Android apps leak private information

A new study from anti-malware firm Dasient has revealed that many Android apps are leaking private information to unauthorised servers outside the business, writes Computing.co.uk.

The firm analysed 10 000 Android applications, and found that more than 800 of them were leaking information, according to security site Dark Reading.

This is a concern for enterprises, as an increasing number of consumer devices, including those based on the Android platform, are finding their way into offices and onto corporate networks.

The head of the US senate's committee on anti-trust wants regulators to put a kibosh on AT&T's proposed $39 billion bid to buy T-Mobile USA, reports Cnet.

Yesterday, senator Herb Kohl, who heads up the Senate Judiciary Anti-trust Subcommittee, asked regulators in a letter to block the proposed merger, stating the merger would be “highly dangerous to competition and consumers”.

Separately, Democratic leaders in the House also wrote their own letter to regulators asking for more scrutiny of the deal. The Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission are expected to complete the review of the deal within a year of when the merger was announced, which was in March.

The US federal government has unveiled a plan to close more than 800 data centre facilities over the next five years, according to V3.co.uk.

The White House yesterday unveiled a consolidation plan which will see 195 data centres shut down by the end of the year and 372 facilities closed by the end of 2012.

Much of the effort will focus on consolidation of data centres. The government says it will look to make better use of storage facilities and adopt more efficient methods for computing and storage.

The changing face of the computer industry was on display yesterday, as two companies representing the old guard and the new issued strong results for the latest quarter, states the Associated Press.

Intel, a bedrock of the PC business, and Qualcomm, a vanguard in mobile computing, showed how companies at opposite ends of the computing spectrum are adapting to a market that's in intense upheaval.

The US and European PC markets have slumped as fewer people are buying new PCs because of economic anxiety, market saturation and the rise of seductive new gadgets such as Apple's iPad.