Chrome Will Start Labeling All HTTP Websites as ‘Not Secure’ Starting July 2018

Emily Schechter, Chrome Security Product Manager writing on the Chromium Blog:

For the past several years, we’ve moved toward a more secure web by strongly advocating that sites adopt HTTPS encryption. And within the last year, we’ve also helped users understand that HTTP sites are not secure by gradually marking a larger subset of HTTP pages as “not secure”. Beginning in July 2018 with the release of Chrome 68, Chrome will mark all HTTP sites as “not secure”.

This is fantastic, and I whole-heartedly welcome this move.

If you have a website, there’s no real reason why you’re still not using https. Services like Let’s Encrypt make it super easy to do so, and if your host doesn’t support them (or any alternative) yet, it’s time to move.

At the very least, go sign up for CloudFlare and start using the Free SSL option.

February 9, 2018 ✚ Permalink

Google Fined $21 Million by Competition Commission of India for Search Bias

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a fine of ₹135.86 Crores (or about 21 Million USD) on Google in India.

In a 190-page order, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said Google abused its dominant position on three counts that largely relate to search, while no foul play was seen in case of advertising.

The fine imposed is 5% of the average revenue generated by the company in India over three years, which Google has to pay within 60 days.

February 9, 2018 ✚ Permalink

Typekit Expands Support for Devanagari, Gujarati and Other Non-Latin Fonts

Sally Kerrigan, writing on the Typekit blog:

In this newest batch of fonts from three of our foundry partners, we’re delighted to expand our support for Arabic, Devanagari, Hebrew, Gujarati, and Armenian. Latin script tends to be overrepresented in the typography world, and we’re eager to better represent the true range of scripts used all over the globe on Typekit.

I had no idea that Skolar Devanagari even existed. Skolar Sans is one of the nicest font I’ve used, so I’m excited to use Skolar Devanagari in production soon.

On the Gujarati side of things, Rasa and Skolar Gujarati look really good too.

February 7, 2018 ✚ Permalink

OnePlus Confirms Hack that Stole Credit Card Data; Up to 40k Users Affected

In an updated post on the official forum, OnePlus has today confirmed the previously reported data breach in which users’ credit card info was suspected to be stolen from the company’s website.

We are deeply sorry to announce that we have indeed been attacked, and up to 40k users at oneplus.net may be affected by the incident. We have sent out an email to all possibly affected users.

OnePlus says that the attackers injected malicious code into their website, which then read the credit card info that customers were entering while making a payment. Only customers who entered their credit card numbers directly on the OnePlus website between November 2017 and January 11, 2018 are affected, i.e. customers who used an existing ‘saved’ credit card, and users who checked out using PayPal are unaffected.

Props to the company for being transparent about the hack and laying it out so well on the forums.

January 19, 2018 ✚ Permalink

WhatsApp Introduces Its Business App for Small Businesses

People all around the world use WhatsApp to connect with small businesses they care about — from online clothing companies in India to auto parts stores in Brazil. But WhatsApp was built for people and we want to improve the business experience. For example, by making it easier for businesses to respond to customers, separating customer and personal messages, and creating an official presence.

So today we’re launching WhatsApp Business — a free-to-download Android app for small businesses. Our new app will make it easier for companies to connect with customers, and more convenient for our 1.3 billion users to chat with businesses that matter to them.

WhatsApp Business is a separate app, currently only available for Android and only available via Google Play in four countries — Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, U.K. and the U.S. The wider rollout is said to begin “in the coming weeks”.

The app is built on top of the core WhatsApp app, so it looks and works exactly like the WhatsApp app. The only difference is that you can setup a Business Profile and enable Greeting Messages, Away Messages and Quick Reply Templates. You also get statistical data about messages sent and received, but it’s pretty basic.

WhatsApp did not mention when they plan to release apps for other platforms.

January 18, 2018 ✚ Permalink

Page Speed to be a Factor in Mobile Search Ranking

Zhiheng Wang and Doantam Phan, posting on Google’s Webmaster Central Blog:

The “Speed Update,” as we’re calling it, will only affect pages that deliver the slowest experience to users and will only affect a small percentage of queries. It applies the same standard to all pages, regardless of the technology used to build the page. The intent of the search query is still a very strong signal, so a slow page may still rank highly if it has great, relevant content.

You can check here whether your website is mobile-friendly. It’s time to start shedding that extra weight.

January 17, 2018 ✚ Permalink

Mozilla Files Suit Against FCC to Protect Net Neutrality

The internet is a global, public resource. It relies on the core principle of net neutrality (that all internet traffic be treated equally) to exist. If that principle is removed — with only some content and services available or with roadblocks inserted by ISPs to throttle or control certain services — the value and impact of that resource can be impaired or destroyed.

Ending net neutrality could end the internet as we know it. That’s why we are committed to fighting the order.

If you’re reading this and live in the US, you can help by making a call.

January 17, 2018 ✚ Permalink