It used to be that "hacking" was just a type of crime, a computer break-in. But today, the term is also part of a growing — and perfectly legal — mainstay of the tech sector.

Computer programming competitions known as "hackathons" have spread like viruses in recent years as ways for geeks, nerds and designers to get together to eat pizza, lose sleep and create something new.

An Israel-based startup specializing in using sounds instead of passwords for logging in said Monday it has been bought by Google.

SlickLogin did not disclose financial terms of the deal, and Google did not respond to an Agence France Presse request for comment about the acquisition.

It used to be that "hacking" was just a type of crime, a computer break-in. But today, the term is also part of a growing — and perfectly legal — mainstay of the tech sector.

Computer programming competitions known as "hackathons" have spread like viruses in recent years as ways for geeks, nerds and designers to get together to eat pizza, lose sleep and create something new.

Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday it is recalling 13,000 FJ Cruiser sport-utility vehicles, mostly in the Middle East, for fuel tubes that may overheat, melt and set off a gas leak.

The automaker said five fires have been reported related to the defect. There have been no reports of injuries or deaths.

Online fundraising site Kickstarter says hackers got some of its customer data.

Kickstarter co-founder Yancey Strickler said in a blog post that hackers accessed usernames, email addresses, phone numbers and passwords. The passwords are encrypted, but the company said it's possible for a hacker to guess a weak or obvious password. It recommended that users change their passwords.

Some 1,700 impatient shoppers lined up for hours Saturday for the grand opening of Apple's store in Rio de Janeiro -- the first official outpost in South America.

First in line was Thiago Cuba, 31, who said he was looking forward to shopping at the glistening new computer store in a tony section of Rio -- even though he was experiencing sticker shock.

Irked by high bank fees on international money transfers, two Estonian IT whizzes who helped engineer Skype and Paypal have hatched Transferwise, a global Internet platform coordinating currency swaps between individuals.

"Hey, hidden fees. Your secret's out," taunts the site founded by Taavet Hinrikus, 32, and partner Kristo Kaarmann, 33.

The next time you try to take a picture of your dinner in a posh French restaurant, don't be surprised if an angry chef comes storming out of the kitchen.

Fed up with patrons snapping photographs with their smartphones to post on social networks, several Michelin-starred French establishments are trying to crack down on so-called "food porn".

With 1.23 billion users in all the flavors and up-and-down stages of romantic relationships, Facebook knows a thing or two about love.

For example, two people who are about to enter a relationship interact more and more on Facebook in the weeks leading up to making their coupled status official — up until 12 days before the start of the relationship, when they share an average of 1.67 posts per day.

Sony Computer Entertainment America added a new chapter Friday to popular videogame "The Last of Us," filled with combat against zombie-like infected people and tailored for PlayStation 3 consoles.

"The Last of Us: Left Behind" is the game's first single-player downloadable content and is billed as a prologue to the award-winning action title that sold more than three million copies in the three weeks after its release in June.