Google keeps you safe from sneaky download buttons on the web
For years now, Google’s been working hard to make the internet less dangerous. That’s why the company has announced a new feature to strengthen its Safe Browsing initiative. The goal with this one, Google says, is to protect users from deceptive embedded content on the web, such as sketchy advertising banners with fake download buttons. From here on out, if a site’s trying to be sneaky, you’ll see the warning pictured above.
Here’s how Google breaks down the social engineering policy, for those of you who are developers:
- Pretend to act, or look and feel, like a trusted entity — like your own device or browser, or the website itself.
- Try to trick you into doing something you’d only do for a trusted entity — like sharing a password or calling tech support.
In other words, stick by the rules or be prepared for your visitors to be warned before they even show up to your site. You can check out a couple of examples below.
Via: Fast Company, Ars Technica
Source: Google
Warner Bros. cancels ‘Batman: Arkham Knight’ for Mac and Linux
Batman: Arkham Knight was one of the better big-budget games of last year — but its launch on the PC was an unmitigated disaster. Warner Bros. had to pull the game from Steam and retailers and offer refunds to buyers because it was so hopelessly broken at launch, and even when the game came back it still had some problems. That checkered past makes today’s news not entirely shocking: Warner Bros. has decided to cancel Arkham Knight for Mac and Linux gamers.
Those who pre-ordered the game will of course receive refunds, but it’s just another example of how badly the game’s computer launch has been handled. It’s also further evidence of how little attention Warner Bros. typically pays to the PC platform — just look at how it handled Mortal Kombat X. If you haven’t played the game yet and were still hoping to, it sounds like your best bet will be to try it on a console, where the game has performed pretty well.
Via: Gamespot
Source: Steam
Google to push anti-ISIS ads in extremist search results
If you find yourself doing a Google search for terms related to Islamic extremism, you might soon see anti-ISIS ads persuading you to pursue a different path. According to a report written by The Guardian, Google is using its AdWords program to serve up counter narrative advertising from select non-profits whenever anyone enters in search terms that are related to ISIS or Islamic radicalization. Google says even though it’ll surface those ads more prominently, that it won’t redirect users or change the search results.
“We should get the bad stuff down, but it’s also extremely important that people are able to find good information, that when people are feeling isolated, that when they go online, they find a community of hope, not a community of harm,” said Anthony House, a senior manager for public policy and communications at Google to a home affairs select committee hearing in the UK.
On top of jiggering these search results, Google is also promising to make counter radicalization videos easier to find on YouTube. Last month, government officials met with top tech companies in Silicon Valley to seek help in fighting ISIS on the digital front. Facebook, for example, has stated that it hopes to use its system of flagging suicidal users to also flag users who show signs of radicalization.
Via: Mashable
Source: The Guardian
You are just 3.5 Facebook friends away from anyone else
The longstanding figure regarding degrees of separation has been six. This has been popularized by the game-slash-social-media-phenomenon Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, a concept that attests that no actor currently working in Hollywood is more than six associative steps from prolific actor Kevin Bacon. However, the internet is making the world smaller these days. Recent data from Facebook claims that the average user is no more than 3.5 friends away from everyone else in the world.
That means that even though I don’t know you from Adam or Eve, the odds are good that you know a guy who knows a guy who in turn knows a guy who is friends with me on Facebook. Considering there are seven billion of us running around on the planet, that’s a pretty astounding degree of interconnectedness.
See also: Facebook’s Like button alternatives launching ‘in the next few weeks’
Facebook has calculated this figure using the Flajolet-Martin algorithm. The task was gigantic, considering the social network’s massive usership, but researchers concluded that the world is figuratively getting smaller, considering the number of steps required to get from one person to another was 3.74 on average back in 2011. As it stands today, the average user ranges from 2.9 to 4.2 degrees of separation from everyone else with a Facebook account.
What are your thoughts regarding this interconnectedness? Are artificial relationship exaggerating how close we are, or is this the next step in becoming a global community? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Snapseed picks up automatic lens blur, auto-straighten modes and more in latest update
Google’s Snapseed, one of the best photo editing applications on Android, is getting an update to version 2.3 starting today. There are a handful of new automatic features introduced in this update today, as well as some bug fixes that will make saving photos much easier.
The biggest news with the update is the addition of a few new auto features, such as Lens Blur and Auto-Straighten. Lens Blur mode will automatically detect faces in the image and apply blur placement, taking pretty much all of the work out of it for you. Also, if you’re editing a photo with a clear horizon, the new Auto-Straighten mode will automatically adjust the photo to the horizon. Pretty cool, right?
That’s not all – if you happen to own a smartphone with a microSD card slot, you’ll now be able to install Snapseed on your external SD card. This likely won’t save you a ton of room on your device, but it does help in certain cases. This new update will also make saving photos more reliable on Android.
Interested in grabbing the update? Version 2.3 is now live in the Google Play Store, so follow the link below to update.
Download Snapseed from Google Play
Next: 15 best Android apps of 2016
Marvel Avengers Academy casts you as your favorite superheroes
Captain America: Civil War is still months away, but if you’re looking for your next comic-book fix, you’re in luck: Avengers Academy just went live. It’s a mobile app that lets you guide your favorite characters through the treacherous landscape of college life.
The game is the brainchild of TinyCo, which has teamed up with Marvel to create an adventure/sim title that follows the stories of your favorite super heroes before they were so super. Unlock younger versions of the Avengers as they are just discovering their superpowers. In this game, you’ll assist them not only in the ‘super’ aspects of their lives, but also in the everyday matters such as managing their social and dating lives. Depending on the decisions you make, the school will grow and change around you.
See also: 15 best free Android games
From all appearances, this seems to be a highly detailed sim game. Its Marvel affiliations are sure to garner a wide usership, so if you want to get in on the action early, now is the time to act. A light-hearted approach to the Avenger universe is a welcome respite from the grit of recent films, and although this game isn’t canon, it certainly looks fun.
Marvel Avengers Academy is free to play on both Android and iOS, but it comes with some optional in-app purchases. If you want to get in on the action, click the button below to download it from the Google Play Store. Once you’ve given it a whirl, let us know what you think of it in the comments!
Tim Cook says more Apple apps could come to Android
It looks like more Apple software may be coming to the Android operating system. A recent “Town Hall” event saw Tim Cook revealing to employees that Apple Music was just “testing the waters” of Android to see if there was enough interest to release additional apps on the competition’s platform.
There’s no official word yet as to what apps we might expect from the iPhone manufacturer, but potential choices include a slew of iCloud services from calendars to email to notes. Apple’s messaging service iMessage would be a welcome addition to the Android marketplace for a large number of users who spend their days with a foot in each world, running an Android phone by day but an iPad by night. Apple Pay would be a nice addition too, but there are doubts as to whether it could feasibly make the jump to an alternate operating system and maintain the security it currently has.
See also: Apple Music heading for #1 with 10 million paying subscribers in six months
Apple has found themselves in a little bit of a complicated situation. Both Google and Microsoft have made bold initiatives to make their software available on as many devices as possible, regardless of operating system. However, Apple has remained somewhat exclusive, potentially limiting themselves. Now that they’re trying to branch out, they’re finding themselves competing with much more entrenched software, and it’s uncertain how much demand remains for these apps within the Android ecosystem.
What are your thoughts regarding Apple’s move to make more of their products available on Android devices? A savvy business move, or are they too late to the table? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Next: Report: Google plans to take an ‘Apple-like’ approach to the Nexus line
There are 3.57 degrees of separation between you and all of Facebook
The world’s population continues to expand, but we’re closer connected to everyone else on the earth than ever before — at least, if you’re a Facebook user. Today, the company’s research team released a blog post claiming that the 1.59 billion people active on Facebook are connected to every other Facebook user by an average of 3.57 other people. In the US, that number shrinks to 3.46.
And that number is shrinking as more and more people join Facebook. Back in 2011, a study computed that the 721 million people using Facebook at the time were connected to everyone else on the site by an average of 3.74. “With twice as many people using the site, we’ve grown more interconnected, thus shortening the distance between any two people in the world,” Facebook’s research team writes.
If you’re logged into Facebook, you can see where you’re at on the bell curve of connectivity to the rest of the site’s population (I’m at 3.41, just slightly above average). It also shows you how connected CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg are (3.17 and 2.92, respectively).
Of course, if you’re anything like most Facebook users out there, you’ve collected a ménagère of random “friends” on the site — old high school companions you don’t really like, co-workers from four jobs ago you haven’t talked to since your last day, super-distant family members and the like. Those “connections” might not be all that meaningful, but they’re nonetheless contributing to the data that’s making us look more connected than ever.
Source: Facebook
Louis C.K. drops future ‘Horace and Pete’ episodes to $3
Louis C.K. has responded to criticism of the $5 premiere pricing for his new web show in a way only he can: With very creative swearing. “Horace and Pete is a full on TV production with four broadcast cameras, two beautiful sets and a state of the art control room and a very talented and skilled crew and a hall-of-fame cast,” C.K. wrote in an email to his mailing list. “Every second the cameras are rolling, money is shooting out of my asshole like your mother’s worst diarrhea.” As a sort of apology, he also announced that all future episodes will sell for $3 each (the premiere will stay at $5, though).
In a time where we’re bombarded by marketing for shows and movies months before they’re released, C.K.’s surprise reveal of Horace and Pete was particularly refreshing. But it’s also understandable that even his fans would be annoyed by the $5 premiere price. In the past, he’s offered longer specials for the same price, so it seems like a bit of a ripoff to pay the same amount for a one hour TV show.
Still, he has a point about the expense. The show looks like a traditional multi-camera sitcom, and it has a pretty stellar cast, including Steve Buscemi, Alan Alda, Edie Falco and Jessica Lange. He’s also working hard to produce it quickly — the next episode is due this Saturday.
“Basically this is a hand-made, one guy paid for it version of a thing that is usually made by a giant corporation,” C.K. added. Isn’t that worth $5?
Obama proposes $10 per barrel oil tax to fund clean transporation
President Obama has proposed a $10 per-barrel tax on oil to fund cleaner mass transit and cleaner vehicle research. The plan, laid out in a fact sheet, is a “smart, strategic integrated investments to help reduce carbon pollution, strengthen economy” according to the White House.
The fact sheet notes that 30 percent of the nation’s green house gas emissions come from public transportation. The proposed tax is expected to increase investment in a clean transportation by 50 percent.
That includes $20 billion per year raised by the new tax being used to fund public transportation to reduce traffic and pollution. While approximately $10 billion per year will be used to fund cities and states that come up with solutions for cutting emissions. About $2 billion will be allocated for clean and autonomous vehicle research.
As expected, the oil industry is not amused. American Petroleum Institute CEO Jack Gerard issued the following statement: “The White House thinks Americans are not paying enough for gasoline, so they have proposed a new tax that could raise the cost of gasoline by 25 cents a gallon, harm consumers that are enjoying low energy prices, destroy American jobs and reverse America’s emergence as a global energy leader.” He continued,”On his way out of office, President Obama has now proposed making the United States less competitive.”
The proposal will have a tough time in the Republican controlled House and Senate. Actually, there’s a good chance it’s going to die rather quickly once it leaves the White House.
Via: The Hill
Source: The White House
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