TechBytes: Gmail Adds Security
Facebook Strengthens Security, Silence Your Cell Phone, Texting Groundhog
Jan. 14, 2010— -- Google is stepping up security for its free email service following what the search giant called a highly sophisticated cyber attack from China. Gmail accounts will automatically be set in a mode which scrambles messages, making them harder to hack. Google had not been using this more secure format as its main setting because it can be slower than the unprotected mode.
Facebook is also beefing up security to protect against increases in hackers targeting social networking sites. The social networking site has signed a deal with computer security company McAfee to scan and repair the computers of Facebook users whose accounts have been compromised. Facebook users can also get a six-month subscription to McAfee's internet security software for free by becoming a "fan" of the company.
You may soon be able to silence your phone without taking it out of your pocket. According to " New Scientist," researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed software that allows you to hit your phone to stop it from ringing. The program works on phones with accelerometers, the same technology that rotates the iPhone's screen as the phone rotates. The hitting of the phone is designed to be distinct from typical bumps and shakes in your pocket.
Is Spring coming early this year? Groundhog Day is less than three weeks away, and Punxsutawney Phil is ready to make his weather prediction, and this year he's going to text it . If you text "groundhog" to 247365, you'll get a response on February 2nd letting you know if Phil saw his shadow.
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