Oct 02

Google Makes “https” an Option in Gmail

Posted in: Gmail, Google, Today's Chili

This article was written on July 25, 2008 by CyberNet.

Anytime you are on a public network, you are more vulnerable to having your data stolen than if you were on your own home private network, unless you take the proper security precautions. If you have a Gmail account, Google would like to help you with those security precautions.

It was just a couple of weeks ago that Gmail started offering users the option to track Gmail activity and remotely sign-out of their accounts. It’s one way for users to keep their account secure, and now they’ve introduced another – the option to always use https. Gmail says they have supported https since day one (it keeps your mail encrypted as it travels around the web), but only to protect passwords at login. Https isn’t used after the login when you are reading and writing email because it tends to slow things down. Now Gmail users can opt-in to always using https, even though it may make checking email slower.

To opt-in, all you have to do is go to your settings, and then scroll down to the bottom of the “General” tab and look for the “Browser Connection” setting. Here you can select to always use https or never use https. Not everybody will have this option today because in typical Google fashion, it’s slowly being rolled out.

https setting.png

People have been using https connections with Gmail for a while now, but they’ve had to use a Greasemonkey script like this one that has been installed over 32,600 times (which is a lot for a Greasemonkey script!), or a Firefox extension like this one. What Google has just done is important because for those who used the aforementioned methods, once they went to another computer, they would have to remember to manually type the “https” into their browser. Google’s efforts to make an https connection always available should be applauded because it gives users more confidence that their mail and information is safe, even when they are on public networks.

Now it would be nice to see Google roll this out to some of their other services like Google Calendar or Google Docs.

Source

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Sep 27

WrapUp: Slick Windows Media Center Theme, Make Dropbox Portable, and More

Posted in: amazon, Gmail, jailbreak, Opera, Today's Chili, verizon, WrapUp

This article was written on July 11, 2011 by CyberNet.

Welcome to the WrapUp by CyberNet. This is a collection of news stories, downloads, and tips that we have collected over the last few days, but never got around to writing about. Don’t forget to send in your own tips, or just leave a comment on this page if you think you’ve got something we should include.

–News–

Verizon tiered data structureVerizon Switches to Tiered Data Plans
Verizon, just like AT&T, is migrating towards tiered data plans that range from $10/month for 75MB up to $80/month for 10GB.

 

Opera wahooOpera 12 Pre-Alpha Released
Now that Opera 11.5 was recently pushed out the door the next iteration, codenamed Wahoo (destined to become Opera 12), is available for developers to download.

 

Amazon cloud driveAmazon Adds More Features to Cloud Music Service
For a limited time only users who sign up for any paid storage plan (as low as $20 per year) will get unlimited music storage on Amazon Cloud Drive.

 

Facebook chatFacebook Enhancing Web-Based Chat
The new Facebook chat lets you have group conversations and even video chat with one other person thanks to video calling powered by Skype.

 

Spotify usSpotify Announces Upcoming US Launch
Last week Spotify officially came forward to say that their music service will soon be landing in the US, and allowed users to sign up for an invite.

 

Jailbreakme3JailbreakMe.com Updated with iPad 2 Support
iOS hackers are at it again with another web-based jailbreak that even supports the iPad 2.

 

Google multiple sign inGoogle Multiple Sign-in Now Supporting 10 Accounts
I was a little disappointed when Google’s multiple account sign-in feature only supported 3 simultaneous accounts, but it looks like they have quietly upped it to 10 accounts.

 

Blogger picasaGoogle Rebranding Blogger/Picasa?
Mashable has heard that Picasa will be renamed to Google Photos and that Blogger will be renamed to Google Blogs in the coming weeks.

 

Hotmail calendarHotmail Boasts 15-Years of Service
It’s amazing to think that Hotmail has been around for over 15-years, and to celebrate the milestone they are rolling out a mini-calendar view to your Inbox.

 

Wordpress 32WordPress 3.2 Released
The latest iteration of WordPress is faster, lighter, has a refreshed dashboard, includes a new theme, and comes with a distraction-free writing mode.

 

–Tips, Tutorials, and Reviews–

Media center themeAwesome New Theme for Windows Media Center
You may be aware that you can theme your Windows Media Center, but the challenge is finding something that looks decent enough to replace the stock theme. This one, called Platform, is possibly the best I’ve seen.

 

Inbox styleChoose Your Gmail Inbox Style
Google is making it easier for users to switch between different types of email inboxes with their new navigation scheme.

 

Swype iosUnofficial Swype Keyboard Available for Jailbroken iOS Devices
Any iOS user that has been longing for a Swype-style keyboard can jailbreak their device to get their hands on the free mod. I tried it out, and the results aren’t quite as good as what I’ve gotten with the official Swype app on Android, but I’m sure it will continue to improve.

 

Download google mapsGoogle Maps for Android Adds Offline Capability
Android users are definitely lucky with the innovations coming to their Google Maps app, and this time Google is letting users download areas on a map (up to a 10-mile radius) for offline viewing.

 

Thunderbird conversationsThunderbird Conversation Brings Gmail-Like Interface to Thunderbird
The new Thunderbird Conversations 2.0 includes support for Thunderbird 5, and provides a Gmail-like conversation view when reading your emails.

 

Get folder sizeFind Large Folders on Your Machine
GetFoldersize is a free Windows app that can analyze how the disk space is used on your computer and identify large files/folders.

 

CantioCantio is a YouTube-Powered Music Player
Cantio is a free music service powered by the wide variety of music found on YouTube.

 

Dropbox portableHow to Make Your Dropbox Portable
Sometimes it would be nice to run Dropbox on any machine without having to worry about going through the configuration process, and this is especially useful for machines where you don’t have access to install new programs. These instructions walk you through how to make your own portable version of Dropbox.

 

–Downloads–

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Sep 27

Gmail Themes are Available… and They’re Sweet!

Posted in: Gmail, Google, Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on November 19, 2008 by CyberNet.

I’ve always thought that Gmail has one of the best interfaces out there in terms of web-based email clients, but not everyone may feel the same way. In true Google fashion they are starting to roll out a feature where users can choose from 30 awesome looking themes that will give your Inbox a fresh new feel.

This new feature isn’t going to be part of Gmail Labs either. Once the themes have been rolled out to your account you should notice a new Themes tab in the settings. Alternatively this link will take you directly to the theme settings provided that it has been activated for your account.

Here’s a quick look at a variety of the themes available (notice the ASCII theme in the bottom-left corner):

gmail themes.jpg

Bravo Google! You’ve really out done yourself this time. Now there’s just one thing that would really put this over the top, and that would be if they create some sort of system so that designers can create and upload their own themes. I’m not going to complain though because the set of themes they currently have available is pretty amazing.

P.S. I have one account that has this feature already, and another that doesn’t. So be patient why this gets rolled out to everyone.

Read more about the new themes over at the Gmail Blog

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Sep 09

Google details its carbon footprint in new report, makes you think twice about Rickrolling someone

Posted in: Gmail, Google, Today's Chili, YouTube

The folks in Mountain View have always been obsessed with performance, but until now, Google had never come clean with the nitty-gritty surrounding power usage. A new report published by the company tells all, revealing that the search giant emits 1.5 million tons of carbon annually; a figure roughly on par with the UN’s operational footprint, or slightly more than the amount produced by the entire country of Laos. The docket also breaks down the carbon emissions by activity, too: individual searches yield 0.2g, ten minutes of YouTube emits 1g and the average Gmail user produces 1.2kg of CO2 over a year — which on average equates to a grand total of 1.46kg of CO2 per plebe across its properties. According to Google, that’s a figure that would have been higher had it not custom designed its data centers, achieving a fifty percent reduction in energy usage versus the industry average. Plenty of infographical delight awaits you at the source below.

Google details its carbon footprint in new report, makes you think twice about Rickrolling someone originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Sep 2011 02:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 31

Google offers free calls home from Gmail for American military

Posted in: Gmail, Google, military, Today's Chili, VoIP
Gmail calls

Google knows how valuable our service men and women are, and how hard it is to be away from home on long tours of duty. The company is giving back where it can, by offering free calls within Gmail to the states for people with a valid .mil email address. It might not seem like much, but you’d understand after getting your first cell phone bill with roaming charges from the eastern mountains of Afghanistan. To take advantage all you have to do is add your military address to your Google account and click a link in the verification email and you’re good to go.

Google offers free calls home from Gmail for American military originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceOfficial Google Blog  | Email this | Comments

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Aug 31

Offline Google Mail hands-on

Posted in: Chrome, Gmail, Google, hands-on, HandsOn, Today's Chili
Offline Google Mail

One of the things that made Google apps the web-based productivity suite to beat was the ability to access your information offline using Gears. When that experiment was killed, many of us let loose a single tear as we contemplated returning to our desktop apps. Well, as promised, HTML5 is finally returning Gmail to its former offline glory. Docs and Calendar will follow in the coming days, but anyone can get access to their Gmail accounts offline now by installing the Offline Google Mail app for Chrome. Before we had even finished spreading the wonderful news we already had it installed and fired up. So, how’s it work? Well, you’ll just have to keep reading after the break to find out.

Gallery: Offline Google Mail hands-on

Continue reading Offline Google Mail hands-on

Offline Google Mail hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 31

Gmail, Google Docs and Calendar finally regain offline access

Posted in: apps, Chrome, chrome os, ChromeOs, Gmail, Google, Today's Chili
Offline Google Mail

Since the death of Gears we’ve been, rather impatiently, awaiting the return of offline access to our Google apps. Well that day has finally come — provided you’re a Chrome fan. The fine folks in Mountain View just unveiled a new app for their browser (which means it also works on Chome OS) called Offline Google Mail that will keep you connected to your all-important messages even when you can’t get a connection. You’ll notice the app looks a heck of a lot like the web app for tablets, and that’s because that’s basically what it is. There are some differences — keyboard shortcuts work — but at it’s heart it’s the same HTML5 browser app mobile users have been enjoying for some time. To install the offline version you’ll have to uninstall the standard Gmail Chrome app, which is a little odd, but there’s nothing stopping you from typing Gmail.com in the address bar. Docs and Calendar are also going offline. Starting today the feature will be rolled out to users over the next week. To activate it just look under settings for an offline tick box. At the moment Docs is view only when disconnected, but Google promises offline editing is coming soon. Hit up the more coverage link to install Offline Gmail now.

Update: Google reached out to us and it turns out both can run side by side just fine. We were experiencing a bug that shouldn’t effect most users since we hadn’t let the Gmail app update recently.

Gmail, Google Docs and Calendar finally regain offline access originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 22

Helpful Tip: Automatically Delete or Mark Spam as Read in Gmail

Posted in: Email, Gmail, Google, Today's Chili

This article was written on May 07, 2008 by CyberNet.

gmail spam filter.png

I’ve slowly made the move back to using an email client full-time ever since Gmail started offering IMAP support. By using IMAP both my online Gmail account and all of my email client are kept in sync with each other, which is nice since I read my mail on multiple devices throughout the day. The only problem is that some of my email clients automatically download messages that Google has already flagged as spam, and it’s frustrating thinking that I have received a new email just to find out that it was a spam message.

DaComboMan pointed out in the forum a nice little tip that can get around that for me. Basically all you have to do is create a filter that either marks spam as read or actually deletes it as it comes in. Here’s what you have to do:

  1. Create a new filter (instructions here)
  2. In the Has the words field enter in:spam
  3. Check either the Mark as read or Delete it box depending on what you would like to do with the spam

I didn’t go as far as to delete the spam because having it automatically marked as read will solve the headaches that I was getting. If you have found yourself in the same boat where you get notifications when new spam arrives then hopefully this will keep what sanity you have left. Doing either of those things will also eliminate the “new spam counter” that you see when visiting the Gmail website.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Aug 11

Android Ice Cream Sandwich pictures leak, leave us slightly cold

Posted in: Android, gingerbread, Gmail, Google, honeycomb, leak, nexus s, NexusS, samsung, Today's Chili, ui
Well what do we have here? It looks like Ice Cream Sandwich might have escaped from Google’s freezer a little early. Let’s be clear here — we’re not 100 percent sure this is the next major version of Android, but the evidence is somewhat convincing. Both Android Police and RootzWiki posted screenshots of a Nexus S running a blue-ish themed skin which appears similar to the Gingerbread UI, but with a revised dock containing four icons instead of the usual three. Most of the changes are mild, but introduce functionality that already exist in Honeycomb. The camera app is said to gain a panorama mode, and the Gmail app is supposed to match the design of the new OS. Follow the links below for more details, and jump past the break for an additional picture.

Continue reading Android Ice Cream Sandwich pictures leak, leave us slightly cold

Android Ice Cream Sandwich pictures leak, leave us slightly cold originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAndroid Police, RootzWiki  | Email this | Comments

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Aug 06

WhiteHat Security hacks into Chrome OS, exposes extension vulnerability at Black Hat

Posted in: Chrome, chrome os, ChromeOs, demo, Gmail, Google, hack, hacking, research, security, Today's Chili

It’s been a rough Black Hat conference for Google. First, FusionX used the company’s homepage to pry into a host of SCADA systems, and now, a pair of experts have discovered a way to hack into Chrome OS. According to WhiteHat security researchers Matt Johansen and Kyle Osborn, one major issue is Google’s vet-free app approval process, which leaves its Chrome Web Store susceptible to malicious extensions. But there are also vulnerabilities within native extensions, like ScratchPad — a note-taking extension that stores data in Google Docs. Using a cross-site scripting injection, Johansen and Osborn were able to steal a user’s contacts and cookies, which could give hackers access to other accounts, including Gmail. Big G quickly patched the hole after WhiteHat uncovered it earlier this year, but researchers told Black Hat’s attendees that they’ve discovered similar vulnerabilities in other extensions, as well. In a statement, a Google spokesperson said, “This conversation is about the Web, not Chrome OS. Chromebooks raise security protections on computing hardware to new levels.” The company went on to say that its laptops can ward off attacks better than most, thanks to “a carefully designed extensions model and the advanced security available through Chrome that many users and experts have embraced.”

WhiteHat Security hacks into Chrome OS, exposes extension vulnerability at Black Hat originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Aug 2011 17:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceCNET  | Email this | Comments

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