Steve Woda

In response to questions by U.S. regulators, Google (GOOG) handed over information about the number of users for its Google Voice communication service and a list of the companies that route the calls sent via Google Voice. It also outlined plans that suggest it may expand the call-management service into foreign markets. Google Voice, which provides people with a single phone number that can be used to reach them on their work, home, or cell phones, has 1.419 million users, according to the letter. Of those, 570,000 use it seven days a week, Google says. Google Voice began in 2005 as GrandCentral, a startup acquired by Google in 2007. Ring Central, a company founded in 1998 that provides similar call-management services to small businesses, says it has "tens of thousands" of customers. - Steve Woda

Cheaters beware. In late October, Indonesian developer Sheran Gunasekera released mobile-phone software that can help someone eavesdrop on your conversations. A distrusting partner or spouse can secretly download the free application, called PhoneSnoop, onto your BlackBerry, remotely turn on the microphone, and listen to conversations held in proximity to the device. PhoneSnoop, downloaded more than 2,000 times since its release, is one of a growing number of applications that can be downloaded onto a smartphone without a user's knowledge. FlexiSPY similarly can be downloaded onto Research In Motion's (RIMM) BlackBerry or the Apple (AAPL) iPhone. Smartphones and the growing number of people using them are becoming a bigger target for unauthorized and potentially harmful software, including worms, viruses, and spyware that tracks a user's Web activity. The smartphone security threat "is imminent," says Jeff Wilson, a principal analyst at consultant Infonetics Research. - Steve Woda

CEOs say they are experts at recognizing the brown-nosers, the Dwight Schrutes of The Office. Or, for those from the Leave It to Beaver era, think Eddie Haskell. When David D'Alessandro became CEO of John Hancock Financial Services in 1996, he felt that compliments from his subordinates were disingenuous unless he had truly accomplished something difficult. Otherwise it's brown-nosing, says D'Alessandro, who retired from Hancock in 2004. QUIZ: Know the difference between brown nosing and being nice? - Steve Woda

It's prone to cause drama in the online world. And, according to the New Oxford American Dictionary, it's the word of the year. "Unfriend" beat out a tech-heavy field that included "netbook," "hashtag" and "sexting" to take the annual honor. "It has both currency and potential longevity," said Christine Lindberg, a language researcher for Oxford's U.S. dictionary program. "In the online social networking context, its meaning is understood, so its adoption as a modern verb form makes this an interesting choice for Word of the Year." Oxford defines "unfriend," a verb, thusly: "To remove someone as a 'friend' on a social networking site such as Facebook." - Steve Woda