Two-step security is rapidly gaining ground as a popular way to help users protect access to accounts and the like, but the original patent for two-step security may go back farther than anyone expected, as well as to an unlikely patent holder: Kim Dotcom. As such, Dotcom is finding himself in an unusual position and putting up patent violation charges against some very major names, where only months prior he found himself the target of similar charges thanks to his Megaupload site, and on a lesser basis, its follow-up, Mega.

The Coalition for Patent Fairness is continuing to draw attention to the many problems presented by patent trolls in the United States.

The theft of intellectual property (IP) has been, to say the least, a top-of-mind issue for U.S. companies and public policy makers for quite some time. The intensity of this interest led to the formation of the independent and bipartisan Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property (IP Commission), headed by co-chairs Dennis C. Blair, former director of National Intelligence and commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, and Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., former ambassador to China, governor of the state of Utah and deputy U.S. Trade Representative. After almost a year of investigation, the group is out with its report, and despite its length (roughly 90 pages), it is a must-read.

While it's true that hardly anyone likes to pay taxes, sometimes the amount of money that big companies pay to governments is downright embarrassing.

Despite a continuing slide in sales and profit, Hewlett-Packard posted second-quarter 2013 results that beat Wall Street expectations for the second quarter in a row. That's good news for a firm admittedly in a turnaround situation.

Last month, the U.S. stock market took a temporary hit from a fake Twitter message that claimed to have originated from The Associated Press. Earlier in February, some 250,000 Twitter users had to reset credentials after passwords, user names and e-mail addresses were stolen. And in April, CBS News' programs "60 Minutes" and "48 Hours" also had their Twitter accounts hacked.

If you read any reputable technology-based blog or website like TechZone360, you simply can't get away from hearing about Google Glass. Touted as a type of wearable technology that is actually a computer with a head-mounted display (HMD) and powered by search giant Google, the first phase of this next-generation offering has recently landed in the hands of early adopters for the steal of a price of $1,500.

Ever wonder how fast the U.S. subscriber base for broadband is or isn't growing? What about who is winning the pitched battle between cable and telecom companies to capture those highly desirable customers who can't live without fast Internet access? The answer to both of those questions comes in the form of a new Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) study on U.S. broadband.

Inspiration can hit us at the most random times - in the middle of the night, while grocery shopping or even mid-workout. If there's one thing that technology innovations offer us today, it's opportunity.

I have a confession to make. Watching congressional testimony is a passion I developed many years ago as a telecom industry lobbyist. For those of us of a policy wonk persuasion, this is great entertainment. It is like watching one of the wildly popular reality TV shows. Unfortunately, the performance by Apple CEO Tim Cook, company CFO Peter Oppenheimer and Apple tax chief Phillip Bullock before the U.S. Homeland Security & Government Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations was just that -- entertaining. And, as the fine coverage of hearings by my colleague Ed Silverstein highlights while illuminating as a lesson in tax planning by a major multi-national, the carefully scripted kabuki dance was little more than entertaining.

The Xbox One is the most aggressive attempt to turn the tide that was moving away from console gaming and towards gaming on mobile devices. The game platforms, having remained static and out of date for years, were facing an Armageddon of failing titles and gaming companies this year and it is hoped that the refresh of both the Xbox and PlayStation platforms will revitalize this dying market. This cycle, the primary competition won’t be other game consoles but instead, the tablets, smartphones, and the very unique mobile-focused NVIDIA Shield Games system – which are attacking the game foundation that supports console games. It appears the Xbox One is the strongest of the coming game consoles, but will it be strong enough?

The public got a rare glimpse into the method Apple uses to minimize its global taxes – during a series of exchanges between the company’s top executives and members of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, May 21st.

It was also revealed this week that Apple owns Apple Operations International (A.O.I.), Apple Operations Europe (A.O.E.) and Apple Sales International (A.S.I.) – three subsidiaries based in Ireland.

Apple has released a statement ahead of CEO Tim Cook’s slated testimony on Capitol Hill today before the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Sub-Committee on Investigations. The panel released a report that the computer giant circumvents U.S. Tax Codes and keeps more than $100 billion overseas. Apple has firmly said that it does not use “tax gimmicks” and that it has substantial foreign cash because it sells the majority of its products outside the United States.

The Senate investigation on Apple found that the Cupertino, Calif., company employs a group of affiliate companies outside the United States to avoid paying taxes.

The mass killer of defenseless students and staff at a Newtown, Conn. elementary school last December was basically addicted to playing violent video games – and there are lingering questions if exposure to virtual violence could lead to later violent acts.

Long before the shooting, Adam Lanza spent many hours locked up in his house playing what CNN described as “military-style video games.” A search of his family’s house uncovered thousands of dollars’ worth of violent video games.

Yahoo announced at a news conference on Monday that it indeed, as speculated, acquired the popular blogging/social media site, Tumblr, the Los Angeles Times (and just about every other news outlet) reports, for $1.1 billion.

This is the largest such deal since Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012.

Though Tumblr is trendy – bringing in around 300 million visitors each month – and Yahoo has long needed to up its “cool factor,” this is a risky move for the company. It could be either the beginning of a new, fortified regime or the collapse of a brittle dynasty.

While most are talking about the big upcoming Microsoft event in which the newest Xbox will make its big appearance, Sony isn't going to let Microsoft have the news cycles all to itself. To that end, Sony released a teaser video showing off just a few short glimpses of the new hardware, and Sony has managed to raise a few interesting questions in the process.

As U.S. immigration reform continues to generate controversy, one key area getting much attention is what to do about tech companies that need to hire foreign employees with extensive skills. Businesses and unions are at odds over U.S. visa programs for skilled workers - which in the industry are known as H-1B.

On June 3, the case of United States of America vs. Apple Inc. goes to trial. In anticipation of the landmark proceedings, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has released its pretrial filings, Melville House reports.

It is only right that we wish a big happy birthday to the website highlighted for completely changing the video experience for the better, YouTube. Turning a young eight years old today, it's hard to remember a time before the video streaming website was around, yet it actually made its debut back in 2005. Just to give you a point of reference, 2005 was the year that the space mission Deep Impact launched from Cape Canaveral, the New England Patriots won Super Bowl XXXIX over the Philadelphia Eagles, Israel and Palestine signed a cease-fire agreement and The Huffington Post made its official debut.

While with the recent coming of spring--and some warmer weather--the idea of spring cleaning has also come along with it. Spring cleaning also seems to have arrived out at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as fully 126 individual telecom regulations were tossed out, largely because said requirements were plain old out of date.