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Here we go again.

Three months after it first began warning users of state-sponsored cyber attacks, Google is saying that the assault has only intensified.

The New York Times reports that since it began warning users of state-sponsored attacks, "it has picked up thousands more instances of cyberattacks than it anticipated." Many of the attacks appear to be originating in the Middle East.

Starting on Tuesday, the company began inserting a message at the top of affected users' Gmail inboxes: "Warning: We believe state-sponsored attackers may be attempting to compromise your account or computer.

The attacks affect … Read more

People in Iran can apparently once again access their Gmail accounts after the service was blocked last week.

Both Gmail and the secure HTTPS version of Google were persona non grata in the country on September 24 after an Iranian official named Abdolsamad Khoramabadi announced that "Google and Gmail will be filtered nationwide until further notice." Khoramabadi is the secretary of a committee in Iran that examines the Internet for content considered illegal or criminal, according to the Iranian Labor News Agency.

The action was reportedly taken in response to an amateur movie posted on YouTube considered critical of the Prophet Muhammad among Muslims, … Read more

While a huge percentage of Africa's more than 1 billion residents have cell phones, far fewer have access to e-mail. Google is trying to change that.

According to the Associated Press, the Web giant is embarking on an ambitious endeavor that will let people receive e-mails via text messages. In effect, Google will be giving people access to the Internet with feature handsets. Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya are the first countries to get the service.

Nigerians began seeing ads posted on billboards around the country for Google's text message email service in July, according to the Associated Press. … Read more

Most of us spend a large part of our day reading and writing e-mails. If you're a Hotmail (now Outlook.com), Yahoo! Mail, or Gmail user, you may already be familiar with using Webmail keyboard shortcuts. They can save you time by not having to constantly take your hands off of the keyboard to reach for a mouse. But how many of those shortcuts have you actually learned?

KeyRocket for Gmail is a Chrome extension that can help you learn Gmail keyboard shortcuts, while you're using Gmail. All you have to do is install the Chrome extension, make … Read more

What happens to e-mail when you print it out? Is it still e-mail or has it moved into a different plane of existence? Regardless of the existential questions that arise, you now have a very fitting place to put your printed e-mails. Stuff them into a DIY Mail Purse.

The DIY Mail Purse gets part of its name from the fact you have to assemble it yourself. Don't worry, ThinkGeek says it will only take 15 minutes of your time. It comes with precut polyester felt pieces, cotton rope, basswood splints, and a shoulder strap. Assembly is just a matter of running the rope through some holes.… Read more

Quick question: do you use Gmail or Google Docs more frequently?

If you answered the former, this handy trick may be of interest. It allows you to add data to a spreadsheet in Google Docs from a form you can quickly access from your Gmail inbox. This form can even be accessed on your phone (at least in my case, using an iPhone 4S and both the native Mail app and the Gmail app).

Here are the steps needed to set it up:

1. Create a spreadsheet in Google Docs.

2. From the Tools menu, select Create a form.

3. … Read more

When you're mobile, running errands, or even traveling, there may not always be time to write a response to those who contact you. It's easy to forget what you need to do with an e-mail you've already read sitting in your inbox. Maybe a family member sent you something they want feedback on, or maybe a business client needs a question answered. In either case, you want to let the person on the other end of the e-mail know what's going on with you and when you'll be able to devote time to … Read more

If you're anything like me, your inbox doubles as a kind of to-do list. You mark important messages as unread so you remember to attend to them later.

Just one problem: As more e-mail arrives, those unread messages get pushed farther down the list, until they're eventually out of sight -- and out of mind.

What you need is something akin to a snooze button, a way to delay important messages to a later time or date so they reappear when you're ready to attend to them.

Something like Boomerang for Gmail, a browser add-on that gives … Read more

Did you read Mat Honan's tale of woe last week? The one where his Amazon, Apple, Gmail, and Twitter accounts were hacked and his digital life was eradicated?

If not, I strongly encourage you to read his story. In a nutshell, hackers strung together pieces of information to gain access to several important online accounts. The results were personally devastating for him. But his story is a good lesson for all of us. After learning the details of the attack -- from one of the hackers himself, no less -- Honan says he regrets three things most of all.… Read more