40Tech

LastPass, our favorite password manager, has just introduced support for two-factor authentication through Google Authenticator. Two-factor authentication is a form of security that requires a user to present a second form of confirmation before being able to log in to an account. We previously wrote about how, for Google accounts, that second form of authentication can come via a one-time code generated by the Authenticator app for iOS, Android, and Blackberry. That same app can now be used with LastPass.

We’re big fans of Google+ here at 40Tech. In fact, if you follow the Twitter accounts of either 40Tech or Bobby Travis, you’ll see that we’re not posting there quite as much as we did in the past. Are we alone in the way Google+ has detracted from our ability to be as active on Twitter? Let us know how your social media usage has changed since Google+ has arrived.

Google Buzz is going the way of the dinosaur — or maybe the Dodo is a better analogy. Either way, as of November 14th, the hopeful attempt at getting in on some of that Twitter juice will simply fade away. Google’s on to bigger things now — like trying to get a piece of that Facebook pie, with some Twitter a la mode. Sounds nummy, right? Or maybe I’m just getting hungry…

We once pondered whether Google was the devil. One of the issues that we raised was one of privacy. If you’re worried that Google is tracking your searches by cookie ID or by IP address, you have some options to thwart Google. One of those options is Scroogle.

So let’s get the dust out of the air right away: I am fully aware that “awesomer” is not a word. I am also fully aware that all of the big tech blogs and probably everybody else with a post up today (or yesterday, by the time you read this) has already talked about this. I don’t care. This is 40Tech dammit! And I want to talk about it. With you.

So here it is: Google+ dropped a ton of new goodness for their social network today, opened it up to the public (bye bye preview, hello open beta!), and worked with wil.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas (who also loves the tech) to put together the first publicly broadcast on YouTube video Hangout. Big day — and those are barely the highlights.

If it seems like we’ve been focusing on security lately, it’s because we have been. After we got hacked a few weeks ago, we took extra steps to lock down the site. From plugging the initial vulnerability and removing the intrusion, to running scanners to make sure the site was clean, to installing a WordPress plugin to notify us if any file on the site is changed, to turning on two-factor authentication in Gmail so site passwords couldn’t be comprised via email, we’ve been extra-cautious. Perhaps no site is secure when faced with a determined hacker, but you can ever be too safe. One more tool that you can use on your own site, or to check the malware status and history of other sites, is Google’s Safe Browsing Diagnostic Tool.

Since launching the preview earlier this summer, Google+ has quickly gained users across the globe, reaching more that 25 million individuals within the first month of its availability. The service has been heralded as ushering in a new wave in social media, as web users begin to shift in the way they connect with those around them. While registration for the site is still by invitation only, the service run by the search engine powerhouse is poised to become a serious player in the crowded field of social networking. For new users try to get familiar with the Google+ interface, the following tips are a great way to stay on top of the game.

Though the initial excitement of Google+ has worn off, millions of users are still using the service and more people connect every day. For its part, Google has been working hard at bringing the preview social network closer to a production offering, adding social gaming without annoying people, verified accounts for prominent users and famous folk, and ironing out their sign-up rules (the heavily debatedreal name only policy). They have also been paying attention to their mobile apps, finally adding post sharing into the Android app. iOS users had to wait a bit, as is per usual, but the much awaited update is now available in the app store.

But is development coming along too slowly to keep up interest?

Back in October, I wrote a short post about a father-son DIY project that sent an iPhone into the upper stratosphere. In December, the geeks at Google did the same thing, but with more of a mind toward data (and cool picture) collecting. Well, NASA one-upped them all by taking not one, but two Android Nexus S smartphones into orbit with the final space shuttle mission. They weren’t used to phone home or anything quite so cliché (but cool!) — nope, these little robot-bearing phones were actually used to control other, more sophisticated robots: SPHERE satellites.

If you have invested yourself into Google+ at all, you will be happy to know that, whether you stick with the service or not, there is an easy way to get a copy of all of your data (profile, contacts and circles, your stream, Picasa pics — even Buzz and +1s). It’s called Takeout, and it’s built right into your Google+ settings as a part of Google’s “Data Liberation Front.”

There’s no tricks to it, no caveats, and no amount of hacking genius required. It’s all a matter of a few points and clicks and a bit of hard drive space. Here’s how to do it: