Tag Archives: Google

Google: Brand Indicators for Message Identification

With the pandemic continuing, many workers are obligated to work remotely from home. And with that comes with a plethora of obstacles to keep your computer secure.

Hackers all over the globe are doing anything and everything they can to manipulate e-mails to con the most vulnerable users. Because of that, it’s important to large software companies to create the best security features.

Google announced back in 2020 that their Gmail update included what they called “Brand Indicators for Message identification”, or BIMI. This feature implemented the best security experience for companies.

They added, “Our BIMI pilot will enable organizations, who authenticate their emails using DMARC, to validate ownership of their corporate logos and securely transmit them to Google. Once these authenticated emails pass all of our other anti-abuse checks, Gmail will start displaying the logo in existing avatar slots in the Gmail UI.”

BIMI adds these handy features:

  • Embed your logos in your emails.
  • You have complete control over the logos that appear in your email messages.
  • Improved user experience and rapid brand awareness.

If you are having security problems or any other issue with your computer and would like some assistance, please give us a call at 1-800-620-5285.  Karls Technology is a nationwide computer service company with offices in many major cities.  This blog post is brought to you from our staff at the Arvada Computer Repair Service, if you need computer repair in Arvada, CO please call the local office at (720) 441-6460 or schedule an appointment at www.arvadacomputerrepairservice.com.

Benefits of Google Workspace

Due to the pandemic and for the safety of the communities, many companies throughout the country have made the decision for remote working. And in this day and age, the digital world is evolving to allow people to work from home. With that, they need as many tools as possible to assist them.

Formally G Suites, Google Workspace is one of Google’s top platforms with any and all applications in one. The idea behind Workspace is to make productivity as easy as possible.

There are plenty of benefits of the Google Workspace, according to Google Cloud:

  • new, deeply integrated user experience that helps teams collaborate more effectively, frontline workers stay connected, and businesses power new digital customer experiences
  • new brand identity that reflects our ambitious product vision and the way our products work together
  • new ways to get started with solutions tailored to the unique needs of our broad range of customers 

They announced back in July a new experience to allow communication across the board. This included chat, voice calling, and more.

Mind you, Google Workspace is a paid subscription, with plans starting as low as $6/month. They do include all of the apps available in the Workspace and start you off with 30 GB of iCloud storage. If you sign up for the Business plan, you can get 2-5 TB of storage.

Now, you can simply use Google’s apps for free. However, the benefits of signing up for Google Workspace will allow you to have business e-mails, as well as 24/7 support. Businesses can definitely benefit from this.

For inquiries with computer issues, call us at 1-800-620-5285.  Karls Technology is a nationwide computer service company with offices in many major cities. This blog post was brought to you by our staff at Fort Lauderdale Computer Repair Service. If you need computer repair in Fort Lauderdale, please call or text the local office at (469) 299-9005.

Great Ways to Utilize Google Maps

Get somewhere fast and efficiently!

Back in the 90’s and 2000’s, the best way to find ways around cities and states were with physical, folded maps. Because of evolving technology, map apps, like Google Maps, have allowed users to acquire accurate directions to wherever they need to go. There are plenty of benefits, and are easy to utilize.

Saved Tab

Google has been working diligently on their maps app to give the best possible experience to users. One of the ways you can get the most out of it is to use their Saved tab. You can now save any destinations for easy access. This allows you to quickly go back and get an address you need.

On their blog, Google shares, “When you have a lot of saved places in your current area, it can be challenging to quickly figure out which is which and where to go. When location permission is enabled, you can see all your nearby saved places sorted by distance and arranged in a carousel for easy browsing to make your next decision a breeze.”

Map Accuracy

One of the great perks about Google maps is the accuracy and detail of the maps. Sujoy Banerjee, the Product Manager of Google Maps states, “Google Maps has high-definition satellite imagery for over 98 percent of the world’s population. With a new color-mapping algorithmic technique, we’re able to take this imagery and translate it into an even more comprehensive, vibrant map of an area at global scale.”

Their newest update includes a distinct view of the earth, with over 200 regions available. This adds color-coded visuals to determine what is grass, mountains, water, and other earthly landscapes.

Platforms

You can find Google Maps on Android and iOS. So no matter what kind of phone you have, this map will be able to help you where you need to go. You can even get ETA’s and accurate directions from you Apple Watch, which is a nice perk.

For inquiries, call us at 1-800-620-5285.  Karls Technology is a nationwide computer service company with offices in many major cities. This blog post was brought to you by our staff at the Sandy Springs Computer Repair Service. If you need computer repair in Sandy Springs, GA please call or text the local office at(678) 695-8120.

Let’s Talk Google Sandbox and Privacy


More and more web users are concerned with the amount of data websites are collecting. Online privacy seems more scarce as time goes by. 

David Temkin shared a study by  Pew Research Center on the Google Adsblog, stating “72% of people feel that almost all of what they do online is being tracked by advertisers, technology firms or other companies, and 81% say that the potential risks they face because of data collection outweigh the benefits”.

However, browser companies are working diligently to remove third party cookies. Firefox and Safari have already put that order into place, although no one seems to know how in depth they go with the removal. Google intended on moving in that direction earlier this year.

Back in August of 2019, Justin Schuh, the Director of Chrome Engineering wrote a blog post introducing their new privacy enhancing tool called Privacy Sandbox. But what is Privacy Sandbox? The Chrome Developer blog explains:

The Privacy Sandbox initiative proposes a set of privacy-preserving APIs to support business models that fund the open web in the absence of tracking mechanisms like third-party cookies. It was introduced in 2019, and Chrome shared updates on progress in January and October last year. 

Source: Chrome Developer Blog

Google will not be utilizing any alternative techniques for tracking, in hopes third party cookies will become obsolete.


If you are needing assistance with any computer issues, please give us a call at 1-800-620-5285.  Karls Technology is a nationwide computer service company with offices in many major cities.  This blog post is brought to you by our staff at the Arlington Computer Repair Service. If you need computer repair in Arlington, TX please call the local office at (817) 756-6008.

What is Google Drive for Desktop?

Google made an announcement the first week of February about revamping their ways to sync Google Drive files to desktops. 

According to their Google Workspace blog, they state:

“Currently, we have two sync solutions available—Drive File Stream, which was built for business users, and Backup and Sync, which was built for consumer users. 
Some of our Google Workspace customers have deployed both sync solutions, which can be confusing for end users and challenging for IT departments to manage. To address this, we’re planning to unify these sync clients later in 2021, bringing the most used features from both Drive File Stream and Backup and Sync to all of our users.”

The name change for Drive File Stream is now Google Drive for desktop. Thankfully, there’s no actions required by the admins, and at this time is in beta preview mode. The name change isn’t the only thing coming out of this. You will be able to use your Google Drive to sync any of your available local folders. This change is for Windows 10 and macOS, version 45.

Image Source: Google

Note: Some macOS users report when upgrading from version 44 to 45 of Drive for desktop a “Keychain Not Found” error stating “A keychain cannot be found to store <key number>.” DO NOT click Reset to Defaults. Instead, click Cancel, quit Google Drive for desktop, and restart the application to resolve this issue.

Update: Some macOS 10.11 users reported compatibility issues when upgrading to 45.0.12.0. This issue has been resolved in 45.0.13.0 which was released to users on February 9, 2021.

Source: Google Support

For inquiries with computer issues, call us at 1-800-620-5285.  Karls Technology is a nationwide computer service company with offices in many major cities. This blog post was brought to you from our staff at the Frisco Computer Repair Service. If you need computer repair in Frisco, TX please call or text the local office at (469) 299-9005.

Offline Access Feature with Google Drive

If you use Google Drive for your cloud storage space, you’ll want to know about this handy feature!

What is cloud storage?

Unfortunately, hard drives can only hold so much data. Cloud storage enables you to keep data and files in a remote place that you can access through the internet or a dedicated private network connection. A third-party supplier maintains, protects, operates, and maintains the servers and infrastructure, as well as ensuring that you have access to the data should you need it.

With Google Drive, you can share your files easier and back those files up from a remote location. And if you have a Google account, it comes with 15 GB of free storage automatically. With the amount of remote workers since the pandemic, utilizing Google’s tools will help workloads run smoother.

This is where this Google Drive’s feature comes in handy.

Remote work can indeed be stressful. Google Drive includes an Offline Access feature for users to gain admission to their files and data without internet.

Need to work during your commute or other times when you’re not connected to the internet? No problem. Google Drive lets you access your files while you’re offline, and then it’ll sync your changes when you get back online. You’ll need to use the Chrome browser and be signed in to your Google account.

Source: cnet

In the Settings app of the Google Drive, simply check the box for “Create, open, and edit your recent Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files on this device while offline.” It is encouraged for users not to click the box if it is a shared or public computer.


For help troubleshooting PC issues, call us at 1-800-620-5285.  Karls Technology is a nationwide computer service company with offices in many major cities. This blog post was brought to you from our staff at the Mesa Computer Repair Service. If you need computer repair in Mesa, AZ please call the local office at (480) 240-2950.

Safely Searching with Google

Google has seemingly been working hard on creating a safer environment on their platform. This includes their Chrome browser, Gmail, and the collab with Android.

An application system called “Safe Browsing” was developed by the team to ensure the protection of their users. When an unknown site or app pops up, the system shows a warning message of the potential threat.

Source: Google

“Google Safe Browsing helps protect over four billion devices every day by showing warnings to users when they attempt to navigate to dangerous sites or download dangerous files. Safe Browsing also notifies webmasters when their websites are compromised by malicious actors and helps them diagnose and resolve the problem so that their visitors stay safer. Safe Browsing protections work across Google products and power safer browsing experiences across the Internet.”

Source: SafeBrowsing

Google also shares something called a Transparency Report which shows a list of identities of the threats. It also controls what content on the internet is deemed risky.

The last thing any Google users want is for a vulnerable opportunity to rise so hackers can steal any information they want. Take these warnings into consideration when browsing on Chrome.


If you are needing assistance with any Google issues, please give us a call at 1-800-620-5285.  Karls Technology is a nationwide computer service company with offices in many major cities.  This blog post is brought to you by our staff at the Summerlin Computer Repair Service. If you need computer repair in Summerlin, NV please call the local office at (702) 800-7850.

Update Google Chrome ASAP

There is an incredibly serious vulnerability in Google Chrome. Experts are pushing users to update the browser as soon as possible.

According to Forbes, “Within the space of just three short weeks, Google has patched no less than five potentially dangerous vulnerabilities in the Chrome web browser.”

They explain that these issues are what’s called a zero-day. This means that Google can begin to alleviate the issue once it’s caught. However, the hackers are already ahead of Google.

“Google has released Chrome version 86.0.4240.198 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. This version addresses CVE-2020-16013 and CVE-2020-16017. An attacker could exploit one of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system. These vulnerabilities have been detected in exploits in the wild.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) encourages users and administrators to review the following resources and apply the necessary updates.

Google Chrome Release

Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) Advisory 2020-154

Source: CISA

If you use Google Chrome, be sure to update the browser as soon as you’re able to. This security vulnerability is to be taken seriously.

For any security inquiries, call us at 1-800-620-5285.  Karls Technology is a nationwide computer service company with offices in many major cities. This blog post was brought to you from our staff at the Arvada Computer Repair Service. If you need better SEO or computer repair in Arvada, CO please call or text the local office at (720) 441-6460.

YouTube is Getting a Facelift

In today’s world, more and more people are enjoying the experiences of watching and interacting with online videos on one very popular platform. Today, YouTube announced its upcoming updates on Android and iOS.

The new design will improve the layout of the videos while modernizing the app all around. The Autoplay button, for example, will be placed on the top of the phone’s screen.

According to YouTube, they state, “To make captions more accessible, we’ve moved the button to a more prominent location, directly on the video player on phones. We also have moved the autoplay toggle to make it easier to turn on or off while you’re watching. (We’ll be testing this on Desktop soon, too.) You’ll also notice small improvements to the player, like re-arranged buttons that simplify its look and snappier controls that make any action you take even faster.”

Source: YouTube Blog

It’s pretty neat at how YouTube is revamping its phone app to make it easier for users to utilize. It also includes handy features, like Video Chapters, and one that allows users to be reminded that it is bedtime. To turn it off, just go to Settings.

There’s not much of a visual difference, but the updates are there. 9to5Google shares, “The general look stays the same, but the Google company has worked to optimize button placement and layouts, while adding some convenient shortcuts.”

For help troubleshooting network issues or your internet connection, call us at 1-800-620-5285.  Karls Technology is a nationwide computer service company with offices in many major cities. This blog post was brought to you from our staff at the Mesa Computer Repair Service. If you need computer repair in Mesa, AZ please call the local office at (480) 240-2950.

Google Disables Windows Fix for Chrome

The ever popular Google Chrome web browser is making news this week, and not necessarily in the best way.

According to sources, Chrome’s RAM usage had become an annoyance to users. If they had opened too many tabs on the browser, it took a toll on the computer’s performance. This was widely recognized as an issue, so much that Windows took it upon themselves to fix the RAM issue. The Segment Heap feature came out in the Windows 10 May 2020 update.

But why would Google disable a fix like this? On the Chromium Bugs website, it states that Chrome acquired a “Performance regression with Windows segment heap”. So, exchanging one fix for another was Google’s plan. So when the new Chrome update comes out in August, the Segment Heap feature will be disabled.

Currently, Google is running its own tests to find solutions to the RAM issues, but until then we may have to deal with the possibility of declining performances on our PC.

If you are needing help with computer issues, please give us a call at 1-800-620-5285.  Karls Technology is a nationwide computer service company with offices in many major cities.  This blog post is brought to you from our staff at the Tucson Computer Repair Service. If you need computer repair in Tucson, AZ, please call the local office at (520) 526-9940.