Google

Insider reports suggest the US government may decide against taking Google to court over allegations it fixed its search results for its own benefit. Officials are reportedly concerned they don't have evidence to suggest such practices actually ... harmed any web users. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been carrying out a preliminary investigation to determine whether or not Google has broken any rules. If the FTC does find Google violated federal law, it must then determine what the government can do. Investigation Focuses on Smartphone, Search Markets The investigation covers several ... (view more)

Google says that national governments are demanding access to its user data more than ever before. The search giant also says governments are making more requests for it to take controversial information offline. These revelations come in the latest ... edition of Google's Transparency Index, a semi-annual report designed to shed light on the state of online censorship. It takes Google several months to compile the data, so the new information covers 20,939 requests for user data and other demands made only between January and June 2012. Compare that to Google's 2009 Transparency Index, which ... (view more)

A new version of Google's popular Chrome Internet browser reportedly reduces power consumption and extends the life of a portable device's battery. According to Google, the updated browser now uses a new video decoding technique that puts a device's ... dedicated graphics processing unit (GPU) to work instead of its central processing unit (CPU). The firm says that because graphics chips require less power than CPUs, this approach significantly reduces power consumption and extends battery life by as much as 25 per cent. (Source: computerworld.com ) Google says it has tested the system ... (view more)

Google's top executive in Brazil has been released pending a court date. Fabio Jose Silva Coelhoto was arrested because the company defied a court order to take down YouTube videos some say slander a mayoral candidate. The video clips reportedly ... suggest that a candidate in the city of Campo Grande has committed crimes. It's not clear at this point whether there is any truth to the allegations. However, local court actions suggests there is not. Judge Flavio Peren ruled last week that the videos breached Brazilian election law and must be removed. Peren also ruled that YouTube access should be ... (view more)

VirusTotal, a company that produces a free online malware scanner service, says it has been acquired by search giant Google. Google has confirmed the transaction took place, but has not released financial details of the sale. We do know that ... VirusTotal announced the acquisition late last week. The firm's online malware scanner evaluates website addresses (URLs) and also files on your hard drive, to ensure they do not contain viruses, trojan horses, or other forms of malware. VirusTotal says it utilizes more than forty different antivirus strategies to detect potential problems. (Source: pcmag ... (view more)

Google is looking for elite engineers capable of protecting the privacy of the company's users. The nature of the recruitment ads suggests the engineers will be defending users against all threats, even those posed by Google. The ad is for a "data ... privacy engineer." It says that the successful recruits will join a team of "back-end ninjas: protecting your privacy, ensuring your security and leaving no trace behind." Successful applicants will be required to "identify, research, and help resolve potential privacy risks across all of our products, services, and business processes in place ... (view more)

Google has agreed to pay a $22.5 million penalty for misleading users of the Safari browser about its privacy policies. It's the largest penalty ever imposed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for this type of offense. The case involves cookies, ... the small text files which a website places on a user's computer to identify and help track them. In many cases, cookies help advertisers deliver particularly relevant advertisements (Amazon's "Recommended for You" feature is one example). Google Tricks Safari With Bogus Code Since many web users don't like being followed, Apple decided ... (view more)

A new study by third-party warranty supplier SquareTrade has shown that the Google Nexus 7 tablet is considerably more durable than Apple's iPad. The findings are based on drop tests and a water immersion experiment. SquareTrade, a leading vendor of ... after-market warranties on a wide variety of electronic gear, recently posted a video on YouTube showing Google's 7-inch Nexus 7 tablet taking more of a beating than the market-leading iPad. iPad Suffers Broken Display in Drop Tests SquareTrade's video shows two drop tests, with both tablet devices plopped onto concrete. In the first test, both ... (view more)

Google has announced it will sponsor a conference aimed at reducing illegal drug and human trafficking. The conference is part of Google Ideas, a project designed to examine how technology can help solve major world problems. The project's first ... major work came in 2011, when it held the Summit Against Violent Extremism (SAVE) in Dublin, Ireland. SAVE brought together 84 former extremists, ranging from gang members to violent nationalist and religious extremists, along with victims of gangs and terrorism. Virtual Community Created to Prevent Violence The SAVE conference led to the formation of ... (view more)

Google has announced it will finally close its original video hosting service, Google Video, and will keep both YouTube and its video search site running. The decision, along with the closure of four other services, is part of Google's ongoing ... program to ditch ideas that didn't work out. The search giant says it has abandoned more than thirty programs since fall, 2011. Google Video was first unveiled in 2005. It was originally designed to host videos for users who didn't have their own web servers or couldn't cope with the traffic, if a lot of people watched their clips. After buying the ... (view more)