Gmail’s built-in spam protection system is smart at spotting junk messages but it can sometimes mark even legitimate emails as spam. It is therefore necessary that one should always scan the junk folder manually for any important messages before emptying it.

Scan the Junk Folder in Gmail for any Important Emails

Originally published at Digital Inspiration by Amit Agarwal.

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Vodafone has launched a suite of net services for mobile and PCs, aimed at grabbing a slice of a market currently dominated by Apple, Google and Nokia.

Vodafone 360, as it is known, unites customer’s contacts with information from social networks such as Facebook.

It replaces the company’s previous web offering, Vodafone Live!

It will initially be launched in eight European countries and has been optimised for two new handsets from manufacturer Samsung.

Four more handsets from Nokia will be preloaded with a version of the service.

"This is Vodafone getting deeply involved in handsets," Ian Fogg, an analyst at Forrester Research told BBC News.

He said that users with a Vodafone branded handset would get the "full fat" version of the new service, whilst others would get a trimmed-down offering.

‘Natural evolution’

At "the heart" of the new service was the address book he said, which pulls together mobile, messaging and social networking contacts from services such as Facebook, Windows Live Messenger and Google Talk.

"They are making it easy to communicate across the internet," said Mr Fogg.

"Have you ever met someone who identifies themself a a Vodafone fan - rather than a Google groupie, a Machead or a Windows true believer"

Rory Cellan-Jones
Technology correspondent

Read Rory’s thoughts in full

He said it was similar to products from Apple, Motorola, Palm and HTC which build social networking into the handset.

The feature reflects the rise in people communication via the internet, as opposed to voice calls.

The address book - known as Vodafone People - will not be limited to Vodafone customers.

"If you want to build a community, it’s much easier if anyone can join."

He said the decision to allow it to run on any network was a "smart move" by Vodafone, as it allowed customers to continue to use the service, even if they defected to another carrier.

Elements of the service can sync with customers on a PC or Mac.

The new service will also allow users to access more than 1,000 applications.

Applications have become the main stay of smart phones after Apple launched its App Store for its iPhone; it now offers more than 65,000 applications, created by third-party developers. More than 3bn have been downloaded since it launched.

Google has also opened up an application store for phones, which use its Android operating system, with Nokia and Blackberry also following suit. Microsoft is expected to launch a similar service soon.

The popularity of apps has meant that network operators, such as Vodafone, are carrying more and more data traffic but with little additional revenue.

Mr Fogg said offering apps and other services, such as music and maps, was a "natural evolution" for the firm.

Vodafone is one of the largest mobile networks and currently has 315 million subscribers.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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Medics posting messages on networking websites like Facebook and Twitter are breaching patient confidentiality, a leading journal reveals.

Research in the Journal of the American Medical Association found examples of web gossip by trainee doctors sharing private patient stories and details.

Over half of 78 US medical schools studied had reported cases of students posting unprofessional content online.

One in 10 of these contained frank violations of patient confidentiality.

Most were blogs, including one on Facebook, containing enough clinical detail that patients could potentially be identified.

‘Blue’ blogs

Many postings included profanity and discriminatory language.

Sexually suggestive material and photos showing drunkenness or illicit drug use were also commonplace.

While most incidents resulted in informal warnings, some were deemed serious enough to lead to dismissal from medical school.

But few of the medical schools had policies that covered online social networking and blogging.

"Patient confidentiality is paramount and medical students and doctors obviously need to be very careful about any information they post online"

A British Medical Association spokesman

The investigators, led by Dr Katherine Chretien of the Washington DC VA Medical Center, said medical students may not be aware of how online posting can reflect negatively on medical professionalism or jeopardise their careers.

Similarly, patient confidentiality breaches may be unintentional.

"Sharing patient stories that are de-identified and respectful, as health professionals might do on personal blogs, can encourage reflection, empathy and understanding.

"However, content may risk violation of patient privacy, even without using names or other identifiers," they warned.

Also, the line separating freedom of speech and inappropriate postings can be unclear - for example, derisive comments about a student’s institution or profession might not be considered unprofessional by some, they said.

Dr Chretien’s team say medical students should be taught as part of their training about the risks associated with making postings on the Internet.

As a matter of course, students should be shown how to elect privacy settings on social networking sites and should be told to perform periodic Web searches of their own name to vet listed online content.

A spokesman for the British Medical Association said: "Patient confidentiality is paramount and medical students and doctors obviously need to be very careful about any information they post online."

The UK’s regulator of doctors, the General Medical Council, does not have guidance that covers medics’ blogging.

But a spokeswoman advised doctors: "You must make sure that your conduct at all times justifies your patients’ trust in you and the public’s trust in the profession."

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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