google

Apple says it will demand a court order before handing over details of a user's push notifications. It follows revelations that foreign officials were using the tactics for surveillance, with questions asked about whether the Department of Justice ... does the same in the US. A push notification is a message created by an app and shown on the phone screen even if the app itself is closed. This could be anything from a summary of a new email to a breaking story from a news app. Senator Ron Wyden wrote to the DOJ earlier this month to report a tip that both US and foreign governments (said to be ... (view more)

Google has removed more than a dozen Android apps which offered loans to desperate users, but were actually a scam involving fraud and blackmail. As usual with such removals, it only affects the Play Store and the apps are not automatically deleted ... from phones. The 18 apps in question have been collectively dubbed SpyLoan, and have more than 12 million combined downloads from Google Play this year. They were listed in a variety of language with English variants including Cashwow, 4S Cash and EasyCash. The main target audience appears to be people in countries with a large population and a ... (view more)

Google has confirmed it will limit the way ad blockers work in Chrome next year. Critics have called it a conflict of interests. The changes are to extensions, the third-party tools that users can add to Chrome to improve their web browsing ... experience. While extensions can do anything from translate web pages to make it easier to browse Netflix, ad blockers are some of the most popular types of extension. Extensions for Chrome must follow a specification called Manifest. Many current extensions use version 2 of this specification, but all newly added ones must use version 3. Google now says ... (view more)

Google has launched sets of two legal cases against scammers. The cases involve artificial intelligence tools and copyright claims, though could have wider implications for malicious online activity as a whole. The first case is against scammers who ... are trying to take advantage of interest in generative AI tools that can "create" text and images. They’ve made online posts and ads encouraging people to download Google’s AI tool, Bard. Tech giants including Facebook and Google must go to court to fight claims they cause physical and mental harm to children. The companies failed in a ...ref="/news/11317/tech-companies-face-child-user-lawsuits" class="more-link">view more)

Google is adding new tools to make it easier to check if an image is credible and as it appears. But the move has highlighted the irony of Google's own involvement in "generative" artificial intelligence. The tools include several additions to ... Google's own search results, along with a dedicated tool for checking any image found online. The search tools have been in testing and are now rolling out to all users, starting with English language searches in the US. They are wrapped up in a featured called "About this image". This will accompany images with information including if and when they ... (view more)

Google has added a new "Chromebook Plus" category for its higher-end machines. It's meant to make choices easier for buyers, though there's a risk it defeats one of the key points of getting a Chromebook. Chromebooks are laptops that run Google's ... own Chrome Operating System. The devices mainly use web-based applications such as Gmail and Google Docs, meaning a large amount of the processing work is carried out on remote servers rather than the computer itself. While this limits how useful the devices are without an Internet connection, it means they can work with lower specification hardware ... (view more)

Google has committed to keeping Chromebooks updated for 10 years. It's an increase of two years, though a key catch remains. The change applies to all devices running Chrome OS, which also includes the Chromebox (a small box which comes without a ... keyboard or screen), Chromebase (an all-in-one PC with monitor) and Chromebit (a computer on a stick which plugs into an HDMI port). Security Guarantee For Longer Previously such devices were only supported for eight years. After this time they stopped getting performance, feature and security updates, making them somewhat risky to use. That annoyed ... (view more)

Google faces a legal claim demanding more than $9 billion for allegedly contributing to inflation. It's fair to say the claim is somewhat ambitious. The claim has been filed in the United Kingdom by Hereford Litigation, which describes itself as a ... "third-party litigation funder." It's filed a claim with the Competition Appeal Tribunal, which hears cases that specifically relate to alleged breaches of competition law. Technically the claim is on behalf of every person aged over 16 in the UK, meaning the demand is for around $140 per person. If the claim was successful, it's not obvious how the ... (view more)

Google says malware creators are using a simple workaround to bypass security on the official Play Store for Android apps. The problem is that the simplest fix would undermine one of the key differences between Android and closed systems such as ... Apple. In theory, all apps in the Play Store are vetted for security, including malware checks. That's one of the reasons Google recommends only using the Play Store, while still giving users the choice to get and install Android software from other sources. The problem is that scammers are using an extremely simply workaround called "versioning". ... (view more)

Android users can now get alerts if a tracking device such as an Apple AirTag may be targeting them. The alerts were already available on iPhones, but Google and Apple are now working together, albeit with some holdups. An Apple AirTag is a small ... device that emits a Bluetooth signal. The idea is to attach it to valuable or important items such as keys, purses or luggage. Around a billion Apple devices are set to scan for the signals and anonymously report the location and identity of the AirTags, meaning that owners can track down lost items with varying degrees of precision. Like most tech, ... (view more)