Amazon starts row with retailers in US

Amazon has annoyed retailers in the US with a new price check app that allows shoppers to get a discount on items via the online store if they find them to be more expensive elsewhere.

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UK - Top Sites & Search Engines - December 2011

Top 20 Websites and Search Engines
Top 10 Websites for Entertainment and Social Networking
Top 10 Overall Search Terms
Top Fast Moving Search Terms Overall
Top Social Networking and Entertainment Fast Moving Search Terms

Data and statistics covering UK Internet activity for the retail industry.

Top 20 Retail Websites
Top 10 Retail Search Terms
Top 10 Retail, DepartmentStores, and Appliances Fast Moving Search Terms

Data and statistics covering UK Internet activity for the travel industry.

Top 20 Travel Websites
Top 10 Travel Search Terms
Top 10 Travel, Agencies and Destinations Fast Moving Search Terms

SEE DATA

Results of M35 Design's Social Networking Survey Published

Click here to see results of M35 Design's social networking survey.

1/3 of 'the internet universe' is a Facebook user or subscriber

As of 31 March 2011, Facebook had 664 million subscribers. That means that 1/3 of 'the internet universe' is a Facebook user or subscriber - an amazing feat.

Europe has a population of 816,426,346, and European Facebook subscribers number 200,260,360 (30.2 %).

Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com

How to make passwords 'hacker proof'

Weak passwords can compromise your safety on-line. GetSafeOnline.org, a joint initiative between the government and the Serious Organised Crime Agency, have released figures showing that 15% of internet users fell victim to hackers last year.

To protect yourself simply and effectively, here are six tips for creating stronger passwords to outwit hackers.

1. Never use personal information, e.g. mother's maiden name, pet's name etc.
2. Use different passwords for different accounts. Government statistics say that 17% of people still use the same password for every site they access
3. Use random number sequences - ideally a random combination of numbers alongside your chosen base letters and special characters
4. Use mixed character types, e.g. f1ow3r1ng instead of flowering
5. Update your password regularly
6. Use long passwords (ideally between 8 and 16 characters in length)

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Longer internet search queries up 5%

Longer internet search queries of five to eight words were up 5% from December 2010 to January 2011. Shorter search queries - those averaging one to four words long - decreased 1% from December 2010 to January 2011. Two-word searches comprised the majority of searches, accounting for 23.59% of all queries.

Source: Experian Hitwise