Facebook tracks the hackers, watch the new Star Wars trailer, NASA launches epic website, Netflix saves Gilmore Girls, Back to the Future in LEGO.

Facebook Spies on the Spies

Facebook is watching over you, and will now inform users it suspects of being spied on by a government agency. This is the promise given by Alex Stamos, the social network's Chief Security Officer. In a blog post titled Notifications for Targeted Attacks, Stamos states:

"While we have always taken steps to secure accounts that we believe to have been compromised, we decided to show this additional warning if we have a strong suspicion that an attack could be government-sponsored. We do this because these types of attacks tend to be more advanced and dangerous than others, and we strongly encourage affected people to take the actions necessary to secure all of their online accounts."

Thanks to Edward Snowden and others we know how common state-sponsored surveillance is, so this is a timely announcement from Facebook. Unfortunately (but understandably), Facebook will not disclose how it has determined an individual is being spied on by a nation state rather than just a guy living in his mother's basement.

Also worth noting is Facebook's warning that "having an account compromised in this manner may indicate that your computer or mobile device has been infected with malware." Which means that "people who see this message should take care to rebuild or replace these systems if possible." In other words, this intrusion won't be fixed by just changing your passwords.

Watch the New Star Wars Trailer

The new Star Wars trailer has made its way online after debuting during Monday Night Football in the U.S. The full and final trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens expands on what we have previously seen, offering a lengthier look at the plot and the characters who will shape it.

Only snippets of the story are revealed, and we don't yet know who Rey and Finn are, or where Luke Skywalker may be hiding. Which is rather refreshing given the number of spoilers most movie trailers give away these days. However, we do know that the new villain Kylo Ren is setting out to finish what Darth Vader started. Which is ominous.

The biggest takeaway from this new Star Wars trailer is that all signs point towards this actually being good. Unlike the last time we got this excited at the return of Star Wars, when George Lucas gave us The Phantom Menace, and duly crapped all over our childhood dreams. Keep all of your fingers and toes crossed that The Force Awakens lives up to the hype.

NASA Launches Epic Earth Website

While Star Wars deals with a fictional universe, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) deals with the real universe we're living in right now. And the United States space agency has just launched a new website that's quite literally epic.

The new NASA website shows fresh images of Earth as taken by a camera on board the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR). The camera is called the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera, or EPIC for short, which has afforded NASA a nice acronym to sell this to the masses.

The camera takes multiple photos of Earth each day from a distance of around 1 million miles. Meaning we get to look at our planet from a truly mesmerizing point of view. Go to epic.gsfc.nasa.gov now and prepare to have your little minds blown by the awesomeness.

Netflix Brings Back Gilmore Girls

It looks as though Netflix is bringing back Gilmore Girls, a popular drama series which has been off the air since 2007. According to TVLine, Netflix has ordered four new episodes, each of which will run for around 90 minutes.

The main cast are said to have already signed on, with the rest entering negotiations to reprise their roles. This is currently just a rumor, with Netflix refusing to comment. However, the Internet has successfully saved several TV shows, so we wouldn't be surprised to find out this is true.

Go Back to the Future in LEGO

And finally, in case you haven't heard already, tomorrow is Back to the Future Day. Why? Because October 21st, 2015 is the day Doc and Marty travel to in Back to the Future II. How many of the futuristic gadgets actually became reality? Not many, as it turns out.

This video shows Back to the Future as it happened in the LEGO universe. But don't just sit back and watch passively on the sofa, actually look out for the geeky cameos and props which are included. Even Doctor Who turns up somewhere, which is rather fitting. [H/T CNET]

Your Views on Today’s Tech News

Do you trust Facebook to keep you safe? What do you think of the new Star Wars trailer? Are you still interested in seeing Earth from space? Are you pleased to see Gilmore Girls coming back? What are you planning to do on Back to the Future Day?

Let us know your thoughts on the Tech News of the day by posting to the comments section below. Because a healthy discussion is always welcome.

Image Credits: Mike Mozart via Flickr