Google to send Internet Explorer 6 users packing come March

By Emil Protalinski | Last updated January 31, 2010 3:15 PM

Google is continuing to kill off support for Internet Explorer 6 in its services; the search giant has announced that two more of its Web properties will stop supporting IE6 as of March 1. "Many other companies have already stopped supporting older browsers like Internet Explorer 6.0 as well as browsers that are not supported by their own manufacturers," a blog post on the Official Google Enterprise Blog begins to explain. "We're also going to begin phasing out our support, starting with Google Docs and Google Sites. As a result you may find that from March 1 key functionality within these products -- as well as new Docs and Sites features -- won't work properly in older browsers." Older browsers, according to Google, include anything prior to IE7, Firefox 3.0, Chrome 4.0, and Safari 3.0.

Although one might think this is a reaction to the Internet Explorer's vulnerabilities notably exploited in the recent series of Chinese-based attacks against Google and 30 other tech companies, which Microsoft hassince patched, the truth is Google has already done this with many of its other products. Google's Orkut and YouTube started phasing out IE6 support about six months ago and Google has been using Gmail to convert IE6 users to Chrome for over a year.

Google's stance on IE6 varies from Microsoft's because the search giant does not need to support Windows XP, the operating system with which IE6 first shipped, as long as Microsoft (which will support XP and IE6 until April 8, 2014). Google can thus pull IE6 support on its many Web properties and urge users to upgrade. Microsoft, on the other hand, which has stated time and time again that it wants to see IE6 disappear as much as anyone else, won't force anyone to upgrade (though it's worth noting that the software giant's Office Web Apps won't support IE6 either, just like Google Docs). Instead, it says the decision is ultimately up to the user, touting IE8's many features over IE6, particularly in the area of security, in an attempt to push users to upgrade. IE6 ended 2009 with a market share of 20.99 percent.

Microsoft admits Explorer used in Google China hack

Microsoft is working to patch the vulnerability through a software update Microsoft has admitted that its Internet Explorer was a weak link in the recent attacks on Google's systems that originated in China. The firm said in a blog post on Thursday that a vulnerability in the browser could allow hackers to remotely run programs on infected machines. Following the attack, Google threatened to end its operations in China. Microsoft has released preliminary guidance to mitigate the problem and is working on a formal software update. So far, Microsoft "has not seen widespread customer impact, rather only targeted and limited attacks exploiting Internet Explorer 6". "Based upon our investigations, we have determined that Internet Explorer was one of the vectors used in targeted and sophisticated attacks against Google and possibly other corporate networks," said Microsoft's director of security response Mike Reavey in the post. 'Unfortunate' Security firm McAfee told news agency AFP that the attacks on Google, which targeted Chinese human rights activists worldwide, showed a level of sophistication above that of typical, isolated cyber criminal efforts. McAfee's vice-president of threat research Dmitri Alperovitch told AFP that although the firm had "no proof that the Chinese are behind this particular attack, I think there are indications though that a nation-state is behind it". The recent spate of attacks was alleged to have hit more than 30 companies including Google and Adobe, but security firms have since said that such invasions are routine. Mr Reavey echoed this in the post. "Unfortunately cyber crime and cyber attacks are daily occurrences in the online world. Obviously, it is unfortunate that our product is being used in the pursuit of criminal activity. We will continue to work with Google, industry leaders and the appropriate authorities to investigate this situation."

گوگل دیگر از اینترنت اکسپلورر ۶ پشتیبانی نمی کند

کارشناسان می گویند قدیمی بودن مرورگر اینترنت اکسپلورر ۶ به کار طراحان وب لطمه زده است

گوگل می گوید به علت وجود حفره امنیتی در مرورگر اینترنت اکسپلورر ۶، به پشتیبانی فنی از این مرورگر را تا اول مارس پایان می دهد.

به گفته گوگل بسیاری از این خدمات این شرکت مانند سایت های اسناد گوگل ( Google Docs) و خدمات طراحی سایت (Google Sites) از این تاریخ با اینترنت اکسپلورر ۶ سازگاری نخواهند داشت.

بر این اساس، عملکرد این سایت ها در اینترنت اکسپلورر ۶ دچار اختلال خواهد شد.

این شرکت به کاربران توصیه کرده است تا درصورت استفاده از اینترنت اکسپلورر ۶، مرورگر خود را هر چه زودتر ارتقا دهند.

کارشناسان می گویند مرورگر اینترنت اکسپلورر ۶ که به شرکت مایکروسافت تعلق دارد، به علت وجود یک حفره امنیتی در برابر حملات هکرها ضعف دارد.

گفته می شود هکرهای چینی با استفاده از همین ضعف امنیتی موفق به نفوذ به حساب های کاربری فعالان حقوق بشر در این کشور شده اند.

در پی اعلام گوگل درباره قطع پشتیبانی از اینترنت اکسپلورر ۶، دولت های فرانسه و آلمان از شهروندان خود خواسته اند تا رفع ایراد امنیتی این مرورگر، مرورگر دیگری را بر رایانه های خود نصب کنند.

حدود ۲۰ درصد از کاربران اینترنت از مرورگر اینترنت اکسپلورر ۶ استفاده می کنند.

مایکروسافت در واکنش به این اقدام گوگل، سه هفته پیش از موعد مقرر در جهت ارتقای امنیتی اینترنت اکسپلورر ۶ را اقدام کرده است.

راجن شث، از مدیران گوگل در وبلاگ این شرکت نوشت که مرورگرهای قدیمی مانند اینترنت اکسپلورر ۶ که نه سال از عمرش می گذرد قادر به انطباق خود با تحولات کنونی اینترنت نیستند و قادر "به اجرای موثر بسیاری از ویژگی های جدید اینترنت نیستند."

در این حال، بعضی از کارشناسان طراحی سایت هم خواستار حذف مرورگرهای قدیمی مانند اینترنت اکسپلورر ۶ هستند.

گروهی متشکل از ۷۰ شرکت اینترنتی با انتشار بیانیه ای اعلام کرد به علت قدیمی بودن و محدودیت اینترنت اکسپلورر ۶، این مرورگر طراحان وب را در ارائه محصولات جدید محدود کرده است زیرا با استاندارد حدید اینترنت همخوانی ندارد.

مایکروسافت می گوید تا سال ۲۰۱۴ از این محصول خود پشتیبانی می کند.

این شرکت می گوید از سپتامبر گذشته از نقص امنیتی اینترنت اکسپلورر ۶ با خبر بوده و قصد داشته آن را در ماه فوریه برطرف کند.

کارشناسان می گویند انتشار چنین اخباری از اعتبار اینترنت اکسپلورر لطمه زده و مرورگر فایرفاکس را به رقیبی جدی برای این مرورگر تبدیل کرده است.

در حال حاضر ۴۵ درصد کاربران از نسخه های مختلف اینترنت اکسپلورر و ۴۰ درصد از مرورگر فایرفاکس استفاده می کنند.

Google takes on Facebook and Twitter with network site

Google has taken the wraps off its latest social network known as Buzz.

The service - integrated directly with its e-mail service Gmail - allows users to post status updates, share content and read and comment on friends posts.

The site pitches Google directly against rival networks such as Facebook, which has amassed nearly 400 million users since its launch in 2004.

Buzz will try to capitalise on the number of regular Gmail users, which is currently around 170 million people.

BBC News technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones said that the launch appeared to be a "major land grab by Google for the social networking space".

"They've launched Buzz with plenty of interesting new features, particularly for mobile users, but the real question is whether there's enough to entice social networkers away from sites like Facebook and Twitter," he said.

Rival Yahoo already offers a service that allows people to see updates from sites such as Twitter and Flickr from inside their Yahoo Mail page.

Local chatter

The new features are built directly into Google's free e-mail service Gmail.

Users can post private or public status updates - known as a buzz - and share content from other sites such as Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and Picassa.

Facebook has nearly 400 million users

The messages - highlighted with a Buzz symbol - are incorporated directly into a person's Gmail inbox. Private updates are automatically added to a user's profile page, whilst public updates will also be available to search engines.

The site also incorporates elements of Twitter, such as the ability to "follow" people that share updates, and features that appear in Facebook such as the ability to "like" content.

Buzz will also recommend content from people that it thinks you may like to see and incorporate it directly into a users content stream.

Google Buzz product manager Todd Jackson described it as "an entirely new world in Gmail" during a press event at Google headquarters in Mountain View.

The firm has also integrated it with its mapping service and mobile platforms. For example, it has launched a mobile application for phones running its operating system Android.

Status updates sent from phones will record the location of the sender and add it to the message.

Other users can then search public messages from their phone.

"You can see what people in your neighbourhood are saying," said Google's Vic Gundotra.

Public updates will also be added to Google Places, a directory of businesses that include reviews of restaurants and theatres, for example.

The firm has also built the technology into the mobile versions of its maps.

It is not the first time Google has tried to launch a social network.

In 2004, it released Orkut. However, while it has become big in countries such as Brazil and India, it has been overshadowed by sites such as Facebook elsewhere.

The firm also recently launched Google Wave, a tool that mixes e-mail, with instant messaging and the ability for several people to collaborate on documents in real time.

Facebook is currently the most popular social network worldwide.

Last week it rolled out a new site layout and design for parts of the service to make it easier to search messages and chat.

BBC

گوگل با 'Buzz' وارد قلمروی فیس بوک و تویتر شد

شرکت گوگل با هدف رقابت با سایت های اجتماعی فیس بوک و تویتر، قابلیت جدیدی بنام "باز" (Buzz) را به سرویس جی میل خود اضافه کرده است.

کاربران می توانند از طریق این ابداع مانند فیس بوک یا تویتر وضعیت خود را به دیگران اعلام کنند، از وضعیت دوستان خود مطلع شوند و نیز عکس یا ویدیو تماشا یا مبادله کنند.

گوگل 'Buzz' در تلفن های همراهی که با نرم افزار آندروید گوگل کار می کند و نیز در تلفن همراه آیفون در دسترس خواهد بود.

گوگل در حال حاضر این قابلیت را برای یک درصد از کاربران جی میل فراهم کرده است و در نظر دارد که در ظرف هفته آینده آن را در اختیار همه افراد دارای جی میل قرار دهد.

بر اساس آمار موجود، حدود 170 میلیون نفر در دنیا از جی میل استفاده می کنند.

این در حالیست که حداقل 400 میلیون نفر عضو سایت فیس بوک هستند.

این سایت در سال 2004 میلادی راه اندازی شد و به زبان های مختلف از جمله فارسی قابل دسترس است.

کارشناسان می گویند، گوگل تلاش می کند که با قابلیت "باز" وارد بازار پر رونق سایت های اجتماعی بویژه فیس بوک و تویتر شود.

Has China helped Google in the browser wars?

Rory Cellan-Jones | 16:22 UK time, Monday, 18 January 2010

Google's move to confront the Chinese government over the censorship of its search results is looking shrewder by the day. It has succeeded in mending some of the damage to its reputation caused by its original entry into China, it's given a huge boost to the morale of thousands of Google staff who were never happy defending that decision, and it's moved the spotlight onto its rivals' China policies.

But it could also prove a decisive moment for the fortunes of its Chrome browser. Miocrosoft has admitted that there is a vulnerability in its Internet Explorer browser, which was apparently used by the Chinese hackers who launched an assault on Google and other companies. The German and French governments have both responded by advising their citizens to avoid Internet Explorer.

This terrible piece of PR for Microsoft comes just as the IE browser which had almost total control of the market starts to come under pressure - not just from the open-source Mozilla Firefox, but from Google's Chrome.

هشدار گوگل درباره خروج از چین در پی حمله هکرها

شرکت گوگل اعلام کرد، در پی هک شدن "جی میل" تعدادی فعال حقوق بشر، از این پس نتایج موتور جستجوی اینترنتی "گوگل چینی" را سانسور نخواهد کرد.

گوگل در سال 2006 میلادی وارد بازار چین شد و خدمات خود را به زبان چینی در اختیار مردم قرار داد، به این شرط که مطابق قوانین چین، موارد سیاسی یا حقوق بشری که دولت این کشور نسبت به آن ها حساس است در موتور جستجوی گوگل ظاهر نشود.

موافقت گوگل با سانسور جنجال برانگیز بود، اما گوگل استدلال می کرد که افزایش جریان اطلاعات به چین، هرچند سانسور شده، به نفع مردم چین خواهد بود.

A new approach to China

Google Blog

1/12/2010 03:00:00 PM

Like many other well-known organizations, we face cyber attacks of varying degrees on a regular basis. In mid-December, we detected a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google. However, it soon became clear that what at first appeared to be solely a security incident--albeit a significant one--was something quite different.

First, this attack was not just on Google. As part of our investigation we have discovered that at least twenty other large companies from a wide range of businesses--including the Internet, finance, technology, media and chemical sectors--have been similarly targeted. We are currently in the process of notifying those companies, and we are also working with the relevant U.S. authorities.