Tag Archive for Google+

Google Android offers everyone the Lollipop, its new OS

new Android OS Lollipop

Google has just released the next in line version of its famous Android Operating System (OS). It’s called Lollipop (don’t ask us why all versions are named after something sweet & edible!)

Lolllipop, the new Android OS, was previewed at the Google I/O earlier this year. Announcing the next version of the OS on its official blog, Google called Lollipop “our largest, most ambitious release on Android with over 5,000 new APIs for developers.” Lollipop is designed to be flexible, to work on all devices, & to be customized.

Google said Lollipop was also made for a world where moving throughout the day meant interacting with a bunch of different screens—from phones, Tablets to TVs. As a user switches from one screen to another, the experience will be the same. That’s why Google has made the new Android OS Lollipop’s design consistent across devices—an approach it has dubbed, “Material Design”.

Lollipop will also give users “more control” over their devices. Writes Google: You can now adjust your settings so that only certain people and notifications can get through, for example, when you’re out to dinner or in the middle of an important meeting. And when an important notification does come through, you can see it directly from the lockscreen.

It also comes with a new battery saver feature that extends the life of the device by up to 90 minutes. Google has also enabled multiple user accounts & guest user mode for keeping personal stuff private. Users can now secure their devices with a PIN, password, pattern, or even by pairing a phone to a trusted device like a watch or car with Smart Lock.

Along with the launch of the new Android OS Lollypop, Google also released the 1st device running Android TV: Nexus Player, a collaboration with Asus, is a streaming media player for movies, music & videos. It’s also a first-of-its-kind Android gaming device, claimed Google.

With the Nexus Player, you can play Android games on your HDTV with a gamepad, then keep playing on your phone while you’re on the road. Nexus Player is Google Cast Ready so you can cast your favorite entertainment from almost any Chromebook or Android or iOS phone or Tablet to your TV.

Nexus 9 & Nexus Player will be available for pre-order on October 17, 2014. Nexus 9 will be in stores starting November 3. Nexus 6 will be available for pre-order in late October and in stores in November—with options for an unlocked version through Play store, or a monthly contract or installment plan through carriers.

Android 5.0 Lollipop, which comes on Nexus 6, Nexus 9 and Nexus Player, will also be available on Nexus 4, 5, 7, 10 & Google Play edition devices in the coming weeks.

 

Image Credit: Google blog

 

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Google team exposes vulnerability in SSL 3.0 encryption, so, well, the 15 year old system may soon be history

googlesecurityblog

Every passing day throws up newer issues around Online security. Google researchers have now revealed that the much-used Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) 3.0 has a vulnerability. The team carried out an experiment called Padding Oracle On Downgraded Legacy or (POODLE) to explore this. Essentially it established that this system weakness could be exploited by hackers to get into & make away with ostensibly encrypted Online data.

The Google security team comprising Bodo Möller, Thai Duong & Krzysztof Kotowicz have now recommended the disabling of SSL 3.0 on both – server & client side. That’s the only way to escape this. The other of course is to upgrade to the more sophisticated Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.0 & 1.1 versions. In short, the SSL protocol may not be 100 % hacker-proof.

Both, the  (TLS) & its predecessor, SSL, are cryptographic protocols designed to provide communication security over the Internet. Which means once deployed, they enable safer communications within your brower & the Web server at the other end.

Here’s what the Googlers have posted on the official blog: SSL 3.0 is nearly 15 years old, but support for it remains widespread. Most importantly, nearly all browsers support it and, in order to work around bugs in HTTPS servers, browsers will retry failed connections with older protocol versions, including SSL 3.0. Because a network attacker can cause connection failures, they can trigger the use of SSL 3.0 and then exploit this issue.

Google Chrome and our servers have supported TLS_FALLBACK_SCSV since February and thus we have good evidence that it can be used without compatibility problems. Additionally, Google Chrome will begin testing changes today that disable the fallback to SSL 3.0. This change will break some sites and those sites will need to be updated quickly. In the coming months, we hope to remove support for SSL 3.0 completely from our client products.

 

 

Image Credit: Google

 

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