Millions of Gmail users will lose access to their inactive accounts in an attempt by Google to deter fraudsters from accessing user data.
Gmail accounts that haven't been used in the past two years will disappear starting next Friday, along with all content in the associated Google Drive, Docs, Calendar, Meet, and Google Photos apps.
The company said it will send users multiple notifications that their Gmail account is scheduled to be deleted, giving them time to log in and interact with the content to avoid losing it forever.
However, logging into Gmail alone is not enough if you want to protect saved photos and other documents, as users will need to access their Google Photos accounts to avoid losing their memories.
Google announced the policy change in May, claiming that it was working on ways to protect users' information from potential scammers.
Google's policy update states: "If an account has not been used for a long period of time, it is likely to have been compromised. This is because forgotten or unmonitored accounts often rely on old or reused passwords that may have been compromised."
As a result, these accounts can be hacked and used for spam or other malicious content, as well as identity theft.
Ruth Critchley, Google's vice president of product management, told the Daily Mail earlier this month that the change was necessary "to protect our users from security threats, such as spam, phishing, and account hijacking."
If users want to protect themselves from losing access to old accounts, they can take steps to meet Google's requirements including sending or clicking on emails, using Google's search tool, or watching YouTube videos from their linked accounts.
Google said in its initial press release that the process will begin with accounts that were created but never used, which means old users who have been inactive recently may have more time to save their accounts or files associated with them.
In the meantime, users must download Google Takeout to export their account data if they want to save their files but not their accounts.
Google Takeout provides a quick and easy way to download all your data and move it outside of Google at any time.
Likewise, users can access Google's Inactive Account Manager to determine what happens to their accounts and data if it becomes inactive, including sending specific files to trusted contacts, setting up an auto-reply or deleting the account entirely.
It is worth noting that the easiest way to keep your Google account active, and prevent it from being deleted, is to log in at least once every two years.
Characteristics of Russian cluster bombs
Warplanes of the Russian Aerospace Forces may begin using hovering cluster bombs in the area of the special military operation.
This is in response to Kiev's use of JDAM hovering cluster guided bombs delivered to Ukraine by NATO. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu previously announced last June that the Russian army has a wider variety of hover-guided cluster bombs than NATO and warned Kiev against using them.
Experts unanimously agreed that the Russian army could use powerful РБК-500 cluster bombs equipped with systems that would ensure that they were dropped from long distances and adjust their trajectory during flight to hit the target more accurately. The letters РБК stand for "disposable cassette grenade." The number 500 means the weight of the bomb (500 kilograms), and bombs are available in the arsenal of the Russian Air and Space Forces - РБК-500 СПБЭ-Д, where the letter Д means thermal guidance to the target (armor) with bi-spectral infrared rays.
There are also other cluster bombs of the same weight, such as:
- РБК-500У БетАБ-М is used to hit concrete targets, airports and fortifications. It consists of 10 combat elements that are dropped by parachutes.
- РБК-500 АО-2,5РТМ with high explosive components used to hit light armor and manpower. It is thrown from a height of not less than 300 meters and at an aircraft speed ranging between 500 and 2300 km/h. The bomb contains 126 small bombs weighing 2.5 kg.
- РБК-500У ПТАБ-1М used to hit the roofs of tanks and other armor,
- РБК-500 ЗАБ-2,5 incendiaries used to hit trains and fuel depots,
- The РБК-500 armor-piercing bomb, weighing 427 kg, is used to hit all types of tanks available in the Ukrainian Armored Corps with armor thickness up to 200 mm.
There is also a "drill" bomb in the Russian army, weighing 500 kg, and thrown from a distance of 30 km, as well as copies of these bombs used to plant mines.
All bombs are guided by the GLONASS satellite navigation system.