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Tech News
Google has turned off its Gemini chatbot and certain AI-powered Google Search features by default for student accounts managed through its education platform. The change follows a Wall Street Journal investigation examining how Google rolled out AI tools in schools and raised concerns about their effects on children.
A user found Google displaying standard search results without AI Mode while browsing in Chrome's Incognito mode, a result other outlets including Android Authority could not reproduce. The sighting comes after Alphabet lost $500 million in market value last week, which executives linked to underperforming ad revenue tied to AI Mode.
Google says K-12 schools must enable its Gemini AI tools alongside Search, since the two will now be off by default for student accounts until administrators turn them on. VP Chris Phillips says schools that fully disable Gemini will also lose access to Google Search, seeing a blocked-service message instead of results. The policy applies to Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom, and Search within Google Classroom, used by over 150 million students and educators worldwide.
Google will default to disabling AI tools for K-12 student accounts starting early next year unless administrators opt in to enable them. However, schools that choose to block AI features entirely will also lose student access to Google Search, since the company says search and AI are now deeply integrated in its product.
A consumer tech guide explains that slowing performance and poor battery life on older Android phones is often due to a degraded battery rather than a failing device. It recommends replacing the battery—often for $10-$80 depending on repair method—rather than buying a new phone, and suggests using built-in battery-saving modes and keeping charge levels between 20 and 80 percent.
Google announced that its education products will default to having AI features turned off, requiring administrators to manually enable them if they want access. The catch is that the AI toggle bundles together Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom, and Google Search, so schools that want to block AI tools must also give up search functionality.
Following the November 1 end of daylight saving time in the US, many Google Nest Hub and Nest Learning Thermostat owners report their devices' clocks shifted back an hour even in regions that don't observe the time change, according to user complaints gathered by Android Authority. The glitch has thrown off alarms, automations, and thermostat schedules, with reports surfacing from across Canada including British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba.
Google announced it is changing default settings so Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search will be off for K-12 student accounts until administrators turn them on. The company told Engadget and the New York Times that because Search and AI are deeply integrated, schools that opt out of AI tools will also see Search blocked for students, with a message explaining its unavailability. The move reverses an August change that had enabled some AI features by default in Classroom after educator backlash.
Google's Threat Intelligence Group dismantled x.cpe, a botnet that infected over 1.3 million Google-certified Android TV boxes, mostly sold under the MECOOL brand by Shenzhen-based Videostrong Technology. The malware used a backdoor to remotely install itself after devices went online, disabling Play Protect and evolving into a three-stage platform sold to third parties for residential proxying and ad fraud.
Binance released a postmortem detailing how a months-long attack led to the largest crypto theft on record. It began in June when an engineer downloaded a malware-laced installer via a Google ad, continued in September when another engineer was lured through a fake hiring process into installing malware disguised as an interview assignment, and culminated on October 29th when attackers used Binance's internal AI tool to seize control of employee wallets.
Google announced that starting next year, AI features across Gemini, NotebookLM, Gemini in Classroom, and Search will be off by default for K-12 students unless school administrators turn them on. However, because Google has integrated AI directly into Search, schools that opt out of AI entirely will also lose access to Google Search itself. The company said the policy follows discussions with schools, teachers, researchers, and policymakers.
Google Threat Intelligence Group and Mandiant report that cybercriminals are stealing access to commercial large language models through compromised cloud credentials and reselling that access on underground markets. In some cases, fraudulent usage charges topped $100,000 in a single day, with total costs to a victim organization reaching $1 million before the compromised access was cut off.