The Upload: Your tech news briefing for Thursday, February 12

The Upload: Your tech news briefing for Thursday, February 12

Authoritarian government are censoring the Internet more aggressively and using more sophisticated technology, according to the by Reporters Without Borders. China is judged a pioneer in the field, after blocking access to all Google services during the last year and stamping out domestic coverage of protests in Hong Kong and the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Iran is also high on the list, as it works on a national intranet that will keep citizens off the global Internet. Facebook is open-sourcing more technology that it has developed for its own data centers: this time with a 16-port Wedge switch design, the basis of . Facebook hopes the work it is putting into open networking hardware will help to create a broad ecosystem of suppliers and developers, similar to what's grown up around Linux.

There's progress on Apple CEO Tim Cook's commitment that the expensive electronics his company sells don't come at the cost of exploiting those who make them. The company's says that it has ended a system that put contract workers in debt to recruiters before they even began their jobs. Apple is forcing its suppliers to repay any workers who were charged recruitment fees; last year US$4 million was reimbursed to over 4,500 people. Microsoft has finally put out a fix for a problem it learned of more than a year ago: a fundamental design flaw in the feature that organizations use to centrally manage Windows systems, applications, and user settings -. The flaw remained undiscovered for at least a decade and to fix it, Microsoft had to re-engineer core components of the operating system and add several new features.

The extent of the repair also means that no patch will be made available for the millions of businesses still running Windows Server 2003, which is due to reach the end of extended support in July. New Intel chips based on its Skylake design are set to arrive this year, and should allow for thinner Windows tablets that may stack up better against Apple's latest iPad Air. The are due in the second half of the year and will also extend battery life in tablets, hybrids and laptop PCs, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet conference Tuesday. We may find out more about Core M at Taipei's Computex in June. At a Senate hearing on Wednesday, several Democrats said they are exploring . Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts plans to introduce a bill that will focus on security standards and the data collected by connected automobiles. It would mandate that collected data be encrypted, and that drivers could opt out of data collection without disabling navigation. It would also require that the car manufacturer or a security vendor be able to detect and respond to hacking attempts in real time, among other requirements.

Microsoft is buying Sunrise, a company that makes a calendaring app for iOS and Android mobile devices, the corporate VP for Outlook and Office 365 Wednesday. Rajesh Jha said the app will remain on the market and free after the acquisition, and will continue to support a range of third-party apps and calendar services. A powerful data-mining and search tool developed with U.S. military funding is being used by investigators to reveal the links in online criminal networks. The Wall Street Journal reveals to identify and locate sex traffickers. PC World and finds a solid Android tablet. Wired decided to look at ; what they found may surprise you.