Articles about Google

Google upset a lot of people recently when synchronization issues caused a "small subset" of Google Drive users to lose months' of data. The number of people affected is not known, but even a small subset of a large userbase is, potentially, a huge number.

Now there is some good news. In releasing an updated version of Drive for desktop, Google is giving users access to file recovery options that should make it possible to regain access to files that were lost.

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Starting from today, a new Google inactive account policy comes into effect which means that accounts that haven't been active for two years will be deleted.

So, what counts as 'activity'? Google provides a helpful list:

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Today sees the launch of Google's new Titan Security Key which can be used as a second authentication factor and also to store your passkeys.

Unlike the earlier FIDO1 key, Titan will also work with all other FIDO-enabled services (such as Microsoft accounts). You can also store credentials for up to 250 accounts on this key, compared to current keys which can typically only store around 25.

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With so much focus on Google Maps as a navigation tool, it is easy to forget that Google also owns Waze and that this app is often home to far more exciting and useful features.

Demonstrating this, Google has just announced a new feature for Waze that is partly AI-powered, partly community driven; Crash History Alerts. This road safety feature is very much what it sounds like -- a warning system that lets users know about potentially dangerous, crash-prone roads based on historical data.

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Google is introducing new tools in both Chrome and Google search that should help to make online shopping a little cheaper. With the holiday season just around the corner and shoppers eager to save money, the timing is ideal.

Chrome users are gaining access to a new feature that will seek out discount codes much like services such as Honey. There is also a new section landing in search results that makes it easier to track down products that are on sale.

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If you're in the market for a VPN, you're not short of choice. In fact the sheer number of VPN apps out there can be quite overwhelming, and it's a situation that is hardly improved by the existence of a seemingly endless number of fake tools.

So Google has come up with something of a solution -- albeit one that is only going to be of help to Android users. The company is looking to make Google Play a safer place to inhabit, and as part of this it is going to be highlighting VPN apps that have been independently audited so users know they can be trusted. The likes of NordVPN, Express VPN and Google's own Google One are among the first to get the seal of approval.

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It’s no secret the depreciation of third-party cookies has been a popular topic of conversation in the industry. Now, however, Google is making changes that will eventually lead to the demise of third-party cookies. The tech giant is rolling out its Privacy Sandbox initiative in the latest version of Chrome and for Android. With any big privacy change, there is a ton of controversy and impending regulations that may mean the Privacy Sandbox is not the futureproof solution brands hope it is.

So, what can IT teams do to help marketers take back control of their data collection strategies and ethically reach customers during this time of change?

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It is only a couple of weeks since the debut of the Microsoft AI Bounty Program, and now Google has launched its own bug bounty program specific to generative AI.

Google has announced the expansion of its existing Vulnerability Rewards Program to reward for attack scenarios that relates to generative AI. The company says that it wants to incentivize research around AI safety and security, highlight potential issues, and make artificial intelligence safer for everyone.

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Google is preparing to launch a new Chrome feature which will give users the ability to hide their IP address. Previously known as Gnatcatcher, the feature is now called IP Protection and makes use of proxies to help prevent online tracking.

IP Protection is described as "a privacy proxy that anonymizes IP addresses for qualifying traffic". One of its primary aims is to limit the possibility for fingerprinting as a means of tracking users online, which is something that has become increasingly common as steps are taken to block, and even kill off, third-party cookies.

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Google has announced a number of upcoming changes to the address bar in Chrome. The company says that the five improvements will help people to browse even faster.

Some of the enhancements are long-overdue, such as updating URL autocomplete so that characters you type do not have to be the first part of the address. Others are sensible ease-of use and security-related improvements, such as automatic typo correction for typed URLs.

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The Meta-owned messaging app WhatsApp has joined the growing legions of apps and services to support passkeys.

Initially available to Android users, the passwordless authentication feature makes it possible to secure a WhatsApp account with face recognition, a fingerprint or a PIN. It is a security feature that is billed as not only offering greater protection than passwords, but also being faster to use.

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Search traffic trends offer a fascinating glimpse into the evolving interests and behaviors of investors and enthusiasts. From its early days, the crypto sector has witnessed seismic shifts that continue to shape its landscape. For instance, some investors diversify their portfolios by adding L1 Blue Chip Assets from various sectors.

As cryptocurrencies emerged from obscurity, Bitcoin led the charge, captivating the imagination of investors. But what do the search traffic trends reveal about this digital darling and its competitors?

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There are some significant changes being tested on Google.com. A major focus on news could on the horizon as Google explores adding a Google Discover-style newsfeed to its search engine homepage.

Google Discover is something that will be familiar to many mobile users, offering up an algorithm-driven personalized selection of news stories. Now very much the same feature is being tested for desktop users.

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One web browser spying on another? Surely not! However, if you are using both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, Microsoft's browser could be grabbing all of your browsing history from Chrome every time you launch it.

If you decided to jump from Firefox to Chrome, from Edge to Firefox, from Opera to Edge or any other combination, you will probably have taken advantage of the option to import browsing history, saved passwords and so on. But you likely don’t want this cross-browser communication to continue indefinitely. Here’s how to check whether this sneaky data swapping is happening in the background and how to stop it if it is.

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Your browsing history can be very revealing; there are countless reasons for not wanting a list of the sites you have visited to be seen by others. While it can be hard to maintain complete privacy, there are steps you can take on a local basis -- such as simply deleting your browsing history.

It is easy to see the deletion of browsing history as using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, and for a very long time it was very much an "all or nothing" approach. Over time, Google and others introduced options to limit how much browsing history should be deleted, and now Chrome users are being offered even more fine-grained controls.

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