The +1 button launches in Australia

Back in March, we announced the +1 button on search results in English on Google.com - a way for you to recommend content to your friends, contacts and the rest of the world directly from Google search results and ads. Today, 1+’s will start appearing on Google’s search results in Australia for some users, and will start showing for most logged in users by the end of the week.



Just like on Google.com, the +1 button allows you to recommend a news article, your favourite brand of sandals or an attraction you visited with a single click.

The +1 button will appear next to each search result

After pressing the +1 button, you have the option to undo the action immediately

Say, for example, you’re planning a trip to London. If you are searching for a hotel, we may show you +1’s from your globe-trotting friend. Or if you’re looking for things to do on a sunny day, we may show you +1’s from your food-loving cousin next to the result for a gourmet market.





But +1s aren’t only for search results. You will also see +1 appear on sites large and small across the Internet. From today, you can +1 local businesses on Truelocal, holiday accommodation at Stayz, vehicles at Mitsubishi, daily deals on Spreets and electronics at Kogan. In the next few days sites like Trading Post, The Australian and News.com.au will also be adding +1 to their sites. Website owners can implement the +1 button on their site within minutes.



How do we know which +1’s to show you? We use many signals to identify the most useful recommendations, including the people you are already connected to through Google (your chat buddies and contacts, for example).



To get started +1’ing the stuff you want to recommend, you’ll need to create a Google profile. You can use your profile to see all of your +1’s in one place, and delete those you no longer want to recommend. To see +1’s in your Google search results you’ll need to be logged into your Google Account.



We believe that +1, combined with all of the social content we’re now including in search globally, will mean even better, more relevant results than you get today.



Posted by Kate Conroy, Product Specialist

Tips for National Cybersecurity Awareness Week

This week is National Cybersecurity Awareness Week and we thought we’d pull together some ideas on how you can stay safe and secure online. In most cases, staying safe online is about a combination of practicing safe behaviors and making sure you’re using the latest, most secure tools and products.

When it comes to passwords, choose wisely

It’s best to use unique passwords for your accounts, especially important accounts like email and online banking. Selecting a password with a mix of numbers and letters will make it harder for someone to guess or crack. For more tips on choosing smart passwords, check out this blog post.



Be mindful of phishing attempts, and avoid getting hooked

“Phishing”: when someone masquerades as someone else in an effort to fool you into sharing personal or other sensitive information with them. This could include account numbers, user names and passwords, or other personal information. Most legitimate businesses will never ask for this information via email. Google doesn't. You can find out more in this blog post.



Develop safe Internet browsing habits

Be careful to sign-out of your account when you’re finished, especially when using a public computer, such as those at libraries or Internet cafes. Don’t share personal information on untrusted sites, and use your judgement when opening files online or in your email. If you happen to get an email from a friend with an attachment you didn't expect, don't be afraid to ask the sender what it is before you decide whether to open it.



Look out for extra security features in services, like HTTPS

Any time you visit a webpage, your computer needs to send and receive information across the Internet. HTTPS encrypts data as it is transmitted between computers on the Internet. You can look for the "https" in the URL bar of your browser to make sure the data is being sent over a secure connection.

Posted by Ishtar Vij, Public Policy Team, Google Australia & New Zealand.