WELLINGTON (Reuters) - The founder of the outlawed Megaupload file-sharing site denounced on Thursday "the largest data massacre in the history of the internet", after a European firm wiped out private photos, videos and documents stored on servers used by the site. Dutch firm LeaseWeb said it had in February erased 630 …

By Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A year after Facebook Inc's fumbled IPO, Wall Street remains slow to recognize what Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg argues has been an across-the-board improvement in its business. Facebook's ability to deliver ads to mobile phones, improvements in measuring the effectiveness …

By Jim Finkle BOSTON (Reuters) - Eccentric software pioneer John McAfee is back in the spotlight - lashing out at the anti-virus software that bears his name in a profanity-laced video. McAfee, an American who helped create the anti-virus software industry, generated a media frenzy at the end of last year when he fled his …

By Mari Saito TOKYO (Reuters) - A proposal by Sony Corp's top investor to partially spin off the Japanese company's lucrative entertainment business will be the elephant in the room at an annual shareholders meeting on Thursday. Daniel Loeb, who heads New York-based hedge fund Third Point, will miss the gathering and those …

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said on Wednesday that users of its forthcoming Xbox One game console will be able to play games offline without establishing an Internet connection, and will be able to lend or sell used disc-based games. The announcement reverses the company's position when it unveiled the console in …

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp recently talked with Nokia about buying the Finnish phone maker's devices unit, but the discussions faltered and are not likely to be revived, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday in its online edition. The Journal reported that "advanced discussions" on a deal happened as recently …

By Sruthi Ramakrishnan (Reuters) - Micron Inc reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit due to higher prices for its memory chips used in personal computers, mobile handsets and tablet devices. The company said average selling prices of its dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, mostly used in PCs and which accounted …

(Reuters) - Network equipment maker Finisar Corp reported a quarterly profit that beat analysts' expectations as demand for its fiber optic products rose. Finisar shares rose 10 percent in trading after the bell. The stock closed at $14.52 on the Nasdaq on Wednesday. Net profit attributable to the company fell to $3.9 million, …

TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry shares fell 4 percent on Wednesday after a Bernstein Research analyst cut his rating on the stock to "underperform" ahead of the company's quarterly earnings release next week. While Bernstein's Pierre Ferragu said he expected disappointing results from the smartphone maker, other analysts …

By Noel Randewich (Reuters) - Shares of chipmaker Nvidia surged nearly 6 percent on Wednesday after the company said it plans to license its graphics technology, opening the door to new business with Apple, Samsung Electronics and other mobile device makers. Chief Executive Officer Jen-Hsun Huang told the Reuters Global …

By Michelle Sierra NEW YORK (Reuters) - Carl Icahn reiterated his interest in owning Dell Inc and said the $5.2 billion in financing he's putting together to back his bid for the company continues to move forward as planned. The comments came in a telephone interview Tuesday, echoing statements he made earlier in the day …

By Sophie Knight and Sinead Carew TOKYO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Japan's SoftBank Corp cleared a major hurdle in its attempt to buy U.S. wireless provider Sprint Nextel Corp, as rival bidder Dish Network Corp declined to make a new offer after SoftBank sweetened its own bid last week. SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son …

By Andrea Shalal-Esa PARIS (Reuters) - Increased cyber espionage by China and recent leaks by a contractor working at the National Security Agency have put a sharp focus on cyber security for aerospace and defense companies showing off their wares at this year's Paris Airshow. "We, like others, are constantly being bombarded …

By Jim Finkle BOSTON (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp is looking to recruit computer geeks in its ongoing efforts to protect Windows PCs from attacks, offering rewards of as much as $150,000 to anybody who helps identify and fix major security holes in its software. Microsoft unveiled the rewards program, one of the most generous …

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Cisco Systems will invest $15 million in Israeli venture capital funds as part of a broader plan to expand its operations in Israel and outside the United States, the company said on Wednesday. The investment will be made in funds that support integration of Israelis and Arabs and the development of …

By Irene Klotz PARIS (Reuters) - Space Exploration Technologies is not among the 2,200 companies exhibiting at the Paris Airshow, but its cut-rate Falcon rocket, which has already shaken up the U.S. satellite launch industry, is raising eyebrows in Europe. The privately owned, California-based firm, known as SpaceX, is …

By Nina Chestney LONDON (Reuters) - The world should stop arguing about whether humans are causing climate change and start taking action to stop dangerous temperature rises, the president of the World Bank said on Wednesday. Jim Yong Kim said there was 97 to 98 percent agreement among scientists that global warming was …

ROME (Reuters) - Telecom Italia aims to reach a deal with Italy's telecommunications regulator AGCOM on the spin off of its domestic fixed line network by early next year, the company's chairman said on Wednesday. The board of Italy's biggest phone company approved on May 30 a plan to hive off fixed-line network assets …

By Mari Saito TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp's top investor Daniel Loeb will miss its shareholder meeting on Thursday and those attending will not be considering his proposal to partially spin off the lucrative entertainment business, sources familiar with the matter said. But his suggestion, which strikes at the heart of …

By Paul Sandle LONDON (Reuters) - Imagination Technologies, the British chip designer whose graphics technology is in smartphones from Apple and Samsung, reported lower full-year profits as licensing slows. The British company, which licenses its designs to chipmakers and receives a royalty on every unit shipped, has lost …

By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he will not leave the sanctuary of the Ecuadorean Embassy in London even if Sweden stops pursuing sexual assault claims against him because he fears arrest on the order of the United States. In an interview with Reuters and others to mark the first …

By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he will not leave the sanctuary of the Ecuadorean Embassy in London even if Sweden stops pursuing sexual assault claims against him because he fears arrest on the order of the United States. In an interview with Reuters and others to mark the first …

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Acer Inc, the world's No.4 PC vendor, said on Wednesday that it expects notebook and tablet PC shipment to be flat in the second quarter from the first quarter, versus an prediction of 0-5 percent growth made in April. Acer Chairman J.T. Wang made the comment to reporters at the firm's annual shareholder …

By Sinead Carew NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dish Network Corp said it would not make a new offer to buy No. 3 U.S. wireless provider Sprint Nextel in time for a Tuesday deadline and would instead focus on its tender offer for Clearwire Corp. The decision may be good news for Japan's SoftBank Corp, which is also trying to buy Sprint. …

By Jennifer Saba REUTERS (Reuters) - Facebook Inc said on Tuesday it now has 1 million active advertisers globally who used the platform in the last 28 days, a milestone for the company that is seeking to revive its revenue growth. A vast majority of those advertisers are small business owners who have flocked to the world's …

By Sruthi Ramakrishnan (Reuters) - Adobe Systems Inc, known for its Photoshop and Acrobat software, reported a higher-than-expected adjusted second-quarter profit and said demand rose for Creative Cloud, the subscription-based version of its flagship software package. The company said it expects the number of paid subscribers …

By Patricia Zengerle and Tabassum Zakaria WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the National Security Agency said U.S. surveillance programs had helped disrupt more than 50 possible attacks since September 11, 2001, as sympathetic members of Congress also defended the use of the top-secret spying operations. In the first public …

By Noel Randewich SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Nvidia Chief Executive Jen-Hsun Huang said he will license graphics technology to other companies, a new model for the chipmaker that could lead to new business with Apple, Samsung and other mobile device makers. Huang told the Reuters Global Technology Summit in San Francisco …

By Patricia Zengerle and Tabassum Zakaria WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the National Security Agency said U.S. surveillance programmes had helped disrupt more than 50 possible attacks since September 11, 2001, as sympathetic members of Congress also defended the use of the top-secret spying operations. In the first …

By Jim Finkle BOSTON (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said that an assault it led earlier this month on one of the world's biggest cyber crime rings has freed at least 2 million PCs infected with a virus believed to have been used to steal more than $500 million (320 million pounds) from bank accounts worldwide. "We definitely …

By Greg Roumeliotis and Soyoung Kim NEW YORK (Reuters) - SunGard Data Systems Inc, the computer software maker that was taken private in 2005 for $11.4 billion, is exploring a sale of its data managing operations that could fetch up to $2 billion, several people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The business for …

(Reuters) - Billionaire investor Carl Icahn promised Dell Inc shareholders that the company would buy back up to $16 billion of stock if they join his campaign to stop the computer maker from going private. Time is running out for Icahn. Next month, the company's shareholders will vote on whether to accept a $24.4 billion …

By Jennifer Saba REUTERS (Reuters) - Facebook Inc said on Tuesday it now has 1 million active advertisers globally who used the platform in the last 28 days, a milestone for the company that is seeking to revive its revenue growth. A vast majority of those advertisers are small business owners who have flocked to the world's …

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Google Inc asked the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Tuesday to allow it to publish aggregate numbers of national security requests it receives separately from criminal requests, on First Amendment grounds. In its filing, Google requested the court to allow it to publish the aggregate …

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Google Inc asked the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Tuesday to allow it to publish aggregate numbers of national security requests it receives separately from criminal requests, on First Amendment grounds. In its filing, Google requested the court to allow it to publish the aggregate …

By Sruthi Ramakrishnan (Reuters) - Adobe Systems Inc, which makes the Photoshop and Acrobat software, reported a higher-than-expected adjusted quarterly profit as demand rose for Creative Cloud, the subscription-based version of its flagship software package. Shares of the company rose 4.4 percent in after-market trading. …

By Jennifer Saba (Reuters) - Facebook Inc said on Tuesday it now has 1 million active advertisers globally who used the platform in the last 28 days, a milestone for the company that is seeking to revive its revenue growth. A vast majority of those advertisers are small business owners who have flocked to the world's No. …

(Reuters) - Japan's Toshiba Corp plans to cut about 10 billion yen ($104 million) in costs this fiscal year by reorganizing its network of television factories in Indonesia, China and Poland, the Nikkei said, citing company sources. Toshiba wants to make its TV operations profitable this year by overhauling its global production …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The counsel for the Office of Director of National Intelligence, which oversees U.S. intelligence agencies, said on Tuesday that more opinions of a secret court that issues warrants for surveillance cases would likely be declassified. Lawmakers at a House of Representatives Intelligence Committee …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government's surveillance of telephone and Internet communications foiled plots including one to bomb the New York Stock Exchange, Sean Joyce, the deputy FBI director, said on Tuesday. While monitoring a known extremist in Yemen, intelligence agents "were able to detect a nascent plot to …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - General Keith Alexander, the director of the U.S. National Security Agency, said on Tuesday that the NSA's data gathering programs had prevented potential terrorist attacks more than 50 times since September 11, 2001. "In recent years these programs, together with other intelligence, have protected …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co said on Tuesday that Todd Bradley, the head of its largest unit, printing and personal computers, will take on a new job, improving HP's China business and extending channel partner relationships around the world. Bradley is stepping aside as executive vice president of the printing …

By Alina Selyukh WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's choice for chairman of the Federal Communications Commission is expected to face questions about his past work within the telecommunications industry at a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday. The Senate Commerce Committee panel will be the first public …

(Reuters) - Yahoo Inc said U.S. law enforcement agencies made between 12,000 and 13,000 requests for data in the last six months, the latest in a series of disclosures by technology companies since intelligence leaks showed the extent of government data gathering efforts. The company said the requests were made between …

By Alexei Oreskovic and Gerry Shih SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Longer-lasting batteries are crucial for a new crop of wearable computers whose rise may upend Apple and Google's dominance of mobile devices, two of the field's pioneers say. Wearable devices - from bracelets that monitor physical activity and sleeping patterns …

By Jonathan Stempel and Sruthi Ramakrishnan (Reuters) - Sprint Nextel Corp on Monday said it has sued Dish Network Corp to block its tender offer for Clearwire Corp, on the eve of a key deadline in a takeover battle that also includes Japanese mobile carrier SoftBank Corp. The lawsuit filed on Monday in Delaware Chancery …

(Reuters) - Sprint Nextel Corp has filed a lawsuit against Dish Network Corp and Clearwire Corp to prevent the completion of Dish's offer for Clearwire's shares. The lawsuit details how Dish has "repeatedly attempted to fool Clearwire's shareholders into believing its proposal was actionable in an effort to acquire Clearwire's …

By Sayantani Ghosh and Lisa Richwine REUTERS - Video streaming service Netflix Inc signed an exclusive multiyear deal for a slate of new TV series from "Shrek" creator DreamWorks Animation , deepening its push into original programming to stand apart from Internet competitors. Netflix shares rose 7 percent and DreamWorks …