It's turning out to be a great day for service outages. On Wednesday, several hours after Google Home speakers and Chromecasts across the world went down as the result of an unspecified "glitch," Google is advising users to reboot their devices to get them back online. It's not clear what's caused the issue, but Google Home speakers were responding to commands by saying "there was a glitch, try again in a few seconds." That "glitch," whatever it was, was affecting the devices for more than 5 hours.ย Now Google Home is down ๐ถ pic.twitter.com/eVROv1L7YL โ Karissa Bell (@karissabe) June 27, 2018 Likewise, Chromecasts were also inoperable for several hours. Google hasn't commented on the source of either issue, or if the two are related, but the @MadebyGoogle Twitter account was busy Wednesday tweeting at angry users for hours letting them know a fix is on the way. Hey Bemere, we saw your tweet. There's an issue affecting a lot of Chromecast users and our team is already working on a stable fix โ thanks for bearing with us. โ Made by Google (@madebygoogle) June 27, 2018 Hey Stance, thanks for letting us know about it. Our team is still investigating and working on a solution. In the meantime, leave your Chromecast turned on so it can automatically perform an update once the fix for this was released. Thanks for your patience. โ Made by Google (@madebygoogle) June 27, 2018 Now, the Made by Google Twitter account is advising users to reboot their devices in order to fix the issue. The company is also pushing out an automatic update that could take six hours to reach everyone affected by the glitch. We have a fix for Google Home and Chromecast. It will automatically roll out within the next 6 hours. To get back up and running now, reboot your device โ https://t.co/CM4ov63F46. Thanks for sticking with us! โ Made by Google (@madebygoogle) June 27, 2018 Earlier in the day, when reached for comment, a Google spokesperson sent Mashable the following statement: "We're aware of an issue affecting some Google Home and Chromecast users. Weโre investigating the issue and working on a solution." But the extended outage left a lot of very unhappy people with trouble watching TV, controlling smart home gadgets, and listening to music.ย #google home is down globally. Skynet is rebooting the system. John Connor help us. โ Son Is Shining (@SonIsShining) June 27, 2018 Google home is down. Slack is down. There is only one logical conclusion. Google Assistant is just someone responding to slack messages really quickly. Your move, @Google. pic.twitter.com/XRxFMS3Rky โ Jake Dawkins (@JakeDawkins) June 27, 2018 #GoogleHome is down? Now who's going to turn on my lights and tell me the weather? โ Meagan Pau (@meaganpau) June 27, 2018 UPDATE: June 27, 2018, 3:42 p.m. PDT Updated with information from Google on a fix.ย<doc-sep>@Google You guys aren't going to say anything about the fact the your Google Homes weren't working this morning and caused my boyfriend to be late to work because the alarm didn't go off? Just gonna act like there was no issue?<doc-sep>It might not surprise you that Google has a pretty good idea of where you are right now. It turns out, the company is also leaking that information from your Google Home speakers and Chromecast in a way that hackers could scoop up -- and potentially use against you. That's according to research from Craig Young, a security expert at Tripwire, and a report from security writer Brian Krebs published Monday. Google confirmed the same day that it plans to patch the issue in July. "I was actually able to use data extracted from the devices to determine their physical location with astonishing accuracy," Young said in a blog post. Young found he could use the web browser on a computer as a stepping stone to reach a Chromecast or Google Home smart speaker that was connected to the same router. In his test, he was able to harvest information about his own location from his Chromecast. The hack works remotely as long as attackers are targeting someone who's using a computer and one of the affected Google devices on the same router. The hack is an example of how data collection by tech companies -- even data collection you know about and consent to -- can put you at risk from hackers if the information isn't locked down tight. How he did it First, Young set up a website that could run malicious software. Then he opened the website on his own computer. The website ran its hacking program, which looked around and found his Chromecast was also connected to the same router as his computer. Finally, the website sent a request to the Chromecast, which sent back the location data. The technique works whether you're using Windows machines or Mac computers, and could target you as you use either the Chrome or Firefox browser, Young found. The fix from Google is currently scheduled to roll out in mid to late July, a company spokesman said in an email. Why Google knows where your router is You might be asking yourself how Google would know your exact location data anyway. It's not because of GPS. Instead, Young explained, Google collects finely tuned information about the location of web routers, including the one you use to go online at home. That's why Google can tell your location in its Maps service, for example, even on a device that doesn't have GPS running. As Young points out, you can see this for yourself by opening Google Maps on your Chrome browser and clicking on the "My location" icon in the lower right corner. Especially if you're in a dense urban area, this should pinpoint your computer's location with precision. As Krebs points out, it even lets services like Google's Waze app continue to navigate for you even without GPS. That's the information the Chromecast and Google Home sends out when asked. What Young did was find a way for hackers to make that request through a computer that's connected to the same router as your Chromecast or Google Home speaker. Why it matters The flaw is a concern not just because it could tell hackers where you live, Young said in his blog post about the research, but also because it could help scammers make their messages to you seem more convincing. That includes things like fake calls from the IRS or demands for cash from hackers who claim they recorded video of their victims watching porn, both of which are real problems. Hackers, Young said, could use your location "to lend credibility to the warnings and increase their odds of success." CNET Magazine: Check out a sample of the stories in CNET's newsstand edition. 'Hello, humans': Google's Duplex could make Assistant the most lifelike AI yet.<doc-sep>
GOOGLE has admitted that its Google Home and Chromecast devices aren't working properly. Hundreds of gadget fans are complaining about the devices on Twitter and outage tracker Down Detector. 3 The Google Home smart speaker is an Amazon Echo rival that you can talk to Credit: PA:Press Association 3 Users began complaining about the speaker not working at around 11am UK time on Wednesday Credit: The Sun / Down Detector A Google Home spokesperson told The Sun: "We're aware of an issue affecting some Google Home and Chromecast users. We’re investigating the issue and working on a solution." One aggrieved user said: "Google Mini is saying I am not connected to Google Home and that there is an error." Another, complaining on Down Detector, wrote: "Google Home saying it's not set up even after a reboot." And one explained: "Cast button is missing on all devices and on all apps that use Chromecast. Also my Google Home will not cast anything to the TV, or simply play radio stations or music from any app." 3 The Google Chromecast TV streamer is also failing to work correctly Credit: Not known, check with picture desk The issue appears to be affecting anything that works using Google's Home tech, which is a smart ecosystem of tech that lets you stream content to devices. For instance, the Google Chromecast allows users to play content on a TV using their smartphone or tablet. And you can play music on your Google Home smart speaker using the Google Cast function too, simply through a smartphone app. MOST READ IN TECH BOUNCE BACK Dogecoin founder thanks Elon Musk for tweet as crypto market stages comeback Live Blog LOOK UP Lunar eclipse 2021 LIVE: Blood Moon and total eclipse happening NOW PHENOMENON Lunar eclipse 2021: Why the Super Blood Moon isn't visible in the UK LOST & FOUND New Google Maps feature means you'll NEVER get lost again OPEN WINDOW Microsoft boss reveals NEW 'next-gen' Windows coming six years after Windows 10 BLOOMING Super Flower Moon will fill skies tonight – how to see stunning lunar spectacle The Google Home smart speaker was released in the US back in November 2016, followed by a global launch in 2017. It's a smart speaker designed to be a direct rival to the Amazon Echo and Apple HomePod. It's powered by Google Assistant, and can answer questions, set alarms or timers, and play music. Google's Chromecast is a much older device, having launched way back in 2013 – although it's been re-released as newer, updated versions since then. It's a TV streaming device that plugs into the HDMI port on the back of your telly. Once it's in, you can use your smartphone to "cast" content to the TV from popular apps like BBC iPlayer and Netflix. Is your Google Home not working properly? If so, let us know in the comments! We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.