Google has implemented a new security feature into Gmail, notifying users when their accounts have been accessed from different countries. Google logs the IP addresses of users that sign into the account and determines from which country they originate. If the account was previously accessed from another country not long before, the user will be alerted with a message saying “Warning: We believe your account was last accessed from: [Country]” the next time he logs in. Clicking on the warning will provide the user with additional information about the suspicious login, including access type, location and IP address, and the time at which the login was made. The user is also provided an opportunity to change his password directly from this page. If the login was legitimate, the warning can be dismissed.

The feature is enabled for all Gmail users and will be available to Google Apps customers in the future. Google stresses that these notifications are not a substitute for security best practices.

Users will soon be able to opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics, Google announced. Analytics is used by website administrators to track visitors but, until now, users needed to block JavaScript from google-analytics.com using a browser extension such as NoScript if they wanted not to be tracked. Google has been working on a browser plug-in to create a convenient opt out mechanism and will release it sometime in the coming weeks.

The announcement notes Google’s continued commitment to privacy. However, the company has been criticized numerous times because of what some perceive as disrespect for users’ privacy. Most recently, Google came under fire when it launched Buzz and had users automatically follow their Gmail contacts, making this list of people public by default. Changes have since been made that address many of these privacy concerns. Nevertheless, Google has often given users the ability opt out of these services, even if they are turned on by default. Users are able to completely disable Buzz and have been able to opt out Google’s targeted advertisement program since it was launched.

Google has announced plans to build and test a 1 gigabit per second broadband network in 50,000 homes initially, with potentially up to 500,000 homes to be included at a later time. The fiber-to-home network will be able to deliver speeds that are much faster than most people in the United States have access to.

The purpose of the project, says Google, is to experiment and learn, stating that “[it hopes] to make a meaningful contribution to the shared goal of delivering faster and better Internet for everyone.” Specifically, Google would like to see

• “Next generation apps: We want to see what developers and users can do with ultra high-speeds, whether it’s creating new bandwidth-intensive “killer apps” and services, or other uses we can’t yet imagine.
• New deployment techniques: We’ll test new ways to build fiber networks, and to help inform and support deployments elsewhere, we’ll share key lessons learned with the world.
  
• Openness and choice: We’ll operate an “open access” network, giving users the choice of multiple service providers. And consistent with our past advocacy, we’ll manage our network in an open, non-discriminatory and transparent way.”

Google has put out a request for information to help it identify interested communities. State, county and city officials, as well as members of the public can nominate their community by answering the request. Responses will be collected until 26 March and the target communities will be announced later this year.

While the network will be small compared to larger ISPs, it will hopefully put some pressure on them to upgrade their speeds.

Google has released a video detailing plans for the network: