Microsoft is back for another stab at the browsing experience with a Microsoft Edge update out this month. The update will be right at home for many Google Chrome users, making it an enticing alternative to Chrome, which holds 60% of the web browser market for desktops.
Facebook has announced the removal of three different campaigns of 'coordinated inauthentic behavior,' which is a fancy way to say that some governments were using accounts and Pages to spread propaganda and otherwise meddle in foreign affairs. Two of these campaigns targeted international subjects; the third targeted users in the US, particularly those of the pro-Trump and religious persuasions.
The internet's seemingly boundless creativity may be what keeps so many of us engaged, but for parents that same Wild West spirit can present a challenge when it comes to making sure kids grow up to be adept online citizens. While it's a conversation that should be an ongoing one, with today being Safer Internet Day 2020 it's a good opportunity for confused parents and carers to broach the topic of staying safe online.
It has become almost a common practice to offer free Internet services with a catch. More often than not, that catch involves gathering data that may or may not infringe on users' privacy. Most of the time, the reason given is for improving the service by providing a dataset they can study. Other times, however, these services are caught selling that data to the highest bidder, something that many users are apparently unaware of.
Messaging platforms and services aren't the only confusing things that Google is offering. It also has more than one music or video service and it can sometimes be a guessing game on which one will survive. Almost two years ago, Google already declared that YouTube Music is the winner but it has so far failed to incorporate features that would make the transition from Google Play Music less painful. Now it seems that the death knell is ringing and that may happen sooner rather than later.
Google has been waging a war on insecure web pages and while it has had some positive impact, the benefits of secure pages are thrown out the window when content from those pages is downloaded insecurely. Google calls these non-HTTPS downloads from HTTPS pages as "mixed content downloads" and, starting today, Chrome will warn users about such downloads but, starting June this year, it will also block files little by little in an attempt to get website developers to fix things before they break.
Today we're able to turn off autoplay on Netflix, at long last. Two different forms of "autoplay" were given an OFF switch today for the greater good of streaming content everywhere. One of these switches is given to "autoplay next episode in a series", and the other was FINALLY, after what seems like forever, given to "autoplay previews while browsing." Peace and quiet, and calm, and control, back again.
![Wacom caught tracking user on drawing tablet [UPDATE]](https://scdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/tracking-1280x720.jpg){kind=tracking}
In early 2020, an intrepid Wacom drawing tablet user by the name of Robert decided to do some investigative work on his beloved drawing tool. To do this, he employed the help of in-between software - that which allows a user to see what data's being sent from a device to a 3rd-party server via the internet (and vice versa). His findings did not please him.
Google is in a rather ironic but favorable position when it comes to Internet ads. It derives a huge chunk of its revenue from them but also makes a web browser that promises to protect its users from malicious agents, most of which operate through ads. Its solution was to help form a coalition that will develop industry standards that sift the good ads from the bad ones. That coalition's latest focus is on misbehaving video ads and its new rules that Google has chosen to implement in Chrome will, again ironically, force it to change how YouTube ads behave as well.
Google isn't traditionally known for changing the design of its websites and even its apps regularly but ever since it launched its Material Design language, it has shifted UI appearances and behaviors more frequently. This is perhaps seen the most on YouTube, which has undergone several iterations in the past decade or so more than any other Google site. It won't be getting a massive facelift yet but, starting March, users will no longer be able to hold off from switching to the latest version of that design.
Google has just rolled out version 80 of Chrome, perhaps the world's most used web browser on both computers and mobile devices. It brings some very nice changes, like quieter notification requests, but has one change that could break how some websites work for a limited number of users. Unfortunately, this might be the type of wake up call needed for site owners and developers to step up and make the changes needed to protect their visitor's privacy.
You can find almost everything on the Internet, be it through the regular Web or through Internet-based content delivery services, a.k.a. streaming. These days, even TV shows can be accessed over the Internet, giving more traditional over the air and cable TV service providers reason so be worried. Fortunately for them, they have one less competition now, sort of. Google Fiber has just announced it is axing its traditional TV service from its bundle but only it strongly believes people don't need traditional TV anyway.