Google's Chrome OS will be "poked" by hackers in 2010, in large part because it will be the "new kid on the block," a security researcher predicted today. Chrome OS will be targeted by attackers, probably even before it's officially released, said Sam Masiello, the director of threat management at antivirus vendor McAfee. "It'll be the new kid on the block, that's one of the primary drivers why we think cybercriminals will target Chrome OS," said Masiello. "The same thing happened to Windows Vista and Windows 7, even before they were finished. Since Chrome OS is new, it's going to be of interest to security researchers, and it's going to be poked by cybercriminals as well." Google's operating system wasannounced in July and released as open-source in November, but is not slated to be available on netbooks until late in 2010. Another reason hackers will likely target Chrome OS is its reliance on HTML 5, the still-unfinished revision of HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) that aims to replace the current crop of rich media plug-ins, such as Adobe Flash and Microsoft's Silverlight, with advanced features developers can build right into sites. HTML 5 also supports offline Web applications, where traditionally online services and software can be accessed when users are not connected to the Internet. "As we move toward the advent of rich Internet applications, the lines are blurring between online and offline," said Masiello. "Cybercriminals will be able to attack users when they're offline, as well as on." Other Google software will make a name for itself -- and not in a good way -- during the coming year, said Masiello. Google Wave, the search giant's collaboration and communication software, may be the perfect tool for controlling a botnet, or collection of already-compromised computers. "Google Wave uses XMPP (eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol), which provides application-to-application control for Web apps," Masiello said. "It could be used for truly decentralized command-and-control of a botnet, so a take-down of a single ISP or hosting company would have zero impact." But although McAfee sounded the alarm about Chrome OS, HTML 5 and Google Wave, Masiello acknowledged that 2010 will probably be limited to proof-of-concept exploits or a low level of activity, seeing as how Chrome won't appear until later in the year and HTML 5 is still unfinished. "With HTML5 and Google, we still have some time," he said.
As it promised in October, Google has now started to add search results in real-time to its engine, giving end-users the option of seeing relevant links that have just been added to its index. The move is an acknowledgement by Google of the increasing importance of providing literally up-to-the-minute results in its engine, as end-users have found value in searching through messages and status updates posted to microblogging and social-networking sites like Twitter, MySpace and Facebook. In fact, these three companies have struck deals with Google for this initiative, feeding the search engine posts, status updates and other content that people and organizations have labeled as public. "Google's real-time search is Google's relevance technology meeting the real-time Web," said Amit Singhal, Google fellow, at a press event the company held in San Francisco that was also webcast. "Relevance is the foundation of this product. It's relevance, relevance, relevance. There's so much information being generated out there, that getting to you relevant information is the key to success of a product like this. That's where we as Google come in, because for 11 years that's what we have done," he added. Bing, Microsoft's competing search engine, unveiled real-time search features in October, primarily focused on Twitter results, with plans to expand its scope. Yahoo is also making moves in this area. Google's real-time results won't be limited to Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook. They will include results from other social networks, blogs and news outlets as well. Google had to develop more than 12 new technologies to power real-time search, which requires monitoring more than 1 billion fast-changing pages and documents. Google will roll out this real-time search functionality gradually to users over the coming days. For now, it will be available only for English-language results. When real-time becomes available to them, users will see a section in the results labeled "latest results." This will open up a section right on the search results page with relevant items scrolling in as they become available. There will also be a specific menu option to filter results down only to real-time ones by clicking on "latest." An option called "updates" will limit real-time results to those from microblogging services like Twitter. Real-time search functionality will also be available to mobile users of iPhone and Android devices. The real-time technology will also power a new option in the Google Trends service. Called "hot topics," this new option will contain the most popular topics online at any given time. Google also announced new mobile search services designed to let users find out what local businesses are in their current vicinity, as well as search for information on an item by snapping a photo of it with their phone's camera. The local business search feature is called "What's Nearby" and included in the latest version of Google Maps for Android devices, said Vic Gundotra, a Google vice president of engineering. In a few weeks, the same functionality will be available from Google's mobile home page via a new option called "Near me now." Google Goggles, the photo-based search, is available as an early prototype from the company's Labs team for now, because it works well only for specific items in specific categories, he said. The service, which Gundotra called "a mouse pointer for the world," should eventually be able to identify virtually any item a user photographs. Gundotra also demonstrated an early version of an upcoming feature that translates speech in real time, acting like a real-time interpreter for phone conversations. He also announced that the mobile search engine's existing ability to field voice queries has been sharpened, as well as extended through the addition of Japanese. It already worked in English and Mandarin. "This is just the beginning, but the possibilities ahead inspire us," he said about the new and improved mobile services. Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president of search products and user experience, said that the mobile search advances offer a peek into how the search engine interface will evolve and change from its current format of a search box into which text queries are typed.Users will get the option to view up-to-the minute results from sites like Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace.
Take a look at your webmaster account it has been updated,It can be difficult for webmasters to figure out how fast their site loads and whether it's visible to users. So Google changed that. Now you can go to Google Webmaster Tools and get a glimpse of how quickly your site's pages on your site load. There are also recommendations on how to improve your site's performance based on our GFast plugin.
A way to fasten your web reach. Many doesn't know what really happens when we type the URL in address bar of our browser. This is where the job of DNS (Domain Name Service) begins in short it translate the address,Like from http://developerz-blog.blogspot.com to 77.84.234.32.
Advantage Of Using Google Public DNS
- It is free of cost.
- It is faster (Google's major research).
- It is secure.
To Change your network settings
- You can read about the specific technical improvements made in Google's product documentation and get installation instructions from product website.
- check out the Google Code Blog for detailed instructions and more information on how to set up Google Public DNS on your computer or router.
There is no end for google's innovation Google Image Swirl represents a concrete step towards reaching that goal. It looks at the pixel values of the top search results and organizes and presents them in visually distinctive groups. Source:Google Official Blog
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Google has released the source code for its Chrome OS project, as it prepares to show off the lightweight operating system for the first timeGoogle has invited much of the technology press to an event here at its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters Thursday morning to demonstrate Chrome OS, which it is developing for Netbooks as a new type of operating system. However, those of you who speak code can get started poking around with the operating system at theChromium project blog, as spotted by the Google Operating System blog. Several Google engineers are expected to speak at the event Thursday morning, as Google shows off Chrome OS after first announcing it in July. We'll have regular updates as events warrant. Updated 10:10 a.m. PST: Sundar Pichai, vice president of product management for Google, kicked off the presentation by setting expectations: Google is about a year away from releasing Chrome OS. There will be no beta today, and no products to announce, but the main news is that the "code is fully open," he said, allowing Google developers to work on the project hand-in-hand with the community. Updated 10:22 a.m. PST: Pichai ran through a lot of things we already know building up to the big reveal: Netbook shipments are growing, people are doing more and more in their browser as opposed to running desktop applications, and laptops and smartphones are converging into new types of devices like tablets and e-readers. Every application on Chrome OS will be a Web application, Pichai said. This will help improve speed and especially security, since users won't be installing applications to their systems, he said. Google is actually running the presentation on a Chrome laptop, although Pichai warns that because Chrome OS is a year away from release, the actual UI could change between now and then. If you've used Chrome, you've seen the basic Chrome OS UIUpdated 10:36 a.m. PST: Matt Papakipos, engineering director for Chrome OS, took over for Pichai to explain how Google is making Chrome OS work under the hood. Google's whole idea is to make Chrome-based laptops more like televisions: flip a switch, and it's on. They are eliminating the boot loader and optimizing the kernel so that all the services that normally load with an OS at start-up don't load until they are needed. They are using a verified boot process that uses multiple signature keys to verify whether or not Web applications are legitimate. Papakipos demonstrates what happens when Chrome OS tries to download malware: it detects the malware and reboots the system back to a clean image, which is much easier than doing such a thing on a regular PC or Mac because it's Web-oriented and the data is backed up in the cloud. Updated 10:46 a.m. PST: Pichai retakes the stage to talk about how Chrome OS Netbooks will make it on store shelves. They're not ready to talk about these plans in detail since we're about a year away, but there's a few plans that are relatively solid. Google will specify components for Chrome OS Netbook partners: you won't be able to download Chrome OS on an existing Netbook, you'll have to buy a Chrome OS-optimized Netbook. For example, Google won't support hard drives: Chrome OS Netbooks will have to use solid-state drives. "We really want the software to understand the underlying hardware," Pichai said. The hope is that these Netbooks will be ready by next year's holiday season, Pichai said. There's no word on price yet, but Google hinted that it's going to require Netbook makers to deliver slightly larger Netbooks than are currently en vogue, with full-size keyboards and bigger touch pads. Updated 10:55 a.m. PST: Even though Google is specifying hardware components, Pichai was not ready to talk about pricing for Chrome OS-Netbooks during a question and answer session. It's hard to predict a year ahead of time what components will cost, he claimed, and said that Google is not setting a specific price point for Chrome OS Netbooks. He did say that Chrome OS Netbooks will likely slot into the prices that people are used to paying for Netbooks today. Updated 11:11 a.m. PST: Pichai said Google is working on ways to make Chrome OS useful in offline situations, taking advantage of technologies like Google Gears. But this is an operating system designed primarily for online use, he said, later dodging a question about whether or not wireless WAN chips for cellular networks would be part of the Chrome OS Netbook specifications. Chrome OS Netbooks will run on both x86 and ARM chips, Pichai said. All applications created for the Netbooks will be Web applications, he said: Google does not appear to have plans to allow native applications to run directly on the processor.
While Google Docs is brilliant, the only issue is that you need an active Internet connection to create new Office documents in Google Docs as well as for editing /reading old files that already exist in your Google account. That’s a problem because, unless you use something like Google Gears, you won’t have access to your Google documents while you are in an airplane or are using an old computer that has Microsoft Office but no Internet connection. Therefore the best option is that you download a copy of all your documents, PDFs, etc. from Google Docs and put them on a local hard-drive or USB stick so that you can at least read them which you are in offline mode. While there are third-party tools that let you easily download Google Documents to the local drive in one go, the good news is that the batch export feature is now available in Google Docs by default so you don’t have to hunt for external tools to help you do so. Select Google Documents for Exporting Just open your Google Docs account and select the documents that you want download locally. Then use the Export option from “More Actions” and within minutes, all your Google documents will be available on the desktop as one large zip file. You may even convert Office files to PDF or HTML format before exporting them out of Google Docs. Choose the Export Format – PDF, Word, etc.Download Google Documents for Offline Use
Google has released a PDF booklet with some very useful tips on how to improve your website. The guide is written primarily for online businesses and marketers but the tips and findings mentioned in the book are pretty relevant for smaller websites as well.
Excerpts from the book:
- Visitors to your site should be able to see, at a glance, where to search. Consider enlarging your search box or making it more prominent.
- Show visitors a clean and easy to understand homepage which isn’t cluttered and has all relevant information available on the top of the page.
- You want visitors to proceed beyond your homepage. With so many potential routes a visitor could take, make sure they don’t get lost. Options on where to navigate next should be clear and simple e.g. using site search, top/side navigation, and/or product links.
- Assure the visitor that they have landed at the right site – clearly display your brand and any unique selling points. Avoid long introductions as customers will seek this information in the ‘about us’ section.
Google has unveiled software to help developers to take advantage of open web technologies on Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) web browser. Google Chrome Frame is a software plug-in for IE that will run new web technologies like HTML5 that are not yet supported by IE. "Developers can't afford to ignore IE because most people use some version of IE so they end up spending lots of time implementing work-arounds or limiting the functionality of their apps," said a posting on The Chromium Blog. To make use of Google Chrome Frame, developers simply put a meta tag in their code and IE users must install the open source plug-in from Google. The tag: will enable IE users with the plug-in to have web pages rendered automatically by Google Chrome Frame instead of IE. This means applications developed to take advantage of Google Chrome's HTM5 capabilities and faster JavaScript processing power will run in IE. "Google Chrome Frame enables these features within IE with no additional coding or testing for different browser versions," the blog post said.
Google Voice is designed to be a central phone service. You give out your Google Voice number, and let it handle all the incoming calls, including voicemail, call routing, call blocking, and so forth. It cannot link directly to a phone or PBX, unfortunately, but rather relies on acting as a proxy for whatever real phone or phones you want to use. It's limited to a single number per account for now, and choose that number wisely -- it costs $10 to change it.
The setup is simple -- pick a ZIP code or area code, and select from the available numbers in that area. Then, specify a few real phones to connect to that number. In my case, I chose my office land line and my cell phone. To verify the numbers, Google Voice sends an SMS message to the mobile phone with a code that you enter into the Web site to verify the phone. Rinse and repeat for other phones. Once that's done, you're ready to go.
Google has updated itsawesome RSS reader with new social networking features similar to those found on Facebook. Now, when you come across an article you particularly enjoy, you can "like" it, adding a smiley face icon beneath the piece's title. (click the image below to view the entire screen cap.) Your choice appears publicly, meaning anyone who also subscribes to that feed can experience your bliss, click on your name, and view your Google Profile.
Google Earth event hints at moon mapping
At least the residents of the moon are unlikely to be annoyed by the Google Street View car.
Google announced plans Thursday to hold a press conference on July 20 in Washington, D.C., to discuss "a very special announcement about the newest addition to Google Earth," according to an invitation sent to reporters. Further details were not included, but it's not too hard to guess what Google might be up to here.
July 20 is the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. One of the men who set foot on the moon that day, Buzz Aldrin, will speak at the event, as will Andrew Chaikin, author of "A Man on the Moon." And NASA's launch of theLunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in June has yielded all kinds of new detailed images of the moon's surface.
Google already offers a limited overhead view of the moon that highlights the sites of the Apollo landings, but it seems more detailed maps could be in the works as part ofthe ongoing partnership betwenn google and NASA. All kidding aside, Street View for the moon is probably not on the agenda, although those lunar rovers are still up there.
1. Netbooks aren't the world
Netbooks may be important, but they remain a tiny part of the world's PC sales. Google's bet is predicated on strong demand for weak computers. It also takes advantage of a kink in Microsoft's armor: MS actually needs to sell its operating systems while Google can, for now, afford to just give Chrome away.
However, operating systems have been given away for years now and Microsoft has persisted. Linux accounts for about 1 percent of the OS market today, and has already lost the battle for netbooks. And there is a reason for that: It isn't Windows.
Google is counting on users of small computers not being tied to specific applications and being willing to accept low cost and, perhaps, ease of use over a more familiar and more powerful environment.
Some doubtless are, but enough to really challenge Microsoft? Not anytime soon.
2. Microsoft Can Shoot to Kill
I'm Steve Ballmer and here's what I say: Windows 7 NB (for netbooks) will be free through all of 2010. Starting right now. Anything Google can do, Microsoft can--at least theoretically--do better. Google wants to give away a netbook operating system? So can Microsoft.
It will be hard for regulators to complain as Microsoft is now reacting to a powerful competitor's frontal assault on Windows. And placing and end date on the freebie--which can always be extended--allows MS to charge once Chrome is vanquished.
But, does Microsoft even have to do this? No. There is strong evidence--Linux on netbooks, for example--that Microsoft can still successfully charge for what other's give away.
Do not underestimate what can happen when Microsoft gets mad. The company's biggest enemy in recent years has been itself. A new external threat may help Ballmer & Co. sharpen their thinking and respond like an angry immune system to isolate and overwhelm a foreign organism, like Google.
3. Google Docs is the best they can do
So far, Googles efforts at creating cloud applications have been pretty feeble. Look at all the things Google Docs don't do that people need, at least occasionally. Google needs to prove that applications-as-a-service can match those users install. So far, it hasn't come close.
Google's cloud computing strategy so far is "applications lite," which may be fine for occasional use, just like a netbook, but don't meet enough needs to be a real solution.
4. Chrome isn't a "real" operating system
If I were building Chrome, I'd do everything possible to hide the operating system and hope users don't notice what's been left out.
But is that possible? At what point must something that looks and acts like an operating system be presented to users? How much functionality can be sacrificed to provide ease-of-use? Google describes Chrome almost as though an operating system can do all its work behind-the-scenes. I am not sure this is as possible as Google might like to believe.
The closer Chrome comes to being a "real" OS, the more Linux-y it will become. Oops! A one-way ticket on the Voyage to the Bottom of the Market awaits.
5. Compatibility matters
Compatibility, both hardware and software was the major reason why the world anointed Microsoft its King of Computing. You may not remember the days of incompatible word processors, spreadsheets, and file systems, but I do.
Google says that its forthcoming chrome OS will be so secure that "users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates." But Google's claim is being met with skepticism within the Internet security world.
"I have serious doubts about their claims simply because an operating system must execute code and malware is code," says Dave Marcus, director of security research and communications for McAfee Avert Labs.
Like the chrome browser, Google Chrome OS will be based on an existing open-source project: Where the Chrome browser is based on the open-source Webkit project, the Chrome OS will be based on the open-source Linux kernel. It will be, Google says, a "lightweight" OS that will run on x86 or ARM processors and have a new windowing system. Furthermore, the Chrome OS will be positioned for use on netbooks, which are designed primarily for Internet use. The Android platform will remain Google's choice for mobile devices.
ROOM for Improvement
With its Chrome browser, Google did attempt torethink the browser. It created a new JavaScript virtual machine, V8, arguing that JavaScript today does much more than enable online novelties. JavaScript now runs applications, such as those built by Google itself. Among the optimizations introduced in the V8 engine is a new way of interpreting JavaScript source code so that it runs as machine code within the CPU. Thanks to another optimization, V8 also knows where the JavaScript pointers are, eliminating the need for repeated searches. But while V8 optimized performance, the Chrome browser hasn't eliminated the JavaScript threat landscape.
"Malware takes on many forms, including JavaScript malware, which Google's Chrome is still vulnerable to," says Robert Hansen, CEO of SecTheory. At last summer's Black Hat USA security conference, Hansen and Tom Stracener of Cenzic presented a talk showing how they were able to exploit Google Gadgets; they even coined the phrase Gmalware (for Gmodules-based malware) to describe this new class of vulnerabilities.
"Given the sheer volume of security failures found in all of Google's client-side applications [that] we have assessed, we find it unlikely that Google has suddenly found a silver bullet," Hansen says
Google plans Chrome-based Web operating system
That Google operating system rumor is coming true--and it's based on Google's browser, Chrome.
The company announced google chrome OS on its blog Tuesday night, saying lower-end PCs called Netbooks from unnamed manufacturers will include it in the second half of 2010. Linux will run under the covers of the open-source project, but the applications will run on the Web itself.
In other words, Google's cloud-computing ambitions just got a lot bigger."Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the Web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small Netbooks to full-size desktop systems," Sundar Pichai, vice president of product management, and Linus Upson, engineering director, said in the blog post.
The move has widespread implications.One is that it shows just how serious Google is about making the Web into a foundation not just for static pages but for active applications, notably its own such as Google Docs and Gmail. Another: it opens new competition with Microsoft and, potentially, a new reason for antitrust regulators to pay close attention to Google's moves.
The move also gives new fuel to the Netbook movement for low-cost, network-enabled computers. Those machines today run Windows or Linux. Google Chrome OS provides a new option that hearkens back to the Network Computer era of the 1990s espoused bysun micro system scott Mc Nealy and oracle's larry Ellision.
Google is making sure its standard antitrust rebuttal, that "competition is one click away," remains intact with Chrome OS, though. "All Web-based applications...will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac, and Linux, thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform."
Another bit of intrigue comes with the corporate politics. Google has argued that offering its Android mobile-phone operating system isn't a big enough competitive issue with Apple that Chief Executive Eric Schmidt must step down from Apple's board. Offering a full-on PC operating system could intensify the Federal Trade Commission's "discussions" about Schmidt's dual Apple and Google responsibilities .
Google has a track record of upsetting the status quo, though, taking on strong incumbent players and rattling cages well beyond the computing industry. Google Docs competes withMicrosoft Office . Gmail competes with Yahoo Mail and Microsoft Hotmail.Google Books aims to digitize the publishing industry . The Android operating system is designed to make smartphones cheap and ordinary.
What Chrome OS has on Windows that Linux doesn't
Google's Chrome OS isn't the first operating system to challenge Microsoft Windows' commanding lead. But it's got an advantage that other rivals such as Linux lacked: the Web.
Chrome OS faces the same applications challenge as any other operating system, but it's rising to that challenge in a different way. It includes the Chrome browser running on a stripped-down version of Linux, but the applications won't run on Linux, they'll run on the Internet. Chrome is the conduit to the Web applications, and Chrome OS is the vehicle by which Google will get the browser installed on Netbooks starting in the second half of 2010, the company promises.
Why Chrome OS? Google says, why not?
Google has long worked on expanding its reach beyond mere Internet search. And as many had suspected,it confirmed late Tuesday night that it plans to develop a lightweight operating system based on Linux and Web standards for personal computers.
Chrome OS is the byproduct of Google thinking it can do better than Windows,Mac OS X, the various flavors of Linux, and even its own Android operating system. It's long been obvious that the world has changed from a personal computing model built for individuals working offline or businesspeople sharing files across a workplace to one where the consumer/business lines have blurred and people are expected to be online anywhere and everywhere.
Opening a new tab in a browser is a moment ripe with opportunity, and Google has begun testing a version of Chrome that can present new options when users do so.
Chrome's current new-tab interface, which also shows by default when the browser is first launched, displays a three-by-three array of thumbnails of the most commonly visited Web sites. It also sports a history search box, a list of recent bookmarks, and a list of recently closed tabs. That changes in Chrome 3.0.191.3, a developer preview version released Monday.
The new layout, though, features a thumbnail grid four wide and two down, placing lists of closed tabs and recent downloads in a "recent activities" section below and offering an area for "tips and suggestions" next to it. This instructional section probably makes sense, given that Chrome is somewhat alien to most users, but so far it doesn't show any actual tips or suggestions.
Also new is the ability to delete specific thumbnails with a close box, pin them so they're permanently shown, and reorder them using a drag-and-drop interface. Chrome users also can opt to show Web pages in as a list rather than as thumbnails, and they can hide either the "recent activities" or "tips and suggestions" boxes.
The new-tab page historically has been left empty, but now browser makers see it as prime real estate for prompting users with ideas for what they might want to do or offering them what they might need.
The new new-tab view isn't available by default in Chrome. To use it, launch Chrome with the "--new-new-tab-page" command-line option.
The new version also fixes some issues with printing on Windows and with animated GIFs, according to Chrome Engineering Program Manager Jonathan Conradt.
