Tag Archive for: Chrome

Chrome just got a great 2FA security feature, but only on Android

/in




a screenshot of a cell phone: Chrome 2FA Android

© Provided by BGR
Chrome 2FA Android

A few simple practices can reduce the risk of exposing your internet accounts to hackers. You should use a unique password for every account you have — one that’s long and hard to guess. You should also get a password manager to protect those passwords. Finally, you should use two-factor authentication (2FA) whenever possible. This will add another layer of security to those apps and services that support 2FA. Google is one of the companies that offers 2FA for its apps. If you happen to be a Chrome user on Android, you’re in luck: You can use the mobile browser as a 2FA security key when logging into Google apps on a computer.

Today’s Top Deal

Unreal deal gets you Amazon’s hottest smart home gadget for $23 – plus a $40 credit!

Price: $21.99

You Save: $7.99 (27%)

Buy Now

More Amazon Deals from BGR

There are plenty of ways to perform two-factor authentication. Some involve connecting an actual security key device to the PC. Or you might choose to get a text message or a notification in an app to verify your log-in. The latter is how 2FA for Chrome works on Android, although the feature is only available in a beta release.

How to use Chrome on Android for 2FA

Google turned its mobile browser into a 2FA security key, 9to5Google explains. To take advantage of it, you’ll have to install Chrome 93 beta on an Android device and then attempt to log into your Google account from a nearby computer.

Upon entering the credentials, you’ll get a notification on your Android phone asking you if you’re trying to sign in. Google actually says in the prompt that “someone is trying to sign in to your account from a nearby device.” That’s an indication that the phone knows it’s in the proximity of the laptop where the Google account log-in has been performed.

You can choose between Yes and No, it’s not me, when you see the prompt. Confirming that you’re trying to sign into our Google account will turn Chrome into a 2FA authenticator on Android. You’ll then log into your account.

The Chrome security key surprise

You might think everything you’ve just experienced is just Android being able to help out by providing security key…

Source…

Security vs Privacy! What's The Difference? | Go Incognito 1.3

/in



Why You Should Stop Using Google Chrome After Shock Update

/in


“Google seems to be hiding,” Chrome rival Brave warned this week, as the trillion-dollar tech giant quietly confirmed a shocking update for 2.6 billion users. “Google is buying time to regroup,” Brave said, “to consolidate its control over web tracking.” If you’re a Chrome user, this nasty new surprise is a genuine reason to quit.

We already know that Chrome harvests much more of your data than other browsers. And now a critical update to stop you being secretly tracked online, an update that was due in just a few months, has been delayed by at least two more years.

Third-party tracking cookies are sneaky little spies on your phones, tablets and computers, following you around, reporting back to their masters—it’s the tech that built up the vast targeted ad industry. But as Firefox developer Mozilla warns, this “ubiquitous surveillance is used in ways that harm individuals and society… The advertising ecosystem is fundamentally broken in its current form.”

You don’t want hidden tracking on your devices. Your browsing and transactions recorded. Your identity “fingerprinted” by vast databases mined by billion-dollar algorithms, shaping how you shop, vote, think. Survey after survey find that “most of us do not want to be spied on online, or receive ads based on tracking and profiling.”

Google is the gorilla in the cage here. Chrome dominates the browser market, with a staggering 60-70% market share. Most of its revenues come not from apps and services, but from selling access to you and your data, targeting you with ads.

Google admits the problem is out of hand. This “proliferation” of harvested user data, it said back in March, has “led to an erosion of trust… 72% of people feel that almost all of what they do online is being tracked by advertisers, technology firms or others, and 81% say the potential risks from data collection outweigh the benefits.”

But until this week, Google has been telling us that it’s fixing the problem, delivering its self-styled privacy first web. “Chrome [has] announced its intent to remove support for third-party cookies” by early 2022, the company assured us in March. “We’re…

Source…

Google tightens Chrome Web Store security rules in the fight against malware – Computer

/in


Google has introduced new rules for Chrome Web Store developers to combat spam and malware across the App Store. They are stricter rules regarding security and trust, and they are mainly intended to deceive.

For example, multiple Chrome extensions are no longer allowed to be served as part of the same installation flow and extensions are no longer allowed to use other extensions or apps appendix. This should prevent anyone from installing the second extension that collects data in the background, even if the user has uninstalled the original extension.

Also, developers will no longer be allowed to publish multiple extensions that are very similar in terms of “functionality, content, and user experience,” the company said in an email to developers. Picked up by XDA Developers. Google now sees this as a form of spam. For example, developers can no longer publish many nearly identical backend extensions.

In addition, developers should be clear about the functionality offered by the application and the user should not get lost in a mountain of inappropriate texts. Additionally, the user experience should match what users can expect when they see the app in the Store. It is also not allowed to compel users with an action to unlock the advertised access.

Finally, starting August 2, when these new rules are implemented, it will be mandatory for developers to enable two-step verification on their accounts. Without 2fa, developers will no longer be able to publish or upload apps and extensions that violate the new rules, and they will be removed from the Store and disabled in Chrome.

Source…