Google grants users more control over ads
Google is a company that's synonymous with advertisements. It makes huge amounts of money from delivering carefully targeted ads, much to the chagrin of those on the receiving end. To make life a little more bearable -- although not ad-free -- the company is making changes to Ads Settings and the Mute This Ad feature.
The changes affect not only the millions of websites that are filled with ads delivered through Google, but also the myriad of apps that are ad-supported. The latest changes make it possible to mute ad reminders, and also increases the level of control users have over ad muting.
Now you can buy audiobooks from Google Play
Google has added a new audiobooks section to its Play Store. The announcement was widely expected, as over the weekend imagery came to light suggesting Google had plans to start selling audiobooks -- but no one knew quite how far off it might be.
There's some good news for anyone who has been put off by the likes of Audible in the past -- audiobooks in Google Play are being offered without a subscription. Available in 45 countries and nine languages, Google offers support for Android, iOS and Google Assistant.
Android 8.1 Oreo shows the speed of public Wi-Fi before you connect
When out and about, you may well find that you use free public Wi-Fi connections. The chances are that you use more than one as you battle to find one that offers a decent speed. With Android 8.1 Oreo, Google has a new feature that will help to make your life easier.
As the company has been talking about for a little while, Oreo now lets you see the speed of a Wi-Fi connection before you decide if you want to connect or not.
Huawei will preload Android Messages on its Android smartphones
After you've used a messaging app, it's hard to go back to SMS. You can't share files, get read receipts, group chats or share emoji. It's archaic, but the good news is that there is an alternative.
It's called Rich Communication Services and it offers many of the features that we have come to love on messaging apps. Google is one of the biggest adopters, offering support for RCS in its Android Messages app. And, today, it announces that Huawei, one of the largest Android vendors, will integrate it in its Android smartphones.
YouTube updates its video review process yet again to avoid another problem like Logan Paul
YouTube is to subject large numbers of videos to manual review in an attempt to ensure that they are "ad-friendly." Google says that "stricter criteria for monetization" will be introduced as it tries to avoid further controversies such as Logan Paul's video that featured a dead body.
The changes are likely to mean that some YouTubers will lose money when they are introduced in February. Google is also making changes to the requirements that need to be met to join the YouTube Partner Program.
Getting a good Google ranking is a long game
Whenever a business gets a new website it wants to see it ranking highly in search results. But getting to the top in Google and other search engines is a long game, according to SEO company Ahrefs.
UK web design company The Website Group has produced an infographic based on the Ahrefs research. It shows that -- based on random keywords -- the top 10 ranking pages on Google are on average more than two years old.
Google kicks over 60 games out of the Play Store for serving up porn ads via AdultSwine malware
Google has removed more than 60 games from the Play Store after security firm Check Point discovered they were laced with malware and serving up porn ads. Check Point claims that the games were aimed at children, but Google says this was not the case.
The AdultSwine malware was found to be bundled in a number of games, many of which had been downloaded millions of times. As well as displaying pornographic ads, the malware also tried to trick users into installing fake security tools, and also encouraged people to register for expensive premium services.
Xposed Framework beta adds support for Android Oreo
A new beta of the Android tweaking tool Xposed Framework has been released. The big news is that the release brings support for Oreo, something of a surprise considering how recently Google pushed the latest version of its mobile operating system out of the door.
The latest Xposed Framework release comes mere months after Nougat support was added. While the Oreo-supporting release will be welcomed by mobile tweakers, the developer says it should be treated as a beta, and may be buggy.
Hundreds of fake Android apps have a hidden Coinhive miner
The Bitcoin bubble means there is a massive interest in cryptocurrencies, particularly from those looking for an easy way to make a quick buck. It's also led to secretive mining tools making use of people's CPUs without their knowledge, mining for profitable cryptocurrency for persons unknown.
We've seen this with both websites and browser extensions, and now a security researcher has discovered a series of fake Android apps harboring an undisclosed Coinhive cryptocurrency miner. The repackaged APKs take advantage of the CPUs of the smartphones the apps are installed on.
This is the new Acer Chromebook 11
Many people diss Chromebooks because they simply don't understand them. No, Chrome OS -- the operating system that powers these laptops -- is not just a glorified web browser. Actually, the OS is a full Linux distribution that is both extremely secure and easy to use. True, they can be deficient for some tasks, such as video editing and hardcore gaming, but let's be honest -- not everyone has those needs. If everything you do is in a browser -- email, web surfing, social media, YouTube, Netflix, etc. -- there is no reason to run Windows and open yourself up to malware and other bad things. Hell, Chromebooks even have Microsoft Office support these days!
Today, Acer unveils its latest Chromebook 11, and it is absolutely beautiful. The 11.6-inch Chrome OS laptop comes with 4GB of RAM by default, plus your choice of either 16GB or 32GB of onboard storage. There is even an optional touch-screen variant, which will come in handy for its Google Play Android app support. Road warriors will appreciate the impressive 10-hour battery life. The Celeron processor is passively cooled, meaning there are no fans to bother you with noise.
Google answers your questions about Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities
The revelations about the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities affecting millions of processors around the world has raised a huge number of questions for many people. While businesses and large organizations are rushing to ensure that their systems -- and their data -- are protected, the average computer user has been left wondering what on Earth is going on.
While there are a lot of very technical write-ups about the implications of the Spectre and Meltdown bugs, as well as explanations of just how the exploit works, the average Joe has been left somewhat in the dark. To try to remedy this, Google has answered a series of questions relating to the security issues.
Malicious flashlight apps found on Google Play store
Whether you need to put your key in the lock on a dark night, or explore the depths of the cupboard under the stairs, having a flashlight app on your phone can prove useful.
But researchers at Check Point have discovered more than 22 different flashlight and utility apps harboring adware called, appropriately, 'LightsOut'.
Google knew about Spectre and Meltdown processor bugs last year, so its products are (mostly) protected
When news broke of the security flaw affecting Intel chips, the tech world was more than a little surprised. And things just got more surprising as more details of Meltdown and Spectre emerged.
Perhaps most surprising is the fact that Google -- via Project Zero -- was aware of the problem in June of 2017. The company even went as far as informing Intel, AMD and ARM about the issue. But for Google customers, the good news is that the early detection of the security flaw means that Google Cloud, G Suite and Chrome users are fairly safe.
Google Chrome finally arrives in Windows 10's Store (kind of) [Update]
Google is notorious for its abysmal support of Windows 10's app store. A quick search reveals that there are only two apps available from the company, both of which are called Google. One is for PCs and the other targets mobile devices. Neither is of any real value to Google users on Windows 10 though.
If you want Gmail, Google Calendar, YouTube or Google Maps you will have to use the browser. However, there is a different story with Google Chrome. The browser just landed on Microsoft Store (Windows 10's app store), making it easier than ever to download it on a Windows 10 machine.
Google Assistant gains 'Hey, Google' support on a range of Android devices
Voice control of computers and smartphones is becoming increasingly common, and for Android users a new option is opening up. Previously only available on Nexus and Pixel devices, support for the "Hey, Google" trigger is rolling out to more handsets.
This gives Android users another option for calling up Google's voice-activated assistant, adding to the existing "OK, Google" command.
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