It's shaping up to be an outdoor Christmas for many Kiwis, a list of most searched for items on popular auction site Trade Me suggests.

A senior Customs official told colleagues in charge of highly personal information they could earn "brownie points"if they passed secrets to the FBI.

An even temper, good manners and careful record keeping can help defeat call centres that don't co-operate.

I spent almost five hours on hold trying to find out why my Slingshot internet connection was so bad.

Chorus could reduce its funding gap for the ultra-fast broadband project from $1 billion to $200 million.

David Cameron has urged Danish PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt to auction the controversial selfie she took at Nelson Mandela's memorial for charity.

Well, this was supposed to be the quirky, light-hearted year-ender column, full of whimsical reflections on the big business events of 2013.

Auckland Libraries has added thousands of new, free electronic texts to its collection.

Slingshot marketers used login codes to access a Telecom database to improperly switch over customers without their consent.

Internet and phone company Slingshot has been fined $250,000 after it admitted transferring competitors' customers to its business without authority.

The sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela's memorial who has been accused of being a fake has signed at past ANC events.

"There was no meaning in what he used his hands for." An investigation is launched into whether a fake sign language interpreter worked his way into Mandela's service.

A full report on how internet price cuts will affect Chorus' ability to complete its leg of the ultra-fast broadband scheme will be released next week.

Some NZ computer users have paid $500 ransom demands after finding their machines encrypted and a ransom note demanding cash.

Online restaurant guide Zomato is ramping up its growth in NZ as it goes head-to-head with more established competitors such as MenuMania, Localist and Yelp.

Internet company Slingshot has accepted Commerce Commission findings that 27 customers were transferred to it without authorisation.

Only about half of New Zealand kids aged 5 to 10 know the danger of speaking to online friends and a fifth of those would like to meet them in real life.

Big tech companies across the US have joined forces to pressure government to curb its big surveillance programmes that collect vast amounts of private information.

Avid mobile phone users are less happy and suffer from higher anxiety, a new study shows.

There are two distinct tiers of value for smartphones and tablets in enterprises.

A novel approach to reading has kids blogging and commenting online about what should happen next in books - and authors follow the instructions.

A Napier retailer warns a man claiming to be from "Google business" is offering a preferential listing for $295 - which must be paid via paypal. Ignore calls like this.

Chorus' share price has plunged by 50 per cent over the past year - now one of its big shareholders, BNY Mellon, has cut its holding from 7.45pc to 6.3pc. Photo / NZ Herald

Chorus' ultra-fast broadband contracts could be changed to ensure the project is not at risk.

In a world in which social media sites are full of photographs depicting clichéd "happy family" scenes, it's refreshing to see some honest moments.