Upcoming Gmail update to support Outlook, Yahoo Mail

 

Coming soon: a Gmail Android app that will support for Microsoft's Outlook and Yahoo Mail.

 

Product manager Matthew Izatt said the app will initially be available for devices running Google's Android mobile operating system.

 

"(W)e know some of you have email addresses that aren’t Gmail (it’s okay to admit it). The updated Gmail app now supports all email providers, which means you can now set up a separate inbox for, say, your Yahoo Mail or Outlook.com addresses using POP/IMAP," Izatt said in a blog post.

 

He also said there is now a convenient Reply button at the bottom of every message, so a user can "continue a conversation when ... on the go."

 

Users accessing the Gmail app on an Android tablet will also find it easier to switch between accounts and different inbox categories, he added.

For now, Izatt said the updated Gmail app will support devices running Android 4.0 and up.

 

But for those who could not wait for the Gmail 5.0 app to reach Google Play, they can download its APK, enthusiast site Android Police said.

 

Android police cited the new Gmail app's support for corporate/exchange accounts as, "a capability that obviates the stock email app and promises to unite all your inboxes under one roof (unless of course you're using Inbox, which supports neither exchange nor Google Apps accounts)."

 

The APK files are signed by Google and can upgrade an existing app.

 

A separate report on 9to5google.com said the interface has been reimagined with Material Design, the theme for Android Lollipop.

 

9to5google.com noted another new feature allows instant auto-updating of email threads.

 

 "This means that when you’re reading a thread, instead of notification appearing to alert you of the reply, the reply itself simply appears," 9to5google.com said.  — Joel Locsin/ELR, GMA News

 

source: gmanetwork.com

Apple fixes mail issues in OS X Mavericks update

Apple Inc. has rolled out an update for its new free operating system OS X Mavericks, addressing many issues in its Mail app.

Tech site The Next Web said OS X Mavericks 10.9.1 includes improved support for Gmail in OS X Mail, along with fixes for user with custom Gmail settings.

Many users had complained of issues in the Mail app in the first version of OS X Mavericks, which Apple had made free for download earlier this year.

"Shortly after Mavericks arrived in October, users reported compatibility issues between their Gmail service and Mail. Apple released an update to the app in early November," The Next Web noted.

It also said the update also improves the reliability of Smart Mailboxes and search in Mail, and fixes an issue that prevented contact groups from working properly in Mail.

Also, the update addresses another issue that prevented contact groups from working properly in Mail.

The update resolves an issue that prevented VoiceOver from speaking sentences with emoji, and updates Shared Links periodical when open in the Safari Sidebar, it added.

Retina Macbook

Meanwhile, a separate update is available for Apple Retina MacBook Pro laptops, with “system specific enhancements” that The Next Web said are "focused on stability and compatibility." — TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Google fixes security hole in GMail

Now it can be told. Google has fixed a potentially serious security hole in its Gmail email service, after a security researcher discovered the flaw.

The Internet giant fixed the flaw within 10 days of being informed by white-hat hacker Oren Hafif, who said the bug involved Gmail's password recovery mechanism.

"(I)f someone got access to your Gmail account, he can 'password recover' his way to any other web/mobile application out there," Hafif said in a blog post.

Hafif said an attacker can send a phishing email customized with the target Gmail user's email address in the URL, with the link referring to a site controlled by the attacker.

But he said Google's team acted swiftly, fixing the matter in 10 days.

"Google security team acted really fast. This issue was fixed in 10 days," he said.

Security researcher Graham Cluley noted the process of stealing the Google password starts with a "fairly normal looking phishing email, claiming to come from Google."

But the link really takes the intended victim to a website under the hacker’s control.

Cluley said the hacker's site quickly performs a Cross-site request forgery (CSRF), "launching a cross-site scripting (XSS) attack which fools Google into believing that the user has requested a password reset, as if they were having trouble logging in."

"Fortunately, Hafif is one of the good guys rather than a malicious attacker, and so he informed Google of the serious security hole," he said. — TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Gmail bug can temporarily lock out users from accounts

Users of Gmail, Google's email service, may have to refrain from inserting images into messages, especially if they are using the Firefox browser.

This is due to a bug in Gmail that can temporarily lock out a user from his or her account, PC World reported.

"Google has acknowledged the problem but hasn't been able to stamp it out," PC World said,  adding Google had said it is "working hard to resolve this issue."

Citing Gmail's Known Issues page, it quoted Google as saying the bug is triggered under certain scenarios involving "inline images," or images inserted into the body of email messages.

But while it hits Firefox users who insert images into messages while composing or replying to email, it can also hit "users of any browser when they try to do this with large images."

PC World said the bug can also strike if one works "over time" on a draft message that has many images and attachments.

It said that for now, Google recommended that people use "a browser other than Firefox" when composing an email with images in the message body.

PC World said the bug could be linked to Google's new Compose Message window, which Google claimed is faster and simpler.

It also cited some users who said they are now "scared to continue to rely on Gmail now."

"When the bug is activated, Google locks people out of their account citing 'unusual usage' and telling them it has detected 'unusually high levels of activity.' It can take up to 24 hours for Google to lift the lockout and restore affected users' access to their accounts," PC World said. — LBG, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com