WASHINGTON — In the months and early years after 9/11, FBI agents began showing up at Microsoft Corp. more frequently than before, armed with court orders demanding information on customers.

Setting bold new standards for digital searches, a federal appeals court ruled Friday that customs agents need "reasonable suspicion'' a crime has occurred before delving into the hidden files on someone's computer.

State lawmakers on Wednesday gave the first clearance to a measure designed to require police to get search warrants before they use drones to gather evidence.

State lawmakers are moving to ensure that your Facebook password is none of your boss's business.

NEW YORK — A woman I haven't spoken to in six years is pregnant with her second son. Another college acquaintance reads the Bible a lot. A high school classmate likes to rant about politics. A college dormmate thinks he works too much.

Q: What is Metadata? And after the scandal of General Petraeus, are our emails private from government agencies? - Jeremy

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK - Google and its street-view cameras already have taken users to narrow cobblestone alleys in Spain using a tricycle, inside the Smithsonian with a push cart and to British Columbia's snow-covered slopes by snowmobile.

Q: I trust you guys, so I have to ask: Is it true that your private Facebook inbox messages are now visible for all to see, from 2010 and earlier? I keep seeing people posting this on Facebook. - Robyn

Q: I upgraded my iPhone 4S to iOS 6 and heard about all the problems with the new Maps app that Apple switched to; is there a way to get Google Maps back on my phone or something else that’s more reliable? — Samuel

Q: What should I do to get rid of personal info on my smartphone before I sell it? -- M

MINNEAPOLIS — Warning: This is a story about online cat videos. If you're among the seemingly tiny minority of the general population not interested in watching a 1-minute clip of a cat in a T-shirt pounding on a keyboard, then move along.

I was probably about 11 years old when I had my first experience with Internet safety.

I am horrified by the sight of people driving down the 202 and other freeways while text messaging against their steering wheels. I cannot imagine what could be so important that could not wait until you are at your next stop to communicate with someone else. There are a number of signs and street bridges over the top of the lanes on the freeway. I am usually against government intrusion in our privacy, but it would be an idea to have cameras take random pictures looking down through the windshield of cars driving underneath and additionally getting a shot of their license plate. Sad as it is, I am sure they would catch multiple people daily texting while driving. Hand out a few fines, suspend a few licenses and we would see this trend diminish quickly.

You've tweeted or posted on Facebook something stupid. Now what?

Q: Saw a post that claims FBPurity can remove Timeline from my Facebook profile. Question, is this link worth trying? — Bob

How can Facebook’s new Timeline mess up an existing job search?

Q: I missed Google’s March 1 deadline to clear my history so does that mean that my information is now being shared or can I still clear it? — Arnie

Q: I missed Google’s March 1 deadline to clear my history so does that mean that my information is now being shared or can I still clear it? — Arnie

You think the things that you do online are between you and your computer. Not so. Your cyber-privacy is constantly being chipped away: by your Internet provider, your cellphone carrier and lawmakers. Before you post to a social-media site or browse the Internet for that report you're compiling on pedophiles, keep in mind how your actions online are anything but private.

You think the things that you do online are between you and your computer. Not so. Your cyber-privacy is constantly being chipped away: by your Internet provider, your cellphone carrier and lawmakers. Before you post to a social-media site or browse the Internet for that report you're compiling on pedophiles, keep in mind how your actions online are anything but private.

Q: What do I need to do to make sure that Facebook forcing us to use Timeline doesn't expose my personal information? - Claudia

Q: What's the latest with the Internet censorship bills in Congress and what can we do to help defeat them? - Joseph

Did you hear the one about the athletic director and school president walking into a press conference?

The No. 1 computer complaint we get from people calling or emailing us is that their Internet is running slow. Recently, we saw an email from a child who says her computer is running so slow that she cannot even catch up with all the tweets from the stars. We simply cannot have that! So what causes this and how do we speed up our Internet connection?