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Infographic: A Perspective on Time
Humans are good at a lot of things, but putting time in perspective is not one of them. It’s not our fault – the span of time in human history, and even more so in natural history, are so vast compared to the span of our life and recent history that it’s almost impossible to get a handle on it.
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ExtShield Notifies You If You’re Running an Adware Extension
From Lifehacker, a reminder about how to check your Chrome Add-ons for Adware or Malware. For more information on how this happens, read Many Browser Extensions Have Become Adware or Malware.
This week, Ars Technica and How-To Geek released some pretty startling news: a lot of browser extensions are either injecting ads into the sites you… Read…Chrome: ExtShield is a new extension that will let you know if you’re running one of the Chrome add-ons that’s been flagged as adware in disguise so you can remove it. Plus, as the community blacklists grow, the extension will update with new information to keep you safe.P
ExtShield (formerly Chrome Protector) is brand new, but it already knows about the most popular and commonly used extensions mentioned at How-To Geek’s updating list. Once installed (and yes, the add-on asks for a lot of permissions), it will notify you if you install something that’s tracking your activity, and you can click it at any time to check the extensions you have installed currently against its blacklist. The developer plans to add in new features like notifying you if an extension starts to behave oddly, or if there’s been a change in ownership (or TOS) of an extension you have installed in the Chrome Web Store.P
Of course, this is trust issue: How do you trust an add-on that’s telling you what other add-ons you can or can’t trust? Well, we took a look at its code and didn’t see anything fishy, but since Chrome extensions can be updated automatically without the user noticing, we’d understand if you’re skeptical of a new extension from an unknown developer that promises to keep you safe. Still, if keeping up with the blacklists is too much for you, or you want something to warn you that an add-on you’ve installed may be spying on you, ExtShield is a good start, if not a bit ironic.P
Update: The new version of the extension, now called ExtShield, is up and available in the Web Store at the link below! P
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What To Be Afraid Of in 2014
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SkyDrive will soon become OneDrive
OneDrive for Everything in Your Life
By Ryan Gavin – January 27, 2014, General Manager, Consumer Apps & Services, Microsoft
Today we are pleased to announce that SkyDrive will soon become OneDrive.
Why OneDrive? We know that increasingly you will have many devices in your life, but you really want only one place for your most important stuff. One place for all of your photos and videos. One place for all of your documents. One place that is seamlessly connected across all the devices you use. You want OneDrive for everything in your life.
Of course, changing the name of a product as loved as SkyDrive wasn’t easy. We believe the new OneDrive name conveys the value we can deliver for you and best represents our vision for the future. We are excited about what is to come, and can’t wait to share more.
For current users of either SkyDrive or SkyDrive Pro, you’re all set. The service will continue to operate as you expect and all of your content will be available on OneDrive and OneDrive for Business respectively as the new name is rolled out across the portfolio.
Expect to be able to experience the new OneDrive soon, and if you want to be one of the first to hear about it, let us know at OneDrive.com.
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Ryan Gavin
General Manager, Consumer Apps & Services
