Google will block bad ads (even its own) with a filter built into Chrome

While Google has long offered a way to block pop-ups in Chrome, it’s never been a feature that's been very easy to find. To turn it on you’ll need to dig deep into the settings, and most people who use the browser probably don’t even know it’s there. But now Google is finally getting serious about annoying ads.

And that includes their own.

In a blog post, Sridhar Ramaswamy, senior vice president of ads and commerce, outlined the company’s new strategy for dealing with ads as part of an effort to build “a better web for everyone.” He explains that Google has joined the Coalition for Better Ads, an industry group that also includes Facebook, News Corp, and Unilever, to “provide clear, public, data-driven guidance for how the industry can improve ads for consumers.”

And that starts with the way Chrome displays ads. As Ramaswamy explains, “In dialogue with the Coalition and other industry groups, we plan to have Chrome stop showing ads (including those owned or served by Google) on websites that are not compliant with the Better Ads Standards starting in early 2018.” It’s unclear whether the new ad blocker would be an option that user could disable or a feature built into the Blink rendering engine that powers the browser.

A separate report in The Wall Street Journal states that Google will give publishers “at least six months” to prepare for the change. In addition to filtering out rogue ads that degrade the experience, the publication says the setting will “prevent all ads from appearing on websites that are deemed to provide a bad advertising experience for users.”

According to the Journal, Google is pitching the feature as more of a filter than a blocker, much like the pop-up window blocker that already exists in the browser. However, while users need to explicitly opt into that feature, the new ad blocker would be turned on by default for all users.

The story behind the story: It’s no secret that Google is one of the richest companies in the world, and the majority of its revenue comes from ads. But while it might seem anti-competitive and a little shady for the biggest ad supplier in the world to be adding an ad blocker to its own browser, this could have good implications all around.

Chrome users know that there are several ad-blocking extensions available in the Chrome web store, but most of them take an all-or-nothing approach, which obviously affects Google’s bottom line. By weeding out troublesome and burdensome ads, including those from the Google-run Ad Exchange, it could create a better experience for all, regardless of whether you already run an ad blocker. And it’s not just Chrome that could benefit from this push. As a member of the Coalition for Better Ads, Google is committing to improving the delivery and presentation of ads, something we can all agree is sorely needed.

Yes, when you take your computer to the Geek Squad, they snoop through your files

Recent article in the Washington Post shows what many of us tech guys already knew.  When you take your computer to Best Buy to get fixed, you can be pretty sure that whatever man/woman is looking at it, they probably will be looking through your personal files.  They are obligated to report anything criminal they find (ie. Child porn).  This I have no problem with, but the idea that they search to begin with is bothersome.  When fixing your computer, there is no reason for them to go through your personl files, but many will do it for kicks.  Just thought you should know that when you take your computer to those services, you might want to remove anything personal you have, as there is nothing preventing a corrupt technician from copying your personal pictures, tax returns and the like from your system.   There are several options you have for protecting your information in these situations.  I will update those options in another post. 

Siri can actually tell you what plane is flying above your head!

Siri can do more than set reminders or read emails to you, such as identifying which planes are currently flying above you.

When we first covered this tip way back in 2011, you had to use a specific phrase involving Wolfram Alpha, the service that Apple uses with Siri, in order for it to work.

Since then, Apple has streamlined the command along the way.

The next time you see planes overhead and are curious where it's heading, activate Siri and ask "What planes are overhead?"

That's it. A few seconds later a chart detailing the airline, flight number, altitude, and degrees off the horizon will show up. Another chart goes on to list the type of airplane along with slant distance, or how far away the plane is from you.

At the bottom of the chart is a small disclaimer, stating the data is based on a projection of where the plane should be using delayed data. In other words, if the plane isn't exactly where Siri tells you it is, it's likely close.

Have you ditched your landline for mobile yet? Most of have...

In America, landlines aren’t the norm anymore.

A recently released survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PDF) estimates that during the second half of 2016 50.8 percent of U.S. households were wireless only. That’s up from 48.3 percent during the same time period in 2015—a rise of 2.5 percentage points.

The story behind the story: It might seem odd to hear that the CDC is tracking phone usage, but there’s actually a good reason for it. Every year, the CDC conducts a face-to-face survey with 40,000 households called the National Health Interview Survey. Since 2003, the NHIS has monitored what kind of phone connectivity respondents had: landline or mobile. This data gives the CDC useful information that correlates to the health status of people without landlines.

Cutting the cord

But beyond the health implications, the CDC’s phone data tracking is useful to monitor the trend of households going mobile only. The CDC’s findings line up with financial reports from telecom providers that are a seeing a decline in landline phone revenue, as Fortune reported.

CDC

With mobile devices—and smartphones in particular—becoming so common, many families inevitably have the discussion about whether their landline is worth keeping. For some it is, but for more and more families it isn’t. Why have a landline, after all, when your mobile phone is always attached at the hip?

Cost is also a factor. More than 70 percent of all adults between the ages of 25-34 and other adults who rent homes had wireless-only households, the CDC said. The government agency also found that 66.3 percent of adults living in poverty and 59 percent of those in near poverty were more likely to be mobile-only households than higher income homes, where the percentage was 48.5 percent.

No cords, no constraints

Another interesting tidbit: Mobile-only folks tend to be smokers and binge drinkers, as NPR reported.

In the May 2017 study, the CDC said that “adults who had at least one heavy drinking day in the past year was substantially higher among wireless-only adults”—about 30 percent. They were also more likely to be smokers. At the same time, however, the CDC said that wireless-only adults were also more likely to describe their health status as excellent or very good, more likely to meet the 2008 federal physical activity guidelines for aerobic activity, and less likely to have been diagnosed with diabetes.

Use a VPN So Your ISP Can’t Track You

Keeping personal information safe from online hackers has always been a concern. Now that ISPs in the United States have the legal right to sell your internet history without permission, privacy on the web has become a serious issue. Installing an ad blocker or using a browser’s incognito mode doesn’t prevent personal details from leaving your home. If you want to prevent ISP tracking and keep your information secure, the best way to do it is by using a virtual private network. 

What Does a VPN Do?

Virtual private networks (VPNs) act as a barrier between your computer and your service provider. Every time you connect to the internet you’re assigned an IP address. This string of numbers is associated with everything you do online, from browsing websites to shopping, watching videos, or checking e-mail, and it can be used to find your location as well as track down your identity. IP activity is logged by service providers and can be accessed by agencies and private parties willing to purchase the information. With a VPN in place, however, that information suddenly becomes useless.

Protect your privacy with a VPN

Simply put, a VPN disguises your internet traffic by scrambling it and passing it through servers around the world. The IP address you’re assigned has no association with yourself or your location, and all traffic is heavily encrypted as it leaves the computer. Instead of seeing personal details and a browsing history, ISPs only receive strings of randomized numbers and letters. Your activity and your information stays private, this is one reason why VPNs are popular for torrenting where users want to hide their activity from their ISP.

How to Choose a VPN

Researching VPNs can get extremely technical. Fortunately you don’t need to know the finer points of IPSec/L2TP and SOCKS5 protocol to make an informed decision. VPNs take care of most of the details, allowing you to focus on picking the provider that best suits your needs.

Which VPN service you go with is ultimately up to you, but there are three basic factors you should research before signing up:

Logging Practices – Logging is a major concern for anyone who’s serious about protecting their privacy online. A VPN provider can know as much about you as an ISP, as they receive all information that passes through your computer. What’s to prevent them from using or selling the data themselves?

Having a strict zero-log or no-log policy is absolutely essential in the VPN you choose. It ensures the company that handles your encrypted data doesn’t store information on their servers. If nothing is stored, nothing can be shared or sold, it’s that simple.

Jurisdiction – Location is extremely important when it comes to a VPN. The physical servers can be positioned almost anywhere, but where the company is registered carries a lot of weight, as the VPN must adhere to local laws. If a country has a strict data retention policy, for example, the VPN will need to comply with any logging and distribution policies, nullifying the effectiveness of the service.

Most high quality VPNs pay close attention to the consumer protection laws they operate under and explicitly state this in their policies. There’s no quick answer to which countries are more privacy friendly with their consumer laws, but VPN users tend to favor providers registered in Iceland, Estonia, Canada, Germany, the US, and Australia.

Cost – If there’s only one rule to remember about choosing a VPN, it’s this: free is almost always a bad idea. Providers that don’t charge customers have almost no incentive to protect your privacy. While it may be tempting to use plug-ins or services that rely on free VPNs, if you’re serious about stopping ISPs from tracking your activity, you’ll need to invest in a paid service. Fortunately most VPNs are available for affordable, flat monthly rates.

VPN Service Recommendations

It’s easy to get lured in by a shady VPN provider. Promises of free service and deep discounts are attractive, especially for first time users. To prevent tracking and keep your information safe, it’s best to stick with a known company that’s been in business for a few years. The examples below are established VPN providers with competitive pricing and are a solid choice for anyone looking to use a VPN.

NordVPN – A long-trusted VPN provider that has 741 servers in 58 countries. The company allows P2P traffic, doesn’t throttle bandwidth, and doesn’t keep logs of any type.

Private Internet Access – Another provider with a good history of reliable service. PIA has a strict zero-log policy, doesn’t monitor or restrict torrent traffic, and has servers available in the US, Iceland, and more.

ExpressVPN – An extremely privacy-oriented VPN provider with offshore jurisdiction based in an independent nation in the Caribbean. A strict zero-log policy and unmonitored traffic makes them a solid choice. For those looking to use a VPN to access geo-restricted content, such as unblocking US Netflix outside of America, ExpressVPN is one of the few that still works.

SlickVPN – A security focused service provider with masked, unmonitored traffic, multiple servers available around the world, and a sturdy zero-log policy.

IPVanish – A popular VPN provider with a focus on speed and anonymity. IPVanish boasts a zero-log policy, no bandwidth monitoring, and over 750 servers spread across 60 countries.

How to Set Up a VPN

Competition has made the process of setting up a VPN extraordinarily simple. The software you download from your chosen network provider will take care of most of the configuration. All you have to do is log in and start using the internet like you always do, only now your personal information is encrypted and safe.

1. Sign up with your chosen VPN provider.
2. Download the VPN software for each device you use on the internet.
3. Install and open the software or app.
4. Log in using your VPN credentials.
5. Browse the internet and watch videos as normal.

For certain tasks like gaming or heavy video streaming you might want to temporarily disable your VPN to ensure a consistent speed. Always remember to re-enable it afterwards.

Does a VPN Protect Cell Phones and Other Devices?

A VPN can encrypt data traveling from any internet connected device, but only if you use the service’s software. Signing up with a VPN and installing software on your computer doesn’t automatically protect everything connected to your home network. Unless your VPN provider offers software to add to your router, devices that connect via Wi-Fi will still send unencrypted traffic to your ISP.

To keep your data safe, make sure you download and install apps for every internet device you use, including cell phones, laptops, tablets, and e-readers. Most VPN providers offer easy to use software for iOS and Android devices available from their official website. As an extra bonus, your portable devices will encrypt traffic even when you’re using a public network, adding an extra layer of privacy when you travel.

A VPN You Control

If the thought of sending data to a third party still doesn’t sit right, you can always create and host your own VPN. Sidestepping external providers has a number of advantages, most notably the complete security of encrypting all internet traffic before it leaves your home. You won’t have to worry about VPN privacy policies or zero-log promises being broken. You will, however, need some technical know how and a bit of elbow grease to get it done.

Some of the most popular methods for setting up personal VPNs include OpenVPN and AutoVPN along with a Linux server rented from Amazon or DigitalOcean. The cost is comparable to a third party VPN provider, but with added security and customizability.

You can now sign into your Microsoft Account without a password

This doesn’t mean you can use Authenticator to sign-in to your Microsoft Account anywhere—it doesn’t work for logging in to Windows 10 PCs, for example. But for website sign-ins that require your Microsoft Account, such as Outlook.com, Skype.com, and OneDrive.com, it works just fine.

Microsoft

To try the feature out, download and install the Microsoft Authenticator app from the App Store or Google Play. Next, add your Microsoft account to the app, which will require you to sign-in. For Microsoft accounts, this authenticator does not scan QR codes.

Once you’re ready to go, try logging in to a website on your PC that requires your Microsoft Account. As usual with Microsoft Accounts, you enter your email address on the first page, and then when you get to the second page click “Use the Microsoft Authenticator app instead” at the bottom of the page.

Ian Paul/IDG

Next, you’ll be shown a two-digit number on the webpage, and a notification on your phone. Tap the notification, and Microsoft Authenticator will show you three two-digit numbers, as well as the location of where you’re signing in.

Choose the corresponding number from the webpage, and then tap Approve. You may then need to authenticate yourself on the phone by tapping in your access PIN or scanning your fingerprint.

Once that’s done, you’ll be signed in to the website, and the next time you sign-in Microsoft says it will remember your preference for using the Authenticator app, thereby reducing the number of steps you have to take to sign-in the second time around. If you ever get tired of using Authenticator you can switch back to using a password at any time.

The impact on you at home: Overall, this process doesn’t necessarily reduce the number of steps you need to take to sign-in with your Microsoft Account. In fact, it probably takes more or at least as many as using two-step authentication. Nevertheless, I’d argue it’s still easier since you don’t have to remember a long, random password that’s especially cumbersome to type in on a phone.