google

Fri
15
Mar
John Lister's picture

Google To Weed Out Low Quality Sites

Google says its next search algorithm update will dramatically reduce the number of low quality results people see. It's particularly targeting sites that prioritize getting high search rankings over providing useful content for readers. The company ... says tests of the new algorithm showed that, when combined with a similar update in 2022, it reduced "low-quality, unoriginal content in search results by 40%." Of course, that measurement involves a subjective measure of what content qualifies as low-quality. (Source: gizmodo.com )) Quality Over Quantity According to Google, the algorithm update ... (view more)

Fri
01
Mar
John Lister's picture

Android Malware Targets Banking Apps

The latest malware targeting banking users may have infected up to 200,000 Android devices. The criminals behind Anatsa have deliberately exploited what's meant to be a useful feature that makes users' lives easier. The attacks have some familiar ... features such as distributing the malware through free tools that perform some basic functions and finding ways around the Android permission system. What makes it a particularly nasty campaign is that it takes advantage of the Android Accessibility system. Security researchers at ThreatFabric spotted the malware in five apps with similar names: ... (view more)

Wed
24
Jan
John Lister's picture

Google Introduces "Circle" Searches

Google has come up with a new twist when it comes to searching on mobile devices. Users of some Android handsets can draw a circle round text or images on their screen to search. The "Circle to Search" feature will also let users ask specific ... questions relating to what they have selected. Unlike many search tools, this will work directly in any app, not just the Chrome browser or other Google applications. Google gives the example of searching for information relating to a video or social media posts. (Source: blog.google ) The search results will then appear in a pop-up window. Users can tap ... (view more)

Fri
12
Jan
John Lister's picture

Chrome Starts Blocking Some Cookies

Google has begun blocking third-party cookies in the Chrome browser. However, it's letting some websites take longer than originally planned to make the change. When in force, the block means Chrome will disable cookies placed by third parties ... rather than the site itself. That means sites can continue using cookies that can be useful, for example making a note of a customer's preferred movie theater so that they automatically see relevant listings and times. Third-party cookies are more commonly associated with advertising. For example, visiting a fishing equipment website might lead to a ... (view more)

Sun
31
Dec
John Lister's picture

Store Opening Times May Hurt Google Rankings

A change to Google's search algorithm for local rankings has prompted fierce debate about what information is most useful to customers. The rankings now vary minute to minute based on listed opening hours. The change affects "local pack ranking". ... That's the section that appears at the top of many Google search results pages showing three businesses close to the user's location and relating to the search. The section, often marked "Places" gives basic information about the business including its address and user ratings. Many business recently noted their appearance or non-appearance in this ... (view more)

Wed
20
Dec
John Lister's picture

Push Notifications May Come Under Surveillance

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)

Wed
13
Dec
John Lister's picture

Rogue Loan App with 12M Downloads Blackmailed Users

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)

Tue
28
Nov
John Lister's picture

Chrome May Restrict Ad Blockers

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)

Tue
21
Nov
John Lister's picture

Tech Companies Face Child User Lawsuits

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)

Mon
30
Oct
John Lister's picture

Google to Flag Fake News Photos

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)

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