Items tagged with Google
The Epic Games fight against anticompetitive Apple and Google is still alive and kicking, as Epic now filed a new complaint against Google. The update adds some redacted details about Google’s allegedly anticompetitive behavior and how Epic Games believes that Google is massaging its own statements to conceal “the full scope of Google’s anticompetitive conduct.” Of course, the filing from Epic Games opens strongly, stating that Google’s former motto of “Don’t Be Evil” is just an afterthought, and the company is “using its size to do evil upon competitors, innovators, customers, and users in a slew of markets it has grown to monopolize.”...
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The Pixel 4 received a significant price cut earlier this week, falling to just $400 at Amazon and B&H Photo. However, Woot takes the price reduction a bit further today with an additional $20 discount, bringing the device to just $379.99 versus an original list price of $799.99. Woot, an Amazon-owned company, is only selling the smartphone in Just Black, and it comes factory unlocked for operating on both GSM and CDMA networks. It should be mentioned that the bootloader is also unlocked for those that want to work with their own custom ROMs. The $379.99 price gets you the 64GB SKU (the 128GB SKU isn't available to purchase), and the smartphone is new, factory sealed with a 1-year Google...
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If you're an owner of a Google Pixel 4 XL smartphone that is out of warranty, we've got some good news for you. The Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL launched in 2019 as Google's premium, Qualcomm Snapdragon 855-powered flagship Android smartphones. Unfortunately, their high price tags didn't protect them from a litany of quality issues, which Google is thankfully addressing today. More specifically, it appears that Pixel 4 XL owners got the short end of the stick with numerous quality issues that affect the use of the device on a day-to-day basis. As a result, Google is extending the original manufacturer warranty on the device by an additional year. According to the problems encountered by users that...
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Chromebooks are the devices that many schools use for day-to-day work through 1:1 programs, so if there is a broken update, it could spell bad news. Unfortunately, it seems this is what happened with update 91.0.4472.165, as users found they could not log in. Google has since indicated that it is working on a fix for the issue. Noted over on Reddit yesterday, the “stable” update released (91.0.4472.165) prevented users from logging in to their Chromebooks. The only known fix would be to wipe the Chromebook through a process called “powerwashing,” which could be problematic if you had anything saved locally to the device. Since then, Google has been made abundantly aware...
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Google is making waves when it comes to privacy at a rapid pace. Just last week, the company introduces a new way to quickly delete the last 15 minutes of search history with the push of a button. This week, the company is opening up a new option that will allow you to lock Incognito tabs in Chrome with biometric authentication. For those not familiar with Incognito mode, it allows you to browse the web privately and won't save your site history, cookies, site data, or form data. However, if you don't close out your Incognito tab when switching to your "normal" tabs, the last site that you visited would still be visible when switching back. For example, let's say you use Incognito mode to search...
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Whether it’s a typo, a line of code in the wrong place, or a placeholder for testing that never got removed, developers can introduce vulnerabilities into apps that a threat actor could exploit. It seems Android developers seem to have the problem quite a bit, as new research suggested over 60% of Android apps had known security vulnerabilities in Q1 2021. According to data presented by the Atlas VPN team and collected by the Synopsys Cybersecurity Research Center, 63% of Android apps had known vulnerabilities, with an average of 39 vulnerabilities per app. The worst offenders of this 63% were gaming and financial apps, with the apps in the “top free games” category taking 96%...
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Do you often find yourself searching for questionable content that you wish could be quickly deleted from your device's history to avoid inevitable embarrassment? Google apparently agrees that there's a need and is enabling a new option for a select group of users. This new "Quick Delete" feature was first mentioned at Google I/O, and allows you to eradicate the last 15 minutes' worth of searches by tapping just one button. This is a more immediate option than Google's existing automatic search history deletion options, which currently defaults to 18 months. There are also existing options to automatically delete your search history along with Web & App Activity after three months or 36 months....
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Earlier this year, a vulnerability within Apple’s WebKit for Safari was discovered by Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) and then tracked as CVE-2021-1879. Now, it is reported that this vulnerability was likely exploited by a familiar Russian government-backed threat actor: Nobelium. Yesterday, Google TAG researchers Maddie Stone and Clement Lecigne reported that Nobelium, also known as Cozy Bear or APT29, used “LinkedIn Messaging to target government officials from western European countries by sending them malicious links.” If the victim clicked this link on an iOS device, they would be redirected to an attacker-controlled domain that served next-stage payloads. After...
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The billing fraud and SMS-stealing malware known as Joker has returned to the Google Play Store after having its ups and downs dating back to 2017. Researchers now say Joker has a new bag of tricks and can avoid Google’s app-vetting process and sneak onto the market. Disguised within legitimate-looking apps, Joker can steal text messages, contact lists, and device information and then subscribe users to unwanted paid and premium services. Thankfully, thousands of Android applications infected with Joker have been taken down from the Google Play Store in the past several years, but it does not seem that this was enough. Since September of 2020, when the last wave of Joker takedowns happened,...
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In late June, Google began the phaseout of Android Application Packages (APKs) in favor of Android Application Bundles (AABs). With these changes and improvements for developers, the Mountain View-based company is now introducing the Android Game Development Kit (AGDK), “a full range of tools and libraries to help you develop, optimize, and deliver high quality Android games.” Announced yesterday, the AGDK has three key pillars: it is built for game development around C or C++ APIs with performance in mind, cross-compatible across Android versions, and backward compatible, when possible, with future Android platform updates. Furthermore, the developers behind the ADGK are “focusing...
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Google's Pixel 4 family of smartphones is still quite capable nearly two years after they originally launched. The Pixel 4 initially launched with a $799 price tag, but you can now get the smartphone for half that price at Amazon and B&H Photo. The base Pixel 4 with 64GB of internal storage (unlocked) is now ringing up at $399.99 at Amazon and B&H Photo in Just Black. If you prefer the Oh So Orange color, B&H Photo also sells the 64GB version for $399.99. If you want the 128GB version in Just Black, you can get it from B&H Photo for $429.99. Google Pixel 4 64GB Just Black (Unlocked) $399.99 @ Amazon Google Pixel 4 64GB Just Black (Unlocked) $399.99 @ B&H Photo Google Pixel...
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Coping and pasting content from the web is about to become a whole lot more flexible, courtesy of some new APIs (application programming interfaces) Microsoft and Google are working on for their respective browsers. Once in place, Edge and Chrome users will be able to copy content from a wider range of sources, including .docx. What is at play here are a set of Pickle Clipboard APIs. As things currently stand, Edge and Chrome users are only able to copy content from a limited selection of file types, like .jpg and .png. But that is going to change. As described in a Google Chromium conversation, Pickle Clipboard APIs will expand the copy and paste capability to non-standard web formats. "Pickle...
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By now, we think we have a pretty good idea of what the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will look like at launch. Several rumors have coalesced around a unique design with a multi-colored back, large camera bump, and premium materials. Now, gadget leaker Jon Prosser alleges to have a bigger scoop on the specifications for the two smartphones. According to the report, the Pixel 6 will feature a 6.4-inch AMOLED display, with an 8MP selfie camera nestled within a hole-punch cutout. Out back, expect to see a 50MP wide-angle primary sensor and a 12MP ultra-wide sensor. In addition, Google is reportedly using its first custom SoC, condemned Whitechapel, for the smartphone paired with 8GB of RAM and...
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Although the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are the most highly anticipated smartphones coming from Google this year, the company also promised to deliver a new mid-range smartphone for consumers. After a rumor claimed that the Pixel 5a was canceled for this year, Google quickly made the surprise decision to confirm months in advance that it was working to deliver the smartphone later this year for the United States and Japan. Today, we're learning the Pixel 5a has made a critical stop on its way to the U.S. market: it visited the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Three models in total -- G1F8F, GR0M2, and G4S1M -- appeared at the FCC, all of which feature sub-6GHz 5G bands. However, given that...
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Today, former President Donald Trump announced that he would be filing lawsuits against three of the biggest names in tech: Facebook, Twitter, and Google. Serving as lead plaintiff in the class-action suits, he claims that he has been “wrongfully censored” by the companies after his ban. As reported by the Associated Press, the suits have been filed in the U.S. District Court for Florida’s southern district. While this does not necessarily come as a surprise, it is certainly interesting, nonetheless. For context, former President Trump was banned from Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in early January this year before he left office. This came after the Capitol attack of January...
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In early October 2020, Google overhauled its popular Nest Thermostat with a touch-only interface and slashed its price. Whereas the preceding Nest Thermostat E retailed for $169.99, the "new" Nest Thermostat rung up at just $129.99. Amazon is now selling the Nest Thermostat at its lowest price ever, even beating the previous low set on Prime Day. The device is currently selling for $87.99, or 30 percent off its MSRP. Interestingly, the low price is only available in the Snow color. The Charcoal, Sand, and Fog colors are priced higher at $99.98. One peculiarity with the Nest Thermostat is that it doesn't come with a trim kit like its more expensive siblings; you have to pay extra for it. However,...
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In 2018, Google launched the Android App Bundle, a new publishing format that “offers a more efficient way to build and release” an app. Since then, Android developers worldwide, like those at Adobe, Duolingo, Netflix, and Twitter, have taken advantage of this with approximately 1 million different apps. Now, Google wants to bring the benefits of the AAB to more users while modernizing Android app distribution by requiring new apps to use the AAB in August 2021. Announced on the Android Developers Google blog yesterday, APKs or Android Application Packages will be phased out as the standard publishing format over time in favor of the new AABs. With this change, AABs will allow apps...
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Advertisements are everywhere. You can find them on TV, on the Internet, on billboards, in your mail, and now within your text messages sent from reputable sources. Earlier this week, developer Chris Lacy posted to Twitter about an "SMS AD" attached to a Google verification code sent to his phone. On Monday, Lacy initially tweeted that he had "received a two factor authentication SMS from Google that included an ad," and that, amusingly, "Google's own Messages SMS app flagged it as spam." After that initial tweet took off, some Google employees chimed in, explaining that this is most definitely not from Google. Therefore, that leaves Lacy's cell provider in Australia, which is well within its...
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Ensuring accounts are secure is an important part of being online, as there are always people out to try and get you. This is especially true for app developers who may be targeted for the data they do or could possess. Thus, Google is introducing new security measures for developers to help strengthen accounts and better understand their needs. The first new security measure Google is implementing is new identification requirements when creating a new Google Play dev account. As of now, Google only asks for an email address and phone number; however, this update will add account type, contact name, physical address and will also require users to verify their email and phone number. This information,...
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YouTube TV in recent years hasn't exactly been an incredible value play when it comes to streaming TV services. What started as a service that cost $35 per month in 2016 now costs subscribers $65 per month, which is getting closer to the pricing that "cord cutters" sought to escape in the first place. This week, Google announced that it's adding new [optional] features to YouTube TV that push its price even higher. YouTube TV is adding what it calls 4K Plus, which as its name implies, allows you to consume 4K content. At this time, there is not exactly a lot of 4K content available. However, Google says that "major sports events" will broadcast in 4K this summer (i.e., the Olympics) and that...
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Google is getting ready to roll out an update that will ultimately make Google Drive files more secure, but the added peace of mind comes at a cost to Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers. Not a financial one mind you (the update is itself is free), but in the form of potentially broken links. The crux of the update is the addition of a resource key to shared links, which will make publicly viewable links more secure. At the same time, it will make those same links inaccessible to people who do not have the key. This could be frustrating if stumbling upon a link in a forum or some place else that has not been updated. There is an exception, though. Anyone...
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In recent years and months, Google has been working to improve user privacy across all its brands. Whether this is genuine is a debate for another day, but other companies are now trying to compete, as a “focus on privacy” has become a big selling point. Subsequently, Brave Search, a search engine “built on top of a completely independent index, and doesn’t track users, their searches, or their clicks,” has become available from the company behind Brave Browser. Back in March, the San Francisco-based company announced the acquisition of Tailcat, an open search engine “developed by the team formerly responsible for the privacy search and browser products at...
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