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Adblock: Google did not slow down and lag YouTube performance with ad blocker on
hellowalkman posted a topic in Front Page News
Adblock: Google did not slow down and lag YouTube performance with ad blocker on by Sayan Sen Back in November, the internet was abuzz with conspiracy theories of Google purposely slowing down YouTube on Mozilla Firefox while its own browser, Chrome, would work fine. However, those rumors were shot down soon after as Google explained that it was not just Firefox that was the subject of "suboptimal viewing" experience and that it was happening irrespective of the browser. Google put the blame on "installed ad blockers." Fast forward two months, now in January we just had another similar incident with several user reports online of YouTube being slow with adblockers. As is usually the case in these instances, most netizens of course were quick to once again point the finger at Google. The issue was first brought to attention by Reddit users and the thread blew up with many more chiming in to say they were experiencing a similar thing. As it turns out, the bug was not YouTube or Google and was in fact a problem with Adblock and Adblock Plus' recent update Version 5.17.0. Hence if you were using something else like uBlock Origin (like me), you probably did not notice any slowdown. Adblock Plus developers noted the issue as performance regression on its GitLab repo. It wrote: Recently, ABP released version 3.22 which upgraded the bundled extension engine version to 1.1.1. AdBlock released version 5.17.0 which also updated the extension engine to version 1.1.1. We've had several reports of slow response time since the update. It appears to be an issue in the extension engine since ABP, AdBlock, and the EWE test extension all seem to experience a similar issue with the 1.1.1 version of the extension engine. The issue has now been fixed with the latest eyeo's Web Extension Ad Blocking Toolkit (EWE) version 1.1.2, where the breaking change has been reverted. Name: @eyeo/webext-ad-filtering-solution New version: 1.1.2 Reverted "Content filters are now updated via the history.pushState() event, when single page apps navigate using the browser's history API (EE-14, EE-90)". Breaking changes: None. Other changes: Reverted performance regression. Hence, if you are one of those users who is experiencing issues with Adblock and Adblock Plus, you should update your extension. It is also advised not to run multiple content filters or adblockers on your browser if you are facing performance issues. As an online publication, Neowin too relies on ads for operating costs and, if you use an ad blocker, we'd appreciate being whitelisted. In addition, we have an ad-free subscription for $28 a year, which is another way to show support! -
YouTube appears to be slowing itself down upon detecting ad blockers
Chasethebase posted a topic in Front Page News
YouTube appears to be slowing itself down upon detecting ad blockers by Steve Bennett As Google continues to wage war on ad-blocking users who access YouTube, a recent discovery has been made that the site itself will load significantly slower and almost freeze upon detecting an ad blocker. Similar to previous attempts to slow down the site and the introduction of prompts to disable ad blockers, which will prevent viewing of content until the user does so, this change has been discovered to be increasing CPU load for the site, which disappears as soon as the page is reloaded without an ad blocker enabled. In a thread on the YouTube subreddit, users noticed that not just the site but video buffering was slowed with an aim to make YouTube unusable when accessed while ad-blocking software is enabled. An unintended side effect of these changes is that it's causing crashes within another Google product, Google Chrome. https://www.reddit.com/r/youtube/comments/195octe/youtube_started_slowing_video_buffer_with_adblock/ Tests by PCGamer have shown that when YouTube is open with AdBlock enabled, CPU load on the author's specific machine is increased by approximately 17% compared to when the add-on is disabled. Additionally, even when users have YouTube Premium subscriptions, the slowdown still happens, with tests still producing an approximate 15-18% CPU load increase. Google, and therefore YouTube, have declined to comment on the recent discoveries. However, given the implementation of a deliberate five-second delay to video loading that was introduced back in November, this latest move is hardly surprising. Google's position on the matter makes it clear that the company wishes to give users who use ad blockers a "suboptimal viewing" experience. As an online publication, Neowin also relies on ads for operating costs and, if you use an ad blocker, we'd appreciate being whitelisted. In addition, we have an ad-free subscription for $28 a year, which is another way to show support! Source: 9to5Google; PCGamer Update: Adblock has explained why Google isn't even the culprit for the slow YouTube performance. -
Bing and Google criticized for showing AI deepfake porn prominently in search
Martin Hodás posted a topic in Front Page News
Bing and Google criticized for showing AI deepfake porn prominently in search by Martin Hodás Search engines Bing, Google, and DuckDuckGo are under fire for putting nonconsensual AI deepfake pornography at the top of some specific search results. This comes after an article by NBC News was published, highlighting some concerns related to the accessibility of AI-driven pornography. Explicit deepfake videos are created by using original pornographic material and switching the face of the actor or (most often) the actress for a likelihood of a specific real person – for example, a celebrity. The switch is done automatically by the artificial intelligence, the user creating the fake imagery just needs to feed the AI with photographs of the victim. According to tests conducted by NBC News on a sample of 36 female celebrities – using the combination of a name and the word “deepfakes” – Bing and Google in almost all cases showed nonconsensual deepfake videos and images at the top of search results. Google has returned 34 of such top-ranked results, while Bing returned 35. While NBC News mentioned that DuckDuckGo has similar issues, it didn’t specify the scale of the problem. NBC News also complains that the relevant articles about the issue of nonconsensual deepfake pornography are being shown only after the inappropriate content at the top, when searching for the term “fake nudes”. It’s worth mentioning that NBC News admitted to first turning off Bing’s and Google’s safety features protecting the user from being shown explicit content. Both browsers have the basic protection level turned on by default while offering a higher level of protection to be activated manually. Quick tests conducted by Neowin proved that Bing doesn’t show explicit image results in default setting while searching for the combination of a name and the word “deepfakes”. However, it indeed links to websites with inappropriate content or tools to create AI deepfakes. Google does show explicit images in the default setting, but the images are blurred and shown in full only after the user is notified of the explicit nature of the picture. The user has to willingly press the button to see the original image. Google search results for deepfakes with SafeSearch feature being on by default. At the same time, it is fair to say that easy accessibility of AI-driven pornography is a relevant issue and that anyone searching for this type of content will likely turn off the built-in protective features. The nonconsensual explicit deepfake content is illegal by nature and therefore falls among the type of content that Microsoft, Google, and others should address. The easiest way, or a first, possibly temporary step before introducing more advanced technological measures, could be suppressing the websites known for publishing this type of content from search results or banning them altogether. This might significantly reduce the currently harmful nature of search results because as NBC News reports, more than half of the top results in their tests were links to a popular deepfake website or a competitor. Microsoft was the only company that didn’t respond to NBC News’ request for a comment. A DuckDuckGo spokesperson said its primary source for web links and image results is Bing. Also, DuckDuckGo offers a way to send a privacy-related request, for example asking specific content to be deleted from a search. Google offers a similar option for deepfake victims, but NBC News argues – citing experts and activists – that this is not enough. Additionally, it can cause further harm to the victims who are told to send specific URLs with the sensitive content for review. On the other hand, Google has put at least some technological measures in place. It claimed for NBC News that it automatically searches for duplicated content to remove reuploaded imagery that had already been flagged. This is just one of many negative examples of AI being used for non-ethical or malicious purposes. Deepfakes, specifically, are an issue in many other areas too – for example in politics. Microsoft is one of the companies trying to develop a technology for deepfake detection to prevent the misuse of technology ahead of the elections. Separately, the FTC is searching for useful ideas to detect fake audio recordings created by artificial intelligence. Today is a deadline for submissions for its Voice Cloning Challenge with a main prize of $25,000 for the overall winner. -
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Google Assistant gets major changes as underutilized tools will soon no longer be supported
Anushe Fawaz posted a topic in Front Page News
Google Assistant gets major changes as underutilized tools will soon no longer be supported by Anushe Fawaz Google is discarding some of its least-used tools on Google Assistant. In a blog post, the company shared the latest changes it is making to its Assistant. Today, Google announced that it will be prioritizing the features users love the most, and giving up on the ones that are not frequently used. It shared a list of several features that will be unavailable starting January 26, 2024. In the Help Center post it also added alternatives to the affected features. If a user tries to click on the capability that is going to be removed, they will be notified with the particular date after which it will no longer be available. Some features that will no longer be available on Google Assistant include controlling and playing audiobooks on Google Play Books through voice commands, managing a stopwatch on Smart Displays and Speakers, asking to meditate with the Calm app, and more. It appears that most of the features that are being discarded are voice-activated. We see that Google has removed the ability to use voice commands to send emails, video, and audio messages. However, it is still letting users send text messages and make calls. Furthermore, individuals with Fitbit Sense and Versa 3 devices will have to resort to tapping buttons to complete actions such as pause, start, and play. They can no longer use voice controls on these. On the other hand, Google mentioned that the Microphone icon in the Google app will present Search results when a user asks a question. Users can also continue to activate Google Assistant the way they normally would, for example, by saying “Hey Google.” However, the microphone icon in the Search bar will not complete actions such as “turn on the lights” or “send a message.” Another change Google has made is that the microphone icon in the Pixel Search bar will activate Voice Search and not Google Assistant. Lastly, Google mentioned that users will be encouraged to update their Google application if they are running v12 and older. The company also noted: “We know change can be disruptive, but we’ll do everything we can to make these transitions as smooth as possible. While Google Assistant has evolved a lot over the last seven years, one thing remains true: Our improvements are driven by your feedback. And we want to hear it. Just say, “Hey Google, send feedback” and share your comments with us.” Today, Google also shared that it has conducted major layoffs in its Assistant, Google Devices, and Service divisions. It seems that the company is making major changes to its structure as it is also combining Pixel, Fibit, and Nest hardware teams. It is likely the aftershocks of this were shown in the latest changes to Google Assistant and other features in Fitbit and Pixel. -
More Google layoffs confirmed in its Assistant and core engineering divisions
John Callaham posted a topic in Front Page News
More Google layoffs confirmed in its Assistant and core engineering divisions by John Callaham Late on Wednesday, reports came in on major changes in Google's Devices and Service division, which included a few hundred employees being laid off. As it turns out, two more Google divisions were hit with layoffs as well on Wednesday. Semafor was the first to report that hundreds of team members in the Google Assistant division were laid off on Wednesday. Google confirmed the job cuts, stating they would help in the integration of generative AI features into Assistant. The company first announced plans to merge its Bard AI chatbot with Assistant in October 2023. The New York Times was also the first to report that Google was laying off several hundred workers in its core engineering team. These announcements came just after it was confirmed that Google had made a big organizational change in Devices and Services, which includes its Pixel, Fitbit, and Nest hardware teams. Google made the decision on Wednesday to lay off a few hundred workers from that part of the business, mostly from its augmented reality team. In addition to the layoffs, Google will now combine the Pixel, Fitbit, and Nest hardware teams into one big team run by a currently unnamed leader. Fitbit cofounders James Park and Eric Friedman, along with other Fitbit members, have departed Google as a result of these changes. While these layoffs are certainly bad news for the people who are affected, it looks like the job cuts are far less than what Google announced in January 2023. At that time, the company said it was cutting 12,000 team members from its workforce, or about 6 percent of its employees. Google stated that in September 2023, it had about 182,000 employees. If the Devices and Services, Assistant, and core engineering teams each cut hundreds of workers, that likely means the total employee cuts were less than one percent of Google's total employee count. -
Fitbit cofounders depart Google as part of a major hardware shift that includes layoffs
John Callaham posted a topic in Front Page News
Fitbit cofounders depart Google as part of a major hardware shift that includes layoffs by John Callaham Big changes are in the works over at Google's Devices and Services division, according to a new report. The changes will include the departures of Fitbit co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman, and will also include hundreds of layoffs in the division. 9to5Google reported first on the departures of Park and Friedman, who joined Google as part of its acquisition of Fitbit, which closed in January 2021. Other Fitbit team members reportedly have also departed with Park and Friedman today. Google is also reorganizing how the Devices and Services division operates. Previously, the company mostly separated its Pixel, Nest, and Fibit hardware engineering teams into separate groups, each with its own leader. 9to5Google now reports that will change and all of those teams will now be under one hardware engineering group, with one leader. The story did not state who will be the new leader of this unified hardware team. While Google has not officially confirmed the Fitbit departures or the Devices and Services reorganization. it did confirm in a statement to 9to5Google that it will be cutting "a few hundred roles" in that division. The majority of those job cuts will come from Google's augmented reality team. The company's statement added: While we are making changes to our 1P AR hardware team, Google continues to be deeply committed to other AR initiatives, such as AR experiences in our products, and product partnerships. The story says the affected employees will be able to apply for open jobs at Google. Google will still be a big partner on other AR hardware projects. At CES 2024 this week, Qualcomm announced a new AR/VR chip, the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2. This processor is slated to be used in Samsung's upcoming AR headset, which will include software provided by Google. The headset is expected to launch in late 2024. -
Google Chrome 120.0.6099.217 (offline installer) by Razvan Serea The web browser is arguably the most important piece of software on your computer. You spend much of your time online inside a browser: when you search, chat, email, shop, bank, read the news, and watch videos online, you often do all this using a browser. Google Chrome is a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier. Use one box for everything--type in the address bar and get suggestions for both search and Web pages. Thumbnails of your top sites let you access your favorite pages instantly with lightning speed from any new tab. Desktop shortcuts allow you to launch your favorite Web apps straight from your desktop. Chrome has many useful features built in, including automatic full-page translation and access to thousands of apps, extensions, and themes from the Chrome Web Store. Google Chrome is one of the best solutions for Internet browsing giving you high level of security, speed and great features. Google Chrome 120.0.6099.217 fixes: [$TBD][1513379] High CVE-2024-0333: Insufficient data validation in Extensions. Reported by Malcolm Stagg (@malcolmst) of SODIUM-24, LLC on 2023-12-20 Important to know! The offline installer links do not include the automatic update feature. Download web installer: Google Chrome Web 32-bit | Google Chrome 64-bit | Freeware Download: Google Chrome Offline Installer 64-bit | 109.0 MB Download: Google Chrome Offline Installer 32-bit | 90.7 MB Download page: Google Chrome Portable Download: Google Chrome MSI Installers for Windows (automatic update) View: Chrome Website | v120.0.6099.217 Release Notes Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
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Telegram declares reasons behind the removal of Russian fines on some tech giants unclear
Anushe Fawaz posted a topic in Front Page News
Telegram declares reasons behind the removal of Russian fines on some tech giants unclear by Anushe Fawaz On Wednesday, Jan 3, 2024, a couple of tech giants were released from Russia’s list of debtors in the state bailiffs database. These companies faced some fines that have since been dropped. One of these companies, Telegram, today highlighted that it is not aware of the reasons why the fines were removed. Other tech giants that previously had charges imposed on them were Google, Meta, TikTok, and YouTube. According to Reuters, a Telegram spokesperson explained that it could be due to the lack of company-owned assets in Russia. They also clarified that without any offices or workers there, they are unaware as to why the fines were dropped. “Telegram has no assets, offices, employees, or equipment in Russia. Without any presence there, we have no visibility as to why the fines against Telegram and the other companies were dropped." The spokesperson also argued that according to certain Russian news agencies, these fines were removed because the bailiffs were unable to find seizable assets to charge the fine against. Despite this, Telegram is still a widely used platform in Russia. While companies such as Google and Meta had the charges dropped, companies like Twitch and X are still facing them. More specifically, these fines account for a total of 23 million rubles ($251,778.86) and 51 million rubles ($558,292.26) respectively. After the Russian attack on Ukraine, several Western social media platforms refused to provide services in Russia. In January 2022, Meta also presented a pro-Ukraine stance suggesting that the content moderated on Facebook does not promote Russian propaganda. In October 2022, Meta faced strong retaliation from the Russian government as it became a part of the “extremists” list and was consequently banned in the country. As for Google, it faced several heavy fines and had tensions with the Russian government. In May 2022, 7.7 billion rubles ($84,291,183) worth of company assets of Google were seized by Russia. Google Russia also filed for bankruptcy after its bank account was forcibly seized by Russian authorities. Eventually, in October 2023, the Russian subsidiary was declared bankrupt. Hence, with several incidents in history where Western companies were at odds with the Russian authorities, it is interesting to see the removal of the fines. As of now, neither the state bailiffs have commented on the issue nor did we see any of the companies involved, besides Telegram, commenting on the issue. -
Google Forms can now be converted to practice sets for students
Aditya Tiwari posted a topic in Front Page News
Google Forms can now be converted to practice sets for students by Aditya Tiwari Google is adding a new ability to its practice sets tool in Google Classroom. Teachers can now have more control over resources and save time when creating assignments as they can convert Google Forms into practice sets. The feature allows teachers to import Google Forms into practice set questions, leverage assistive features such as suggested resources and hints, in-the-moment support for students, and insights, the company said. For the unversed, Google Classroom is an online learning platform for teachers and students introduced in 2014. They can collaborate in a variety of ways, for instance, teachers can share course material and assignments with their class and grade students' work online. Practice Sets was added in April last year and allows teachers to create interactive and auto-graded assignments with the help of existing and new content. It provides real-time feedback to students as they complete the practice sets and teachers get their performance insights. However, Google notes that teachers "have already invested a lot of time creating quiz assignments using Google Forms," which is now addressed in the latest update. The ability to convert Google Forms is now available in Google Workspace Education Plus and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade. Students can complete assignments using the input of their choice such as a mouse, stylus, touchpad, or math keyboard. They also get automated hints and video suggestions based on the learning skill added by the teacher. Practice Sets are enabled by default but the teachers who are part of the verified teacher group can receive shared practice sets from other teachers as well. Speaking of which, forms import is also enabled by default in supported Workspace tiers. Google has added a stream of Workspace features in recent months, including updated Smart Compose AI, raise hand gesture, full-screen view in Calendar, driving mode for Google Meet, unsubscribe button in Gmail, etc. -
Microsoft Teams meetings and chat support is coming soon to Android Auto
John Callaham posted a topic in Front Page News
Microsoft Teams meetings and chat support is coming soon to Android Auto by John Callaham Sometimes, company employees who work remotely or travel a lot for their jobs still need to attend online business meetings. That might happen even if the worker is driving a car. Now it looks like Microsoft will expand access to online meetings to those is in a moving vehicle. In a new entry on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap site (via TechRadar), Microsoft says it will roll out access to Teams on Google's Android Auto platform sometime in February. Once it does become available, people who use Android Auto will be able to join Microsoft Teams meetings via the calendar view. The new Teams support in Android Auto will also extend to allowing users to call their speed dial contacts, along with being able to see their recent calls. There's no word on how exactly these new features will work, but hopefully, we will learn a lot more about Android Auto support in Teams before the new feature rolls out. In the meantime, Microsoft will be adding a bunch of new features for Teams users in the month of January. That includes the ability for Copilot users to access the Intelligence Recap feature in Teams, which helps summarize an online meeting after it has happened for people who were unable to attend or for people who want to find out info they missed during a meeting. Microsoft recently gave its own summary of the number of new features it added to Teams in December 2023, along with new Teams-supported hardware devices. A few weeks ago, it revealed that there are currently 320 million monthly active users for Teams. There are also over 2,000 apps made specifically for Teams that are available to download, with more on the way. Finally, Teams users can access "over 145,000 custom line-of-business (LOB) apps built by enterprises." -
The Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 will be used in Samsung's upcoming VR headset
John Callaham posted a topic in Front Page News
The Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 will be used in Samsung's upcoming VR headset by John Callaham Qualcomm is already updating its VR-specific processor just a few months after it revealed the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip in September 2023. The new Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 will offer a lot of hardware performance and spec improvements compared to the standard XR2 chip. In a press release, Qualcomm stated the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 will increase the GPU frequency by 15 percent and the CPU frequency by 20 percent compared to the XR2. It will support over 12 cameras on VR headsets, and it will allow for 4.3K resolutions in each eye display, while also running apps and games up to 90 fps. The headset will also support 12ms full-color see-through video, along with the Wi-Fi 6, GE, and the upcoming Wi-Fi 7 wireless standards. In order to help boost the use of the new chip in VR and mixed reality devices, Qualcomm stated it has helped to create an MR/VR reference design. It's been developed by Goertek and features eye tracking technology from Tobii. Qualcomm says the new Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 will be used inside an unnamed Samsung VR headset. Samsung first announced plans to launch what it called "extended reality" headsets back in February 2023, in partnership with Qualcomm and Google. Today's Qualcomm announcement came with a quote from Inkang Song, vice president and head of the technology strategy team at Samsung Electronics: Samsung is thrilled to collaborate with Qualcomm Technologies and Google in revolutionizing the mobile industry once more. With Samsung's mobile expertise and our joint commitment, we aim to create the best-in-class XR experience for Galaxy users. Recent unconfirmed rumors from UploadVR claim that the Samsung-Google-Qualcomm headset won't launch until sometime in late 2024. Meanwhile, Apple is rumored to launch its new, and highly expensive, Vision Pro mix reality headset, in just a few weeks, perhaps as early as Friday, January 26. -
Google Chrome 120.0.6099.200 (offline installer) by Razvan Serea The web browser is arguably the most important piece of software on your computer. You spend much of your time online inside a browser: when you search, chat, email, shop, bank, read the news, and watch videos online, you often do all this using a browser. Google Chrome is a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier. Use one box for everything--type in the address bar and get suggestions for both search and Web pages. Thumbnails of your top sites let you access your favorite pages instantly with lightning speed from any new tab. Desktop shortcuts allow you to launch your favorite Web apps straight from your desktop. Chrome has many useful features built in, including automatic full-page translation and access to thousands of apps, extensions, and themes from the Chrome Web Store. Google Chrome is one of the best solutions for Internet browsing giving you high level of security, speed and great features. Google Chrome 120.0.6099.200 fixes: [$15000][1501798] High CVE-2024-0222: Use after free in ANGLE. Reported by Toan (suto) Pham of Qrious Secure on 2023-11-13 [$15000][1505009] High CVE-2024-0223: Heap buffer overflow in ANGLE. Reported by Toan (suto) Pham and Tri Dang of Qrious Secure on 2023-11-24 [$10000][1505086] High CVE-2024-0224: Use after free in WebAudio. Reported by Huang Xilin of Ant Group Light-Year Security Lab on 2023-11-25 [$TBD][1506923] High CVE-2024-0225: Use after free in WebGPU. Reported by Anonymous on 2023-12-01 [1515353] Various fixes from internal audits, fuzzing and other initiatives Important to know! The offline installer links do not include the automatic update feature. Download web installer: Google Chrome Web 32-bit | Google Chrome 64-bit | Freeware Download: Google Chrome Offline Installer 64-bit | 109.0 MB Download: Google Chrome Offline Installer 32-bit | 90.7 MB Download page: Google Chrome Portable Download: Google Chrome MSI Installers for Windows (automatic update) View: Chrome Website | v120.0.6099.200 Release Notes Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
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Android users will soon have to sacrifice Google Drive storage to keep WhatsApp Chat backups
Anushe Fawaz posted a topic in Front Page News
Android users will soon have to sacrifice Google Drive storage to keep WhatsApp Chat backups by Anushe Fawaz The social media giant, WhatsApp, is switching things up for Android users. According to a recent news report, WhatsApp users will have to sacrifice a portion of their Google Drive storage to continue backups. Highlighted by GizmoChina, the meta-owned platform is no longer going to provide the free storage service on Google Drive to users. Previously, users were given the benefits of having end-to-end encrypted chat backups on Google Drive. These backups did not take a toll on the users’ existing Google Drive storage. However, with the latest company policy changes in place the situation has changed. Individuals who are currently using the default 15GB storage by Google Drive will now need to be careful about their storage. WhatsApp wrote in its Help Center post that once a user exceeds the given storage limit, they will have to make space for new content to resume the backups. Here’s what the post mentions: "In the coming months, if you choose to backup your WhatsApp chats on an Android device, your backup will start counting toward your Google Account storage limit. If you go over the storage limit, you’ll need to free up space in your Google Account to resume backups." The change is currently only for beta users of WhatsApp and began in December 2023. However, to remind all non-beta users, the changes will be applicable on all WhatsApp accounts in the first half of 2024. Additionally, the app will show a notice notifying users of when the changes will begin. This will appear as a banner 30 days before the implementation of the policy when users go to Settings > Chats > Chat backup. Lastly, it is important to note that users have the option not to store their chats on Google Drive. Instead, they can transfer their chats between Android devices via the WhatsApp Chat transfer capability. This can be done by scanning a QR code and linking the device you want the chats to be transferred from and the device the chats will be transferred to. Individuals also have the choice to back up text data only removing any media files that could consume more storage. -
The billion-dollar Google Chrome Incognito mode lawsuit could reach a conclusion soon
Anushe Fawaz posted a topic in Front Page News
The billion-dollar Google Chrome Incognito mode lawsuit could reach a conclusion soon by Anushe Fawaz In 2020, Google found itself facing a billion-dollar lawsuit on the allegations of gathering user data while browsing in Incognito mode. The lawsuit, filed by U.S. residents William Byatt, Chasom Brown, and Maria Nguyen, highlighted concerns that Google's alleged user-data collection while browsing in private modes violates wiretap laws. The matter was then taken to the U.S. court in the Northern District of California after which Google made several attempts to defend its case to avoid paying $5 billion. For example, in 2021 Google tried to clarify that it informs users that their browsing data may still be visible to any website the user visits. Fast-forward to August 2023, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ensured that the lawsuit would be continued as the information provided by Google whenever a user switched to Incognito mode did not clarify whether the data would be collected or not. It also highlighted that although Google shares its privacy policy with users, it does not mention Incognito mode. More specifically, the filing noted: "Notably, Incognito mode is not mentioned in this list of services. (Id.) Rather, Google shifts and in the next paragraph advises users…” and “The Privacy Policy is silent as to any data collection specific to private browsing mode.” Today, Ars Technica reports that in a filing on Tuesday, 26th December 2023, it was suggested that Google has agreed to settle the lawsuit. The official filing mentions that the parties involved are currently working on a final agreement that would resolve the legal issue. The parties have been given 30 days for the execution of the agreement and an additional 30 days after which they will present it to the court. The latest filing adds: “To avoid any unnecessary waste of judicial resources and to allow the Parties to focus their efforts entirely on finalizing the settlement, the Parties jointly and respectfully request that the Court stay this litigation in its entirety and vacate the trial date. The Parties thank the Court for its attention to this matter.” From what we can expect, the final verdict of the court will be around February 2024. Source: Ars Technica -
The government of Japan may make it easier to launch third party mobile app stores
John Callaham posted a topic in Front Page News
The government of Japan may make it easier to launch third party mobile app stores by John Callaham There have been lots of developments in making third-party app stores and payment systems more viable for iOS and Android devices in the last few months. Today, a new report claims that the government of Japan is planning to submit a proposal that could cause more app stores to launch for those products. The Japanese news outlet Nikkei (via "Gamesfray" on X) says that the government will submit its law proposal to the Diet, the nation's national legislature, sometime in 2024. It stated (translated): The government will prevent companies that provide smartphone operating systems from monopolizing app store operations and payment systems (and) encourage competition with other companies in the areas of smartphone app distribution and payment systems. The country's Fair Trade Commission will be in charge of enforcing this new law if it is passed, according to the report. If the Japanese Diet passes such a law, it will continue a recent trend of governments forcing companies like Google and Apple to open up their platforms to more app stores. Earlier this month, Google agreed to a $700 settlement to all 50 US states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. As part of the settlement, Google agreed to make the process of sideloading apps on Android easier and also to allow alternative billing for apps as well. Apple is also under the gun in the European Union to allow the sideloading of apps on iOS. The EU passed the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which officially went into effect in 2022. The law forces so-called "gatekeeper-like companies," including Apple, to open up their operating systems to third parties. Apple must comply with the DMA by March 4, 2024. A recent report claimed Apple would allow iPhone and iPad users in Europe to sideload apps on those devices sometime in early 2024 before the DMA deadline. Microsoft is also working on a third-party gaming-themed mobile app store, but its current status is unknown. -
Gmail for iOS makes it easier to unsubscribe from unwanted emails
Aditya Tiwari posted a topic in Front Page News
Gmail for iOS makes it easier to unsubscribe from unwanted emails by Aditya Tiwari Google has started rolling out a new Unsubscribe button for the Gmail app for iOS, making it easier to get rid of unwanted emails such as promotions or newsletters. The Gmail app already lets its mobile users unsubscribe from mass emails, but now, the feature is easier to access. The Unsubscribe button in Gmail for iOS is at the top of the email next to the sender's name, as spotted by Android Authority. This will save time for Gmail users who otherwise have to go to the bottom of the email content or click on the three-dot menu at the top to unsubscribe from mass emails. The button isn't visible on the Android version of Gmail at the time of writing. However, Google has updated its support page with the new steps to unsubscribe from emails. The support page includes new steps for the Android version as well, suggesting it might not take long for the Unsubscribe button to arrive. The ability to unsubscribe emails has existed since 2009, but initially, users had to make several clicks before saying goodbye to unwanted emails. Its modern iteration was added to Gmail's web version back in 2014, which allows users to unsubscribe with just two clicks in most cases. Speaking of which, some senders may need you to go to their website to unsubscribe from their emails. After you pull the plug on a sender, it might take a few days for the mailing list to stop sending you emails. Google says that "you may see a unique identifier for a mailing list or a list ID" instead of the sender's name after unsubscribing. In addition to the manual option, Gmail also sends occasional tips for unsubscribing from bulk senders that you rarely read. On iOS, you can enable or disable this feature by going to Settings > Inbox Customizations > Inbox tips > turn off the "Unsubscribe tips" toggle button. -
Google's Chrome browser is now running Safety Check in the background for better security
John Callaham posted a topic in Front Page News
Google's Chrome browser is now running Safety Check in the background for better security by John Callaham Just before the holidays, Google has decided to start rolling out some significant improvements and new features to its Chrome web browser. The biggest changeis for the browser's Safety Check feature, which is supposed to be proactive when it comes to keeping things secure when you browse sites. In a blog post, Google stated that Safety Check now runs automatically in the background when you use Chrome. It added: You'll get proactively alerted if passwords saved in Chrome have been compromised, any of your extensions are potentially harmful, you’re not using the latest version of Chrome, or site permissions need your attention. These alerts will appear in the three-dot menu in Chrome so you can take action. Safety Check in Chrome will also cut the permission to use certain features on a site, like access to your microphone or finding your exact location if you have not surfed to that site in a while. It will also let you know if you are getting a lot of notifications from a site that you have not visited in a long time. Chrome is also getting some improvements for its Memory Saver feature: We recently added more details about your tabs’ memory usage when you hover over them in Memory Saver mode, including the potential memory saved when they go inactive. And we’ve made it easier to specify sites that should always remain active. Finally, Google is adding some improvements to tag groups, which allow users to put in a series of tabs in one group for better organization. Google stated that this improvement will come in handy for people who use Chrome on more than one device: Rolling out over the next few weeks in Chrome on desktop, you’ll be able to save tab groups so you can access them on other desktop devices and easily pick your projects back up. The company plans to add more features to Chrome in early 2024 that will use its recently launched AI model Gemini. -
Google Chrome 120.0.6099.130 (offline installer) by Razvan Serea The web browser is arguably the most important piece of software on your computer. You spend much of your time online inside a browser: when you search, chat, email, shop, bank, read the news, and watch videos online, you often do all this using a browser. Google Chrome is a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier. Use one box for everything--type in the address bar and get suggestions for both search and Web pages. Thumbnails of your top sites let you access your favorite pages instantly with lightning speed from any new tab. Desktop shortcuts allow you to launch your favorite Web apps straight from your desktop. Chrome has many useful features built in, including automatic full-page translation and access to thousands of apps, extensions, and themes from the Chrome Web Store. Google Chrome is one of the best solutions for Internet browsing giving you high level of security, speed and great features. Google Chrome 120.0.6099.130 fixes: [$NA][1513170] High CVE-2023-7024: Heap buffer overflow in WebRTC. Reported by Clément Lecigne and Vlad Stolyarov of Google's Threat Analysis Group on 2023-12-19 Please see the Chrome Security Page for more information. Important to know! The offline installer links do not include the automatic update feature. Download web installer: Google Chrome Web 32-bit | Google Chrome 64-bit | Freeware Download: Google Chrome Offline Installer 64-bit | 109.0 MB Download: Google Chrome Offline Installer 32-bit | 90.7 MB Download page: Google Chrome Portable Download: Google Chrome MSI Installers for Windows (automatic update) View: Chrome Website | v120.0.6099.130 Release Notes Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
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Google will pay $700 million to settle a Play Store antitrust lawsuit with all 50 US states
John Callaham posted a topic in Front Page News
Google will pay $700 million to settle a Play Store antitrust lawsuit with all 50 US states by John Callaham In September, Google entered into a settlement with the attorney generals of all 50 US states, plus the District of Colombia and the territory of Puerto Rico, to deal with an antitrust lawsuit concerning its Play Store policies. This week, Google finally revealed the terms of that settlement, which includes a $700 million payment from the company. In a blog post, Google stated that $630 million of that payment will be put "into a settlement fund to be distributed for the benefit of consumers according to a Court-approved plan". The other $70 million will be placed in another fund to be used by the states. In addition to the money, Google also agreed to make some changes in its Play Store policies. One concerns the sideloading of apps on Android devices. Google stated it will make the process of sideloading apps simpler for consumers. It will also offer info to Android "users about these potential risks of downloading apps directly from the web for the first time." Google also announced it will allow Android app developers and publishers to create an "alternative billing option alongside Google Play’s billing system for their U.S. users". In addition, Android developers will also be "able to show different pricing options within the app when a user makes a digital purchase." Google added: This settlement builds on Android's choice and flexibility, maintains strong security protections, and retains Google’s ability to compete with other OS makers, and invest in the Android ecosystem for users and developers. We're pleased to resolve our case with the states and move forward on a settlement. These new changes, and the settlement money, still need to be approved by the Courts before they officially go into effect. The public reveal of this settlement between Google and the US state attorney generals comes just a few days after a jury ruled against Google in a similar case with developer Epic Games. The jury agreed with Epic's view that Google was operating an illegal monopoly with its Play Store on Android devices. Google has stated it will appeal the jury's decision. -
Google Chrome 120.0.6099.110 (offline installer) by Razvan Serea The web browser is arguably the most important piece of software on your computer. You spend much of your time online inside a browser: when you search, chat, email, shop, bank, read the news, and watch videos online, you often do all this using a browser. Google Chrome is a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier. Use one box for everything--type in the address bar and get suggestions for both search and Web pages. Thumbnails of your top sites let you access your favorite pages instantly with lightning speed from any new tab. Desktop shortcuts allow you to launch your favorite Web apps straight from your desktop. Chrome has many useful features built in, including automatic full-page translation and access to thousands of apps, extensions, and themes from the Chrome Web Store. Google Chrome is one of the best solutions for Internet browsing giving you high level of security, speed and great features. Google Chrome 120.0.6099.109 fixes: [$16000][1501326] High CVE-2023-6702: Type Confusion in V8. Reported by Zhiyi Zhang and Zhunki from Codesafe Team of Legendsec at Qi'anxin Group on 2023-11-10 [$7000][1502102] High CVE-2023-6703: Use after free in Blink. Reported by Cassidy Kim(@cassidy6564) on 2023-11-14 [$7000][1504792] High CVE-2023-6704: Use after free in libavif. Reported by Fudan University on 2023-11-23 [$7000][1505708] High CVE-2023-6705: Use after free in WebRTC. Reported by Cassidy Kim(@cassidy6564) on 2023-11-28 [$6000][1500921] High CVE-2023-6706: Use after free in FedCM. Reported by anonymous on 2023-11-09 [$7000][1504036] Medium CVE-2023-6707: Use after free in CSS. Reported by @ginggilBesel on 2023-11-21 [1510677] Various fixes from internal audits, fuzzing and other initiatives Please see the Chrome Security Page for more information. Important to know! The offline installer links do not include the automatic update feature. Download web installer: Google Chrome Web 32-bit | Google Chrome 64-bit | Freeware Download: Google Chrome Offline Installer 64-bit | 109.0 MB Download: Google Chrome Offline Installer 32-bit | 90.7 MB Download page: Google Chrome Portable Download: Google Chrome MSI Installers for Windows (automatic update) View: Chrome Website | v120.0.6099.110 Release Notes Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
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Google makes GitHub Copilot rival, Duet AI and Gemini Pro generally available
Omer Dursun posted a topic in Front Page News
Google makes GitHub Copilot rival, Duet AI and Gemini Pro generally available by Omer Dursun Google has announced the general availability of Duet AI for Developers and Gemini Pro, its AI-powered code completion and generation tool. The new version of Duet AI includes support for datasets from 25 partner companies to help developers with tasks such as building applications for specific platforms. Duet AI can now leverage data from partners such as Confluent, HashiCorp and MongoDB to help write code for their platforms. Google says it will integrate documentation and knowledge from Datadog, JetBrains and Langchain to help with activities such as test automation, problem resolution and vulnerability remediation. Duet AI for Developers and Duet AI in Security Operations are the first two Duet AI in Google Cloud offerings to go GA, with more planned for early next year, including Duet AI in BigQuery, Looker, our database products, Apigee, and Colab Enterprise. The company is positioning Duet AI as an "enterprise-grade product with access controls and indemnification for production use." It believes these AI tools complement, rather than replace, coding skills by increasing productivity. According to Google, early adopter Turing reported a 33% increase in revenue after implementing Duet AI. Developers will have free access to experiment with Gemini Pro through Google AI Studio. The free tier of AI Studio provides up to 60 API requests per minute, which Google says is sufficient for most app development needs. The tool currently supports over 20 languages and includes capabilities for log summarization, error explanation and automated test generation. Google AI Studio is a free, web-based developer tool that enables you to quickly develop prompts and then get an API key to use in your app development... When you’re ready, you can simply click on “Get code” to transfer your work to your IDE of choice, or use one of the quickstart templates available in Android Studio, Colab or Project IDX. Vertex AI will also offer free access to Gemini Pro and Gemini Pro Vision with the same rate limits until general availability early next year. Duet AI for Developers is available free until February 1, 2024, after which it will cost $19 per month. In addition, Duet AI in Security Operations is now generally available. It will be included as part of Google Cloud's Security Operations Enterprise and Enterprise Plus packages. On the other hand, Microsoft-owned GitHub announced that GitHub Copilot Chat will become generally available for both businesses and individuals in December as part of the current GitHub Copilot subscription. -
Google Maps Timeline feature is getting a big update, changes to Location History
Aditya Tiwari posted a topic in Front Page News
Google Maps Timeline feature is getting a big update, changes to Location History by Aditya Tiwari Google announced a bunch of new features and changes for Google Maps that will start rolling out in the coming weeks. The search giant is making a big change to how the Timeline feature works on Google Maps. Google said it will start saving your Timeline, and its related data, directly on your device. The feature is not ready yet and it will notify users when the update starts rolling out through the next year on Android and iOS. The Timeline feature in Maps helps you remember places you’ve been and is powered by a setting called Location History. If you’re among the subset of users who have chosen to turn Location History on (it’s off by default), soon your Timeline will be saved right on your device — giving you even more control over your data. Just like before, you can delete all or part of your information at any time or disable the setting entirely. For reference, Timeline is a personal map that keeps a record of the places you visit and routes you take. Location History needs to be enabled for the feature to work, speaking of which, Google said that the auto-delete functionality for location history will default to three months. So, if you want to keep your Timeline for a longer period, you can choose to extend your auto-delete window or disable the feature altogether, Google said. While Google Maps will save the Timeline on your device, it will let you periodically back up an encrypted copy of it to your Google account. This will let you continue your Timeline on a new device or recover data if your phone gets lost. The blue dot in Google Maps, which tells your GPS location, will become more useful in the coming weeks. It lets you save a parking spot, share your location, and see nearby places, among various things. But a future update will bring more information, for instance, whether your Location History is enabled and whether you have given location access to your device. Apart from that, you will be able to view your recent activity and delete all your searches, directions, visits, and shares for a particular place directly from Google Maps. This feature to delete place-related activities will start rolling out to Android and iOS devices in the coming weeks. The latest announcement comes not long after Google Maps added a stream of features such as collaborative lists, better transit navigation, and emoji reactions. The company is also working on a host of AI features and recently rolled out Immersive View for Routes in select cities across the globe. -
Google Messages may soon allow users to edit sent text messages
Qblade_ posted a topic in Front Page News
Google Messages may soon allow users to edit sent text messages by Mehrotra A Google is working on a new feature for its Messages app to compete with the likes of Telegram and WhatsApp in the IM space. The company has been trying to make RCS (Rich Communication Services) more appealing to the users with features like support for HDR images. However, it looks Google is working on more features for the messages app. According to TheSpAndroid, the latest version of Google Messages beta app that was released in November had traces of a message editing feature. The APK teardown revealed four new flags that were added to Google Messages codebase: bugle.enable_edit_ui bugle.load_edit_history bugle.process_outgoing_edits bugle.process_incoming_edits The first flag suggests that there will be UI to edit the messages while the second flag will show the edit history. The third and fourth flags define how the edits are sent or received by the app. Furthermore, there were references to a creation of a new database which will allow meta data to be stored. This will include data such as edit history, edit timestamp and more. While, message editing is not a native feature of RCS as defined by the GSMA association, that should not be a big huddle for Google. A couple of years back, Google implemented end-to-end encryption in Google Messages even though end-to-end encryption is not a part of RCS standard. Currently, there is no way of knowing when the feature will make it to the Android users. Unfortunately for now, the flags don't do anything on the beta build of the app as the codebase is not complete. Also, there is a chance that Google may scrap the feature altogether if it is not feasible for the company. However, message editing would be a welcomed feature especially since Google is already playing catch-up with the likes of WhatsApp who already allow users to edit messages within a certain time frame. -
Epic Games wins in court as Jury says Google Play Store is an illegal monopoly
John Callaham posted a topic in Front Page News
Epic Games wins in court as Jury says Google Play Store is an illegal monopoly by John Callaham Epic Games has emerged as the winner of its three-year legal fight against Google over its running of the Play Store. As reported by The Verge, the jury in the month-long trial in San Francisco, only a few hours after it started deliberations earlier today, has ruled that the Google Play Store, and its billing service, is an illegal monopoly. In the jury's verdict, it agreed with Epic's argument that Google not only has a monopoly on apps for Android via the Google Play Store, but the company also engaged in anti-competitive practices by paying developers to keep that monopoly in place. Epic Games posted its reaction to the jury's verdict on the case on its blog, stating: Today’s verdict is a win for all app developers and consumers around the world. It proves that Google’s app store practices are illegal and they abuse their monopoly to extract exorbitant fees, stifle competition and reduce innovation. Over the course of the trial we saw evidence that Google was willing to pay billions of dollars to stifle alternative app stores by paying developers to abandon their own store efforts and direct distribution plans, and offering highly lucrative agreements with device manufacturers in exchange for excluding competing app stores. The Verge also received a statement on today's verdict from Wilson White, Google VP, Government Affairs & Public Policy, which indicated the company does plan to appeal the ruling: We plan to challenge the verdict. Android and Google Play provide more choice and openness than any other major mobile platform. The trial made clear that we compete fiercely with Apple and its App Store, as well as app stores on Android devices and gaming consoles. We will continue to defend the Android business model and remain deeply committed to our users, partners, and the broader Android ecosystem. Epic Games first filed a lawsuit against Google in August 2020. This happened after Epic launched its own in-game monetary system for its hit game Fortnite, which went against the policies of both the Google Play Store. Epic filed a similar lawsuit with Apple in 2020. However, the subsequent trial and appeals ended up with Apple winning most of the case. In the Epic vs Google trial, Epic was not seeking any monetary damages if it won, but it does want Google to completely free up Android to allow it to support full game app stores, with their own billing practices. Those requests will be taken up by the judge in the case in early January 2024. -
Google reveals both its 2023 Year in Search trends and 25 years in search
John Callaham posted a topic in Front Page News
Google reveals both its 2023 Year in Search trends and 25 years in search by John Callaham It's getting near the end of the year, so it's time for Google to release its annual look at the trends in its search service for 2023. The annual release of search trends shows what the world, and specific regions of the world, were searching for on Google during the last 12 months. Here's just some of the search trends that were on top of these lists globally in 2023 in Google: People: Damar Hamlin Jeremy Renner Andrew Tate Kylian Mbappé Travis Kelce Jenna Ortega Lil Tay Danny Masterson David Beckham Pedro Pascal Movies Barbie Oppenheimer Jawan Sound of Freedom John Wick: Chapter 4 Avatar: The Way of Water Everything Everywhere All at Once Gadar 2 Creed III Pathaan TV Shows The Last of Us Wednesday Ginny & Georgia One Piece Kaleidoscope King the Land The Glory That '90s Show The Fall of the House of Usher Shadow and Bone Video Games Hogwarts Legacy The Last of Us Connections Battlegrounds Mobile India Starfield Baldur's Gate 3 スイカ ゲーム Diablo IV Atomic Heart Sons of the Forest Meme Kevin James Ohio Police girl Folding chair Smurf cat The waffle house new host One two buckle my shoe Animan Studios Selena Gomez Submarine News War in Israel and Gaza Titanic submarine Turkey earthquake Hurricane Hilary Hurricane Idalia Hurricane Lee Maine shooting Nashville shooting Chandrayaan-3 War in Sudan In addition to the 2023 year in search trends, Google is celebrating its 25th year with a new YouTube video that looks back at the last two and a half decades in search trends. Google stated: Soccer, the world's most-searched sport, and Cristiano Ronaldo, its most-searched athlete, demonstrate a love for the game that transcends borders. Taylor Swift's status as the most-searched songwriter highlights the profound connection people feel with her music, and by extension, with each other. We also see shared humanity in the most-searched "how to help" query: how to help people. And the heart emoji, the most-searched emoji, reveals yet another universal theme: our shared need for love and understanding. You can also check out the Google Trends Time Capsule website to learn more about the history of search trends for the last 25 years.
