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Tag: browsing

  • Gmail pop-up reminds you to use Enhanced Safe Browsing

    Gmail pop-up reminds you to use Enhanced Safe Browsing

    If you get a pop-up notification from Gmail, prompting you to take security measures, don’t be alarmed. That’s just a reminder from Google – they want you to use the Enhanced Safe Browsing mode.

    The promotional message has been rolling out over the past days, gradually coming to users on both Android and desktop. The pop up reads ‘Get additional protection against phishing’ and ‘Turn on Enhanced Safe Browsing to get additional protection against dangerous emails’. If you think you don’t need that level of protection, there’s the option to decline by tapping/clicking ‘No thanks’.

    Once enabled, the Enhanced Safe Browsing mode ‘works automatically in the background to provide faster, proactive protection against dangerous websites, downloads, and extensions’, claims the Google team. This mode checks for risky URLs, Downloads, browser extensions.

    If you’re interested in using Enhanced Safe Browsing on Google Chrome, you could benefit from the following additional protections:

    • Real-time checks against lists of known phishing and malware sites
    • The option to request Google to perform deeper scans of files they’ve downloaded to check for malware and viruses
    • Protection against previously unknown attacks when navigating to sites
    • Tailored protections based on your risk level

    Don’t forget that if you choose Enhanced Safe Browsing, it will share additional security-related information. This data is used only for security purposes and deleted after a short period of time, Google discloses. By sharing additional information about potential risky events, Chrome enables Safe Browsing to improve its ability to detect malicious content online, to better protect users all over the web.

    If you get the Gmail pop-up prompt and you tap on ‘Continue’, it will take you to the following page: myaccount.google.com/account-enhanced-safe-browsing.

    On Chrome, you could access it via chrome://settings/security.

    Or, the long route:

    1. Go to your Google Account.
    2. On the left, select Security.
    3. Scroll to “Enhanced Safe Browsing for your Account.”
    4. Select Manage Enhanced Safe Browsing.
    5. Turn Enhanced Safe Browsing on or off.

    If you turn on Enhanced Safe Browsing for your account, Enhanced Safe Browsing in Chrome will also be turned on when:

    • You’re signed in to Chrome
    • Sync is turned on in Chrome without a custom passphrase

    If you turn off Enhanced Safe Browsing in your account:

    • It may take up to 24 hours for this setting change to complete.
    • Google Safe Browsing continues to help protect you from dangerous websites, downloads, and extensions
  • One in five Vietnamese spend 9 hours a day online

    One in five Vietnamese spend 9 hours a day online

    A total 22% of Vietnamese use the internet for more than nine hours a day studying, entertainment and shopping, with the majority on their smartphones, a report has found.

    This is a surge from 2020 when only 9% of respondents used the internet for more than nine hours a day, according to the Vietnam E-commerce 2022 report by the Vietnam e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency (iDEA).

    However, there were declines in internet usage time in other segments. As many as 27% say they use the internet from three to five hours a day, compared to 31% in 2020. Besides, 23% log five to seven hours, against 27% in 2020. Most respondents access the internet on their smartphones.

    The main reason Vietnamese people use the internet are studying, watching movies or listening to music, and online shopping said the report, which surveyed 4,584 respondents nationwide.

    Nearly 75% of respondents say they shop online, while 91% use their smartphones.

    The top sales categories are “clothes, footwear and cosmetics,” “household appliances”, and “electronic devices”. Cash remains king as 73% pay cash on delivery. But there is a rise in e-wallet usage, from 23% in 2020 to 37% last year. A quarter of respondents, 24%, say they spend more than VND10 million ($422) a year shopping online.

    Reputation of an e-commerce platform is the most important factor for online consumers, according to 74% of respondents.

    Other key factors are quick delivery and promotions.

    Vietnam’s e-commerce economy is set to grow 20% to 16.4 billion this year, approaching the 25% growth achieved in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic.

    iDEA estimates that at least 57 million people will shop online this year, up 4% from 2021.

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  • The thought process behind the small changes made to the icon for the Chrome Browser

    The thought process behind the small changes made to the icon for the Chrome Browser

    It was back in February when we told you that Google was going to change the icon for the Chrome Browser. The changes that were proposed at that juncture included eliminating the shadows between the colors. This had the effect of removing the 3D effect that made the red-colored area look as though it was “floating” above the yellow-hued part of the Chrome icon.
    Google today printed the results of an interview with user experience interaction designer Elvin Hu and visual designer Thomas Messenger that discusses the origin of the Chrome icon and gives more details about what it originally supposed to be (a soccer ball?) and what it represents.
    Messenger said that the original design was going to be a rocket ship with a red lightning bolt. This was created to represent how fast Chrome could take users from website to website. However, the rocket ship design was dropped and Messenger explained that “…our team decided to move away from a literal rocket ship in the end, and came to a design that looked approachable and clickable that still captured the spirit of Google.”

    The recent update was necessary, said Hu, because eight years had elapsed since the last icon change and the Chrome team wanted to give Chrome “a refreshed and modern look to reflect how Chrome has evolved as a product. We also noticed that the visual design of modern operating systems was becoming more stylistically diverse, so it was important that the Chrome icon felt more adaptable, native and fresh no matter what device you used.”

    Hu added “We simplified the main brand icon by removing the shadows, refining the proportions and brightening the colors, to align with Google’s current brand design. We also found that placing certain shades of green and red next to each other created an unpleasant “glow” between the two colors, so we introduced a very subtle gradient to the main icon to make the icon easier to the eyes compared to using flat colors.”

    While the changes made by Google to the Chrome icon wouldn’t stand out to the average user, Messenger noted that Google considered a more complex change to the Chrome icon. “In the exploratory phase, we tried all kinds of ideas; softening corners, different geometries, whether or not to separate the colors with white. We also tried options that further departed from the overall shape we’ve been using for the past 12 years. But we knew how well the four Google colors and circular composition are recognized, so we decided not to deviate too much from that.”
    The process was “fun” according to Hu and he noted that the brainstorming sessions led to multiple possibilities for a new Chrome icon. Google stress tested many of the colors to make sure that any changes wouldn’t result in the Chrome icon getting lost. The change also allowed the icon to be more easily viewed even when small.
    The Chrome Browser is the default browser on many Android phones (this writer prefers the Samsung Internet Browser on his Pixel 6 Pro, and the Opera Browser on iOS). It can be downloaded from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. Chrome does come with Google Search and Google Translate built-in. Since it is the default browser on Android, many with Android-powered devices never bother to consider using other options which is why the app has been installed over 10 billion times according to the data found in the Google Play Store.
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  • Google makes its apps safer and more private for teens and pre-teens

    Google makes its apps safer and more private for teens and pre-teens

    Google announced today some changes made to give teens and pre-teens more control over some of Google’s most popular apps. Over the next few weeks, Google will debut a new policy that enables anyone under 18 years old or their parent or guardian to request the removal of the child’s image from Google Image results including Search. As Google itself points out, “Of course, removing an image from Search doesn’t remove it from the web, but we believe this change will help give young people more control of their images online.”

    Over the next few weeks, the following changes are coming to Google apps for those under 18. YouTube will change the default upload settings for those 13-17 to the most private option available. Some useful digital wellbeing features will be promoted by Google and Google will provide safeguards and educate teens about commercial content from the app. Those 13-17 will have autoplay turned off by default while bedtime and break reminders will be enabled by default.

    As the Alphabet subsidiary says, “We regularly engage with kids and teens, parents, governments, industry leaders, and experts in the fields of privacy, child safety, wellbeing, and education to design better, safer products for kids and teens. Having an accurate age for a user can be an important element in providing experiences tailored to their needs.

    Yet, knowing the accurate age of our users across multiple products and surfaces, while at the same time respecting their privacy and ensuring that our services remain accessible, is a complex challenge. It will require input from regulators, lawmakers, industry bodies, technology providers, and others to address it – and to ensure that we all build a safer internet for kids.”

    Teens using Google Search can be protected by SafeSearch which prevents the kids from seeing search results not meant for their eyes when enabled. It is on by default for users under 13 whose accounts are managed by Family Link. With the latter, parents can decide at what time their kid’s device shuts off for the day. Google plans in the coming months to turn SafeSearch on by default for existing users under 18 and make it the default setting for teens setting up new accounts.

    When it comes to teens using Google Assistant, the company says, “We’re always working to prevent mature content from surfacing during a child’s experience with Google Assistant on shared devices, and in the coming months we’ll be introducing new default protections. For example, we will apply our SafeSearch technology to the web browser on smart displays.”

    Children using supervised accounts don’t have the option of turning on Location History which is turned off by default for all accounts. Soon, Google will prevent users under 18 globally from being able to turn on Location History. In addition, a new safety section for the Play Store will allow parents to know which apps meet Google’s Family policies. Apps will also have to disclose how they use the data they collect in greater detail allowing parents to decide whether to allow their kids to install the app.

    Google will also prevent age-sensitive ad campaigns from being shown to teens and those under 18 will not be allowed to be targeted by advertisers based on age, interests, and gender. New digital wellbeing tools will allow parents to “block news, podcasts, and access to webpages on Assistant-enabled smart devices.”

    Anne Collier, executive director of the Net Safety Collaborative stated, “Being mindful about tech use is key to everyone’s wellbeing. These new defaults for teens are protective; they increase safe, mindful tech use by making teens think about what they want to see and who they want seeing their content.”

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  • Google tests replacing URL with site’s domain name in Chrome

    Google tests replacing URL with site’s domain name in Chrome

    There are so many different versions of the Google Chrome browser in the Google Play Store. The Chrome Browser is the public version of Google’s browser. It has a Translate feature, Desktop mode, Dark mode, and other capabilities. Other versions of Chrome that can be installed on most Android phones include the Chrome Dev app. As Google says on the app’s listing on the Google Play Store, “Live on the bleeding edge: Try out our latest features. (They’ll be rough around the edges!) That means that the app will be buggy so you better think twice before installing it. The Chrome Dev app can be found here. This is a little more refined than the Chrome Canary app, which is very unstable and includes a nightly build for developers.

    Google last week started testing a change for the Chrome Dev/Canary 85 apps that hide the URL address of the website that they are on and only shows the domain name of the site (for example, Google.com). A Chromium developer said, “We think this is an important problem area to explore because phishing and other forms of social engineering are still rampant on the web, and much research shows that browsers’ current URL display patterns aren’t effective defenses. We’re implementing this simplified domain display experiment so that we can conduct qualitative and quantitative research to understand if it helps users identify malicious websites more accurately.” In other words, Google is testing whether replacing full web addresses with just a domain name help users easier spot a malicious website.

    To get this feature to work on Chrome Dev or Canary 85, you’ll have to enable a flag. Open one of the two aforementioned browsers on your Android device and go to Chrome://Flags. Search for Omnibox UI and enable “Omnibox UI Hide Steady-State URL Path, Query, and Ref.” Once the flag is enabled and you reboot your phone, instead of seeing a long URL address in the address field, only the domain name will appear. For example, instead of seeing “https://crm.retailnews.asia/major-us-carriers-go-down” you’ll just see the domain name of crm.retailnews.asia/news.

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  • How to Prevent Anyone from Accessing Your Browsing History?

    How to Prevent Anyone from Accessing Your Browsing History?

    Every time you browse the web, you would certainly have the thought at the back of your mind that someone is either tracking your activities or will be able to access information about the sites and content you accessed. Whether it is your ISP, employer or campus IT staff, hackers, or your government, anyone can access your online activities or even the data you are sending and receiving.

    Browsing the web in incognito or private mode may make you feel safer. However, it doesn’t mean that you are able to hide your web history or online activities. Your ISP and many others are still able to view your activities.

    The following tips should help you add some level of security.

    1. Set Up a VPN

    An effective way to prevent anyone from accessing your data or your location is to us a VPN. And when it comes to choosing a VPN, make sure to install a no-log VPN.

    • A VPN also helps in cloaking the data that helps in identifying you, including your location
    • It can provide you an additional layer of protection against hackers who may be able to break through the wall created by anti-malware software
    • It is crucial that you choose the right VPN service for total privacy and security

    2. Block Third-Party Cookies

    One way to prevent others from tracking your online activities is to block or delete 3rd party cookies. This can be done from your web browser’s settings.

    When it comes to fighting off 3rd party cookies, it is recommended to keep in mind Flash cookies. These cookies are usually associated with sites running Flash or having video content. These cookies are also referred to as super cookies and are capable of regenerating 3rd party cookies that may have been deleted.

    3. Opt Out

    You can turn off tracking from your web browser’s privacy settings. This can prevent the cookies and many other services from keeping track of your activities. While opting out is one option, another one is to block them. There are many websites that may not follow on your requests.

    You can use an anti-tracking plugin to block such sites and services. This can prevent cookies from following you when you browse the internet.

    4. Disable Java & Plugins

    While some plugins are useful and safe, others are not. While Java is essential for the proper working of your browser, it is also capable of exposing data that may identify you or your location. The same can also be said for Adobe Flash.

    Java has the property of ‘fingerprinting’ browsers. It can show a variety of identification data to websites. This data includes IP address. You can disable Java temporarily using the right plugins. You may toggle it back on whenever required. This can help in preventing Java from sending your data to a certain extent.

    So follow all these tips to prevent others from accessing your online activities. While some of these tips are foolproof, others come with limitations. So you should choose the one that offers total protection.

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  • Could Samsung Internet actually be killing Chrome on mobile?

    Could Samsung Internet actually be killing Chrome on mobile?

    Chrome is the most popular Internet browser in the world. It’s cross-platform, it syncs effortlessly across devices, it’s fast and capable, and it comes with every Android handset, ready to rock. It’s so widely preferred by users that Android manufacturers kind of gave up on developing their own browsers and just release their phones with nothing but Chrome.

    Well, most of them.

    Through the years, Samsung has persisted and kept developing its Samsung Internet browser — an app that was once a laggy mess — and has managed to make a fast, powerful browser that supports a lot of useful plugins and works in unison with other elements across the One UI interface.

    We thought we’d ask you — do you prefer Samsung Internet over Chrome? And it turns out the result is almost 50/50! Not only that, some people report that they are on another Android phone, but make it a point to go to the Play Store and download the Samsung Internet browser.

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  • China 1Q11 search engine revenues over USD492m

    China 1Q11 search engine revenues over USD492m

    Search engines in the China market generated total revenues of CNY3.245 billion (USD492 million) in the first quarter of 2011, decreasing 15.62 percent on quarter but increasing 66.76 percent on year, according to China-based consulting company Analysys International.

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