Google releases fourth and final Android P beta ahead of official launch
We may not yet know for certain what it's going to be called, but we now have a very good idea of what to expect from Android P -- or Android 9.0, if you prefer. After numerous developer previews, Google has now released the fourth and final beta ahead of the official launch later this summer.
This is very close to the final code that will be pushed to phones in the coming weeks and months, and Google says that "Beta 4 update includes a release candidate build with final system behaviors and the official Android P APIs (API level 28)". While it's aimed primarily at developers, there's nothing to stop anyone with a compatible handset (or emulator) downloading and installing the final beta of Android P.
Google launches Titan Security Key... that is nothing to do with Yubico
Google now has its own hardware security keys -- the Titan Security Key. These FIDO-compatible keys include Google firmware that verifies the integrity of security keys at the hardware level. The Titan Security Key offers secure hardware-based two-factor authentication, and is available to Google Cloud customers.
The keys are similar to those offered by Yubico -- so similar, in fact, that the company has gone out of its way to stress that it is not manufacturing the devices for Google.
YouTube slaps Alex Jones with another strike and removes Infowars founder's videos
YouTube has taken action against Infowars' Alex Jones, hitting him with a strike and removing four of the right-wing conspiracy theorist's videos from its platform.
The videos -- two about Muslims, one about transgender people and one about "preventing liberalism" -- were removed for violating YouTube policies about hate speech and child endangerment. Infowars has hit back by saying that YouTube is violating its own policies in taking down the videos.
A terrifying number of big-name websites are not secure -- is yours?
There has been a long-standing movement trying to make the web a safer place. For some time, Google's Chrome browser has alerted people when they are visiting secure sites, but with the launch of Chrome 68, it instead warns when an insecure site is encountered.
As we warned just a couple of days ago, the latest update to Chrome means you're likely to see warnings about a lot of insecure sites -- and there are some big-name sites being shamed. Included on the non-HTTPS list are some of Google's own sites, the BBC, the Daily Mail and Fox News. And there are plenty of other recognizable offenders too, as Why No HTTPS? reveals.
Brace yourself for a slew of security warnings from Chrome
Tomorrow -- Tuesday, 24 July -- sees the release of Chrome 68. Many people will regard this as just another browser update, but the release sees an important change to the way Chrome handles unencrypted websites.
The new way in which non-HTTPS sites are handled means that Chrome is going to start throwing up warning messages whenever an insecure site is encountered -- a reversal of the way things have been up until now.
Google (sort of) redirects Duck.com to DuckDuckGo after complaints of anti-competitive behavior from its search rival
Google may have been slammed by Europe for using Android to dominate with its search engine, but this is not the only complaint that has been leveled at the company. Privacy-focused search rival DuckDuckGo has criticized Google for sending visitors to Duck.com to the Google search page.
Google owns Duck.com, but DuckDuckGo believes the company has been confusing users with the redirect. Now, following publicity of the issue, Google has relented and says it is introducing a new landing page that will give visitors to Duck.com the opportunity to jump to the DuckDuckGo search engine as well as other pages.
Gmail's new 'Confidential Mode' is flawed and misleading
Google recently rolled out a big update to Gmail, introducing a number of welcome new features.
One the big new additions is 'Confidential Mode' which you can enable from the compose window. This is designed to restrict how the emails you send can be viewed and shared, and you can also set an expiration date for messages. If you have the need to send and receive emails of a sensitive nature, then you might think this is the prefect solution. There’s just one problem -- messages sent using it aren’t confidential.
Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter team up on open source Data Transfer Project to ease your data moving woes
Four giants of the technology world have joined forces in an attempt to make it easier for people to move data between services. The collaboration between Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter takes the form of the open source Data Transfer Project, the aim of which is to make it possible to "transfer data directly from one service to another, without needing to download and re-upload it".
The four companies joining announced the data portability platform which currently makes use of public APIs to offer support for photos, mail, contacts, calendars and tasks from the founders as well as other companies who are encouraged to get involved.
Who cares what Trump thinks about Europe's record fine for Google?
It's just days since the Europe hit Google with a record fine for what it described as "very serious illegal behavior" in an antitrust case about the company's abuse of Android to dominate the competition.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of people have an opinion not only about the way Google has acted, but also of the European commission's ruling itself. Among those with an opinion to share is none other than Donald Trump who used the fine as a way to paint the US as a victim at the hands of Europe.
EU hits Google with record €4.34bn fine for 'very serious illegal behaviour' in Android antitrust case
The European Commission has fined Google a record €4.34 billion ($5 billion) in an antitrust case that saw the company accused of using Android as a "vehicle to cement its dominance as a search engine".
The Commission said that Google forced phone makers to pre-install its software on their handsets, taking advantage of Android's popularity, and breaching European antitrust rules. The EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager summed things up by saying Google has been "denying rivals a chance to innovate and compete on the merits".
YouTube TV offers heartfelt apology for World Cup outage, promises free week of service
If you haven't heard, YouTube TV experienced an ill-timed outage yesterday. Well, I suppose there is never a good time for a service disruption, but still, this was during a rather important sporting event. What game was it? The big World Cup match between England and Croatia. I'm not a fan of soccer, but I can understand how having your TV service disrupted during such a major game could be annoying. If it was during the World Series or Super Bowl, I'd be rather upset.
YouTube TV apologized profusely on Twitter, and ultimately, the service was restored long before the match was over. In other words, subscribers were able to experience England's crushing defeat. If you weren't satisfied with the apology, YouTube TV is offering something that should make up for the inconvenience -- a free week of service.
Chrome's RAM usage is higher than ever as Google introduces Site Isolation to fight Spectre
Google's Chrome browser may be popular, but you'll find a lot of its users complain about high memory usage. With Chrome 67, things just got even worse.
If you've noticed that Chrome on the desktop is using more RAM, you're not imagining it. Google has enabled a Site Isolation feature in Windows, Mac, Linux and Chrome OS to help mitigate against the Spectre vulnerability -- and it's a bit memory-hungry.
Leaked: The P in Android P stands for...
For a little while now it has been thought that the P in Android P stood for Popsicle -- based largely on speculation and the fact Google shared some popsicle-related images on Instagram. But it seems that this is wrong.
A new leak -- this time courtesy of Huawei -- suggests that Google has gone with a nutty theme for the upcoming Android 9.0.
Hide your viewing and search history with YouTube Incognito Mode
Chrome's Incognito Mode is handy for those times you want to hide your browsing history from others on a shared system -- whether it's because you want to keep a birthday gift secret, or there are just sites you visit that you’d rather keep private.
Now the same feature is coming to YouTube. Having already undergone a period of testing, Incognito Mode is rolling out to Android users around the world, making it easy to hide evidence of the videos you have been watching, or the type of content you have been searching for.
Google Pay gains support for tickets and boarding cards, friend and family payments, and a web app
Google continues to expand the capabilities of Google Pay, and today the company launched a new series of updates. Catching up with the likes of Apple Pay, Google's own digital wallet can now be used to store boarding cards and tickets.
While this is something that is already catered for by other apps -- such as those from airlines and box offices -- Google is clearly hoping that its "everything under one roof" approach will attract users. In addition to the new ticketing option, Google Pay is also combining the Google Pay and Google Pay Send apps.
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