds up auto-focusing (0.3 seconds, which Samsung says is the fastest auto-focusing available on a smartphone).

The HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging technology that has been on other smartphones works with video as well as digital stills on the S5. A new "blur" mode lets you selectively keep part of the picture in focus while blurring another part of the scene, a feature found on rival smartphones. The rear camera on the new Galaxy has a 16-megapixel sensor.

This latest phone might also give a boost to the burgeoning mobile payments space, supporting not only Google Wallet but the rival payments system known as Isis.

And if your children routinely snatch your phone — mine do — you'll appreciate a Kids Mode that lets you display only apps and features deemed appropriate for the youngest members of your household.

Some eight U.S. states are considering regulation of Google Glass, a tiny computer screen mounted in the corner of an eyeglass frame. Law enforcement and other groups are concerned that drivers wearing the devices will pay more attention to their email than the road, causing serious accidents.

So-called wearables such as Google Glass, smart watches and sophisticated health devices may represent the next big shift in technology, just as smartphones evolved from personal computers, and enthusiasts predict billion-dollar markets. Google, which is still testing Glass, charges $1,500 per pair.

Google Inc has deployed lobbyists to persuade elected officials in Illinois, Delaware and Missouri that it is not necessary to restrict use of Google Glass behind the wheel, according to state lobbying disclosure records and interviews conducted by Reuters.

Legislators who introduced similar bills this year in three other states, New York, Maryland and West Virginia, say they have not yet been contacted by Google. Officials in New Jersey and Wyoming did not respond to inquiries from Reuters.

Courts are just beginning to consider the matter. Last month in San Diego, for instance, a woman's traffic ticket for wearing Google Glass behind the wheel was dismissed because there was no proof the device was operating at the time.

Google's main point to legislators is that regulation would be premature because Google Glass is not yet widely available, the state elected officials say.

Illinois state Senator Ira Silverstein, a Chicago Democrat who introduced a Google Glass restriction bill in December, responded that it was clear the merchandise was heading for the broader public. "Who are they fooling?"

Silverstein said he recently met with Google lobbyists trying to "kill" the bill, a position Silverstein suggested is driven by market considerations for the company.

State records show the month after Silverstein introduced his bill, Google retained John Borovicka, a former political director for President Obama's former chief of staff and current Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Borovicka visited Silverstein to lobby against the legislation, the state senator said.

Borovicka did not respond to a request for comment.

Asked about its lobbying efforts, Google said tech issues are a big part of current policy discussions in the states. "We think it is important to be part of those discussions," the company said in a statement.

In a dramatic session of parliament after posting of the 11-minute audio tape on YouTube, Erdogan said his political enemies had penetrated encrypted state communications. He did not name the opponents but made it clear he was talking of a network run by former ally, Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Supporters of Erdogan, locked in a power struggle with Gulen whom he accuses of contriving a graft scandal to topple him, shouted "Tayyip, we came here to die with you", "stand tall, don't bow" and "time is on our side".

"The people don't believe these lies," Erdogan called back to loud cheers and applause from the public gallery.

Growing political uncertainty around the government and its reaction to the tapes, which Reuters could not authenticate, hit Turkish assets amid broader weakness in emerging markets.

Gulen, through his lawyer, has described the accusation of complicity as unjust and contributing to an atmosphere of "hatred and enmity" in Turkish society.

Opinion polls taken before Monday's posting show Erdogan's popularity little affected by the corruption scandal which broke on December 17 with the detention of businessmen close to him and three ministers' sons. Monday's tape will prove a further test of that resilience ahead of March local elections.

Erdogan took over a country in 2002 mired in political factionalism and economic crisis. Presenting the welcome face of a strong leader, he united a wide spectrum of forces, fired the economy, drove economic reform and tamed generals who had toppled four governments in the latter 20th century.

The formal opposition remains weak and lacking leadership, the challenge coming however from Hizmet.

"They went and made a shameless montage and released it," Erdogan told parliament. "They are even listening to the state's encrypted telephones. That's how low they are."

"There is no allegation that we cannot answer."

The "they" cited by Erdogan was a clear reference to those among the followers of U.S.-based Islamic cleric Gulen he accuses of building a "parallel state" using influence in the judiciary and police. Gulen denies the accusation.

Orange said it would keep a majority stake in Dailymotion, the world's 12th largest video-sharing site, but is looking for partners outside of Europe to develop it internationally, Chief Executive Stephane Richard told BFM Business radio.

"We have ongoing talks, particularly with Microsoft, which doesn't necessarily mean that we'll come to a deal," said Richard, speaking from the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona.

"I think it makes a lot of sense for us, as for Microsoft, to reach an accord that would be above all a partnership," he said, adding that Orange was also talking with other content providers, including in France.

The French state owns 28.4 percent of Orange, so it has some sway over the group's actions and management.

Last year, French Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg blocked a plan by U.S.-web giant Yahoo to buy a majority stake in Dailymotion.

Montebourg spurred a public row over state intervention in business affairs after he said that the U.S. group wanted to "devour" its smaller rival, calling it a "golden nugget" that needed to be kept in French hands.

Yahoo, which had planned to acquire a 75 percent stake in a deal that valued Dailymotion at $300 million, eventually walked away from the talks, leaving Orange to seek a new strategic partner to develop its video site.

Richard said that Orange was also in talks with other potential tie-partners for Dailymotion, including ones based in France which were focused on creating content.

The digital marketplace operator, which began as a venue for trading cards, had surged to the top of the bitcoin world, but critics - from rival exchanges to burned investors - said Mt. Gox had long been lax over its security.

It was not clear what has become of the exchange, which this month halted withdrawals indefinitely after detecting "unusual activity." A global bitcoin organization referred to the exchange's "exit," while angry investors questioned whether it was still solvent.

A document circulating on the internet, and purporting to be a crisis plan for the exchange, said more than 744,000 bitcoins were "missing due to malleability-related theft", and noted Mt. Gox had $174 million in liabilities against $32.75 million in assets. It was not possible to verify the document or the exchange's financial situation.

Tokyo investors in the frontier electronic currency, who have endured a volatile ride in the value of the unregulated cyber-tender, said the problem was with Mt. Gox, not with the revolutionary bitcoin itself.

Mt. Gox officials did not answer the telephone or respond to email requests for information. The concierge at the home of the chief executive, Mark Karpeles - an upscale apartment in the Shibuya district - said he was not answering his intercom. His mailbox was so stuffed with mail that the flap would not close.

The Mt. Gox homepage was not loading, although no error message appeared. Its source code contained a line saying, "put announce for mtgox acq here."

"VERY ANGRY"

"I'm very angry," said Kolin Burges, a self-styled "crypto-currency trader" and former software engineer who came from London for answers after Mt. Gox failed to tell him what had happened to his bitcoins, which at one point were worth

$300,000.

"It looks like that's disappeared," said Burges, one of six protesters outside the Mt. Gox office, which was as deserted as a nearby cafe that had formerly accepted bitcoins as payment. In a statement last week, Mt. Gox said it had moved office because of security issues.

Some protesters carried signs saying, "Mt. Gox, where's our money?" and "Mt. Gox, are you solvent?"

"They prolonged this and kept telling people everything was OK," Burges said. "A lot of people did believe that, and it's very annoying what they've done to me and up to a million others."

Cars toot a welcome and passers-by press the hand of Volodymyr Parasiuk, a boyish-looking individual who finds it embarrassing to be called a hero.

He reserves that title for his comrades and other protesters among the 80 or so people killed on the capital's streets last week in three days of fighting against Yanukovich's police.

But after opposition leaders had signed an EU-brokered deal with President Yanukovich to end the conflict, it was Parasiuk who commandeered the microphone on Friday night to turn the crowd against it.

With former boxing champion and opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko looking on stony-faced, Parasiuk, from the western city of Lviv, made an electrifying impromptu speech denouncing the opposition for "shaking hands with this killer".

No-one was going to wait for an election later in the year, he said. Yanukovich had to get out of town by the following morning or face the consequences.

To the dismay of opposition leaders, Parasiuk's emotional address - he broke down on several occasions as he remembered dead comrades - touched a chord deep within the thousands on Independence Square who roared their approval.

The opposition had failed to sell their achievements to the 'Maidan', the name for both the square and the protest movement.

An agreement, painstakingly negotiated with EU foreign ministers over a sleepless night, was effectively dead.

The writing was on the wall for Yanukovich.

He flew out of Kiev by helicopter that night, Ukraine's acting interior minister said, and on Tuesday was on the run somewhere in Ukraine, being sought for "mass murder".

"Opposition leaders said they had agreed that there would be early elections in December. This was the Ukrainian people's last drop of patience," Parasiuk told Reuters in an interview.

"Emotions were overflowing because we had lost a great number of people. Suddenly these politicians come and say 'Yanukovich will stay as president and there will be elections.' I have a clear position. Yanukovich is a terrorist, Terrorist Number One, for Ukraine," Parasiuk said.

FLIGHT OF YANUKOVICH

That Friday night, Yanukovich set off on a zig-zag by helicopter and car across eastern and southern Ukraine, looking either for a safe haven or a flight out of the country.

Mr Pistorius shot his girlfriend, the model and reality TV star Reeva Steenkamp, more than a year ago, and his murder trial begins next Monday.

State prosecutors allege the killing was premeditated, but he claims he mistook her for an intruder.

The BBC's Pumza Fihlani says it will be the first time parts of a trial in South Africa are televised live. 24-hour channel Judge Dunstan Mlambo at the court in Pretoria was asked to decide how much, if any, of the proceedings could be filmed and broadcast live.

The application was brought by media groups MultiChoice, eNCA and Eyewitness News, reported Sapa news agency.

Justice Mlambo said the entire audio of the trial could be broadcast live, and sections of the trial could be filmed and televised live.

These included opening arguments, evidence of experts, police witnesses and closing arguments. The testimony of the accused and his witnesses were exempt, the judge said.

Three cameras could be set up to be operated remotely - and no close-ups or recordings of private conversations were allowed, he said.

Witnesses could apply in writing if they did not want to be on camera - and allowances could be made to have faces obscured or filmed from the back, he added.

MultiChoice is planning 24-hour coverage of the trial on its own dedicated channel - the Oscar Pistorius Trial channel - which is due to begin broadcasting on Sunday.

Defence lawyers had said it would prejudice proceedings.

Justice Mlambo said the broadcast of a "celebrity" trial might go a long way to address misconceptions about justice system.

However, he warned against a trial by media and said the court could be the only place where Mr Pistorius was tried. Ms Steenkamp, 29, was shot three times through the toilet door of Mr Pistorius' Pretoria home in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year.

Mr Pistorius said he thought she was a burglar and denies prosecution claims that they had an argument in the hours before the shooting.

Much of the case will depend on ballistic evidence from the scene of the shooting, correspondents say.

The arrest of the national sporting hero astounded South Africa.

The 27-year-old double amputee won gold at the London 2012 Paralympic Games and also competed at the Olympics.

Comcast and Netflix made the joint announcement on Sunday, marking the first time that Netflix is paying for faster speeds in the U.S. after customers complained about slow service. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The arrangement comes as federal regulators are wrestling with an issue known as "Net neutrality" concerning broadband providers and whether they can slow down traffic to particular websites, potentially forcing content companies to pay for faster Web service.

The Federal Communications Commission said last week it plans to rewrite the rules after a U.S. court struck down the commission's previous version.

The issue is being closely watched as millions of people view movies and TV shows through streaming services offered by such companies like Netflix and Amazon.

Netflix, which got its start as a DVD-by-mail service, has 44 million subscribers worldwide and 34 million in the U.S. alone. About 7 million subscribers pay for mail delivery services.

The companies said in a statement that they have been "working collaboratively over many months" to strike a multi-year agreement. Netflix will not receive preferential network treatment, the companies said.

As part of the deal, Netflix will deliver its movies and TV programs to Comcast's broadband network directly as opposed through third party providers, giving viewers faster streaming speeds for watching movies and TV programs.

It also could force Netflix to strike similar arrangements, known in the industry as interconnect agreements, with other major broadband providers like Verizon and AT&T.

With more than 44 million subscribers throughout the world, Netflix has been making an effort to connect directly with broadband Internet providers. It has struck similar deals with Cablevision and Cox, though Netflix did not pay for these connections.

The arrangement with Netflix comes on the heels of Comcast's agreement to buy Time Warner Cable for $45 billion, a deal that will draw the scrutiny of U.S. antitrust enforcers.

The combined company would have a near 30 percent share of the U.S. pay television market, as well as be the major provider of broadband Internet access.

The console, currently priced in the UK at £429, with a bundled game, will drop to £399 on Friday and will include major title Titanfall in the package.

So far, the drop will only apply to the UK.

The new cost brings the console in line with the price of Sony's PlayStation 4, which is outselling Microsoft's machine.

However, the PlayStation 4 can be bought without a game for £349.

"The reason we're doing this is that we're committed to giving gamers the best value that we can," said Harvey Eagle, Xbox's marketing director in the UK.

"We're only a few months into a generation of consoles that are going to last for many many years to come," he added.

"And now just feels like the right time to make the adjustment on the price."

'Appreciative'

Industry figures suggest that the PlayStation 4 is outselling the Xbox One by around two to one, with 5.3 million of Sony's machines being sold worldwide.

However, Microsoft is keen to point out that compared with their previous console, the Xbox 360, the newer model has enjoyed a "record-breaking" launch, and that sales of games have been strong.

The new, cheaper bundle will include a copy of Titanfall - a major title that Microsoft expects will significantly drive sales of the console.

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Eagle defended the price change coming so soon after the console's release - and thanked those who had bought the machine early.

"We're hugely appreciative," he said.

"We would like to thank all of the people that have supported us since launch."

White elephant

The Xbox One's higher launch price was attributed in part to the inclusion of its Kinect hardware - the motion tracker that allows gamers to play without a physical controller.

However, analysts argued that while an impressive piece of technology, the Kinect does not yet offer enough innovative uses to tempt people into the extra cost.

"You've got this Kinect device that has potential to push forward what we expect a games console to do," said Nicholas Lovell, from Gamesbrief.com.

"But without the software to support it it looks like a white elephant."

Microsoft said that they regarded the console war as a "marathon" rather than a sprint - and that it was confident the added hardware would stand the Xbox One in good stead further down the line.

"We're in it for the long haul," Mr Eagle said. "Kinect is absolutely integral to Xbox One."

Microsoft's long-term strategy is to make Xbox One the "hub" of the living room - a device through which people would watch TV and other entertainment as well as play games.

But Mr Lovell had doubts - especially as ever-more-powerful tablets and smartphones put this approach under threat.

With 450 million users worldwide, WhatsApp and its competitors South Korea's KakaoTalk and China's WeChat have punched a hole in telecom operators' revenue in recent years by offering a free alternative to text messaging.

The news that the most powerful of them was adding voice calls to its service will likely be seen as worrying for telecom operators globally, which got about $120 billion from text messaging last year, according to market researcher Ovum.

"We are driven by the mission that people should be able to stay in touch anywhere and affordably. Our goal is to be on every mobile phone in the world," Koum said on Monday, speaking at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Koum said WhatsApp's acquisition by Facebook would not alter his roadmap to develop the product to reach the next 1 billion users. No advertising will added to the service, he said.

Facebook's Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg was also slated to speak at 1700 GMT.

WhatsApp's Koum also sought to cast himself as a partner to telecom operators and not simply a competitor. He announced a partnership with KPN's E-Plus under which it will launch a WhatsApp branded mobile service in Germany.

"We are working with carriers in established markets to bring value to end users," he said.

The latest contender is the Blackphone, an Android software-based mobile which encrypts texts, voice calls and video chats and will be launched at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday.

It aims to tap into the market for so-called mobile security management (MSM) products, which was estimated at $560 million in 2013 and is expected to nearly double in size to $1 billion a year by 2015, according to ABI Research.

Deutsche Telekom is also preparing to launch a smartphone app that encrypts voice and text messages, making it the first major network operator with a mass market-compatible product that will be rolled out to all its users.

Edward Snowden set off a global furor when he told newspapers last year the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) was mining the personal data of users of firms such as Google, Facebook and Skype in a secret program codenamed Prism.

Further leaks from the former NSA contractor, who faces espionage charges at home and has temporary asylum in Russia, suggested the United States had monitored phone conversations of some 35 world leaders, including Germany's Angela Merkel.

The Blackphone is the result of cooperation between security software company Silent Circle and Spanish handset maker GeeksPhone and they will launch it at the Barcelona event, Europe's largest annual phone industry conference.

While details about the handset have been closely guarded, analysts expect it to cost less than high-end iPhone models.

The Deutsche Telekom cloud-based app service, which will be officially unveiled at the CeBIT trade fair in Hanover next month, will be run with Germany's Sichere Mobile Kommunikation mbH (GSMK), a provider of encrypted phone services and devices.

GSMK, which has seen the number of customer inquiries it receives rise fivefold since the Snowden leaks, has long been offering phones with encryption services to governments and firms willing to fork out 1,300-2,500 euros per handset.

However, such new offerings as the app and the Blackphone mean such secure communications are ready to reach mass-market consumers.

WHATSAPP

Free text messaging service WhatsApp, which Facebook agreed to acquire for $19 billion last week, is a well-known product which has reaped the benefit of growing consumer awareness of privacy issues.

Private communication is one of its appeals - it does not store the names of its more than 450 million users and instead simply uses phone numbers - making it hard to identify who is chatting with whom.