Syria, China, Iran, Bahrain and Vietnam are flagrantly spying online, media watchdog RSF said Tuesday, urging controls on the export of Internet surveillance tools to regimes clamping down on dissent.

A new report entitled "Enemies of the Internet" also singled out five companies -- Gamma, Trovicor, Hacking Team, Amesys and Blue Coat -- that it branded "digital era mercenaries," who were helping oppressive governments.

Those Facebook 'likes' can reveal a lot more than you think.

Research released Monday shows patterns from these Facebook preferences can provide surprisingly accurate estimates of the user's race, age, IQ, sexuality and other personal information.

Corporate raider Carl Icahn said Monday his investment firm had entered into a confidentiality agreement with Dell, which is facing a battle over its plans to take the computer maker private.

The agreement will allow Icahn access to detailed financial information which is not publicly available.

Alibaba Group, one of the world's biggest e-commerce companies, said Monday its executive vice president will succeed founder Jack Ma as chief executive.

Ma, 48, announced in January he was stepping down as CEO to make way for younger leaders. He stayed on as chairman.

Computer networks at the Reserve Bank of Australia have been hacked, officials said Monday, with some reportedly infected by Chinese-developed malware searching for sensitive information.

The central bank revealed the attacks after investigations by The Australian Financial Review found multiple computers had been compromised by malicious software seeking intelligence.

On any given night, up to 60,000 people stay in places they found on Airbnb. One of them is always the guy who co-founded the fast-growing online travel lodging service.

"In June 2010, I moved out of my apartment and I have been mostly homeless ever since, off and on," Brian Chesky said at the South by Southwest (SXSW) interactive, film and music festival.

How important were Twitter, Facebook and other social media in toppling regimes in the Arab Spring uprisings?

Amid a fierce debate in academic circles, an upcoming book argues that social media and new technology made a key difference in successful uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt and helped foster grassroots movements in other Arab nations.

Google has retaken the role of superstar of the tech sector with a stunning stock rally as rival Apple flounders.

Google has hit fresh all-time highs in recent weeks, and closed Friday at $831.52, capping a nearly tenfold rise from its public offering price in 2004 of $85. The stock is up about 17 percent so far in 2013.

The 27th edition of South by Southwest kicked off Friday with a bold prediction that desktop 3D printing will unleash a new industrial revolution guided by "creative explorers."

Inventing or replicating everyday objects in three dimensions using laser beams and molten plastic is a major theme of the interactive segment of the 10-day SXSW festival that also celebrates independent film and music.

A number of countries are aggressively trying to control the Internet, a top U.S. diplomat cautioned Thursday, insisting Washington would give no ground when it comes to curbing freedoms on the Web.

"Many Middle Eastern countries, Russia, China and others are I believe going to take an increasingly aggressive stand to try to control the Internet," Alec Ross, the State Department's outgoing senior adviser on innovation, told reporters in Geneva.