Google now encrypts its emails for better security

Internet giant Google has announced encryption of its popular Gmail service as part of its move to make communication over its server more secure and reliable and to prevent breach into its security.

"Your email is important to you, and making sure it stays safe and always available is important to us," said Nicolas Lidzborski, Gmail Security Engineering chief.

"Starting today, Gmail will always use an encrypted HTTPS connection when you check or send email. Gmail has supported HTTPS since the day it launched, and in 2010, we made HTTPS the default," Lidzborski said in a blog post yesterday.

"Today's change means that no one can listen in on your messages as they go back and forth between you and Gmail's servers - no matter if you're using public WiFi or logging in from your computer, phone or tablet," he said, announcing the latest move by Google to reassure customers following whistleblower Edward Snowden's revelations about surveillance by American National Security Agency.

According to the Google official, every single email message one sends or receives - 100% of them - is encrypted while moving internally.

"This ensures that your messages are safe not only when they move between you and Gmail's servers, but also as they move between Google's data centres - something we made a top priority after last summer's revelations," he claimed.

In 2013, Gmail was available 99.978% of the time, which averages to less than two hours of disruption for a user for the entire year.

"Our engineering experts look after Google's services 24X7 and if a problem ever arises, they're on the case immediately. We keep you informed by posting updates on the Apps Status Dashboard until the issue is fixed, and we always conduct a full analysis on the problem to prevent it from happening again," Lidzborski said.

Hackers are now targeting your router

Many service providers give you a cable or DSL modem with a built-in router. These steps still work for combined units.

First, let’s protect your router. There are three simple steps.

1) You need to do a geeky thing called “updating the firmware.” Every router maker’s process is a little different, but here’s the basic outline.

First, find your router’s program on your computer. Fire it up and it should automatically find your device.

If you don’t have a router program, look up your router’s manual online and see what the device’s IP address is.

Type the number that corresponds to your router’s address into your browser and enter the default login password found in the manual.

While you’re in the router settings, make sure to change the default login password that came with the router. There should be a button labeled “update firmware.” Hit that and go through the process. That will, at least in theory, provide the company’s latest protection. (Bonus: It might increase your device’s performance, too.)

2) Make sure you turn on wireless encryption and provide a strong password. Strong passwords are a pain, but for your home network you just have to enter it once for each gadget. Just remember to keep it written down in a safe place in case you forget it.

Because computer manufacturers want to make our life more complicated, we are confronted with another blinding array of complicated acronyms when it comes to choosing what encryption to set. Look around for an option to secure the network using WPA2. It’s the best protection right now.

It’s smart to put in a long and complex password. Again, it’s a pain, but it will make your network secure from anything but industrial-strength attacks.

3) Finally, take your router offline and make it invisible to passers-by. In the settings, turn off SSID (or network name) broadcasting. This keeps your network hidden unless you know the name. Be sure to change the network name to something that’s hard for someone to guess.

Now your router is safe from attacks. Let’s save you some money and improve your Internet service.

Check your Internet speed using the handy testers available at Speedtest.net or Speakeasy.net. Do it with your computer plugged in to your modem with an Ethernet cable. Keep notes on the plugged-in speed.

If you are one of those lucky folks who have competing Internet and cable providers in town, the first step is to call your cable company and try to negotiate your bill down. If your download speed is significantly slower than what’s promised, start off giving them heck about that.

For cable companies, call and say you’re looking at an offer from a satellite provider. If you have a cable modem for Internet service, say that you’re looking at a cellular, satellite and DSL offer.

Next, make sure you have the fastest modem available. Most cable customers are paying a per-month cable modem rental. If that’s your deal, make sure you’ve got a DOCSIS 3 modem. Get an upgrade if you don’t.

Finally, there’s your wireless router. This gobbledegook nomenclature is a pain, but you have to make sure you have one that uses the 802.11n standard. If it’s 802.11 b or 802.11g, you should know those are very old standards. The cost of a new “n” one will really be worth it in terms of speed.

If you are buying a new router, consider whether you’re going to be getting a new computer or tablet soon. If so, consider paying a little extra for the very newest standard or 802.11ac. That won’t help most older computers, but it’s a speedy step forward for routers. You’ll be glad you did as you get new devices that adhere to that standard.

Keep your kids safer on internet

When you turn on Family Safety for a child's account, monitoring starts automatically. Family Safety sends regular activity report emails to your Microsoft account, summarizing how much time the child spent on the PC, the websites they visited, the games and apps they used, and the terms they've looked up in search engines like Bing, Google, or Yahoo! Search.

The email summary gives you a lot of info about your child's PC activities at a glance. But you can always delve into more details and change permissions and other settings based on the activity info by choosing a link in the email report to view the report online. You can also open the report from the Family Safety website.

Here's how:
1. Go to the Family Safety website and sign in.
2. Tap or click the name of the child whose report you want to see, and then tap or click Activity reporting. 

Make sure activity reporting is turned on.

Summary details:
The top half of the Summary page shows info about the websites your child has visited recently, and any web searches they've recently performed. The bar chart of most popular websites indicates the top five sites they've been to and how many pages within each site they've looked at, but doesn't show how long they might have spent on each site. To see a complete list of every website your child's visited in the last week, tap or click see all above the chart. All of the web addresses and search terms shown on the Summary page are also links that you can tap or click.

The bottom half of the Summary page shows info about how much time your child spent on the PC, the apps and games they used most frequently, and any downloads they've made from the Windows Store.
Web activity

For a complete list of your child's Internet activities, you can also tap or click Web activity. This page shows all of the sites your child visited or tried to view, including sites that Family Safety considers "suspicious" or potentially inappropriate. TheAction taken column indicates whether Family Safety allowed the site, or blocked some or all of its content. The Categorycolumn shows the website categories as determined by Microsoft, but you can dispute a site rating if you disagree. Use the buttons in the Change settings column to allow or block your child's future visits to a particular site.
PC activity

For a breakdown of your child's overall PC use, tap or click PC activity tab. The Sessions section indicates when and for how long your child used the PC during the week. The Apps and games section lists each app or game that your child used, when, and for how long. The Action column also indicates whether your child was blocked from using a particular app.

File downloads from the Internet and downloads or updates from the Windows Store are listed separately in their respective sections. If your child downloaded a game from the Windows Store, and then played it for 45 minutes, that game will appear in both the Windows Store downloads and the Apps and games sections of this page.

Read more from: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/monitor-child-pc-activity