Google

Event-settngs

Google Calendar releases new spam protection

Spam in your calendar? It’s not something that most of us think about -- the word brings to mind email and phone calls and even just old-fashioned snail mail. But your online calendar is also a very real target and it may be growing worse. 

It’s actually fairly ingenious; a spammer sends an invite to an event and, even if the email invitation goes to your spam folder, the event still goes to your Google Calendar. When you click on the event in your calendar it contains a malicious link. Even if you click 'decline' it can still take you to possible NSFW content, or worse. Plus, declining will simply cross out the appointment and leave the reminder behind.  

By Alan Buckingham -
UD-MSTHDC-1

Plugable UD-MSTHDC is a 'Works With Chromebook' docking station

What is a Chromebook? Quite simply, it is a laptop running Google's Linux-based ChromeOS operating system. However, when you connect one of these notebooks to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, it becomes a very capable makeshift desktop computer.

The most elegant way to transform a laptop into a desktop is with a USB-C docking station. But how can you be sure your Chromebook is compatible with such an accessory? Well, if the dock is officially certified as "Works With Chromebook," then you can be assured that it will work flawlessly.

By Brian Fagioli -
nerd_football

Google leaks its own Pixel 7 Super Bowl commercial for some reason

Super Bowl LVII is happening this upcoming Sunday, and men across America are excited to watch the big game. While some women will also watch the Super Bowl, many of them will only be watching for the TV commercials. You see, even if you aren't a fan of football, the advertisements have become a spectacle in their own right.

The cost of running a Super Bowl commercial is very expensive, which makes it quite odd that Google has leaked its Pixel 7 ad early. Yes, over on YouTube, you can view the search giant's Super Bowl commercial now, meaning there will be no excitement surrounding it come Sunday.

By Brian Fagioli -
Google Chrome icon on mobile

Google launches new security and privacy features to mark Safer Internet Day

Google is using today's Safer Internet Day to announce a number of new security and privacy initiatives.

Among these are new ways to fill out passwords easily and securely in Chrome, more privacy protection for the Google app, improvements to Google Password Manger, and an expansion of SafeSearch to protect against explicit images.

By Ian Barker -
AI Search

Whether you like it or not, AI is coming to search engines

The public release of ChatGPT has started an AI craze that has taken the online world by storm. ChatGPT, for those unaware is a language model that has been trained for dialogue specifically.

It works similarly to chatbots, but is not as limited to returning information based on certain keywords in requests.

By Martin Brinkmann -
Disable Chrome extensions for a site

Future versions of Chrome will allow browser extensions to be disabled on a site-by-site basis

In a future update to Chrome, Google will give users the option of having extensions enabled or disabled on a site-by site basis.

This is an option that some browser extensions -- notably ad-blockers -- feature as standard, but the update will expand this so it applies to all add-ons. With a few clicks it will be possible to quickly disable all extensions for a particular site for the purposes of compatibility, privacy or performance.

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
Gmail logos

Google launches client-side encryption for Gmail in beta

Google has announced that businesses can now apply to try out client-side encryption for Gmail on the web.

Now available in beta for a selection of Workspace users, the feature is one that was promised some time ago. Google says that the new encryption option means that "sensitive data in the email body and attachments are indecipherable to Google servers", but there will be disappointment that the security and privacy feature is not available for everyone.

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
Interested restful woman in home costume sitting on bed with tablet

Google shares FREE books for the holidays

Some of the best holidays are almost upon us, such as Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. Sadly, due to the recession and inflation, many people are finding it hard to celebrate this year. The economic downturn has decimated the bank accounts of many, meaning fewer gifts might be a possibility in some homes.

Thankfully, reading a book can be a free way to escape reality -- just head to your local library. If you don't have a library card or are unable to go to such a place, do not worry -- Google has you covered. No, the search giant is not giving away books, but it has curated a list of digital holiday books in the public domain that are freely available to read.

By Brian Fagioli -
Code problem

Google launches OSV-Scanner to help identify vulnerabilities in open source software

Google has announced a new tool designed to help identify vulnerabilities in open source software.

The OSV-Scanner is described as a frontend to the existing OSV (open source vulnerabilities) database and one of the aims is to alert developers to security issues in the code their projects depend on.

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
Thumbs up for salad, thumbs down for burger

Google is making Chrome far less greedy

With 2023 just around the corner, thoughts may well be turning to New Year's resolutions -- and that certainly seems to be the case for Chrome. Just as many people use the arrival of a new year as a reason to go on a diet, so Google is making its web browser less greedy.

Chrome has earned itself something of a reputation for being incredibly resource-hungry, and Google is now ready to address what amounts to a serious problem for many people. What does this mean in practice? Google is reducing Chrome memory and power consumption thanks to Energy Saver and Memory Saver.

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
Woman looking through a magnifying glass

Google now lets you search tabs, bookmarks and browsing history from the address bar in Chrome

Google is, of course, best known for its search engine but in a significant update to Chrome, the company has introduced a powerful new way to search tabs, bookmarks and browsing history in the browser.

It has been possible to conduct each of these types of search for some time, but now Google has simplified things dramatically. The change means that Chrome's address bar can now be used for much more than just to search the web; all it takes is the addition of an @.

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
Broken Google logo

Google Search on the desktop gains (almost) endless scrolling

Google's search engine may be the go-to tool for millions of daily users looking to track down information online, but there has long been room for improvement. As anyone who has conducted a search that returned a huge number of results will know, clicking through page after page of suggestions can be time consuming.

Now Google has come up with a solution. Having delivered continuous scrolling to mobile users last year, the company has now brought the time-saving feature to the desktop. While not quite endless / infinite scrolling, you can now whizz through more results without the need to manually move to the next page.

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
Broken Google logo

Google announces long-overdue desktop VPN apps for Windows and macOS

Google has just offered an incentive to subscribe to Google One. The company is launching a desktop client that makes it possible to use its VPN service on Windows and macOS -- something that was previously only possible on iOS and Android devices.

While Google's VPN service and the associated apps are free, you need to be signed up to Google One Premium in order to access it.

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
ChromeOS Redesigned

ChromeOS Redesigned shows us a possible future of Google's Linux-based operating system

Google’s ChromeOS is incredibly popular, particularly among students. It’s easy to see why as it’s lightweight, fast, and secure.

There is a slight learning curve to it though, especially if you’ve been using a different operating system for years, like Windows or macOS.

By Wayne Williams -
Swift

YouTube promotes a 'live' crypto scam for Taylor Swift

On my YouTube home page at the moment is a promoted 'live' ask me anything from Taylor Swift. Seeing as her latest album Midnights is currently breaking records everywhere, that’s not surprising.

The thing is this live video isn’t what it seems to be.

By Wayne Williams -
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