CNET, black and white style.

Related stories

• How to save your spot when reading in Chrome
• Dim everything but media in Chrome or Firefox
• How to print only what you want to in Chrome

Advertisements, poor text color and background color choices, or even annoying Web site themes can distract you while reading an article online. And sometimes it's not just the distractions, but the strain on your eyes, that makes you want to stop reading.

Instead of suffering through the awful color palettes or vibrant advertisements, you can install a lightweight Chrome extension that will remove the color from the Web page you're reading. Here's how:

First you'll have to grab a copy of Grayscale Tool, by Emanuel Malmquist. Just click Add to Chrome in the top-right-hand corner.

Next, open a Web page you want to read, sans color.

... [Read more]

Apple has tightened up security in its Safari Web browser following recent patches to Adobe's Flash technology.

As part of an update that went out yesterday, OS X will now block older and thus vulnerable versions of Flash, forcing users to update to the latest version if they wish to view Flash-based content. In order to block older versions of the software, Apple is using its Xprotect malware scanner, which is built into Mac OS X and can spot and quarantine known malware.

The move comes roughly a month after Apple began blocking older versions of Oracle-owned Java on OS X over security concerns. That issue proved to be a bit more complex, with Apple last week saying that it too was targeted as part of an organized hacking attempt that capitalized on Java vulnerabilities, but did not target the company's customers.

Earlier this week Adobe pushed out... [Read more]

The AME 2000, one of the world's most secure phones (pictures)

SAN FRANCISCO--Of all the multitudes of phones launching amid the grandeur of Barcelona this week, Motorola Solutions quietly broke champagne over one device from the back corner of a convention center here.

The Motorola AME 2000, originally announced a few weeks back, is not a phone for the average consumer. That makes sense, given that its public bow was at the RSA Conference 2013 this week, an annual confab of security nerds, experts, researchers, enterprise security vendors, and government representatives.

Motorola Solutions focuses on government and enterprise devices, and remains independent from the Google-owned Motorola Mobility. Its booth at RSA was not front and cen... [Read more]

Outbox wants to turn all your snail-mail into digital mail, which you can view, sort, and share on your iDevice.

Mail service as we know it just doesn't work anymore. Too much junk. Too much hassle sorting, scanning, and/or filing the stuff we need to keep. And, let's be honest, so much of what arrives in our mailboxes could -- some would say should -- arrive electronically.

Austin-based startup Outbox wants to make that happen by digitizing all of your physical mail and delivering it to you electronically on your iPhone or iPad, or your PC.

Interesting proposition, wouldn't you say? Think about it: no more daily trek to the mailbox followed by the daily armload of junk into the trash can. Instead, everything gets intercepted and made digital, thus allowing you to block what you don't want and archive what you do.

It works like this: Three times per week, Outbox collects your actual mail from your actual mailbox. (This works only with locked boxes. Interestingly, the company makes a copy of your key based on photos supplied by you.)

That mail gets opened, scanned, and stored. (Packages are delivered outright to your front door.) You can then view it via the Web or your iDevice, where you have options for organizing, archiving, sear... [Read more]