The biggest stories of 2014

The biggest news of 2014The events that defined our year

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

Months of protests came to a tipping point when demonstrators clashed with police, leaving more than 70 people dead and leading to the ouster of president Viktor Yanukovych.<br><br><strong>Why it mattered:</strong> This led to the toppling of Ukraine's government and incited violence across the country. It was the beginning of Ukraine's ongoing battle with pro-Russian rebels. Credit: EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

MARCH

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. A massive search operation was mounted across the Indian Ocean, but the Boeing 737 was never found. All 239 people on board are presumed dead. Credit: EPA/HOTLI SIMANJUNTAK!

APRIL

[img src="http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE0LzA4LzI1LzE3L0hlYXJ0YmxlZWRSLmVkNDc3LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTk1MHg1MzQjCmUJanBn/3e5b392b/662/Heartbleed-Refresh.jpg" caption="Websites running SSL encryption — Gmail, Facebook, banks, just to name a few — were exposed to a major security bug called Heartbleed. The bug forced companies to update their servers with a security patch and users had to change their passwords. But even then it wasn't a guarantee that your information was safe. <br><br><strong>Why it mattered:</strong> Heartbleed is one of the biggest security threats the Internet has ever seen because it targeted encryption, which is the very thing that is supposed to keep us safe on the web. We will likely feel Heartbleed's effects for awhile. Two months after the bug, 300,000 web servers were still vulnerable." credit="Mashable composite" alt=""]

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