MSPNetworks Blog

Would you be concerned if someone, with only an image, could infer things about you with better-than-expected accuracy? I don’t mean snippets, either—we’re talking about entire paragraphs of context.

Probably, right?

How concerned would you be if I told you that’s precisely what Google Photos does?

Does your business use Google Workspace for its productivity solution? If so, we’ve got a tip for you—several, in fact, as we explore the various shortcuts available to expedite your productivity. Let’s take a look at some of the lesser-known shortcuts and how your business can use them to power up its efficiency.

Google Lens lets you do some cool things with your mobile device, even if it sometimes feels a bit niche. Google Chrome also has functionality that allows you to use Google Lens to search for anything visible in the browser. For example, it can detect images and text, or still images captured from video, to return results.

Today, we want to highlight how you can use this neat functionality!

If you feel like you have too many browser tabs open at any given time, then you'll be happy to know that you can sometimes save certain browser tabs as a standalone application on your device. This will give them their own icon and make accessing them much easier than constantly navigating to them through your web browser.

Google Search is a cornerstone of the internet, used by billions of people daily to find information quickly and efficiently. But have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes when you type a query into Google and hit "search"? Let's dive into the intricate process that powers the world's most popular search engine.

One of the nice things about software platforms is how well the applications within them interact with one another. Take, for instance, the applications contained within Google Workspace.

Because of the interconnected nature of the Google Workspace platform, there’s a lot that the different programs can do in tandem. As an example, let’s consider how the word-processing application Google Docs can be used to generate events in the associated account’s Google Calendar.

How to Draft Calendar Events via Google Docs

First, you need to open up a new Google Doc. Under Insert, select Building blocks and then Calendar event draft. Alternatively, you can also use the “@” sign, typing “@calendar event draft” and pressing Enter.

You then have a few options to add people to your new event’s Guests field. You can once again use “@” and search through your contacts, or you can manually type out the appropriate email addresses. Add a title for your event, when it will start and end, where it will be, and a description, and you’re ready to send it over to the Calendar.

This is simple to do. In your calendar event draft, you’ll see the option to Send the event draft to the Calendar. You’ll have the option to make more changes in the Calendar window that appears in a new tab.

Once you’re finished, click Save.

Make sure you check back for more handy tips!

Whatever your industry, there are going to be processes that need to be followed, and this will require no small amount of organization to keep all the moving parts in tandem with each other. Fortunately, tools that can help with your project management needs are readily available, so long as you take advantage of their capabilities.

Take Google Sheets, for instance.

It’s true! Not only does Google Sheets offer fully customizable templates intended specifically for project management purposes, there are a lot of other features that are conducive to the kind of processes that should make up your project management activities.

For instance:

Google Sheets Allows You to Create Custom Dropdown Lists

With all the standard updates that proper project management will require—for instance, the status of certain goals and initiatives within your process—having the ability to select from a preconfigured list is hugely helpful. 

The existing templates that Sheets offers give you the opportunity to edit the drop-downs they come populated with. All you have to do is click the small downward arrow in the cell, select the pencil icon in the resulting menu, and edit the rules for the dropdown. For added visibility, you can even apply different colors to the different options. 

However, you won’t be able to add new options to your dropdowns or change the order in which they appear if using a preconfigured option. That will require you to create a dropdown menu from scratch. Once you’ve selected the cell or range of cells you want the dropdown to appear in, click Insert and then select Dropdown. A sidebar will appear for you to populate the data validation rules you want… or in other words, what options you want your dropdown menu to include. Once you’ve added and arranged your options, click Done to complete the process.

The Inherent Collaboration within Google Sheets Makes It Easier to Fully Plan a Project

Today’s workplace is increasingly built on collaborative work, which means that it is all the more important that the tools used therein are conducive to this kind of collaboration. Google Sheets, just as with the rest of the Google Workspace offering, is built to help you accomplish just that. Adding contributors to your spreadsheet is a simple matter… all you need to do is click the Share button at the top right of your page, select who you want to grant access to and specify the level of access and permissions you want to provide.

Once you’ve done so, others will be able to interact with a given Sheet at the level you have permitted them to—and you’ll still be able to adjust these permissions as needs change.

Google Sheets Allows You to Tag Your Collaborators

Google Sheets offers a feature called smart chips—small interactive widgets that can be embedded into your documents that link to pertinent information. You can tag different collaborators directly in the spreadsheet, and from there, email them, kick off a video chat, or (most applicable to our purposes today) assign a task to them.

We Can Help Outfit You with Proper Project Management Software, Too

Of course, you may prefer to use a dedicated software to help organize your company’s activities. Turning to us means you’ll have someone in the wings to help you procure, manage, and maintain all of the tools that your company uses.

Give us a call at (516) 403-9001 to learn more.

The Internet is pretty great. You can watch videos of cats being weird, and then watch the London Philharmonic Orchestra perform Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Then you can go on Reddit and learn how to replace the drywall in your bathroom. Just another typical Sunday afternoon with the Internet, right? 

Unfortunately, the Internet isn’t always perfect. It can be pretty dangerous, and we’d like to share some surprising terms that can lead to dangerous websites and malware if you search for them on Google.

Quick disclaimer: None of these topics are necessarily dangerous on their own, and there is bound to be a lot of great, wholesome and family-friendly content about each of these terms out there on the Internet. That being said, we’re going to explore how these terms ended up being so dangerous to show you why you, your family, and your coworkers should be careful online.

Threats Lurk Beyond Innocent Family-Friendly Topics

A lot of the things that kids really enjoy are often targeted. Cybercriminals know that a child might not be as well-versed in cybersecurity as an adult, so if they can spread malware to kids doing innocent searches for shows and movies, they will.

According to Home Security Heroes, an organization dedicated to helping families stay safe online, over half of the search results for terms like “The Boss Baby,” “Sonic the Hedgehog,” and “Pokémon” could lead to malware or other online threats.

Video game-related search terms like “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” carries a pretty strong risk of malware as well, with 46 percent of the results containing malware-infected domains. This is a cute game where players move onto an island and make friends with talking dogs, frogs, and other adorable animals and give each other gifts. The content of the game itself is extremely kid-friendly, but websites offering guides or illegal downloads of the game could be dangerous.

The Most Dangerous Celebrities to Search For

Several years ago, long before the pandemic, Emma Watson was one of the most dangerous celebrities to Google search, with a shocking number of websites having links to malware or other potential threats. 

Today, the prom king and queen of dangerous search results go to the fabulous Chris Hemsworth and Anne Hathaway—so the mighty Thor and 2012’s Catwoman for the comic book nerds out there. Interestingly enough, Chris Hemsworth and Anne Hathaway were set to star in a movie together back in 2013 called Robopocalypse, but it doesn’t seem to have come to fruition.

To no fault of their own, these two celebrities suffer from a similar affliction to the family-friendly movies above, but an estimated 75 percent of the search results for their names potentially contain harmful content or malware.

Other actors and actresses like Kaley Cuoco, Olivia Rodrigo, Neil Patrick Harris, Chris Pine, Chris Evans, Chris Pratt, and Zendaya also have a ton of risky search results.

But We Can’t Ignore the Queen

She’s always having her best year ever, and is loved and adored by fans of all ages. Yes, we’re talking about the infamous Taylor Swift. Tay-tay, or T-Swizzle, or Queen America herself might be one of the greatest musical icons of our time, but a whopping 79 percent of her search results are potentially dangerous.

That doesn’t mean you can’t search for her and find safe content, but it does mean that there are thousands of websites out there that are trying to trick users into reading up on the brightest star in the music industry, only to infect your computer with malware or steal your personal information.

If you are a little more old school, the Backstreet Boys are right behind her with 76% of their results being sketchy and potentially dangerous.

The Huntsman Spider

What’s bigger than your hand, has eight legs, and eats mice?

You don’t really want to know, but it’s the huntsman spider.

We’re not sure what percentage of websites about this horrific monstrosity have malware; in fact, Googling it is probably a lot safer for your computer than searching for Chris Pratt. Still, these spiders are huge and anyone without ironclad constitutions should probably avoid giving themselves nightmares and not go down that rabbit hole.

All Joking Aside, the Internet Can Be a Dangerous Place

There is a lot of great information and opportunities on the Internet, but there are plenty of people trying to take advantage of everyone else as well. In order to protect yourself, you need to have the proper security measures in place, including antivirus and anti-malware. Your organization needs to be monitoring your endpoints and security, and equip your network with firewalls and security policies that keep your employees and customers safe.

If you want help securing your business, give us a call at (516) 403-9001.

Both Microsoft and Google offer work profile solutions that are designed to separate personal and professional use on mobile devices. These profiles are commonly used in enterprise settings to enhance security and manageability while allowing employees to use their personal devices for work-related tasks. Here's an overview of work profiles from Microsoft and Google.

Microsoft's Work Profile

Microsoft Intune

Microsoft's solution for managing work profiles is often integrated with Microsoft Intune, a cloud-based device management service. Intune allows IT administrators to control and secure corporate data and applications on devices running Microsoft's operating systems, such as Windows and Android.

Android for Work

Microsoft also supports Android for Work, which is now known as Android Enterprise. This is a set of features and APIs built into the Android operating system that allows organizations to create and manage work profiles on Android devices. Microsoft's Intune integrates with Android Enterprise to provide advanced management capabilities.

App Management

With Microsoft's work profile solutions, IT administrators can manage and deploy corporate apps to the work profile on a user's device. They can also control app access, data sharing, and other security-related settings.

Separation of Personal and Work Data

Work profiles on Microsoft-supported devices keep personal and work data separate. This separation ensures that work-related apps and data are isolated from personal apps and data, enhancing security and privacy.

Google's Work Profile

Android Enterprise

Google's work profile solution is primarily based on Android Enterprise, which provides a range of tools and policies for managing Android devices in a corporate environment. Android Enterprise supports several deployment modes, with the work profile being one of them.

Work Profile

In the context of Android Enterprise, the work profile is a container on the device that separates work-related apps and data from personal ones. Users can switch between their personal and work profiles, and IT administrators have control over the work profile's security settings.

Google Workspace Integration

Google's work profile solution integrates seamlessly with Google Workspace (formerly G Suite). This allows organizations to manage email, calendar, and other Google Workspace apps within the work profile.

Security and Compliance

Google offers various security features, such as remote wipe, encryption, and app management, to ensure that corporate data within the work profile remains secure. IT admins can enforce policies to protect sensitive information.

Both Microsoft and Google offer work profile solutions to meet the needs of organizations looking to enable a bring your own device (BYOD) policy while maintaining security and control over corporate data. The choice between the two often depends on the specific needs and existing tech ecosystems that your organization uses.

If you would like to learn more about work profiles and how they can be used to protect your business’ data, give the IT professionals at MSPNetworks a call today at (516) 403-9001.

Since its domain was first registered on September 15, 1997, Google has exploded from a relatively simple search engine to the massive assortment of platforms and services that fall under the Alphabet umbrella. That being said, most people tend to think of very specific aspects of Google’s Search function… like the amusing Easter Eggs that the platform has become somewhat famous for.

Let’s explore some of the many, many jokes and entertaining features that Google has added to Search over the years. Who knows, you might find out about a new favorite.

Full Disclaimer: Google Has WAY Too Many Easter Eggs to Cover Here Comprehensively

Honestly, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. With these Easter eggs first being secreted into Google’s assorted offerings back in 2000, the sheer volume of these hidden features has grown to be truly significant. Plus, some of them are no longer active, being tied to a specific day or event—for example, the search for “2/22/22” made the phrase “Happy Twosday 2You!” appear on that day, but no longer. 

Others have been rendered inoperable with Google’s shift to an infinite scroll format, rather than pages, as the “Goooo…gle” indicator housed many of these Easter eggs as well.

Many, many of them, however, are still active, with more being added all the time… just do a quick search for “Barbie” for a practical example of how up-to-date these Easter eggs are kept. So, let’s explore some that are (as of this writing) still active.

A Tiny Sample of Google’s Easter Eggs

• Searching for “dvd screensaver” will cause the Google logo in the top left corner to begin bouncing around the screen, changing colors as it goes, similarly to—you guessed it—the screensaver that DVD players would display after remaining idle for too long.
• Searching for “text adventure” and then using the Ctrl+Shift+J shortcut to open the developers console will give you access to a Google-themed text-based adventure game, where you set out in search of the letters in the word “Google.” As a bonus Easter egg within an Easter egg, responding “no” to the introductory prompt “would you like to play a game” produces a reference to the 1983 movie WarGames.
• Searching for “puppy/puppies/dog/canine” or “kitten/cat” will produce a button that, when clicked, will cause a paw belonging to the corresponding animal to swipe up and leave a paw print behind.
• Searching for “define anagram” asks you if you meant to search for “nerd fame again,” which itself is an anagram of “define anagram.”
• Searching for “pi” will produce the Google calculator with the pi symbol prominent. Clicking it will start a memory game that takes the player through the digits of pi.
• Searching for “meteor shower” will darken the screen momentarily as three meteors pass by, shifting back to the way it was once they have passed.
• Searching for “netwon/Isaac Newton” will produce a button with an apple tree on it, which causes an apple to fall down the screen when clicked, just as the legend goes about how the physicist conceptualized the theory of gravity.
• Searching for “han/greedo shot first” will show the alternate result, posed as a “Did you mean” at the top of the screen. 
• Searching for “the one ring” will ask if you meant “my precioussss,” in a nod to Gollum from The Lord of the Rings.
• Searching for “world’s best boss” will ask “Did you mean Michael Scott” as a reference to Steve Carell’s character from The Office.
• Searching for “breathing exercise” will pull up a functional breathing exercise that you can follow along with.
• Searching for “pac-man/google pacman/play pacman” will pull up a functioning game of Pac-Man with a board designed around the Google logo. 
• Searching for “the answer to the ultimate question of life the universe and everything" brings up the Google Calculator, presenting the answer “42.” This is a reference to the Douglas Adams novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and has been around since the first Easter eggs were developed—even predating the calculator feature it now appears in. 

When We Said This Was a Tiny Sample, We Meant It

There are dozens more Easter eggs to have fun with, and we encourage you to seek them out and see what the developers at Google do in between major projects to keep themselves sharp. If you find a fun one, be sure to let us know when you call us to learn more about our managed services!

Email groups are remarkably useful. Instead of sending a copy of an email to each individual recipient, you can effectively create a simple forum post that everyone can participate in—a feature that certainly helps when collaboration is a priority. Let’s go over how you can quickly and easily create a group in Gmail.

Step 1: Access Google Apps and Select Contacts

That’s right—this process isn’t even completed in Gmail. However, since you’re likely in the Gmail app, click into the App Launcher icon (colloquially, and arguably more correctly, known as the “waffle” icon) and access Google Contacts. A new window will open to the Google Contacts page.

In this new window, you’ll see the Google Contacts page, and if you click the three-bar menu, you’ll see a selection of tools and options.

Step 2: Create a Label

In these tools, you’ll see a Label option, and underneath that, the option to Create Label. Give it a name you will remember it by, and click Save. You now have a label, and it’s time to add some contacts to it.

Step 3: Add Some Contacts

You’ll see lists of your email contacts by selecting Frequently Contacted or Directory. Select whomever you want to include in a group, finally clicking the label icon at the top of the window. Confirm that the right label is selected, and select Apply. 

That’s it! Now, from Gmail, you can put the name you gave your label into the To field of any email you’re writing to send it to that group.

Hopefully, this will come in handy for you moving forward. Keep checking back for more handy IT tips, and if you want assistance in managing it all, give MSPNetworks a call at (516) 403-9001 to learn a bit more about what we do.

Do you have an old Google account that you created years ago, only to replace it later with one that is more on-brand and less filled with spam messages? You’re not alone, but as you might expect, these accounts can create more problems than they are worth if you let them sit around unused for too long. Perhaps that is why Google is planning to shut down any old Google accounts that have remained dormant for the past two years.

The change is scheduled to start sometime in December of 2023 (although it’s possible that Google is already taking some action on older accounts), and it could impact users of Gmail, Google Drive, YouTube, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Meet, and Google Photos. YouTube accounts with videos shared are exceptions to the rule, as are accounts with open subscriptions. Furthermore, this change will impact only users of personal Google profiles, not those tied to workplaces or educational institutions.

If you want to save your old Google account from being deleted, then you need to do one simple thing: log into it. This activity will show Google that your account is being used and, therefore, should not be deleted. Just about any activity you perform in your Google account will constitute using it, too, such as performing a Google search while signed in, opening an email, watching a YouTube video, etc.

The reasoning behind this change makes sense, too, as Google hopes that this mass deletion of unused accounts will help make security easier. Considering that these accounts are old, their credentials have not been updated in years. This means that they could very well be susceptible to security concerns and breaches. These accounts are also less likely to have two-factor or multi-factor authentication implemented for them.

So, we recommend that you consider your Google accounts and whether or not they have anything important stored in them… before it’s too late to do anything about it.

As for password security on your current accounts, we recommend that you work with complex, unique passwords or passphrases that are easy to remember and difficult to guess. Furthermore, a password manager can be used if you’re concerned about remembering the many passwords that are expected of you. There are plenty of options out there to choose from.

Additionally, multi-factor authentication—utilization of something you own (a smartphone); something you know (a password or passphrase); and something you are (biometrics)—can be remarkably helpful for account security.

For more assistance with business account security, be sure to contact us at (516) 403-9001.

There is a scam going around that convinces organizations to pay for their Google Business Profile, and if you paid for this free service, you’ve fallen for the trick. Google is taking legal action against the scammers who have dragged their name through the mud, using Google’s notoriety to defraud businesses who just want to look competitive.

Let’s look at the announcement to determine what your business should keep in mind regarding these scammers.

Google Wants Consequences for the Scammers Who Charge Businesses for Business Profiles

The first thing you need to understand is that a Google Business Profile is free for business owners to claim and use to share information about their business with the public. This means that anyone who calls you to tell you to pay up for the profile is straight-up lying to you and attempting to scam you.

The problem has escalated to the point where Google needs to take action against these scams. The idea is that taking public legal action against the scammers will keep would-be scammers from acting while also increasing public awareness of these issues. Google’s blog post claims they were able to stop 12 million scammers from creating fake Business Profiles, and that there were 8 million attempts to fraudulently claim Business Profiles.

Again, Google charges nothing for Business Profiles. Such accounts are mutually beneficial; they give you a platform to show off information about your business, and Google can make their search engine better as a result. If you ever receive a phone call from someone claiming to be Google to sell you a profile, then you can rest assured it is most definitely a scam.

How You Can Identify Phishing Scams

Phishing scams can be tricky to identify, but with a little knowledge and training, you and your staff can be well-prepared to deal with any scams that might come your way.

• Look for urgency: Most scams will operate with a sense of urgency to get you to act before you have had a chance to think things through. Don’t fall for it; nothing is so important that it can’t wait 10 minutes while you verify the request.
• The devil is in the details: If you receive a call from someone who claims to be from Google, for example, you can always check the Google Business Profile page to view details on account creation. In this case, the page confirms that it is free, so you know you’re the target of a scam.
• Don’t take any risks: If you have reason to believe that a call or a message is a scam, don’t give yourself any room to make a mistake; just hang up or ignore the message until you can confirm that the message is legitimate or fake. If it’s not, then the person on the other end will surely have to respect your caution.

Let’s Make Your Business Security a Top Priority

If you are ready to take scams and cybersecurity seriously, MSPNetworks can support you throughout the process. To learn more, contact us today at (516) 403-9001.

How often does this scenario happen to you? You’re going about your workday and are being quite productive, when all of a sudden you close the wrong tab in your web browser, putting an end to your productivity. This isn’t crippling downtime or anything, but it’s an inconvenience that we know you can do without. Thankfully, modern web browsers let you reopen closed tabs or windows to get back to where you left off.

How to Reopen a Closed Tab or Window in Google Chrome

For the purposes of this tutorial, we’ll use Google Chrome for our examples, but know that the other popular web browsers have similar functionality, and the process is similar if not identical to perform the same tasks.

First, close out one of your other web browsers. Go ahead, do it. We’re confident you can get it back, as long as you’re not filling out a form or there is other sensitive content on it that must be re-entered. After you’ve closed the tab or window, right-click the Plus icon as if you were going to open a new tab. You’ll see an option for Reopen Closed Tab. This will reopen the last closed tab, just like it says. You can even do this multiple times for multiple tabs, too.

For a quick reference, you can use the keyboard shortcut as well: Ctrl + Shift + T.

Reopen a Closed Window in Google Chrome

But what if you accidentally close the entire window without realizing it? Thankfully, Chrome has functionality for this, too, and it’s just as simple. Go ahead and open up a new window for testing purposes. Next, close out of it by clicking on the X button in the top right corner of the window. Go back to your current browsing session and right-click the tab bar at the top of your screen. If the last thing you closed was a different window, you’ll see the option for Reopen Closed Window. Go ahead and click it. Your closed window should reappear.

The keyboard shortcut for this is just as easy: Ctrl + Shift + W.

That’s all there is to it! It’s a simple but helpful tip to be just a little more productive with your day.

What other tips would you like to see us write about on our blog? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe.

Even if you lived under a rock, you’ve probably done a Google search or two. There are, in fact, other search engines, each with their own pros and cons. We’re going to compare some of the most popular search engines and talk about what makes them different.

Google is By Far the Most Popular Search Engine on the Planet

At the time of writing this, it’s calculated that every single second, a search is performed on Google 99,000 times. That adds up to 8.5 billion searches every day. It’s predicted that more than 92 percent of all internet searches are done on Google, but it’s possible that number is even higher.

Either way, people all over the world are more likely to say “I’ll just Google it” instead of “I’ll just search the web.”

You don’t hear anybody say “We’ll let me just Bing that,” and use Google’s closest search engine competitor, which handles about 3.5 percent of all searches, worldwide.

So what makes Google so special?

Accuracy.

Google is extremely good at giving you accurate results based on what you are looking for.

Google uses hundreds of different signals to determine what should and shouldn’t come up when you search for something, and it does it all within half a second or so, while sifting through over 30 trillion web pages to give you the best results possible.

Is it perfect? Of course not.

Can Google be tricked? Eh, sometimes. People are always trying to get their websites to rank for certain terms. This process is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This is a legitimate process for businesses trying to compete against their competitors on the search engines, but it can lead to bad, misleading, or undesirable results showing up on the search results page. That being said, Google is good about making it very difficult to manipulate your ranking without actually putting in a lot of hard work, so it’s less likely that inaccurate results will show up compared to the other search engines.

Still, Google tends to get you to the best result, and it gets you there the fastest.

Google Searches are Custom-Tailored to You
Here’s the other really cool thing about Google. Everyone’s search experience is a little bit unique to them. Google takes a lot of context into consideration, including your location, your past search history, the device you are on, and other information that Google knows about you, and provides curated results.

This means when you are traveling, as long as the device you are using knows its location and is letting Google know this info, you can search for a pizza place and get localized results. Google takes a ton of data points into consideration for every single query.

This isn’t always a good thing though.

Studies have been done in the past that show that Google’s search engine can sometimes contribute to a filter bubble. While this is much more common on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, the same can apply in some ways to Google searches.

Think of it like this. If you surround yourself with people who, for instance, truly believe that the moon is made out of cheese, you might start to see more and more information about the cheese moon than you did before. Your newfound cheese-moon friends will share news articles about how the moon is cheese. They will share memes and come up with silly nicknames for cheese-moon non-believers (like Non-Brie-lievers). They will get into fights on social media about whether the moon is more like Mozzarella or more like Gorgonzola. They will claim that all the non-brie-lievers are trying to shutter and bury any facts about how the moon is made out of cheese by sharing peer-reviewed articles from “fringe” agencies like NASA.

The point is, this creates sort of a bubble effect based on the way content algorithms work. If a platform like Facebook or Google knows that you’ll spend more time using them by keeping you happy with all the cheese-moon-affirmational content your heart desires, it’s going to be a little less accurate. If you spend a considerable amount of time seeking out results based on any particular filter bubble you are in, platforms like Google will likely curate some results that keep you trapped inside that filter bubble.

The trouble is that you won’t mind, your opinion about the cheese moon isn’t going to change, and everything you use online is helping you affirm this.

So yeah. Google is neat, and generally accurate, but it has been proven that sometimes it can go a little too far for some people. Over the last few years, Google has taken major steps to find a balance, which is actually the main reason Google doesn’t have the 98 percent market share it used to. Many folks have walked away from Google simply because it started to cater less to their fringe beliefs when it comes to hot button issues.

What are the Alternatives?

Now that the Big G is out of the way, in our next blog, we’re going to go over some of the alternatives. Be sure to stay tuned to our blog and social media.

Last time, we started our discussion on the best search engines by talking about the behemoth, Google. While Google is, by far, the most popular and commonly used, and arguably the most accurate search engine, it doesn’t mean it’s always the right search engine to use. Let’s talk about some other alternatives and see where they might fit in.

Microsoft Bing - Kind of the Same, but Different

Bing gets the silver medal for being the world’s second most popular general search engine. Even so, it only gets about 3.5 percent of the world’s internet searches. 

Bing is also the most similar to Google, at least as far as how it works under the hood. It’s focus is on providing accuracy and uses anonymous information from you and your search history to curate the results.

Whereas Google takes a very minimalistic approach to search, Bing usually has a visual treat for its users everyday. Each day, Bing decorates the background of its search page with a photograph with a little snippet of information about the photo. It might be some event happening somewhere in the world, a rare animal from a rainforest, a historical photo, a beautiful skyline, or literally anything else. No, it’s probably not what you were looking for, but it is kind of neat.

But on top of that, Bing also throws curated headlines, local weather, and sponsored posts right at you too. You’ll either love it, hate it, or have no feelings about it. Either way, the first impression you’ll have with Bing is that it’s busier, even before you do a search.

Something we didn’t mention last time when talking about Google—Google uses a mobile-first approach. That means sites that load well on mobile devices tend to get prioritized on Google. If your website is old and doesn’t scale properly for smartphones and tablets, you’ve probably noticed a drop in traffic over the last several years—this is why.

Bing doesn’t really care about this, but it also indexes a much smaller number of pages than Google, so the results are going to be pretty different. If you are looking for images or videos, Bing also has more options for filtering and displaying information, so it slightly outperforms Google there.

The user experience with Bing isn’t horrible, it’s just different. If you are used to using Google everyday, the transition to Bing will just feel a little strange, but it’s a decent alternative, and making the switch for a week or two is a fun experiment. We’d love to hear what you settle on.

Duck Duck Go - The Private Search Engine

Most popular search engines collect user data to curate search results. For instance, Google uses it to improve the results it gives you. Google also uses that data to help advertisers make informed decisions.

First and foremost, this data collection probably isn’t going to hurt you. It’s definitely a little weird to think about, but in the long run, it’s not necessarily tied to you as a human being. Let’s put it this way:

Let’s say, in the course of a week, three thousand people do a search for “soda,” two thousand people do a search for “pop” and a thousand people do a search for “coke.” Of those six thousand people, you are somewhere in there, looking for a soft drink. Google gathers this level of data to tell advertisers what words people use to look for certain types of products. Those advertisers can then make the decision on how they word their ads and what terms they pay money for. The data is, more or less, anonymous. Not every single company works this way (Facebook and Zoom have had data privacy scandals involving personally identifiable information), but that’s generally the gist of how this information gets used.

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, however, and some people have just decided to take more steps to be as anonymous as possible online, and Duck Duck Go is a good search engine for those who don’t want Google to know what they are looking for.

Duck Duck Go will give you totally different results from Google and Bing, but it doesn’t use any information about you, anonymous or otherwise. It also does little to warn you when something is fraudulent. Don’t get us wrong, you can run into scams, malware, and other threats from Google results, but Duck Duck Go has fewer layers of protection. 

It also means the results aren’t going to be as localized. Looking for a nearby restaurant will only base your location on the location of your Internet Service Provider, so it might not be as accurate.

All that said, Duck Duck Go is a relatively safe option, and if you are uncomfortable with Google knowing what you search for and using that to curate your results, it’s a pretty solid solution.

An alternative to Duck Duck Go that follows a similar privacy philosophy is Qwant, a French search engine that doesn’t collect user data.

Which Search Engine Is Right For You?

It’s pretty unlikely that another search engine is going to topple the big G, but if you are more concerned about your online privacy, Duck Duck Go or Qwant are pretty good solutions. As with anything, you should always be mindful of what information you are giving up, and be careful what you click on. Even if the search engines themselves are safe, the websites they point to might not always be secure.

If your business uses Google Apps, then there is a good chance that you have some sort of integration set up with other services. If you grant permissions to other applications or programs to access and use Google Drive, you should know that you have some power over these permissions, and it’s incredibly important that you understand what permissions you are granting.

Permissions you might grant to connected applications include the ability to edit, create, or access files and folders within your Google Drive, or the ability to see when you use an add-on in a file.

See Your Connected Applications

It helps to know which apps have permissions to do things for your Google Drive account. From your Google Drive, open your Settings by clicking on the gear icon at the top of the screen.

You should see a pop-up window appear. This gives you the ability to Manage Apps. Featured here is a list of applications that are currently connected to your Google Drive.

Control Your Connected Applications

If you are in the Manage Apps screen, you’ll see the actions you can take to determine how your connected applications behave with your Google Drive storage. You can manage these apps individually. For example, you can control which apps are your default apps. You might want to open up a PDF file using a particular application. To make one of your connected applications your default app, you just use the checkbox for Use By Default.

Other Available Options

If you click on the Options button, you can view the product page for each of the apps you have granted access permissions to for your Google Drive. This gives you information about the apps themselves, as well as the ability to disconnect them from your Drive if you so desire.

Bookmarks are an essential part of being productive with your Internet browser, but what happens when you switch to a different one, like Google Chrome? Do you have to manually add all of your bookmarks back to the browser? Nope! Let’s go over how you can import your bookmarks directly to Google Chrome and save some time.

Add Bookmarks from Other Web Browsers

Before proceeding, know that you need to have your previous browser installed on the device if you want to import bookmarks from it.

Chrome gives you the capability to directly import bookmarks from other web browsers. You can do so by clicking on the three-dot icon in the top-right corner of the web browser. From here, select Bookmarks > Import Bookmarks and Settings. From here, click on Import and select the browser you want to import from, as well as the Favorites/Bookmarks option from the checklist. After you see the blue checkmark on the screen, click on Done.

Add Bookmarks from an Exported HTML File

If you have exported your bookmarks as a HTML file, you can import them through the same process as outlined above. Instead of selecting the browser you want to import from, simply select Bookmarks HTML file. From here, just select the file that you want to import and you should be all set.

Sync Bookmarks Across Devices

The previously mentioned methods only work for your desktop version of Google Chrome, so you’ll have to sync your bookmarks if you want them on your mobile device. To do this, make sure you are logged into the same Google account on both devices, then click on the three-dot icon in the top-right corner of Chrome. From here, select Settings. If you want to sync only bookmarks, disable the slider and check the box for Bookmarks.

We hope you found this tip helpful; be sure to subscribe to our blog for even more great tips.

Just in case you haven’t been paying attention, online privacy has been highlighted significantly in recent years—in no small part due to the sale of our profiles by the tech giants that provide today’s most (in)famous websites… including and especially Google. Having said this, it is also important to acknowledge that some of Google’s recent policy changes could suggest that this may change at some point.

Let’s dive in and see what we can piece together.

How Google Makes Its Money

In fairness, there are a lot of answers to this question. For our purposes, we’ll focus on just one.

The short answer is simple: by selling advertisements.

Make no mistake about it: whenever you use the Internet, you are being watched. Giant platforms, including and especially Google, monitor your activities while using their services and use it to create a knowledge base of user behavior.

For instance, by using a combination of Google Search, Google Analytics, and Google Maps, Google could likely deduce that a user in Anytown, USA looking up “best pizza in anytown” would be interested in the most popular pizzeria. By analyzing which websites, phone numbers, and navigational directions got the most positive reaction after coming up as a search result, Google’s algorithms can figure out that this user would be happy to get the result for “Mario Rossi’s Fine Italian Ristorante and Pizzeria” and continue through the link to the establishment’s website.

This is that website’s goal—for more users to click into it, where they’ll be more encouraged to do whatever that website is trying to get them to do. As it stands, Google’s search results are organized based on an extensive list of factors far too numerous to go into depth with here… basically, it depends on how much Google likes how your website is put together, how other users have behaved after clicking the link to your website, and again, so much more. 

As a result, Google has some leverage here, effectively serving as the gatekeeper for a staggering amount of Internet traffic. This puts them in the position to profit from these other websites.

One way that they do so: selling advertisement space in key positions on their search results pages. Another way: selling ads that are personalized to your web browsing history.

Google’s Recent Announcement, and What it Means

Google’s revelation that they will no longer create or support trackers that can follow an individual’s behavior and activity across the Internet has some significant ramifications regarding privacy and the Internet as a whole.

This is a sizable shock, as it seems to say that Google plans to hamstring one of its profit centers. However, it is important to clarify that this isn’t the entire truth.

Rather than eliminating tracking altogether, Google is simply shifting its approach to doing so. Instead of using cookies to compose in-depth profiles for each user, Google is shifting over to evaluating trends amongst groups of similar users and phasing out the comprehensive data collection that their past efforts were based in.

This “privacy sandbox,” as it is called, will allow users to be anonymously bundled together by browsing behaviors and other interests, with the data these groups generate being sold to advertisers. The idea is that this way, an advertiser can still target their most likely prospects, without that prospect’s information changing hands more than they may anticipate.

Caveats and Conditions

Of course, Google has left themselves a few loopholes in their new strategy. First, if a user signs into a website using their Google account, that information can still be tracked and used to shape advertising. Plus, this change only applies to the websites—mobile apps are still fair game as well.

This new sandboxing approach has already inspired scrutiny from regulatory bodies, with officials in the United Kingdom investigating these tools to catch any anticompetitive features. This comes as Google is also facing numerous antitrust lawsuits stateside, suggesting that this change in tack could be construed as an effort to show how important customer data security is to the corporation.

So Really, What Does This All Mean?

In terms of Google, these tactics seem to telegraph that the company is preparing for a future where data collection is much more controlled than it is now—and that Google is in a place where the downsides of such tracking have overtaken the value that these activities once net them.

In terms of the Internet as a whole, a player as large as Google might inspire other large providers who have not yet addressed how they balance data collection and data privacy. Having said this, Facebook’s current battle against Apple’s privacy-boosting features show that this approach will certainly not be universally accepted, either.

One way or another, this move will likely create some shifts to the Internet as a whole—and should reinforce how you need to be careful about your own organization’s data collection and storage practices.

MSPNetworks can help you out in that regard. To find out how our solutions and services can make your company more secure, efficient, and compliant, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

Google’s Android operating system has about a 71.9 percent global market share, making it the most used smartphone operating system in the world. It’s well-trusted, and although the experience differs since phone manufacturers customize Android to fit their device, generally the operating system is pretty stable. This wasn’t the case for a massive number of users around March 22nd, 2021.

Around the 22nd of March, many Android users started to notice their apps crashing.

Not a particular app either. Instead, numerous apps that seemed to not be connected with each other were crashing persistently.

For instance, most users were reporting that Gmail was crashing, others noticed that doing a Google search crashed their browser app. Popular password management app Lastpass would crash for some users every time they tried opening it.

Not all apps were having an issue though. It wasn’t like all of the applications were made by Google, or some other developer. It seemed to affect a wide range of applications from communication apps to games.

Why Are My Android Apps Crashing?

This was such a sudden, immensely frustrating issue for some users. Fortunately the Internet prevailed, and a few users on Twitter figured out the culprit.

Android WebView, a system application that is powered by the Chrome browser and allows applications to view and access web-related content, had a bug in its latest update. This bug was causing your other applications to crash. The temporary fix was to uninstall the latest version of Android WebView by going into the Google Play store.

We’re not going to walk you through that process though, because Google fixed the bug in an update less than 12 hours later. Depending on when your phone searched for its updates, you may have missed the issue altogether.

It goes to show you that, while updates are generally important, an update isn’t inherently going to always go smoothly. Sometimes, updates have their own flaws that the developer doesn’t realize or didn’t experience in the testing process.

It’s important to consider when applying updates—not just to your smartphone, but to any software or hardware you use for your business. That’s why we test updates out in a test environment before deploying them, especially if they are for mission-critical applications. Google solved the Android issue in 12 hours, but that was a massive wide-spread issue. If you are running into a unique, uncommon issue due to an update, it could take days, weeks, or months for an official patch to come out. It’s better to test first, and if the test fails, determine how critical the update was, and go from there.

It’s always important to keep your hardware and software up to date, but always be prepared for something to go wrong.

If you need help keeping your IT maintained and updated, and want to reduce your overall risks for downtime and expensive problems, give MSPNetworks a call at (516) 403-9001 and ask how we can take over your technology and treat it as well as we treat our own.