Google has announced that Google Drive’s warning labels are coming to Docs, Sheets and Slides to help protect users from malicious or dangerous files when using its online collaboration tools .
With more employees working from home than ever before, Google Workspace and other collaboration tools have proved invaluable. However, cybercriminals are well aware of this fact which is why they’ve begun targeting users through the search giant’s office software .
For instance, earlier this year security researchers at CheckPoint-owned Avanan discovered that cybercriminals have begun utilizing comments in Google Workspace apps to send malicious links to unsuspecting users. Likewise, security researchers at Volexity recently discovered a custom malware designed for macOS which is capable of taking control of a user’s Google Drive account.
In an effort to further protect users from these kinds of attacks, Google is now bringing warning banners to Docs, Sheets and Slides.
Google Workspace warning banners
According to a new post in the Google Workspace blog, Google is extending Drive’s warning banners to the file-level to keep users safe from malware and other malicious files.
Going forward, Google Workspace users will now see warning banners when they open a suspicious Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides file on the web. One such warning label that users may encounter reads: “This file looks suspicious. It might be used to steal your personal information.”
As warning banners will help protect Google Workspace users from a variety of online threats, there is no admin control for this feature nor is there any end user setting for it. Instead, it will automatically be applied to Docs, Sheets and Slides files over the course of the next 15 days.
It’s worth noting that warning labels are available to all Google Workspace customers as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers. However, Google could decide to make this feature available to those with personal Google Workspace accounts at a later time.
With new PS Plus, Sony is just keeping up with Xbox says expert analyst
Reactions to Sony’s revamped PlayStation Plus subscription service have been mixed. The newly unveiled Xbox Game Pass competitor will combine the publisher’s old PS Plus service with its PlayStation Now cloud gaming platform into a single subscription model. Across three price tiers, it’ll offer access to a library of games, a slate of retro titles, and streaming options.
Lewis Ward, global video game industry analyst and research director at market intelligence firm IDC , shared his thoughts on the new PS Plus with TechRadar. He describes the revamp as a welcome change that’s long overdue, but one that deliberately cuts back on what Microsoft’s own service offers.
For starters, PS Plus’s middle-tier – which will be priced at the same cost as Game Pass Ultimate – will include only 400 games. That’s fewer than the over 450 titles currently included on Xbox Game Pass .
“We read this as serving a twofold purpose,” Ward says. “Most subscribers don't want a massive catalog with a large share of clunkers but rather a streamlined catalog with better overall quality, and fewer catalog options means that the included games should generate more playtime and drive higher per-title revenue for third-party studios.
“Interestingly, Meta's Quest Store has about 400 titles in it also, and Oculus execs have touted the upsides of maintaining tight curation in its store. Sometimes less is more.”
Game Pass has seen great success by adding flagship Xbox games, such as Halo Infinite , onto the service the same day they hit retail. Sony won’t be following suit. The tech giant has already confirmed that it won’t be adding first-party releases to PS Plus the day they launch, which Ward says will hinder the adoption of the service.
“[Sony] believes adding AAA first-party games to platform-based subscriptions from launch is financially unwise and undercuts the share of service revenue that ultimately goes to third-party studios,” Ward says.
“Subscribers shouldn't expect any new PS5 game from PlayStation Studios being in the service before the end of [the second quarter of] 2023.”
A major point of difference between the new PS Plus and Xbox Game Pass is Sony’s limited push into PC and mobile gaming. While Xbox Cloud Gaming lets you stream over a hundred titles to your mobile phone and PC, PlayStation Now hasn’t been heavily marketed toward PC gamers since it launched in 2014. On top of that, Sony's interest in mobile cloud-streaming will disappear altogether with the launch of this new PS Plus.
“Streaming to PCs is still there, but we don't see much in the way of heavy use or significant promotion,” Ward says.
“It's clear from this perspective that Microsoft has far loftier goals for what Game Pass Ultimate may be able to achieve from a mobile subscription standpoint, especially in developing markets, over the next few years relative to [Sony’s] PlayStation goals.”
If nothing else, this new and improved PS Plus is Sony's first proper acknowledgment of the importance of gaming subscription services. But it's not a revolutionary move.
“This is [Sony] ‘keeping up with the Joneses’, with the Joneses being team Xbox,” Ward adds. “[Sony] has been leaving money on the table and this new approach should get them at least halfway to bridging that divide over the next year or two at the most.”
For now, fans remain split on the service. While some are excited at the opportunity to play retro PlayStation games on their PS5 , others see this new PS Plus as a half step that doesn’t go far enough.
You can feel good throwing away Samsung’s new Galaxy S21 cases, Watch4 bands
Eco-friendly products often feel like a trade-off: More expensive than ordinary products, sometimes less functional … and rarely cooler. Samsung aims to change that entire dynamic with the release of slick new limited-edition Galaxy S21 cases and Galaxy Watch bands by streetwear designer Sean Wotherspoon.
The products carry clever, Earth Day-friendly patterns including planet earth icons, peach simples, flowers, and so on, and come in colorful themes called Orchid, Dan, and Rain. They’re made from an eco-conscious substance called thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) that Samsung says is non-toxic, has no DMF residue (a toxic solvent), is non-plasticized, and can be recycled when the time comes. But they don’t just recycle: They’re able to simply decompose in a landfill, unlike your average hunk of plastic.
“Data shows it significantly biodegrades -- under the right conditions, that is, it’s not going to degrade on your wrist! But in landfill conditions, it’s 20-30% degraded in 180 days,” Mark Newton, Samsung’s head of Corporate Sustainability, told TechRadar. In other words, the products won’t simply fall off your body or around your cell phone, but they will decompose completely.
Newton pointed us to the Toto Toa plastics manufacturing company, a name that means "brave blood" in Samoan. The site offers details on its plastics, which it says are "made from TPU diverted from the waste stream during the manufacturing process" of other products, including phone cases, sports products, shoes, and so on.
“From the start, it was clear that we were aligned on our commitment to sustainability and finding real eco-conscious solutions people can use in their everyday lives,” said Sean Wotherspoon in a press release announcing the new cases. “It’s what drew me to this opportunity. The collection is a simple, yet powerful way for people to show their support of the planet timed to Earth Day.”
The concept of decomposing tech gear isn’t new, and these aren’t the first completely biodegradable cases on the market. You can get compostable cases from Pela , Casetify , and a good company , for example, and other companies aim to recycle used plastic, tires, and whatever into your next gadget holder. But those products don’t carry the street cred Samsung aims to bring through its partnership with indie designer Wotherspoon.
“When I found out about this, I thought it was going to be one of those gimmicky things,” joked Samsung's Newton. “But I dug into it, learned more about the vendors producing the material, and I’m pretty excited about it.”
What’s a 100% recycled TPU? It’s polyurethane material that’s been gathered up, reground, and reproduced into a fresh new resin. And it’s then “crosslinked” with material that allows it to biodegrade, Newton explained.
The limited-edition case and band drop go live tomorrow for Earth Day at 10 a ET / 7 a PT on Samsungom.