Google Voice Free for Servicemen and Women, Facebook Banned Though
Google Voice, the service that puts all your phone numbers into one Google number, has seen its fair share of press recently, mainly because Apple decided to reject the official Google Voice app – which in turn caused the FCC to question Apple why it rejected the app, and inquire whether AT&T is somehow responsible for the rejection. Google Voice one again makes the headlines, but this time for altogether different reasons.
Mountain View-based search engine giant Google has announced the launch of a new program which is meant to help those fighting oversees stay connected with friends and family stateside. The program states that if you have a .mil email address, you can sign up for Google Voice free of charge.
“For servicemen and women who are constantly on the move, having a single number and an easy way to retrieve messages from loved ones can be invaluable. To help our service members communicate with their loved ones and show our support to those serving our country, Google is launching a new program. Starting today, any active U.S. service member with a .mil email address can sign up for a Google Voice account [here] and start using the free service within a day,” explained U.S. Army SGT Dale Sweetnam.
The functionality of Google Voice is obvious. The serviceman sets up an account and the friends and family members that want to send a message call his Google Voice number and leave a message. When the servicemen has some spare time on his hands, he can log into his account and access the messages. Dale Sweetnam compares Google Voice to a care package, just that it comes in audio form.
Additional details about Google Voice are available on the service’s official site here.
In related news, the U.S. Marine Corps has announced that social networking sites are banned on its networks – this means Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.
“These internet sites in general are a proven haven for malicious actors and content and are particularly high risk due to information exposure, user generated content and targeting by adversaries. The very nature of SNS [social network sites] creates a larger attack and exploitation window, exposes unnecessary information to adversaries and provides an easy conduit for information leakage that puts OPSEC [operational security], COMSEC [communications security], personnel and the MCEN [Marine Corps Enterprise Network] at an elevated risk of compromise,” said the Marine Corps order.
Mountain View-based search engine giant Google has announced the launch of a new program which is meant to help those fighting oversees stay connected with friends and family stateside. The program states that if you have a .mil email address, you can sign up for Google Voice free of charge.
“For servicemen and women who are constantly on the move, having a single number and an easy way to retrieve messages from loved ones can be invaluable. To help our service members communicate with their loved ones and show our support to those serving our country, Google is launching a new program. Starting today, any active U.S. service member with a .mil email address can sign up for a Google Voice account [here] and start using the free service within a day,” explained U.S. Army SGT Dale Sweetnam.
The functionality of Google Voice is obvious. The serviceman sets up an account and the friends and family members that want to send a message call his Google Voice number and leave a message. When the servicemen has some spare time on his hands, he can log into his account and access the messages. Dale Sweetnam compares Google Voice to a care package, just that it comes in audio form.
Additional details about Google Voice are available on the service’s official site here.
In related news, the U.S. Marine Corps has announced that social networking sites are banned on its networks – this means Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.
“These internet sites in general are a proven haven for malicious actors and content and are particularly high risk due to information exposure, user generated content and targeting by adversaries. The very nature of SNS [social network sites] creates a larger attack and exploitation window, exposes unnecessary information to adversaries and provides an easy conduit for information leakage that puts OPSEC [operational security], COMSEC [communications security], personnel and the MCEN [Marine Corps Enterprise Network] at an elevated risk of compromise,” said the Marine Corps order.
