Facebook deploys SSL security

Facebook is equipping its social networking service with secure socket layer (SSL) security protections, notes V3.co.uk.

The social networking giant says users would be able to set up the service to run through the encryption system, helping to keep information secured during transport. Facebook is recommending the SSL option for users who often access the service through shared or public computers.

SSL has long been used by e-commerce and banking sites as a method for helping to prevent third parties from intercepting transmissions and extracting account information.

Paying for a sandwich will soon be possible via mobile phones, as network operator Everything Everywhere rolls out what it claims is the UK's first mobile payments service, according to the BBC.

The service, due for summer 2011, sees the mobile phone operator partnering with Barclaycard. Businesses that have contactless technology include Pret a Manger, Little Chef and the National Trust.

More services are expected to roll out in the run up to the 2012 Olympics.

Amazon has released the first of a new line of short digital books pitched as quick, captivating works for its popular Kindle electronic readers, writes the Associated Press.

The release of Kindle Singles included the debut of TED Books, written versions of inspirational 18-minute talks that are a trademark of renowned TED gatherings dedicated to cultivating “ideas worth spreading”.

"This first set of Singles was selected by our team of editors, and includes works by Rich Cohen, Darin Strauss, Ian Ayres, and the first-ever books published by TED," said Kindle content VP Russ Grandinetti.

TalkTalk has revealed a major business restructure resulting in the loss of 580 jobs, reports Computing.co.uk.

The phone company says the expansion of its network means it needs to integrate its technology teams, resulting in a reduction of its workforce.

"TalkTalk has been extraordinarily successful. Five years of very rapid growth, starting with the launch of free broadband in 2006 and followed by the acquisitions of AOL Broadband and Tiscali UK, have made TalkTalk by far the UK's largest next-generation network with over 4.25 million broadband and voice customers," says CEO Dido Harding.