A Better Dashboard: Helping Detect Suspicious Log ins

Posted by Yariv Adan, Product Manager

A few months back we launched a feature in Gmail that notifies you when our servers automatically detect suspicious log in activity on your account. Since this has been effective in helping people identify improper access, we decided to extend it to all our Google Account users, not just Gmail. Starting this week, If we detect any suspicious log in on any of your Google Account products, we’ll display a notification on your Google Dashboard.

How does this work? Using the IP address you provide to us, our automated system can determine your broad geographic location. If you log in using a remote IP address, our system will flag it for you. So if you normally log into your account from your home in California and then a few hours later your account is logged in from France, you’ll get a notice like the one above at the top of your Dashboard page - alerting you to the change and providing links for more details.

When you get this notice and if you think your account has been compromised, you can then change your password directly from the ‘more details’ pop-up window.

Or, if you know it was legitimate access (e.g. you were traveling or your spouse who uses the same account was traveling), you can easily click "Dismiss" and remove the message. These notifications will hopefully help you identify suspicious activity but should not be considered a replacement for following best practices to keep your data secure.

In other Dashboard news, we recently added a link at the bottom of the page for you to ‘report an issue’ making it easier for you to tell us about a problem or to just share your thoughts. We want to work with you to keep making the Dashboard better, so let us know how we’re doing or ways we can improve your experience. Just note we may not be able to reply to every single report; but rest assured, we will read the feedback so we can keep making the Dashboard better.

So send us your thoughts. Take care to protect your information. And always keep an eye out for future improvements and upgrades to your Dashboard.

An update on China

Posted by David Drummond, SVP, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer
(Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog)

Ever since we launched Google.cn, our search engine for mainland Chinese users, we have done our best to increase access to information while abiding by Chinese law. This has not always been an easy balance to strike, especially since our January announcement that we were no longer willing to censor results on Google.cn.

We currently automatically redirect everyone using Google.cn to Google.com.hk, our Hong Kong search engine. This redirect, which offers unfiltered search in simplified Chinese, has been working well for our users and for Google. However, it’s clear from conversations we have had with Chinese government officials that they find the redirect unacceptable—and that if we continue redirecting users our Internet Content Provider license will not be renewed (it’s up for renewal on June 30). Without an ICP license, we can’t operate a commercial website like Google.cn—so Google would effectively go dark in China.

That’s a prospect dreaded by many of our Chinese users, who have been vocal about their desire to keep Google.cn alive. We have therefore been looking at possible alternatives, and instead of automatically redirecting all our users, we have started taking a small percentage of them to a landing page on Google.cn that links to Google.com.hk—where users can conduct web search or continue to use Google.cn services like music and text translate, which we can provide locally without filtering. This approach ensures we stay true to our commitment not to censor our results on Google.cn and gives users access to all of our services from one page.

Over the next few days we’ll end the redirect entirely, taking all our Chinese users to our new landing page—and today we re-submitted our ICP license renewal application based on this approach.

As a company we aspire to make information available to users everywhere, including China. It’s why we have worked so hard to keep Google.cn alive, as well as to continue our research and development work in China. This new approach is consistent with our commitment not to self censor and, we believe, with local law. We are therefore hopeful that our license will be renewed on this basis so we can continue to offer our Chinese users services via Google.cn.

YouTube wins case against Viacom

Posted by Kent Walker, Vice President and General Counsel, Google
(Cross-posted from The Official YouTube Blog)

Today, the court granted our motion for summary judgment in Viacom’s lawsuit with YouTube. This means that the court has decided that YouTube is protected by the safe harbor of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) against claims of copyright infringement. The decision follows established judicial consensus that online services like YouTube are protected when they work cooperatively with copyright holders to help them manage their rights online.

This is an important victory not just for us, but also for the billions of people around the world who use the web to communicate and share experiences with each other. We’re excited about this decision and look forward to renewing our focus on supporting the incredible variety of ideas and expression that billions of people post and watch on YouTube every day around the world.

UPDATE: This decision also applies to other parties to the lawsuit, including the Premier League.

Universal mediums and languages

Posted by Bob Boorstin, Director, Public Policy

A year ago today, Neda Soltan was shot on the streets of Tehran amid protests over the disputed results of the Iranian elections. Officials locked foreign journalists out of the country and stalled all modes of communication, but an individual caught the final moments before her death on video. That video was posted to YouTube, and captured the hearts and minds of millions around the world.

Little is known about Neda’s life, but as I read more about her, I noticed one thing in particular: Neda was a singer in a country where women are not allowed to sing in public.

Music, Neda’s passion in life, is a universal language that has the ability to inspire feelings of patriotism or dissent, fuel political and social movements, educate and influence entire populations, and serve as a connecting force for people around the world. The open Internet, which memorialized Neda’s life, has the same inherent capabilities. It’s no coincidence that repressive regimes that silence minority voices do so by restricting the platforms that can elevate them most; the top eight countries that violate the freedom of musical expression also censor heavily online.

As with all mediums, languages, and innovations that transcend borders, the Internet and music will and can be used for both good and bad purposes. And neither will ever be a silver bullet for the world’s problems. But both are able to carry and amplify messages that would otherwise be lost, empowering individuals to speak, and serving as incomparable platforms for engagement, expression.