Android apps to run on Windows, Macs

Google has made it possible for Android apps to run on machines that can run its Chrome browser and OS

Google has released a tool that lets Android apps run on any machine that can run its Chrome browser.

Called Arc Welder, the tool acts as a wrapper around Android apps so they can run on Windows, OSX and Linux machines.

The software expands the places that Android apps can run and might make it easier for developers to get code working on different machines.

But one developer said it was better to write apps that run "natively" rather than via separate software.

Arc - the App Runtime for Chrome - was first released in late 2014 as a way for Android apps to run on machines running Google's Chrome operating system. The OS is used on many netbooks and other small machines made by Google and some of its hardware partners.

Now Google has produced a new tool, called Arc Welder, which converts Android apps into versions that can be used with the Chrome browser, not just the OS. With Welder it has also added support for many Google Play services so when apps are converted they do not lose access to payment systems, maps and other functions they expect.

In its developer documentation, Google said the underlying technology for Arc Welder meant converted apps should run almost as quickly as they did on a phone or tablet.

With Arc Welder Google, it is seeking a way to help developers get their creations onto as many machines as possible, but one developer was not sure it would accomplish that aim.

The software tool could see Android apps popping up on desktop machines

"The best way to make apps by far is to make them natively using the tools that they give us," said Sam Furr, director and co-founder of development studio The App Developers.

He said that moving away from those well-known development systems can mean losing some behaviours, such as touch combinations, that people expect. He also wondered if a converted app running via a browser sitting in a separate operating system would be as fast as one developed natively.

Running a phone app on a desktop would inevitably mean losing some functions, he said, because bigger computers lack some of the extras, such as accelerometers and GPS receivers, that are now standard on smartphones.

Mr Furr said the ability to reach lots of different operating systems with just one app was potentially attractive.

"When building an app you want to get it to as many people as possible but you have to ask how long it will take to get it on other platforms," he said.

"There's no shortage of cross-platform frameworks and some of them are very good," he said, "but in our experience you do not get the same end product as you would when you build it natively."

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'Revenge porn' site owner jailed

Bollaert faces an 18-year jail term for running the revenge porn website

The operator of a revenge porn website has been sentenced to 18 years in jail in America.

Kevin Bollaert of San Diego created the UGotPosted.com website that let people post explicit pictures of their former partners.

Pictures were posted without victims' consent and Bollaert charged up to $350 (£235) to get photos removed.

Bollaert was convicted in February on 21 counts of ID theft and six of extortion.

Eight women testified in court in San Diego about the harassment they had suffered as a result of images being uploaded to Bollaert's website by their former partners.

One victim said she suffered a "daily struggle" to re-build her life after pictures of her were put on the site. Others needed counselling to recover or were forced to leave college or work. About 10,000 images were put on the site while it was operating between December 2012 and September 2013.

As well as receiving a lengthy jail term, Bollaert must pay $15,000 in restitution to victims and also pay a $10,000 fine. Bollaert is believed to have made at least $30,000 from people who paid to have pictures removed.

"Sitting behind a computer, committing what is essentially a cowardly and criminal act, will not shield predators from the law or jail," California Attorney General Kamala Harris said in a statement.

Another operator of a revenge porn site is also due to be sentenced shortly. Hunter Moore, who created the IsAnyoneUp website, pleaded guilty in February to charges of hacking and identity theft. When sentenced, he will face a jail term of between two and seven years and will have to pay a hefty fine.

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YouTube hack 'threatened' Bieber clips

Kamil Hismatullin joked that he had been tempted to wipe singer Justin Bieber's channel

A Russian coder has revealed how he discovered a way to delete any video on YouTube.

A demonstration of Kamil Hismatullin's technique, posted online, shows that once he had copied part of a video's web address he could use it to wipe the clip within half a minute.

Rather than exploit the hack, he instead reported it to parent company Google, which gave him a reward.

He joked, however, that he was tempted to wipe Justin Bieber's music videos.

"I spent six to seven hours [on] research, considering that [for a] couple of hours I've fought the urge to clean up Bieber's channel, haha," wrote Mr Hismatullin.

"Although it was an early Saturday's (sic) morning in San Francisco when I reported [the] issue, Google's security team replied very fast, since this vulnerability could create utter havoc in a matter of minutes in the bad hands.

"This vulnerability [might have been used] to extort people or simply disrupt YouTube by deleting massive amounts of videos in a very short period of time.

"It was fixed in several hours, Google rewarded me $5,000 and luckily no Bieber videos were harmed."

Mr Hismatullin wrote that he discovered the flaw while investigating YouTube Creator Studio, a service that lets video creators see analytics data about the clips they have uploaded via an app.

Mr Hismatullin showed that his hack could be completed using easily-accessible tools

The facility allows any clip to be deleted if you type in both its event ID - which can be found in its web address - and a long string of letters and numbers known as an authentication token, which is supposed to act as a kind of password.

The problem the coder discovered was that the service was accepting any token for a takedown request, rather than requiring one that belonged to the account of the person who had uploaded the clip.

This meant Mr Hismatullin could simply copy a token from his own account and use it to delete others' videos.

The developer said that he had spent time searching for vulnerabilities in Google's products after previously having been given a $1,337 (£902) grant by the firm.

The search giant gives such payouts as part of a programme to encourage people who have previously reported flaws to hunt out more.

The scheme puts a cap on subsequent payments, limiting the bounty Mr Hismatullin received for his findings.

"To be honest I expected $15,000 to $20,000," he commented.

"I wanted to write a kind of 'complaint' to Google, but first I re-read [its] rules and understood that Google could not pay me more.

"Facebook has not got a boundary for maximum reward, so they can pay as much as they want."

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Airbnb adds Cuba to destination list

Home holiday rental site Airbnb has added Cuba to its list of destinations.

More than 1,000 properties in the Caribbean nation are already listed, but can only be booked by users in the US.

The San Francisco-based site is restricted from showing the listings elsewhere because of a US trade embargo against the island.

Nevertheless, Airbnb said Cuba could eventually become one of its biggest markets in Latin America.

"We are actually plugging into an existing culture of micro-enterprise in Cuba," said the firm's regional director Kay Kuehne.

"The hosts in Cuba have been [renting out rooms to travellers] for decades."

One expert, however, said the site faced major challenges.

More than 600 properties are already listed in Havana alone

The US relaxed travel restrictions for its own citizens to Cuba in January

"While Airbnb is a valuable alternative for millions of travellers, in the context of Cuba, because of the high margins it takes from every transaction, it won't necessarily meet with great success," said travel writer Simon Calder.

"All the Cuban bed-and-breakfast providers I know would like to keep all the money rather than handing 15% or more to an American corporation," he added, referring to the total amount the firm deducts from both the host and the guest.

"The other thing is that anybody who has used the internet in Cuba will know that a prospective host is unlikely to be able to respond immediately given the shockingly slow internet there, which reminds me of what you used to find across the developing world in the early 1990s."

The initial listings range from £10 a night for a private room in Trinidad to £695 a night for the whole of a five-bedroom "chalet" in Havana.

Airbnb members based outside the US are told they cannot complete a booking

Airbnb visitors outside the US can view the listings, but can only add them to their wish lists, rather than book them. An on-screen alert states that the site is not licensed to provide booking services to others.

The US recently began allowing Americans to travel to the island if they obtained a special licence, which can be granted for activities including family visits, educational activities and public performances.

The White House said it would like tourism to be added to the list, and President Obama has urged Congress to begin work to drop the wider sanctions.

"We are ending a policy that was long past its expiration date," he said in his State of the Union address in January.

The move made it possible for online film-streaming site Netflix to be launched in Cuba the following month, which freedom of speech campaign group Freedom House said was more "symbolic" than anything else in the short-term because of the country's "exceptionally slow connectivity".

A search for Havana hotels on Kayak offers rooms in Romania and Bulgaria, but not Cuba

Visitors across the globe can still find listings for Cuba-based rooms via other US services, including TripAdvisor, which allows users to contact hosts directly but does not take a cut of the bookings itself.

Simon Calder however, criticised the "absurdity" of the fact that several other US-based travel sites, including Kayak and Booking.com, continued to ignore the island's existence.

"Anybody trying to find a flight to Havana on a US airline website will be assured that the city does not exist," he said.

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Children’s hospital builds sleep app

A free app to improve children's sleep has been launched by doctors at the Evelina Children's Hospital in London.

They think it will help the two million parents in the UK who express concern about their child's sleep and ease pressure on the NHS.

Kids Sleep Doctor gives parents tailored advice, such as dealing with night terrors or up-all-night teens, based on their sleeping patterns.

Experts said good sleep was vital for a child's development and behaviour.

I think there's a lot of people it could prevent needing to see a GP, parents can do a brilliant job

Prof Gringras, Evelina Children's Hospital

Paul Gringras, a professor of children's sleep medicine at the hospital, said "massive" waiting lists mean doctors could see "only the tip of the iceberg".

So the hospital developed an app that gives personalised advice to parents of 0-16 year-olds to tackle the different sleeping problems that crop up at different ages.

Initial advice starts after entering details about bedtimes, where the child falls asleep, how much screen time they have, and caffeinated drinks consumption.

After five days of recording a child's sleep habits, such as night-waking and bedtimes, the full personalised service kicks in.

"Hopefully they are sleeping in the normal range, but if they're outside that then it advises parents," Prof Gringras told the BBC News website.

"Take a five-year-old who suddenly is waking up every night screaming, doesn't recognise parents and pushes them away.

"The app would say it is like a night terror and will happen in 10% of children in this age range and they will grow out of it, but they can also try a technique called scheduled waking half an hour after they have gone to bed."

In another scenario, it would advise parents of teenagers unable to sleep until really late at night, and are then too tired for school, that exercise in the afternoon is as powerful as any drug for promoting sleep.

"These are not annoying daily tips, it's tailored advice," he added.

The app has been designed to reduce pressures on the health service rather than make money.

It is currently available free on iOS. Android and Windows versions will follow.

"I think there's a lot of people it could prevent needing to see a GP. Parents can do a brilliant job," added Prof Gringras.

However, the roughly 200,000 children with serious sleep disorders such as narcolepsy or obstructive sleep apnoea would see need to see a doctor.

The advice does not apply during the first three months.

The app has also been designed in a dark and orange palette to minimise the amount of blue light emitted - which is the wavelength of light that most disrupts sleep.

Psychologist and child therapist Professor Tanya Byron commented: "Many children are affected by sleep problems which can have a major effect on the whole family.

"Getting a good night's sleep is so important for a child's physical and mental development, behaviour and concentration - to name but a few.

"We know parents know their children better than anyone, and I'm confident that the 'Kids Sleep Dr' app will help parents to understand and better manage their child's sleep problems."

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Monkeys 'hinder India internet drive'

Macaque monkeys are considered sacred by Hindus, who often feed them

Macaque monkeys appear to have become an unlikely roadblock in the development of internet services in the northern Indian city of Varanasi.

The authorities in Varanasi have been increasing the network of optical fibre cables as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan of improving internet services in India.

The federal government has planned to lay 700,000 km (435,000 miles) of broadband cable to connect India's 250,000 village clusters within three years.

But officials in the city in Uttar Pradesh state are struggling to stop monkeys from eating the fibre-optic cables, the Reuters news agency reports.

"We cannot move the temples from here. We cannot modify anything here, everything is built up. The monkeys, they destroy all the wires and eat all the wires," communications engineer AP Srivastava told the news agency.

Varanasi, which is also the parliamentary constituency of Mr Modi, is known as as a holy city and millions visit its famous banks along the Ganges river every year.

Many such tourists, and even locals, consider macaque monkeys sacred and often feed them.

Mr Srivastava told the news agency that his team was now looking for alternatives, but there are few to be found.

Varanasi is a crowded city and its infrastructure has hardly changed in the past decades.

Houses and building are too close to each other, making it difficult for authorities to consider laying underground cables.

And chasing away the monkeys is also not an option because it may anger local residents.

BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook.

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Google drops Chinese net regulator

Google Chrome users will see a warning when visiting certain Chinese sites

A Chinese internet regulator has hit out at Google for no longer accepting its security certificates.

When browsing the internet, certificates are designed to ensure the communication between a computer and web server is secure.

Google said it would no longer accept certificates issued by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) following a security lapse.

The CNNIC said Google's decision was "unacceptable and unintelligible".

The CNNIC is responsible for providing certificates for websites with .cn domain names, as well as Chinese-language domains - including banks and government sites.

It means users of Google's Chrome browser will see a warning notice when trying to access sites with CNNIC certificates.

It will state that the website the user is attempting to access may be unsecure.

Vulnerable

Google discovered last month that unauthorised security certificates were issued to several of its own domains.

After an investigation, conducted with the help of the CNNIC, it became clear that there was a problem with MCS Holdings, a Cairo-based firm contracted by the CNNIC to provide certificates.

Security certificates are supposed to ensure that communication between users and websites is safe

Google said domains with security certificates issued by MCS Holdings were vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks - a method of hacking that involves intercepting communications between, for example, a person's computer and a web server.

MCS Holdings has said the problem was an accident and was due to human error.

While Google welcomed the CNNIC's help with the investigation, it said the regulator had "delegated their substantial authority to an organisation that was not fit to hold it".

As a result, Google has decided to no longer trust domains with certificates issued by, or on behalf of, the CNNIC.

Grace period

Users will be presented with a warning screen before being asked if they want to proceed to the "unsecure" site.

However, there will be some exceptions.

Google has offered a grace period to some major CNNIC-approved sites - such as banks - so they can obtain certificates from a different issuing authority.

The search giant said the CNNIC was welcome to reapply for trusted status "once suitable technical and procedural controls are in place".

But in a statement posted on Thursday, the regulator expressed anger, saying: "The decision that Google has made is unacceptable and unintelligible.

"CNNIC sincerely urge that Google would take users' rights and interests into full consideration."

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OnLive gaming service to switch off

OnLive had allowed TV and PC owners to play console video games for a subscription fee

Video game streaming pioneer OnLive is to shut down after selling several of its patents to Sony.

The California-based firm had allowed PC and tablet owners to play console titles, which were run on its computer servers but controlled and viewed in the gamer's home.

Sony is expected to use the 140 patents it has acquired to support its own PlayStation Now streaming service.

OnLive was once valued at $1.8bn (£1.2bn).

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

It brings to an end a troubled five years of service.

In 2012, many of OnLive's staff lost their jobs when the company was sold to a venture capital firm after running up about $40m in debt.

Several of the biggest publishers had refused to support it, although the business had proven that gaming was possible without too much delay between a user pressing a gamepad button and their character responding.

Interest was also limited by the fact users needed a relatively fast broadband connection.

In addition, many PC owners seemed to prefer buying games from Steam and other online marketplaces, rather than paying a monthly subscription fee for a Netflix-like "all-you-can-eat" experience.

In March 2014, the company announced a new direction with the launch of CloudLift, a facility that let gamers stream and play select titles they had bought from Steam on mobile devices, TVs and other computers.

The launch of CloudLift failed to make OnLine a viable standalone business

But things did not bode well when it cut the price from $14.99 to $7.95 just a month later.

"It is with great sadness that we must bring the OnLive Game Service to a close," a message posted to the company's site now says.

"Sony is acquiring important parts of OnLive, and their plans don't include a continuation of the game service in its current form.

"As the first-ever game streaming service of its kind, everyone who has ever played a game using OnLive has contributed to the technology and its evolution in some way.

"We're immensely proud of what's been achieved and extend our heartfelt gratitude to you for being a part of the OnLive Game Service."

The firm added that it would not be offering any refunds for related hardware purchases, unless they were made after 1 February.

Although OnLive will cease to exist, streamed video game services look set to thrive.

Sony began offering its PlayStation Now service to the UK last month

Sony offers PlayStation Now, which provides ongoing access to more than 100 PS3 games for a monthly fee as well as the ability to rent specific titles for limited amounts of time.

Until recently the service only worked with Sony's own video game consoles and TVs in the US and Canada. However, it has recently been extended to a select group of UK players as well.

The Japanese firm also plans to add Samsung's smart TVs to its list of supported devices later this year.

In addition, chipmaker Nvidia streams a library of PC games to its Android-powered Shield handhelds across the globe via a service called Grid. It has said it plans to extend this to a new living-room console in May.

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Turkey blocks Twitter and YouTube

The siege ended with a shootout that left the attackers and their hostage dead

A Turkish court has ordered blocks on Twitter and YouTube for sharing photos of a hostage taken during an armed siege last week.

The blocks have been imposed because images of a deadly siege were being shared via the social networks.

In the siege two gunmen reportedly from a far-left group took a prosecutor hostage at Istanbul central courthouse.

All three died in a shootout when police stormed the building during a rescue bid.

Before imposing the blocks on the websites, Turkish authorities had moved to stop newspapers printing images taken during the siege last week.

The newspapers were accused by the government of disseminating "terrorist propaganda" for the DHKP-C group that was reportedly behind the attack on the courthouse.

The DHKP-C is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and US.

The prosecutor at the centre of the siege, Mehmet Selim Kiraz, was apparently taken hostage because he headed an investigation into the death of a boy during anti-government protests that took place in 2013.

Millions of social media users have tried to post comments or videos on their favourite platforms but with no success.

But the ban has not stopped people from tweeting. Newspapers and individuals alike, have shared guidelines on how to circumvent the ban.

The hashtag #TwitterisblockedinTurkey has become the number one trending topic worldwide.

The Turkish government is not a fan of social media platforms. Last year, just before the local elections, access to Twitter and YouTube were also banned.

The then prime minister, now President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said that Twitter was a menace to society.

With the general elections to come on 7 June and tensions running high, many people fear similar bans on social platforms could follow.

The same pictures showing attackers holding a gun to Mr Kiraz's head were also being widely shared on social media, leading authorities to act, reported Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.

"The wife and children of prosecutor Kiraz have been deeply upset. The images are everywhere," a senior Turkish official told the Reuters news agency.

In total, 166 websites which shared the images were blocked by the court order.

YouTube published the text of the court ruling on its website saying an "administration measure" had been enacted by Turkey's telecoms authority. It said it was seeking ways to restore access.

Facebook was also subject to the same block but it is believed the restrictions on it were lifted because it removed the images before the expiration of a deadline imposed by the court.

Many Turkish people reported via social media that they were having problems accessing the sites and many others.

This is not the first time that Turkish authorities have imposed blocks on social media sites and networks.

In the run-up to local elections in March 2014 blocks were imposed after recordings circulated allegedly revealing corruption among senior officials.

Figures provided by Twitter revealed that Turkey filed more requests to remove content from the social network than any other nation between July and December 2014.

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Google Gmail hit by software glitch

The glitch hit people using Gmail and some of Google's apps

Gmail users around the world saw errors and safety warnings over the weekend after Google forgot to update a key part of the messaging software.

Google said a "majority" of users were affected by the short-term software problem.

While people could still access and use Gmail many people saw "unexpected behaviour" because of the problem.

Many reported the errors via Twitter seeking clarification from Google about what had gone wrong.

The error messages started appearing early on 4 April and hit people trying to send email messages from Gmail and some of the firm's messaging apps.

The problems arose because Google had neglected to renew a security certificate for Gmail and its app services. The certificate helps the software establish a secure connection to a destination, so messages can be sent with little fear they will be spied upon.

Google's own in-house security service, called Authority G2, administers the security certificates and other secure software systems for the search giant.

Information about the problem was posted to status pages Google maintains for its apps and email services.

In the status message, Google said the problem was "affecting a majority of users" who were seeing error messages. It added that the glitch could cause programs to act in "unexpected" ways.

The problem was resolved about two hours after it was first noticed.

The glitch comes soon after Google started refusing security certificates issued by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC). Google said a security lapse by the CNNIC meant the certificates could no longer be trusted. CNNIC called the decision "unacceptable and unintelligible".

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Best Buy closes Canada's Future Shop

US consumer electronics chain Best Buy has announced that it is closing its Canadian subsidiary, Future Shop, and converting 65 of its 131 stores into Best Buy outlets.

As a result of the move, 500 full-time jobs and 1,000 part-time jobs will go, the retailer said.

Future Shop, Canada's biggest electronics brand, had been owned by Best Buy since 2001.

After the changeover is completed, Best Buy will have 192 Canadian stores.

Best Buy said it would be investing C$200m (£106.5m; $158m) in its operations there over the next two years.

There would also be restructuring costs of at least C$200m, it added.

Analysts say the move will rationalise Best Buy's offer in Canada and get rid of duplication. Best Buy and Future Shop outlets are often found in close proximity, they say.

Other observers took a mixed view of the development. "Best Buy may now be the 'de facto' big-box tech store in North America, but that power grab is coming at a stiff price," said technology news website Engadget.

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Children on screens six hours a day

Children are spending far more time watching a screen, even though traditional TV viewing has dropped

The amount of time children spend glued to a screen has risen dramatically in the last 20 years, a new report suggests.

Children aged five to 16 spend an average of six and a half hours a day in front of a screen compared with around three hours in 1995, according to market research firm Childwise.

Teenaged boys spend the longest, with an average of eight hours.

Eight-year-old girls spend the least - three-and-a-half hours, according to the study.

Screen time is made up of time spent watching TV, playing games consoles, using a mobile, computer or tablet.

Changing times

The Connected Kids report, compiled by market researcher Childwise, has collated data from 1995 to the present day to create a comprehensive picture of children's media habits.

Each year, its report, which is not available online, surveys around 2,000 children, aged five to 16.

It finds that teenaged girls now spend an average of seven-and-a-half- hours watching screens, compared with 3.5 hours of TV viewing in 1995.

Younger children fare slightly better - in 1995, five to 10-year-olds averaged around two-and-a-half-hours of TV.

Fast-forward to 2014 and screen time has risen to four-and-a-half hours.

Children are also now multi-screening - using more than one device at the same time, for example, watching TV while surfing the internet on a tablet or mobile so some of the screen time will be concurrent.

"The main difference from the 1990s is that then TV and magazines were the main ways for connecting kids to the media and now they have different devices from tablets, mobiles, games consoles and they have a much higher screen time," said research executive Matthew Nevard.

Back in 1995 children's main interaction with the media was via TV or comics like The Beano

Children's TV viewing habits have changed dramatically, with the majority now watching television via catch-up services and YouTube rather than the traditional TV set, according to the report.

YouTube is the most popular on-demand service with more than half of respondents accessing TV and video via the site since 2013.

Paid-for on-demand services, such as Netflix, have also risen rapidly in recent years and are expected to continue to grow in popularity.

It is not great news for the terrestrial channels - BBC One has seen its audience of seven to 16-year-olds drop from over 80% in 1995 to just over 40% in 2014. ITV's audience follows a similar trajectory.

The transition to digital, coupled with dedicated children's channels, is another reason for the the drop in children's viewing of the main channels with children now watching more content on dedicated channels such as CBBC, CITV, Nickelodeon and Disney.

Demanding connectivity

Children growing up now have never known a time without the internet

The study also looks at how the internet has changed the way children engage with information.

"The internet is pivotal to their lives and they are now able to access a wealth of content," said Mr Nevard.

The internet has given children more freedom to explore their own interests rather than being tied into the content offered to them from the TV schedules or magazines.

"They can find the content that they want," he said.

The study describes connectivity as "a fundamental need for young people now".

"Children now don't remember a time before the internet," said Mr Nevard.

Ubiquitous online access is also likely to influence the way children interact with their families and "their willingness to participate in family holidays and trips out", the report finds.

Image culture

Will all children own a virtual reality headset?

For the last 10 years, Childwise has charted the most popular websites for young people.

YouTube has remained in the top three since 2007 while Facebook has seen its appeal dip in recent years, as children turn to newer services such as Snapchat.

Children enjoy the privacy of WhatsApp and Snapchat, according to the survey, and the use of such services is also changing how they communicate.

"It reflects the image culture which has emerged, where pictures are utilised to give a better representation of current moods and or activities," the survey said.

Google is one of the few sites to remain popular across 10 years of data with sites.

Wearable tech

The report also attempts a bit of future-gazing and predicts that in the next 10 years, children growing up will have little understanding of a world without the internet.

The internet of things - where household objects communicate and share data - will be regarded as normal, it suggests.

"Having appliances which cannot be controlled using a smartphone or some kind of online dashboard may be seen as outdated, or at least increasingly rare," the report concludes.

It also thinks that most children will have some form of wearable technology, be it a smart watch, smart glasses or a virtual reality headset.

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Attacks hit BA, GitHub and Slack

Some members of BA's Executive Club said their air-mile accounts had been emptied

British Airways' air-miles accounts, the coding site GitHub and the work chat service Slack have all been hit in the latest wave of cyber-attacks.

The firms have all notified their users of the incidents, which varied in approach and do not appear to be connected.

In addition, several Uber users have complained of their accounts being hacked.

However, the car pick-up service said it had "found no evidence of a breach".

The firms have dealt with the attacks in different ways, and BA has been criticised for how it responded.

Wiped out accounts

Complaints about points being stolen from the BA's Executive Club scheme date back at least a fortnight.

One user said their account had been used by someone else to book a hotel room in Spain, while others reported that their list of transactions showed "ex-gratia" deductions that had wiped out their entire credit.

"I checked my account yesterday and found that the mobile number had been changed to a Russian one. I changed it back and my miles are still there. Passwords now changed," reported another member, who appeared to have had a narrow escape.

A spokesman for BA said that it believed only "a small number" of its frequent flyers were affected.

"This appears to have been the result of a third party using information obtained elsewhere on the internet, via an automated process, to try to gain access to some accounts," he said.

"We would like to reassure customers that, at this stage, we are not aware of any access to any subsequent information pages within accounts, including travel histories or payment card details."

British Airways has been criticised for asking users to click on an emailed link

Security experts have, however, raised concern that BA initially sent out emails asking users to click on a link to reset their passwords.

"That's a classic trick used by criminals phishing for login credentials," noted security consultant Graham Cluley.

BA said it had removed the link from subsequent emails and suggested concerned members contact its service centre.

Traffic flood

The attack on San Francisco-based GitHub - which is used by more than 8 million software developers - has involved an attempt to knock its site offline by flooding it with traffic.

"We are currently experiencing the largest DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack in GitHub's history," systems engineer Jesse Newland wrote on its blog.

The attack on GitHub has been linked to China-related pages that it hosts

"These include... some sophisticated new techniques that use the web browsers of unsuspecting, uninvolved people to flood GitHub with high levels of traffic.

"Based on reports we've received, we believe the intent of this attack is to convince us to remove a specific class of content."

The reports suggest the data barrage was specifically directed at web pages providing China-based users with a way to circumvent local censorship controls.

"It does look like someone in China is fighting back, as we predicted they would, against those who are trying to circumvent the 'great firewall of China'," commented security consultant Alan Woodward.

"Ask most developers and they are likely to be using GitHub in some way, so assuming it is China this looks like their censorship attempts are now having global impact."

Beijing has yet to comment.

Slack attack

Slack reported it was attacked in February.

The US firm provides a way for team members to communicate with each other as an alternative to email.

The service is less than two years old, but was recently valued at being worth $2.8bn (£1.9bn). Were businesses to believe the data it held was insecure then its future would be threatened.

Slack has a link on its home page alerting users to its breach

Slack said it believed the hackers had accessed a database that would have allowed them to see user names, email addresses and Skype IDs.

However, it added that passwords - which give users access to posted information - were encrypted in a form that made it "computationally infeasible" for the hackers to unscramble them.

"As part of our investigation we detected suspicious activity affecting a very small number of Slack accounts," it added.

"We have notified the individual users and team owners who we believe were impacted and are sharing details with their security teams."

One London-based user received an Uber bill for a lengthy US trip (image edited by BBC)

The company said that it had introduced two-factor authentication as an additional security step, which requires users to type in a code sent to their mobile phone or tablet to access the app.

Uber complaints

News site Motherboard has also reported that login details for Uber are being offered for sale for as little as $1.

The BBC was contacted by one London-based user on Sunday who reported that someone else was booking rides in New York using his account without his permission, and had clocked up a $556 bill.

Others have posted similar stories on Twitter.

"We take any issue of this nature very seriously and after investigating have found no evidence of a breach at Uber," a spokesman responded.

"Attempting to fraudulently access and use Uber accounts is illegal and we notify the authorities about such activity.

"We would like to remind people to use strong and unique usernames and passwords and to avoid reusing the same credentials across multiple sites and services."

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Europol chief warns on encryption

Encrypted communications are the biggest problem for police, says European police chief

A European police chief says the sophisticated online communications are the biggest problem for security agencies tackling terrorism.

Hidden areas of the internet and encrypted communications make it harder to monitor terror suspects, warns Europol's Rob Wainwright.

Tech firms should consider the impact sophisticated encryption software has on law enforcement, he said.

Mr Wainwright was talking to 5 Live Investigates.

There is a significant capability gap that has to change if we're serious about ensuring the internet isn't abused and effectively enhancing the terrorist threat.

Rob Wainwright, Director, Europol

A spokesman for TechUK, the UK's technology trade association, said: "With the right resources and cooperation between the security agencies and technology companies, alongside a clear legal framework for that cooperation, we can ensure both national security and economic security are upheld."

Mr Wainwright said that in most current investigations the use of encrypted communications was found to be central to the way terrorists operated.

"It's become perhaps the biggest problem for the police and the security service authorities in dealing with the threats from terrorism," he explained.

"It's changed the very nature of counter-terrorist work from one that has been traditionally reliant on having good monitoring capability of communications to one that essentially doesn't provide that anymore."

Mr Wainwright, whose organisation supports police forces in Europe, said terrorists were exploiting the "dark net", where users can go online anonymously, away from the gaze of police and security services.

Secret messaging

But he is also concerned at moves by companies such as Apple to allow customers to encrypt data on their smartphones.

And the development of heavily encrypted instant messaging apps is another cause for concern, he said.

Edward Snowden revealed that the UK's GCHQ was also involved in widespread surveillance of communications

This meant people could send text and voice messages which police found very difficult or impossible to access, he said.

"We are disappointed by the position taken by these tech firms and it only adds to our problems in getting to the communications of the most dangerous people that are abusing the internet.

"[Tech firms] are doing it, I suppose, because of a commercial imperative driven by what they perceive to be consumer demand for greater privacy of their communications."

Surveillance

Mr Wainwright acknowledged this was a result of the revelations by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who exposed how security services were conducting widespread surveillance of emails and messages.

He said security agencies now had to work to rebuild trust between technology firms and the authorities.

The TechUK spokesman told the programme: "From huge volumes of financial transactions to personal details held on devices, the security of digital communications fundamentally underpins the UK economy.

"Encryption is an essential component of the modern world and ensures the UK retains its position as one of the world's leading economies.

"Tech companies take their security responsibilities incredibly seriously, and in the ongoing course of counter-terrorism and other investigations engage with law enforcement and security agencies."

The programme also found evidence that supporters of the Islamic State (IS) are using encrypted sites to radicalise or groom new recruits.

Europol director Rob Wainwright says IS is believed to have up to 50,000 different twitter accounts

On one blogging website, a 17-year-old girl who wants to become a "jihadi bride" is told that if she needs to speak securely she should use an encrypted messaging app.

The family of 15-year-old Yusra Hussein from Bristol, who went to Syria last year, also believe she was groomed in this way.

Twitter terrorism

The extent of the challenge faced by security services is shown in the scale of social media use by IS.

Mr Wainwright revealed that IS is believed to have up to 50,000 different Twitter accounts tweeting up to 100,000 messages a day.

Europol is now setting up a European Internet Referral Unit to identify and remove sites being used by terrorist organisations.

Mr Wainwright also says current laws are "deficient" and should be reviewed to ensure security agencies are able to monitor all areas of the online world.

"There is a significant capability gap that has to change if we're serious about ensuring the internet isn't abused and effectively enhancing the terrorist threat.

"We have to make sure we reach the right balance by ensuring the fundamental principles of privacy are upheld so there's a lot of work for legislators and tech firms to do."

BBC Radio 5 live Investigates is on BBC 5live on Sunday 29 March at 11am or download the programme podcast.

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Safari users win right to sue

Google faces legal action from Safari users

Google has lost a Court of Appeal bid to stop consumers having the right to sue in the UK over alleged misuse of privacy settings.

A group of users claim that Google bypassed security settings on the Safari browser to install tracking cookies on their computers in order to target them with advertising.

Google said it was "disappointed with the court's decision".

One of the claimants called it a "David and Goliath victory".

The case revolves around a so-called Safari workaround, which allegedly allowed Google to avoid the Safari web browser's default privacy setting to place cookies, that gathered data such as surfing habits, social class, race, ethnicity, without users' knowledge.

Safari is a browser used on Apple computers, iPads and other devices while cookies are small text files stored by browsers which can record information about online activity, and help some online services work.

Google had attempted to prevent the action, claiming there was no case to answer because consumers had suffered no financial harm.

In its judgement, the Court of Appeal said: "These claims raise serious issues which merit a trial.

"They concern what is alleged to have been the secret and blanket tracking and collation of information, often of an extremely private nature… about and associated with the claimants' internet use, and the subsequent use of that information for about nine months. The case relates to the anxiety and distress this intrusion upon autonomy has caused."

"The Court of Appeal has ensured Google cannot use its vast resources to evade English justice," said Judith Vidal-Hall, one of three claimants.

"Ordinary computer users like me will now have the right to hold this giant to account before the courts for its unacceptable, immoral and unjust actions."

The landmark case potentially opens the door to litigation from the millions of Britons who used Apple computers, iPhones, iPods and iPads during the relevant period, summer 2011 to spring 2012, said Jonathan Hawker who represents the Google Action Group, a not-for-profit company set up to manage claims against the internet giant for breach of privacy.

Dan Tench, a partner at law firm Olswang who is acting for the claimants, welcomed the decision.

"Google, a company that makes billions from advertising knowledge, claims that it was unaware that was secretly tracking Apple users for a period of nine months and had argued that no harm was done because the matter was trivial as consumers had not lost out financially.

"The Court of Appeal saw these arguments for what they are: a breach of consumers' civil rights and actionable before the English courts. We look forward to holding Google to account for its actions."

Google has already paid fines of over $40m related to this incident in the US. It was fined by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and separately by 38 US states.

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Apple boss 'to donate $800m fortune'

Tim Cook, the latest company boss to pledge give away his fortune to charity

The chief executive of Apple, Tim Cook, has announced he is donating most of his wealth to charity before he dies.

The head of the world's most profitable company is worth over $800m (£537m).

Mr Cook told Fortune Magazine that he would leave his wealth to philanthropic causes but not before paying for his 10-year-old nephew's college education.

He joins a growing number of the world's super-rich who are giving away their wealth, including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Five years ago, billionaire investor Warren Buffett and Microsoft founder Bill Gates launched the campaign The Giving Pledge.

It aims to convince billionaires to give at least half of their fortunes to charity. Mr Zuckerberg and over 100 others have so far signed up to the "moral commitment".

Mr Cook's base salary went up by 43% in February 2014, rising to $9.2m (£6.2m) a year.

According to Fortune Magazine, he holds $120m (£81m) worth of Apple shares and a further $665m (£447m) of restricted stocks.

A US university education costs an estimated $30,000 (£20,000) a year on average. Some private universities cost more than $50,000 a year.

Harvard, one of the most prestigious colleges in the country, charges $43,938 per year in tuition alone for students not receiving financial aid. That rises to $58,607 with room and board, according to its website.

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Graphene light bulb set for shops

Sir Konstantin Novoselov showed Chancellor George Osborne the bulb when he opened the institute

A light bulb made with graphene - said by its UK developers to be the first commercially viable consumer product using the super-strong carbon - is to go on sale later this year.

The dimmable bulb contains a filament-shaped LED coated in graphene. It was designed at Manchester University, where the material was discovered.

It is said to cut energy use by 10% and last longer owing to its conductivity.

The National Graphene Institute at the university was opened this month.

The light bulb was developed by a Canadian-financed company called Graphene Lighting - one of whose directors is Prof Colin Bailey, deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Manchester.

It is expected to be priced lower than some LED bulbs, which can cost about £15 each.

Based on traditional light bulb design, the use of graphene allows it to conduct electricity and heat more effectively.

Prof Bailey told the BBC: "The graphene light bulb will use less energy. We expect it to last longer. The manufacturing costs are lower and it uses more and more sustainable components."

The discovery of graphene in 2004 by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, two Russian-born scientists at the University of Manchester, earned the pair the Nobel Prize for Physics and knighthoods.

A micro-thin layer of graphene is stronger than steel and it has been dubbed a "wonder material" because of its potential uses.

The National Graphene Institute was opened at the university this month

The government has invested £38m in the National Graphene Institute via the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, with an additional £23m provided by the European Regional Development Fund.

Chancellor George Osborne, who opened the site on 20 March, has said he hopes the UK can see off competition from China and South Korea to become a centre of excellence in graphene technology.

More than 35 companies worldwide have already partnered with the university to develop projects.

The race is now on to develop other practical and commercial uses, including lighter but more robust car and aircraft frames and false teeth. The material has already been incorporated into products including tennis rackets and skis.

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Musicians unite behind Jay Z site

Jay Z purchased Swedish company Tidal earlier this month

Musicians including Kanye West, Jack White, Rihanna, Madonna and Coldplay are uniting behind Jay Z's "artist-friendly" streaming site, Tidal.

They all turned their Twitter profiles teal blue, to reflect Tidal's branding, on Sunday night.

The site launches on Monday, promising CD-quality streaming and thousands of music videos, for a subscription fee.

Taylor Swift, who pulled her catalogue off Spotify last November, is among those to feature on the service.

Her back catalogue - with the exception of her current album, 1989 - is already available on the service, which requires a monthly subscription of $9,99 (£6.72) for standard-quality music, and $19.99 (£13.47) for the "high fidelity" option.

A spokesperson for Swift said that the star's back catalogue appears on all streaming services that require a subscription fee.

"This has never been changed. Big Machine Records believes music has value and we do not believe Taylor's music should be made available for free," they said.

Other artists publically backing Tidal on social media included DJ Calvin Harris, R&B star Usher, country singer Jason Aldean and Beyonce, who is married to Jay Z.

It has also been rumoured that Rihanna's much-anticipated eighth album will premiere on the service after Monday's launch event.

The R&B singer is signed to Jay Z's Roc Nation label, making such a deal possible, but there has been no official confirmation.

Jay Z's company Project Panther bought Aspiro, a Swedish tech firm that runs two streaming music services (WiMP and Tidal) for $56 million (£37.7m) on 13 March.

According to Forbes, the rapper intends to allow artists who sign up to his site reap more rewards than they would on rivals such as Spotify, Rdio, Rhapsody and Beats Music.

He will announce his plans at a live-streamed launch event at 22:00 GMT in New York.

A press invitation for the event promised that "Shawn 'Jay Z' Carter and special guests will announce a commitment to a new direction for the music industry from both a creative and business perspective".

The launch comes as the streaming market becomes increasingly competitive.

The rapid success of Spotify, which now has more than 15 million paid subscribers and 60 million total users, has prompted many tech companies to launch similar services.

Last year, Google announced a subscription service that allows users to stream ad-free music videos, and download them for offline use.

The monthly fee for Music Key also provides membership to Google Play All Access, the firm's pre-existing "all-you-can-eat" music facility.

And Apple is poised to launch its own service, after paying $3m (£2.02m) for headphone maker and music-streaming provider Beats Electronics last year.

It recently poached Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe for an undisclosed role in its music division.

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G20 world leaders' personal data leaked

The G20 leaders' Visa numbers, passport numbers and dates of birth were among the personal data accidentally emailed to the organisers of the Asian Cup football tournament

The passport numbers and Visa details of 31 world leaders were accidentally emailed to the organisers of the Asian Cup in Australia before the G20 summit in Brisbane in November 2014.

Those affected included US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

A worker at the Australian Department of Immigration sent the list by mistake.

The department decided there was no need to alert the G20 attendees.

"Given that the risks of the breach are considered very low and the actions that have been taken to limit the further distribution of the email, I do not consider it necessary to notify the clients of the breach," an unnamed Depart of Immigration director wrote to the Australian Privacy Commissioner in an email obtained by the Guardian following a Freedom of Information request.

Both the sender of the email and the recipient had deleted it within 10 minutes of it being sent, the officer explained, and the Asian Cup football tournament organisers said they did not believe the email was accessible or stored on their servers.

The message included the 31 world leaders' dates of birth but not personal addresses and other contact details.

The breach was said to be the result of "human error", with the sender forgetting to check the auto-fill function in Microsoft Outlook's email service before hitting send.

"There was nothing systemic or institutional about the breach," continued the email from the government official.

"It should also be noted that the personal details of these individuals, including their names, positions and dates of birth are generally already available in the public domain given their prominent positions."

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VIDEO: Farmers test out 'flying sheepdog'

It doesn't bark, and it doesn't bite, it doesn't need feeding - three of the benefits, says Paul Brennan, of using a drone as a sheepdog.

His video showing the shepherding of a flock of his brother's sheep has gone viral.

He told the BBC it worked "perfectly" in rounding up the animals on the farm near Dublin, Ireland.

The National Farmers' Union said it didn't think the idea would "take off".

"There may be a use to check-in on animals grazing on common land or in the hills but that's about the limit.

"The primary use will be in the arable sector rather than livestock at the moment.

"The reality is that a good sheepdog is a far better way to go about the job."

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McCann 'troll' suicide conclusion

Brenda Leyland was said to use the handle @sweepyface on Twitter

A woman who "trolled" Madeleine McCann's family on Twitter killed herself days after she was challenged by reporters, an inquest concluded.

Brenda Leyland, 63, from Leicestershire, was found dead after she was confronted by Martin Brunt from Sky News over the abuse.

Mr Brunt told the inquest in Leicester he had been "devastated" by her death.

Coroner Catherine Mason concluded she had killed herself and called for sales of helium to be regulated.

Confronted at home

The inquest heard that divorcee Mrs Leyland, of Burton Overy, posted 400 tweets about the McCann family between November 2013 and September 2014.

Madeleine went missing while on a family holiday in Portugal in 2007.

Mr Brunt told the inquest he and a cameraman confronted Mrs Leyland after Sky News obtained a dossier of alleged Twitter "trolls" handed to police.

She initially told him she was "entitled" to send the messages, later inviting him into her home for an interview.

Gerry McCann, with his wife Kate, previously told the BBC more needed to be done about online abuse

He told the hearing he kept her informed of his plans - which included picturing but not naming her - because he was aware it could have an impact.

Asked by the coroner if there was anything which indicated a concern for her life, Mr Brunt said: "No, but when I asked her how she was, she said 'oh I have thought about ending it all but I am feeling better - I have had a drink and spoken to my son'".

He said he thought her comments were a throwaway remark and had no idea about her history of depression or a previous attempt at suicide.

She was found dead in a Leicester hotel after an overdose on 4 October.

"I was devastated, I still am and the enormity of what's happened will always be with me," Mr Brunt added.

'Panic and fear'

The court also heard evidence from her son Ben, who said he believed the confrontation had been the final straw.

In a statement, he said he believed she was "completely destroyed" by what had occurred.

He said he heard "panic and fear" in her voice when he spoke to her after the Sky interview.

A Sky News spokesman said the news team had followed its editorial guidelines "in a responsible manner", adding the story was "firmly in the public interest".

"Brenda Leyland's tragic death highlights the unforeseeable human impact that the stories we pursue can have, and Sky News would like to extend its sincere condolences to her family," the Sky statement said.

None of the messages sent by Mrs Leyland were directed personally at the McCanns, who have "no significant presence" on social media.

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Google thwarts legal threat in US

The FTC probe ended with Google changing the way it handled some search parameters

Google narrowly escaped being prosecuted by the US government in 2012, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Regulators at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had been investigating complaints from Google's rivals about its dominance of the internet search industry.

An internal report obtained by the paper showed that some FTC officials had wanted to prosecute.

Instead, the regulator persuaded Google to change the way its software worked.

Google said the "exhaustive" review showed there was no harm to competitors or consumers.

The FTC began its probe of the search market in 2011 following complaints from Google's competitors.

During the investigation the regulator's officials gathered nine million documents and obtained evidence from firms such as Yelp, TripAdvisor and Amazon, who had accused Google of taking content from their web pages.

The information Google gleaned was allegedly used by the firm to improve its own search ranking system.

The evidence gathered was enough to convince some FTC investigators that legal action should be taken, said the paper.

However when the regulator's investigation ended, the agency concluded that the company had not abused its market position to hurt rivals.

Even so, the FTC arranged a deal with the company to end some of the practices that its rivals had complained about.

The report was inadvertently sent to the Wall Street Journal when it asked for details of a separate FTC investigation.

The agency has not commented on the accidental release of the report.

In a statement Google said: "After an exhaustive 19-month review, covering nine million pages of documents and many hours of testimony, the FTC staff and all five commissioners agreed that there was no need to take action on how we rank and display search results."

It added: "Speculation about potential consumer and competitor harm turned out to be entirely wrong."

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Anti-censorship activists 'attacked'

The website said it was under attack and needed help

A campaign organisation that circumvents Chinese website blocks has said it has come under distributed denial of service attack (DDoS).

Greatfire called the attack, which aimed to take sites offline, an attempt to enforce censorship.

It said it did not know who was behind it, but pointed out that it coincided with pressure from Chinese authorities.

One expert called the attack "censorship by brute force", saying it could put Greatfire out of business.

Greatfire has tracked which sites are blocked in China and recently began offering a mirroring service to try to restore them for Chinese users.

Protection

Similar to the campaign started by Reporters Without Borders last week, it set up content distribution networks (CDNs) using the same hosting services as many entities on which China relies.

Those networks created copies of banned websites and made them available to Chinese users.

In theory, the method provided protection to Greatfire because, to be sure that the blocked websites remained inaccessible, attackers would have to take down the whole hosting service - including many sites that China wanted to remain live.

However, in practice, the attackers managed to find the individual URLs of the sites the authorities sought to block - which are normally masked - and bombarded them, in a more targeted attack, said Prof Alan Woodward of the University of Surrey.

'Attack'

"It is difficult not to conclude that someone, most likely a government annoyed that Greatfire has enabled previously censored websites to neuter their censoring technology, has decided to fight back," he told the BBC.

He added that keeping the sites online would require the purchase of more bandwidth, adding that he consequently believed the Chinese authorities wanted to put financial pressure on Greatfire.

"The big question will be whether the big companies that run the CDNs... will actually key the charges Greatfire is being forced to incur, or whether they believe the censorship avoiding method should be supported when under attack in this way."

'Help'

In a statement published on its website, Greatfire said the attacks started on 17 March and "we are receiving up to 2.6 billion requests per hour which is about 2,500 times more than normal levels".

It said: "We are under attack and we need help.

"Likely in response to a recent story in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), we've experienced our first ever distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack.

"This tactic is used to bring down web pages by flooding them with lots of requests - at the time of writing they number 2.6 billion requests per hour. Websites are not equipped to handle that kind of volume so they usually 'break' and go offline."

'Anti-China'

"We don't know who is behind this attack. However, the attack coincides with increased pressure on our organisation over the last few months.

"The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) publicly called us 'an anti-China website set up by an overseas anti-China organisation'."

The BBC was not able to verify the identity of the alleged attacker.

A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in London did not respond to a request for comment.

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End online humiliation says Lewinsky

Monica Lewnisky's speech at the Ted conference was given a standing ovation

Monica Lewinsky has taken to the stage at the Ted (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference to call for a more compassionate internet.

The former White House intern's love affair with President Bill Clinton made headlines around the world in 1998.

Describing herself as one of the first victims of cyberbullying, she said the internet had created a culture where people enjoyed viewing other's shame online.

Her speech received a standing ovation.

It is only the second time she has spoken publicly since disappearing from the public eye in 2005. In October she spoke at Forbes' Under 30 Summit.

She began her speech by joking she was the only 40-something who did not wish to be 22 again.

"At the age of 22, I fell in love with my boss. At the age of 24, I learned the devastating consequences."

The Clinton-Lewinsky scandal was one of the first major stories to break online

The internet, she said, had made her own personal humiliation far worse.

"In 1998, after having been swept up in an improbable romance, I was then swept up into the eye of a political, legal and media maelstrom like we had never seen before."

And this particular scandal was, she said, "brought to you by the digital revolution".

"When the story broke it broke online. It was one of the first times that the traditional news had been usurped by the internet for a major news story," she told the Ted audience.

Although there was no social media in 1998 as we know it today, images of Ms Lewinsky famously wearing a black beret quickly went viral online as did comments posted in response to online articles while jokes based on the details of her affair were emailed around the world.

"I went from being a private figure to being a publicly humiliated one worldwide. There were mobs of virtual stone-throwers."

"I was branded a tart, a slut, a whore, a bimbo. I lost my reputation and my dignity and I almost lost my life."

"Seventeen years ago there was no name for it but now we call it cyberbullying or online harassment," she said.

UK charity Childline reported a 87% increase in calls related to cyberbullying last year and, according the children's charity NSPCC, one in five children is now bullied online.

Last year, a study conducted in the Netherlands found that cyberbullying was more likely to lead young people to suicide than its offline equivalent.

Cyberbullying is a growing problem and can have devastating consequences

What is cyberbullying?

It can include:

• Texting scary or rude messages by mobile phone

• Sending unpleasant photos by mobile phone

• Using online message boards, chatrooms or social networks to post cruel messages

• Deleting the victim's name or ignoring their messages on groups or social networks

What to do about cyberbullying

• Tell someone, be it a family member, teacher or other trusted adult, if something upsets you

• Don't respond to messages but save evidence

• Don't take everything to heart; know yourself

• Don't give out your own or friends' personal information

• Be careful about what you write and post online

• Know how to block or report people

• Don't add to the problem by liking or sharing an unkind image or comment

Ms Lewinsky told the story of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi, who was a student at Rutgers University in New Jersey when his roommate set up a webcam and captured video of him in bed with another man.

The resulting online harassment led Mr Clementi to suicide, jumping from the George Washington Bridge.

"Tyler's tragic, senseless death was a turning point for me," said Ms Lewinsky.

"It served to re-contextualise my experiences. I began to look at the world of humiliation and bullying around me and see something different … every day online, people -especially young people who are not developmentally equipped to handle this - are so abused and humiliated that they can't imagine living to the next day. And some don't."

That, she said, was unacceptable. She urged people to approach their online communications with more compassion.

"Post a positive comment, imagine walking a mile in someone else's headline," she said.

Culture of shame

Youngsters are increasingly falling victim to cyberbullies

Technology, she said, had extended the "echo of embarrassment".

"It used to only extend as far as your family, your school, your village, but now it is to the whole online community.

"The more shame, the more clicks and the more clicks the more advertising dollars. We are making money off the back of suffering."

She pointed to recent cases such as the leaking of nude photos of celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence.

"One gossip website had five million hits for this one," she said.

And when Sony Pictures was hacked, the private emails between executives and actors were the ones that garnered the most interest because they were ones that would lead to "the most public humiliation" she said.

The internet had made people numb to the suffering and humiliation of others, she concluded.

Ms Lewinsky ended her talk on a personal note, explaining why she had decided to speak out after a decade of silence.

"It was time to stop tip-toeing around my past, it was time to take back my narrative and let others know that you can survive it."

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