Latest Gear Live Videos
China suspected in Google Gmail phishing attacks
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Google, Internet
Spear phishing attempts to penetrate the personal Gmail accounts of U.S. officials, journalists, and activists, reported by Google in June, have not ceased, according to a security researcher who first discovered the attempts in February.
Spear phishing uses bogus emails to trick recipients into entering personal details, like home addresses and Gmail passwords.
"I am posting this only to highlight the fact that once compromises happen and are covered in the news, they do not disappear and attackers don't give up or stop. They continue their business as usual," wrote Mila Parkour, a D.C.-based security researcher on her Contagio Malware Dump blog, as picked up by ComputerWorld.
Click to continue reading China suspected in Google Gmail phishing attacks
Digg ThisAdvertisement
SaneBox has saved me from email overload
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet
If you're overwhelmed by the amount of email that you have to deal with on a regular basis, we feel you. I've tried all sorts of Inbox Zero tips and tricks, but at the end of the day, manually processing the amount of email that hits my inbox is a chore in and of itself. However, I finally found something that has made everything better and wanted to quickly share it. It's called SaneBox. It works with Exchange, Gmail, AOL, Yahoo! mail, MobileMe, and just about anything else you can think of. What does it do? Well, it automatically prioritizes your email (way better than Google Priority Inbox does it) into a few different folders that you have full power over managing and defining. You can also set up your own folders for, say, receipts or Groupon purchases or whatever else. All you need to do to train SaneBox is drag an email into the folder that you want those kinds of messages to appear. It just learns based on your actions, and takes it from there. Click the link below for a 30-day free trial of the service. The $5 a month that it costs is totally worth it in our book.
Read More 
| SaneBox
Get a preview of the new Gmail design right now
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Internet
Gmail is set to get a redesign that brings it in line with the the visual UI of Google+. While the final redesign hasn't been pushed out yet, you can still apply it to your current Gmail setup using a theme that Google has made available. Simply log in to Gmail and go into your theme settings and choose either "Preview" or "Preview (Dense)" to apply the new hotness. What do you think of the new layout?
Oh, and it looks like Google Calendar picks up the redesign as well.
The best of April Fool’s Day 2011 from around the web
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Google, Internet
April Fool's Day is upon us, and that means that you can never be too sure if anything you read today is true or bogus. Everyone from Google and Hulu to Funny or Die and Groupon have come up with their own gags, and here's a look at some of the ones circulating this morning. If you see any other notable April Fool's Day jokes, let us know in the comments.
Chromercise: In a throw-back to Jane Fonda and the Jazzercise era, Google is helping you get your fingers limbered up for some searching with Chromercise. Strap on your most flattering 80s fingerwarmers and Google-fied headbands, and feel the burn.
YouTube: While you might think that YouTube was founded in the last decade, it actually dates back to 1911, when videos of horse and buggy crashes and pre-talkie fruit conversations dominated the airwaves. And of course, pets were still able to play instruments with ease; trumpet cat ftw.
Autocompleter: You thought those auto-completes on Google were done by an algorithm? Nah, it's just Michael, an auto-completer at Google. He started out as a spell checker, but now provides users with suggestions as they type. Michael averages about 34,000 words per minute and goes through a keyboard every eight days.
Comic Sans for Everyone: As we all know, comic sans is everyone's favorite font. As a result, Google will roll it out as its default fonts across all Google products, effective April 4. It's live for a few lucky people in the Google Labs Trusted Tester Beta Preview Sandbox program, so check it out.
Gmail Motion: Typing and using a mouse to write emails? Blech. With Gmail Motion, you can use your Webcam and simple movements to tell Gmail what to write. To open an email, move your hands like your opening an envelope. To reply, point your thumb behind you; use both hands to reply all.
Click to continue reading The best of April Fool’s Day 2011 from around the web
Gmail introduces ‘Smart Labels’ to enhance productivity
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Internet
Google on Wednesday unveiled a new option for Gmail that filters messages into bulk, forum, or notification folders.
Smart Labels are a Gmail Labs project that sorts incoming e-mails into three sections: Bulk, which applies to mass mailings like newsletters and promotions; Forums for group mailing lists; and Notifications for e-mails sent directly to you.
Users can replace existing filters and labels with Smart Labels or use them together. To add, enable the "SmartLabels" option in Gmail Labs and hit save. You can further edit your settings on the Filters tab under Settings. "We hope Smart Labels help you more effortlessly get through your inbox," Google said in a blog post.
Click to continue reading Gmail introduces ‘Smart Labels’ to enhance productivity
Google rolls out enhanced 2-step security feature
Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Google, Internet
Back in September, Google introduced the ability to add two-step verification for Google Apps accounts. What this means is that in order to log into your Google account, you not only enter your username and password, but you also enter an ever changing code. The code is sent to you by SMS, or can be found by using an iPhone, Blackberry, or Android app. This security feature makes it so that if someone finds your password by looking over your shoulder, phishing it, guessing it, or sniffing it from whichever network or computer you use, they will be unable to access your account, because they won't have access to this second factor authentication.
Now, Google just announced that they are rolling out the feature for all users. Over the coming days, a new option will appear in the Security tab of your Google Account. The feature is optional, and will allow you to use this option to better protect your account, either by receiving an automated call, SMS, or by using an app on your phone. This only occurs when you need to actually log on, which only happens on a new system or after a few months of use, so you won't need to do this every time you check your email. The process is not completely painless. The sign-up involves registering a backup number and one-time password, and you need to make special cases for apps which may need access to your Google account but do not support this feature, such as a desktop mail app. Still, it's a very good security measure, which everyone should look into.
Read More | Google Blog
Gmail favicon now shows unread message count
Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Google, Internet
Ever since the advent of tabs, web sites with messaging or updating features have started providing unread message counts in the title, usually at the front, so that people can easily scan their opened tabs and see if any of them has unread stuff. Of course as tabs become more commonplace, heavy users have so many opened that often no part of the title is even visible anymore. Google introduced an innovative little feature today to fix that in Gmail. They call it the Unread Message Icon. It's a dynamic favicon that the server provides which updates the tab to show the number of unread messages in your inbox. Now, even in a crowded browser, you can easily see if you have new email. It's a simple improvement, but brilliant nonetheless, and I wouldn't be surprised to see other sites adopt the technique. To enable it, you have to go in your settings and click on the Labs options.
Read More | Gmail Blog
Free Gmail calling extended through 2011
Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Google, Internet
When Google introduced phone call capabilities in Gmail back in August, they promised that calls to the US and Canada would be free until the end of the year. Now, Google posted on their blog that they will be extending that period of free calling for another year, throughout 2011. They are doing it in the spirit of the Holidays, and hoping it will help people stay in touch in 2011. In case you haven't tried it yet, you can access the feature by turning Google Chat on in your Gmail account, on the left side of the screen, and then click on the "Call Phone" feature. From our experience, calls are not always as high quality as something like Skype, but you certainly can't beat the price.
Read More | Google Blog
Facebook set to unleash email service to compete with Gmail, Hotmail?
Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: News, Social Media, Social Networks
Facebook sent an invitation recently to news agencies for another announcement coming this Monday. While there is no direct mention as to what that announcement is, TechCrunch believes that this may be a major play on a new email service, aimed at competing with Google's Gmail service. Based on the invitation image, it seems likely that the announcement has to do with messaging, since that's what the graphic shows. Then, references to a secret project called Project Titan came up again recently. Finally, just this week, we reported on how Google and Facebook have started an all-out war concerning the exporting of contacts and friends information. It's all still rumors for now, but it will be very interesting to see if a Facebook based email service would take a big chunk out of services like Gmail. Since Facebook has done everything it can to become your primary contacts platform, it would sure make a lot of sense.
Read More | TechCrunch
Google Buzz announced
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Internet
Google just announced their latest product, called Google Buzz. Buzz will be integrated into Gmail, similar to the way video and chat had been integrated into Gmail. Buzz is akin to Twitter, but uses the Gmail UI. They’ve incorporated auto-following of those in your contacts list, a rich UI, and options for public and private sharing. Alongside Google Buzz, the company has also introduced a new mobile homepage, a mobile Buzz web application, and a new version of Google Maps for Symbian, Android, and Windows Mobile (with other platforms to be updated soon, apparently) to incorporate Buzz features.
Follow Gear Live!
Recent Galleries
Facebook Fans
Featured Poll
Which is more important to you: Audio quality or video quality?
Thanks for voting in this poll.
Categories
Advertisement
Site Links
All About GearLive
GearLive Tools
Check out the Gear Live Tools that let you integrate Gear Live into your site and add Google features.
Advertise
GearLive Store
New! Get Gear Live hats, shirts, hoodies and more at the new Gear Live Store, coming soon.
© Gear Live Inc. – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.
