The UK is working on proposals for national electronic surveillance that could monitor every electronic message sent and received by its citizens.

This follows the 2008 abandonment of a gigantic government database that would have tracked UK phone and email communications, the AP reports. It appears that the UK government is back at it now, but perhaps with a somewhat different approach.

Business want to know whether they are potential targets for security breaches, and if so, they seek to identify the types of electric records that may be at risk.

The Trustwave 2012 Global Security Report sheds some light on these concerns by identifying top data-security risk areas.

You may be either "pro" or "con" when it comes to Facebook's new Timeline feature. If you are in the "con" category, you may wish for a solution that will cause the service to revert back to how it was before it changed. But beware: In so doing, you could become the victim of a scam.

Happy New Year! We're just a week into January, but 2012 seems to be firing on all tech cylinders.

All of this technology is fascinating, fun and exciting. But it also makes it much easier to suffer from nonstop information overload. Indeed, some research has suggested that such overload has led to greater rates of depression in our populace than previously.

So go enjoy your tech toys -- but remember the reverse of the 1960s adage: Rather than always tuning in and turning on, once in a while tune out and turn off.

With that caveat in mind, it will be interesting to see where tech takes us in 2012

Well, it’s that holiday time of year again. Have you been naughty or nice?

Most of us have heard about sexting -- the practice of people sharing naked pictures of themselves online. Indeed, there have been press reports that suggest texting has become the latest teenage craze. Fact or fiction? Perhaps a bit of both.

The FTC is intent on stopping online deceptive health claims. It has been especially interested in shutting down sites that make false and misleading dietary claims.

As part of its crackdown efforts, the FTC, along with the State of Connecticut, filed a complaint that sought to stop a specific operation based on Connecticut.

And the FTC has now announced that the parties have agreed to a court order that temporarily halts the allegedly illegal conduct.

There is so much good about the Internet.  It allows us to communicate instantly, freely and widely for business and personal purposes.  Unfortunately, whether there is good, the forces of evil also lurk.  This point is driven home by an international plot to hijack millions of computers, as has been reportedly disclosed by a recently unsealed New York indictment.

Back in the 1990s, there was talk of the coming "information superhighway." Now we are traveling at warp speed on that highway. Take a look at some of these jaw-dropping statistics.

As a consequence, Chief Judge Randall Rader of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, on behalf of an E-Discovery Committee, recently introduced a Model Order for Patent E-Discovery.

The Committee's discussion underpinning the Model Order notes that federal district courts have inherent power to control their dockets in the interests of time and economy. Accordingly, it is the Committee's view that the Model Order may be a "helpful starting point for district courts to use in requiring the responsible, targeted use of e-discovery in patent cases."

Information technology overload can be a very real thing. Don't get me wrong - technology is fantastic. Instantaneously were are on top of fast-breaking news developments. And we are in immediate and constant contact with our "friends."

But sometimes doesn't it all seem a bit too much?

Do you ever just want to turn off, take a breath and simply observe the real world around you?

Borders has long collected personal information from customers and promised that such information would not be disclosed without consent. In light of that and Borders' current bankruptcy proceedings, the FTC has sent a letter to the consumer privacy ombudsman overseeing the Borders bankruptcy that seeks the protection of customer personal information.

The FTC's letter appears prompted by its understanding that customer personal information held by Borders is scheduled to be auctioned and thereafter there will be a sale hearing.