Google

With the last version of the Android P Developer Preview released, we're quickly heading toward the final build of another major Android version. And for Android P—aka version 9.0—battery life is a major focus. The Adaptive Battery feature will dole out background access to only the apps you use, a new auto brightness scheme has been devised, and the Android team has made changes to how background work runs on the CPU. All together, battery life should be batter (err, better) than ever.

Google is having a busy week at its Cloud Next '18 conference, but it's primarily been all software announcements. That changed on Wednesday with the Titan Security Key.

The Titan is a physical security key that adds a layer of authentication to an account — one that a digital authenticator can't match. It will first launch for Google Cloud customers before rolling out to all consumers via the Google Store in the months that follow.

Qualys has developed a free extension for Google Chrome to protect browsers from cryptojacking attacks, Dark Reading has learned.

The new BrowserCheck CoinBlocker Extension uses both domain blacklists for cryptocurrency mining sites as well as heuristics features to detect unknown cryptojacking attack types. Qualys will officially roll out the plugin on Wed., July 25, but it's already available on the Google Chrome Web Store.

It turns out the key to counteracting employee phishing at Google is an actual key.

The company began using physical USB-based security keys in early 2017 and since then, none of its 85,000-plus employees have been phished on their work accounts, Krebs on Security reported last week. The keys serve as an alternative to two-factor authentication, in which users first log into a website using a password and then must enter an additional one-time code that's usually sent to their phone via text or an app.

Google Chrome users who visit unencrypted websites will be confronted with warnings from tomorrow.

The changes will come for surfers using the latest version of Google Chrome, version 68. Any web page not running HTTPS with a valid TLS certificate will show a "Not secure" warning in the Chrome address bar from version 68 onwards. The warning will apply both to internet-facing websites and intranet sites accessed through Chrome, which has approximately 60 per cent market share.

When news broke this week that Google was letting Gmail app developers scan and even read your email, we heard what's become Silicon Valley's usual excuse: This is what you signed up for.

A WSJ report yesterday talked about what has remained a widely known “dirty secret” in the tech industry – the ability for third-party app developers to access your inboxes. Google had promised its users last year that it will stop reading their emails to better target them with advertising, however, it continues to give this prized access to outsiders.

Notches are so early 2018 - or so Oppo's Find X would have you believe - but Google seems to remain steadfast in its opinion that the notch train don't stop for nobody. Indeed, based on the leaks that you're about to see below, the Pixel 3 XL appears to come with said unapologetic intrusion into one's precious screen real estate, but its smaller sibling the Pixel 3, takes a more old-school Samsung-esque approach with a more familiar forehead and chin.

Google announced it is making changes to how Chrome, their web browser, labels HTTPS and HTTP sites in the future. Starting in September 2018, Google will be removing the “Secure” wording and HTTPS scheme in Chrome version 69. Plus, in July 2018 in Chrome version 68, Chrome will mark all HTTP sites as “not secure”.

With the recent acquisition of one of HTC's smartphone teams, Google appears more committed than ever to being a smartphone hardware maker. The company still has a long way to go to reach a substantial customer base, though. The research director for IDC, Francisco Jeronimo, shared some interesting smartphone shipment numbers from the IDC's quarterly industry report.