Google's 2-Factor Authentication, more simple and faster

When it comes to data breaches of major online services like LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter and VK.com, it's two-factor authentication that could save you from being hacked.

Two-factor authentication or 2-step verification is an effective way to secure online accounts, but many users avoid enabling the feature just to save themselves from irritation of receiving and typing a six-digit code that takes their 10 to 15 extra seconds.

Now, Google has made the 2-Step Verification (2FV) process much easier for its users, allowing you to login with just a single tap instead of typing codes.

Previously, you have had to manually enter a six-digit code received via an SMS or from an authenticator app, but now…

Google has introduced a new method called "Google Prompt" that uses a simple push notification where you just have to tap on your mobile phone to approve login requests.

In other words, while signing in to your account, just enter your password, and you will get a pop-up message on your mobile phone asking you if you want to sign in. If you want, then press "Yes" and you're in.

How to Set Up Google Prompt

Here's how you can enable Google Prompt for your Google accounts:

Before enabling Google Prompt, first enable two-step verification for your Google account and you have already enabled two-step verification, you can skip this part.

• Go to myaccount.google.com and sign in to your Google account.
• Select 'Signing in to Google,' using 2-Step Verification.
• Click on 'Get started' and enter your password once again.
• Now provide your phone number you want to use for authenticating, and choose either an SMS or phone call for verification, and click on 'Try it.'
• Enter the 6-digit code from the SMS or phone call and select 'Next.'
• For setting up two-step verification, click 'Turn ON.

Now, once you have enabled two-step verification, follow these simple steps that will just take a few second. All you need is an Android or iOS device nearby.

• Under 'Set up alternative second step,' click on the Google prompt option
• Add phone and click Get started.

Then just follow the on-screen instructions and you're all set to go.

If you have an iPhone, you are required to download the Google Search app first and sign in before using Google Prompt. But, if you are an Android user, just update your Google Play Service.

Two-step verification has become so easier to use, so what are you now waiting for?

KiloCore is the World’s First 1,000 Core Processor

A team of researchers from the University of California have designed a first of its kind, 1000 core processor which they call the KiloCore.

Bevan Baas, professor of electrical and computer engineering, who led the team said,

“To the best of our knowledge, it is the world’s first 1,000-processor chip and it is the highest clock-rate processor ever designed in a university.”

There have been attempts at making processors with a lot of cores, but none of them ever went past 300 cores according to an analysis by professor Baas’ team. Majority of those were made for research purposes and very few of them ever made it into the consumer market.

Features of the KiloCore

The processing chip was fabricated by IBM using 32nm CMOS technology. The professor claims that this processor is the most energy efficient processor as well, saying that it uses just 0.7 watts of power.

The way the processor handles its tasks is also much more efficient than regular processors because it divides each application into smaller applications. Each of the smaller apps are given to a single processor to handle, in a more flexible approach. It can execute instructions about 100 times more efficiently than a regular laptop processor.

Possible Use in the Future

The KiloCore would not enter mass production any time soon as they were made using a relatively older manufacturing process of 32nm, whereas most of the processors nowadays are made using 14nm technology.

We could possibly see it make its way into the mobile devices, where several small applications are being run at the same time, and using less power is also considered a major plus point. This can lead to long-lasting mobile gadgets.

Google to Speed Up Chrome For Faster Browsing

Google is planning to make Chrome faster in order to provide its users fast Internet browsing experience.

Thanks to a new, open-source data and web compression algorithm for the Internet called Brotli, which Google announced last year to boost its web page performance.

With Brotli, Google will speed up Chrome and users could get a significant performance boost in coming months.

Google introduced Brotli last September and claimed that the new algorithm is a "whole new data format" that could reduce file sizes by up to 26 percent higher than Zopfli, the company's three-year-old web compression technology.

Net result – Fast Internet Browsing

In a post on Google+ on Tuesday, web performance engineer at Google Ilya Grigorik announced that the new algorithm is coming to Chrome soon, which will change the way files are compressed, improving loading speeds by a quarter.

Besides faster loading speeds, Brotli also have additional benefits for smartphone users, which includes:

• Lower data transfer fees
• Reduced battery use

Brotli is currently in beta testing mode, with a current status "intent to ship", however, it is likely to be rolled out with the next stable release of Chrome.

Advantages of Brotli

• Brotli outperforms gzip for typical web assets (e.g. css, html, js) by 17–25%.
• Brotli -11 density compared to gzip -9:
• html (multi-language corpus): 25% savings
• js (alexa top 10k): 17% savings
• minified js (alexa top 10k): 17% savings
• css (alexa top 10k): 20% savings

Chrome to Speed Up Web Page Performance Over HTTPS

At present, Brotli is restricted to HTTPS connections, and if you are curious to see Brotli in action, you can activate the feature in Chrome Canary, which is Google's browser for testing new features.

Thereby, you can carry out internet speed test with the help of various website performance testing tools to know what difference Brotli makes to your Internet browsing experience.

So, Get Ready to Speed Up Chrome and make your web page performance faster.

Google Quantum Computer : 100X Faster than a PC

Announcing the results of its experiment, Google says Quantum Computer is More than 100 Million times faster than a regular PC.

Two years ago, Google and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) bought a D-Wave 2X quantum computer, which they have been experimenting at the U.S. space agency's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California for the past two years.

The goal is to create a better way to solve highly complex problems in seconds rather than years.

Now, a Google's Quantum AI team appears to have announced the results of its latest test on D-Wave 2X quantum computer, demonstrating that quantum annealing can outperform simulated annealing by over 108 times – that is 100,000,000 times faster.

What is Quantum Computers?

Quantum computers can theoretically be so much faster because they take advantage of quantum mechanics. While traditional computers use the "bits" to represent information as a 0 or a 1, quantum computers use "qubits" to represent information as a 0, 1, or both at the same time.

In turn, this allows Quantum computers to achieve a correct answer much faster and efficiently through parallel processing.

Google's D-Wave 2X Quantum Computer:

Now, the Google Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab has announced that its D-Wave machine is considerably much faster than simulated annealing – quantum computation simulation on a classical computer chip.

"We found that for problem instances involving nearly 1000 binary variables, quantum annealing significantly outperforms its classical counterpart, simulated annealing. It is more than 108 times faster than simulated annealing running on a single core," said Hartmut Neven, Google's director of engineering.

Google: Our Quantum Machine is 100 Million Times Faster

Google has also published a paper [PDF] on the findings, claiming that the team was able to perform a calculation with the quantum computing technology that was significantly faster than a conventional computer with a single core processor.

The researchers emphasized that their research on quantum computing is still in the early stages and has yet to be commercialized which could take decades.

"While these results are intriguing and very encouraging, there is more work ahead to turn quantum enhanced optimization into a practical technology," Neven wrote.

However, the team of Google and NASA researchers announced on Tuesday that the tests on D-Wave machines using Quantum Monte Carlo algorithm simulates running an optimization problem on ordinary silicon, and again the results were more than 100 Million times faster than a conventional computer

Li-Fi is 100 Times Faster than Wi-Fi Technology - Practically Proved

Yes, it's time to shift from Wi-Fi to Li-Fi — an alternative technology that is 100 times faster than the average speeds of Wi-Fi.

Scientists have just field-tested the new wireless technology called Li-Fi for the first time and achieved marvelous wireless speeds that are 100 times faster than current WiFi speeds.

What is Li-Fi Technology?

Li-Fi is a new wireless technology that transmits high-speed data using light (i.e. Visible Light Communication or VLC) rather than radio bands.

In short, Li-Fi is a Super-Fast alternative to Wi-Fi.

Earlier this year, scientists achieved mind-blowing speeds of 224 gigabits per second (Gbps) in the lab using Li-Fi. It's believed that this technology has the potential to change everything about the way we use the Internet today.

And Yes, it will.

Test Results: Li-Fi is 100 times Faster than Wi-Fi

An Estonian startup company called Velmenni took the technology out of the laboratories and into the real-world offices, and industrial environments in Tallinn for the first time and, believe me, it's really, really fast.

The company was able to transmit data at 1GB per second, which is almost 100 times faster than the Wi-Fi speeds.

"We are doing a few pilot projects in different industries where we can utilize the VLC technology,"Velmenni's CEO Deepak Solanki told IBTimes UK.
"Currently we have designed a smart lighting solution for an industrial environment where the data communication is done through the light. We're also doing a pilot project with a private client where we're setting up a Li-Fi network to access the Internet in [our] office space."

Unlike Wi-Fi network signals, Li-Fi is based on light and can't penetrate through walls, which makes it more secure from external sniffing. Meanwhile, it also means there is less interference from other devices.

Who Invented Li-Fi?

The Li-Fi technology was originated in 2011 by German physicist Harald Haas, who outlined the idea of using light bulbs as wireless routers during a TED Talk. He demonstrated that with a flickering light from an LED, one could transmit more data than a cellular tower.

You can watch the full video of Haas talk about the Li-Fi technology in 2011 given below.