The web based accounts are facing all sorts of threats these days and people are increasingly relying on their online accounts to store sensitive information. Google has now added an additional layer of security to the users of Google accounts including mail and Google Docs to make it much harder to crack.
This additional layer works by providing a two-step authentication process. In addition to the regular password step that was previously being used, there is a second step which sends a code to your pre-registered mobile phone number. You need to enter this first code to the web application or the Google Authenticator mobile app that is already available for popular mobile devices such as iPhone, Android and BlackBerry to generate a second code.
The second code generated in the last step is needed to complete the account authentication process. However due to the extra hassle involved, this new feature might not be appreciated by all the users and it’s being offered as opt-in for now. Moreover, the two step procedure needs to be repeated only while logging in through a different browser, application or mobile device.
“Your Gmail account, your photos, your private documents—if you reuse the same password on multiple sites and one of those sites gets hacked, or your password is conned out of you directly through a phishing scam, it can be used to access some of your most closely-held information”, says Nishit Shah, Product Manager Google Security.
You can follow the official guide for a step-by-step procedure to activate the 2-step authentication procedure for your account. Gmail’s blog post explain more.
Ok, we’re a bit late on this one but the popular Chrome browser from Google has finally hit version 9.0 with the stable release rolled out to users. This new version packs a bundle of new features, support for some enhanced web standards and fixes some security holes besides providing performance enhancements. The browser will automatically update itself to the new version else you can download it directly.
The most awaited feature is certainly the stable support for the WebGL standard. This will allow the developers to create 3D content that will run with full hardware acceleration from the GPUs. The WebGL standard provides OpenGL derived functionality to the developers that can create content which is both rich and runs smoothly due to offloading it to the graphics hardware.
Another large addition is the full support for Google Instant technology. This would enable the browser to load previously visited pages instantly by saving time while the user types the site URL. This feature is expected to provide a much swifter browsing experience.
The new version also brings support for Chrome Web Store to the browser which is accessible to the users instantly. The web store already supports a number of free and paid apps that users can directly purchase and run from within their browser.
Facebook, the largest social media network is getting more secure with the long awaited addition of HTTPS (HTTP Secure) feature. This update will provide encrypted communication between user’s platform and Facebook, increasing the security and privacy of its users.
The HTTPS encryption standard combines the SSL protocol with HTTP web standard to provide a protected connection. The protection is from outside sniffing attacks over wired or wireless networks which provides hackers an easy way to track your private data and possibly steal personal information. The addition of HTTPS will make it almost impossible for anyone to track such content.
Although it was earlier possible to enable HTTPS for Facebook using add-in plugins for browsers, though it proved to make the experience laggy and some features such as chat and uploading of photos and videos would not work. This official update is not free from bugs, though we believe they would be resolved over time.
Due to the stability issues, the update is not available by default. However you can enable it by checking “Secure Browsing (https)’ option from Account Security option from the settings menu in your Facebook profile. However the option is still not available for everyone and it might take a week or so before everyone can opt in to this security setting. We can expect the feature to be rolled out for everyone within a month’s time.
Web search spam has seen a rise in the past few months due to websites that were able to circumvent advanced algorithms of search engines to achieve higher rankings. Google recognizes this deteriorating condition and has published steps it is taking to reduce internet spam.
In a recent blog post by Matt Cutts, Principal Engineer at Google, he discusses the current search quality and the changes they are planning to increase the quality of the search content. Google recently launched Caffeine which indexed more web content, including spam. Thus the search giant is focusing on developing a new classifier for web pages that will degrade the ranking of spam filled pages. “The new classifier is better at detecting spam on individual web pages, e.g., repeated spammy words—the sort of phrases you tend to see in junky, automated, self-promoting blog comments.”
Matt further explains that the “pure webspam” content has been almost completely blocked. The company now aims to discourage websites with low-quality and non-original content in the form of “content farms”. He further mentions that, “We’ve also radically improved our ability to detect hacked sites, which were a major source of spam in 2010.”
He also clears up some common misconceptions about website indexing and explains that the company takes actions against websites violating Google’s guidelines even if it runs Google ads. The article rejects the notion that displaying or buying Google ads increases the search ranking of a website.
Google is certainly working hard to make web search cleaner for users. You can directly post to Google support if you’ve questions or comments about Google’s search strategy.
The HTML5 web standard is maturing swiftly, thanks to the backing by technology giants such as Google and Apple. The standard will now be recognized by a new logo that is officially released by the World-Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The keystroke shaped HTML5 badge is supposed to start a new era of web standard branding.
The logo’s official page defines the new badge, “It stands strong and true, resilient and universal as the markup you write. It shines as bright and as bold as the forward-thinking, dedicated web developers you are. It’s the standard’s standard, a pennant for progress. And it certainly doesn’t use tables for layout.”
HTML5 has seen a lot of debate in the past, especially in the last year with large companies choosing the standard over well known alternatives such as Adobe’s Flash. The standard is now gaining a lot of momentum, especially the new video tags with major video streaming websites such as YouTube and Vimeo already supporting the new format.
According to Michael Nielings from Ocupop, the designers behind the logo, “The standard needs a standard. That is, HTML5 needs a consistent, standardized visual vocabulary to serve as a framework for conversations, presentations, and explanations”. The logo will be available to all the developers and designers using the new technology. It is also possible to customize the logo in eight different styling based on the types of technology being used.
The website also showcases some HTML5 branded stickers and T-shirts as well as a gallery to showcase some possibilities with the new standard. If you are a developer or designer, do tell us about your thoughts on HTML5 and the new branding regime.
