Category: Apps and Software

Games, Apps, Softwares, Operating Systems and Software Hacks

New WhatsApp Scam Raises Privacy Scare

As privacy becomes more and more treacherous in virtual space, there is yet another update from the front to make matters worse. WhatsApp has become the target of a scam threatening users’ privacy and their devices with malware.

The new scam tricks users into revealing personal information like passwords and account details. A link comes from what seems to be a friend and when the recipient opens it, they are directed to a website which asks for their private details. Users often find themselves on a discount page asking for log-in ids and passwords.

While this website not only manages to obtain important personal information like passwords, it also infects the device with viruses. Furthermore, the victims are then asked to forward the message to their friends in return for a promotion like a discount coupon with a famous brand and so on and so forth.

What is more disturbing is the fact that owing to its far reach all over the world, this virus makes makes use of different languages.

David Emm, principal security researcher at an internet security and anti-virus software company comments on this and says, “We have noted that this WhatsApp scam has been actively circling for some time. It ‘speaks’ several languages so the attacks can be customised for each market.

WhatsApp has gained immense popularity ever since its inception, becoming the most popular messaging platform in the world. After having secured itself 1 billion customers, WhatsApp recently also increased its upper limit of members in a group from 100 to 256. Because the platform is expanding in such an exponential manner, it is bound to attract scammers. WhatsApp has issued no official comment on how it plans to address the problem.

February 6, 2016
WhatsApp Increases its Group Member Limit: Brace Yourself for Spam

Say hello to the world of social media and inanity that only seems to be increasing with every passing day. Amidst millions of pointless comments and cat-pictures that are exchanged every day, here is some news to make you shudder at the prospect of more spam. WhatsApp has increased the number of members that can be part of a group from 100 to 256.

The move has perhaps been made to make users stick to the platform, especially in the face of competition its facing from other companies like Hike, Viber and KakaoTalk, to name a few. The company is clearly trying to hard to keep up its status of being the world’s most popular messaging app. WhatsApp confirmed 1 billion users on the platform with 42 billion messages being exchanged every day.

Since Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp, it is only likely that the platform would be entering into different methods of generating revenue. Now that the platform is all set to be cost-free minus any charge at all, the move to increase members in a group could be aimed at creating an income from those using WhatsApp as a means to publicise themselves. From personal business to brokers to marketing firms, everyone seems to be using this platform to publicise themselves. And it is precisely this section of WhatsApp users the increased group limit seems to be directed at.

An average WhatsApp user is not likely to be effected by the update at all. Also, the update could have been announced on a trial basis as well. Even if Facebook is tinkering with the platform to test different ways of increasing its profits, a random figure like 256 (why not 250 or 300?) still seems an odd way to start. Let’s see what the company has in mind and what all it leads to.

February 5, 2016
ATMs to Support Apple and Android Pay

Because many retailers still don’t offer NFC support for payments, life is still not as easy as it could be if among other things smartphones could also be used to do ATM transactions as well. This is precisely what Bank of America and Wells Fargo are working on offering at their ATMs in the US.

“We’ve been working on the technology that allows us to hook to digital wallets, leveraging NFC on mobile phones to replace the card at the transaction at the ATM. Right now the wallet that we support is Android Pay,” says Jonathan Velline, Wells Fargo’s Head of ATMs.

Similarly, Bank of America is also working of employing NFC at its ATMs. It should be made available in February in some ATMs in Silicon Valley, New York, San Francisco, Charlotte and Boston. Even though Bank of America has not explicitly mentioned which wallets would be supported, we can assume them to be Apple and Android Pay for now.

While these potential developments sound fancy and appealing, there is no news on when they will be available in India as well. Hold your breath until we update you about the next development on this front.

Source

January 29, 2016
Chrome for iOS Faster and more Stable after Major Update

Chrome for iOS has received a major update which the company says will give the browser a huge increase in speed and stability. The developers attribute this to using WebKit (WKWebView) instead of the older UIWebView.

With the introduction of the WKWebView rendering engine, Google said it has been able to update its Chrome Web browser in such a way that it can perform far better on iPhones and iPads than the previous version. The new 48th version of Google Chrome for iOS according to estimates is almost 10x faster and 5x more stable than previous generations of the browser.

This particular switch to WKWebView from the previous iOS rendering engine has enabled Google to reduce Chrome browser crashes for Apple device users by upto a whopping 70 percent. According to a blog post by Google software engineer Stuart Morgan, Even Google’s “Aw, Snap!” error page loads faster when the renderer does crash, he noted.

Morgan further added “Out-of-process rendering was one of Chrome’s earliest innovations, and we’ve always wanted to bring its benefits to our iOS users,” Morgan said. “Unfortunately UIWebView, the component used to render Web pages on iOS, is in-process, so that’s never been possible before.”

This particular news comes on the heels of all the troubles Apple’s Safari web browser has been facing on iOS devices in the last couple of days. The issue of Safari crashing during searches has bothered iOS users for some time now. A fix had been issued but the timing of Google’s latest announcement will certainly take away a number of frustrated Safari users away from the Cupertino-based company.

January 29, 2016
Samsung to Launch its Apps for iOS

Looks like Samsung is going by the “if you can’t beat them, join them” philosophy. The Korean giant is reportedly planning to launch its apps for iOS devices. Though the love-hate relationship between Samsung and Apple continues, it doesn’t mean the former can’t make some cash off of the latter’s user base.

Gear Manager, S Health, Smart Camera and Remote Control are some of the apps that Samsung is planning to launch on iOS. These utility apps are meant to work for Samsung’s smart devices like smart TVs, smartwatches and smart cameras.

Samsung’s idea accepts that there is a huge iOS user base who are being shunned from buying Samsung’s other smart devices for compatibility reasons, and it wishes to change that. Samsung’s smart TVs, for example, have a number of neat features that iPhone users cannot use through their phones. The company wants to make money where it can, and including iOS users is just a smart way to do that.

Google and HTC have already embraced the idea of having as many users using their products as they can no matter which platform they use. It doesn’t look like Apple would have any problem with Samsung’s app on its App Store if it means more users buying iOS devices as well. It looks like a win-win situation from where we see it.

January 26, 2016
Microsoft’s New Alarm App Will Have You Clicking Selfies at Dawn

The desire to innovate and come up with new things is pretty much making everyone lose their marbles in the tech world, and we are definitely not complaining. Some of these innovations are useful, some redundant and some plain bizarre. We’ll let you decide which category this new Microsoft app should fall under.

The company has developed an alarm app called Mimicker Alarm which includes games and tongue twisters for the user to complete before the alarm can be turned off. The activities are divided into three categories -Express Yourself, Color Capture, and Tongue Twister.

https://youtu.be/VWJyCYkMc3Y

Once the alarm goes off, the user has thirty seconds to click a selfie or complete a tongue twister or find the right coloured object before the alarm goes off again. While answer to existence for some, the app has the potential of being super-annoying for others. Microsoft, however, has left no loose ends. The app is user-friendly enough to allow you to customize these games. You can still look for a red coloured object within the confines of your warm room without having to brave the cold.

“We’re a lot nicer than other alarms. You start with dismiss or snooze. If you snooze, the default is five minutes to delay the game. If you dismiss, we mute the alarm – but then you have 30 seconds to complete this challenge. And if you don’t complete that game in time, we assume you’ve fallen back asleep and then the alarm will start ringing again. You only need to complete one game to shut off the alarm. You can choose the sounds and which games you want to play,” says Allison Light, a program manager on the team.

Once you’re done looking pretty for your morning alarm, the app also allows you to share the “mimics” on various social media platforms. Share it around and get phones buzzing all over. Why should others sleep when you’re up, right?

Mimicker Alarm is up for free download on Google Play.

Source

[poll id=”40″]

January 22, 2016
After TRAI, Google Too Makes Life Difficult for Facebook

Looks like it’s not the best of times for Facebook. There is another potential blow headed towards the company now, thanks to Google.

Google is allowing some Android users to download apps directly from search results without the need to visit the App Store. Though these downloads are available only through organic searches and not ads yet, but we can hope to see this extension soon as well.

Now these downloads mean some not-so-good-news for Facebook which had begun advertising apps on its website a few years ago. Since then users have been able to download apps from these ads. However, since Google is allowing for direct downloads of its apps from search results, app developers are likely to pay less and less to Facebook to promote themselves.

This, in turn, means a cut in revenue for Facebook. Also, it should be noted that one of Facebook’s main arguments in support of its app ads is that it can direct app-developers to their target audience -with the help of the information Facebook has of its users. Not creepy at all, Facebook.The new development in Google’s add-download might be quite a setback for the networking website since mobile app ads has been a significant source of its revenue.

Google, on the other hand, is making app-downloads more and more inviting for users by introducing features like “trial run ads” which lets users use an app for 60 seconds before deciding whether or not they want to download it. Additionally, the users can now also stream app content from search without actually downloading the app.

January 21, 2016
WhatsApp Will Soon Become Totally Free

WhatsApp, the $19 billion messaging service is dropping its $1 annual fee. Yes, the messaging service giant wants to reach out to the entire human population now. Founder Jan Koum explained that although the $1 fee isn’t much and there are millions who use the messaging service – that made the traditional SMS obsolete – there are still many who aren’t using WhatsApp, especially those without access to card payments.

The change takes effect from today, and will be a week or two until it reaches everywhere across all versions of the app. This news, however, has raised a lot of concerns among people. The main question was how WhatsApp will earn now that it’s lost its revenue stream. Naturally, the speculations lead towards advertisements.

But before you begin to panic, WhatsApp has stated that advertisements are not coming, claiming that “we will test tools that allow you to use WhatsApp to communicate with businesses and organizations that you want to hear from.” WhatsApp is likely to slowly take over other functions of your phone (it already has voice calling for one) in a bid to make itself more relevant and practical for users. We’ll just have to wait and see what WhatsApp plans for its future.

January 18, 2016
This App Blocks Third Parties From Tracking Your Location

There is no denying the omnipresent existence of the Internet in our lives. The virtual trail left behind by a user online has ensured that pretty much all their personal information has been documented in some form or the other in a deep, dark pocket of the Internet.

Checking-ins on social media platforms, booking cabs and taxis, looking for train or plane tickets or simply the nearest cafe to grab a cuppa -all these activities have ensured that that details about our location and day to day activities are on public display all the time, leaving us vulnerable and unprotected.

However, not all is lost. A university in the US has developed an app which ensures that third-parties have no access to your location. Developed by a team of researchers at Binghamton University, the app makes sure third-parties are blocked from tracking down your location depending on what you search online.

“When we release personal information to the internet, it is out of our control, and can be easily searched and used for malicious purposes. We are trying to provide a more efficient and feasible solution to make sure that kind of information is secure,” says Linke Guo, team leader of the research.

Once developed successfully and put to use, the app would make the virtual space safer for the average user. Let’s see if this attempt manages to cure privacy issues online.

[poll id=”38″]

January 18, 2016
Apple Music Reaches 10 Million Users in 6 Months, Spotify took 6 years

It’s only been six months since Apple started operations at Apple Music, and in that short span of time, this promising service has outdone market expectations, and already managed to reach half the number of paid subscribers that the market leader, Spotify has. Noteworthy is the fact, that it took Spotify, its main rival, 6 long years to reach this milestone of 10 million subscribers.

What makes this feat even more impressive, is the fact that Apple’s streaming service which because of it’s bug ridden, and clustered interface met with a lot of criticism at its launch. It was only after iOS 9 came in that many of these issues were cleared.

This growth of Apple’s premium music streaming service, which launched in more than 100 countries, not only raises the competition in the music streaming service space, but more importantly raises hopes for the future of the music Industry itself, which has been fighting a losing battle against Piracy for the last decade or so.

Deciphering this music industry analyst, Mark Mulligan had this to say,“It’s good news that Apple is making streaming work but it is also going to accelerate the decline of downloads.” Apple is rapidly gaining on Spotify and at its current growth rate has “the potential to be the leading music subscription service sometime in 2017.”

Streaming is slowly becoming the preferred form of consumption of music, and is growing rapidly as people give up on downloads. In the US, demand for streaming increased more than 50 per cent, with 164bn songs streamed in total.

Apple despite all of this has a long way to go before it comes close to overtaking Spotify. Spotify last reported its number of subscribers in June, and it is expected to have grown substantially since then. Back then it had 20 million paid members, and in total it reported 75 million users.

January 11, 2016
Apple Working on a ‘Move to Android’ App

Update: Apple has denied the development of any such app. “There is no truth to this rumor. We are entirely focused on switching users from Android to iPhone, and that is going great”, says Apples spokesperson, Trudy Muller

Say hello to tech world where things keep getting stranger. Earlier we had talked about an app which allows you to shift from an Android device to iOS. Developed by Apple, the app is available on the Google Play Store and lets users transfer their images, contacts and other important data to an iPhone from their Android device.

Now there are rumours of Apple working on an app that allows iOS users to shift to Android. Though there is no news on when the app will be up and about, speculations about it have already begun. We can perhaps expect to see the move-to-android app sometime this year.

Reports emerging from the UK have suggested that many users stick with iOS simply to avoid the trouble of transferring or losing their data to an Android device. The app is being developed to ease such migrations from one OS to another.

Earlier, following the launch of ‘Move to iOS’, there had been an adequate response from the Android community as they mocked it with their own ‘Stick With Android’ app. Let’s see what response is triggered by this latest development.

January 11, 2016
Coolest Tech at CES 2016 So Far

CES 2016 kicked off in the most spectacular way possible. The technological fest had everything a tech junkie could ask for. While drones and hover boards were the ones that stole the spotlight, there were some others that just inspired awe. Here are some of our favorites so far.

Razor Blade Stealth

Razer – maker of the coolest and most badass gadgets around – unveiled its 12.5-inch Razer Blade Stealth with Super HD 2,560×1,440-pixel resolution touchscreen display, a Core i7 processor, 8GB of memory and 128GB of solid-state storage. And since the laptop is a Razer product, the device comes with RGB backlit keyboard that lets you program every key to light up in individual colors.

Saving the best for last, the laptop also features Razer Core, an external graphics docking station which will arrive for an undisclosed price in the first half of this year.

Intel RealSense Technology

Intel reminded everyone that the future is indeed here. The chipmaker showed off its RealSense sensor technology, which allows computers to map an environment in real time and react to it. Intel used this technology in three different products – a helmet, a car, and a robot.

The Daqri is a smart helet that is aimed at construction workers and athletes. The helmet has inbuilt glasses that are AR-ready. The helmet uses RealSense 3D camera to create augmented reality on the screen of the glasses. The RealSense technology was also seen in Segway’s Advanced Personal Robots, which is a hoverboard that doubles into a robot. Finally, the technology was seen in a race car that showed movements on the screen following the driver wherever they turned their head.

Ehang 148 Drone

A Chinese company, Ehang Inc., unveiled what is being touted as the first ever drone capable of carrying a human being, on Wednesday at CES.

The Ehang 184 was unveiled yesterday as an electric-power drone that can carry up to 220 pounds and is capable of flying for 23 minutes. It looks like a small helicopter, but of course, along with the four doubled propellers of a drone. The air-conditioned cabin has room for one person and is capable of being charged fully in only two hours. It also has a reading light and space for a back-pack, just because.

Faraday Future’s FFZero1 Electric Concept

One of the coolest unveiling in the automotive departments comes from Faraday Future. The startup, which is backed by Chinese internet TV provider LeTV, unveiled its first-ever electric concept, the FFZero1 which will be production ready by 2018. The exterior design of the vehicle draws inspiration from the 1960s Batmobile.

The FFZero1 has a smartphone embedded in the steering wheel to give the vehicle a “sixth sense” that understands the driver’s preferences and is also capable of driving itself. The internet-connected FFZero1 has a top speed of 200mph (321 kph) and accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds. Furthermore, the car has what the company calls ‘aero tunnels’ that channels air through the car to reduce drag and cool the batteries.

Faraday Future research chief Nick Sampson said that the company can achieve production of the FFZero1 faster than other automakers thanks to its adoption of “variable production architecture”. “Our lifestyle is becoming very digital and connected, and the car industry isn’t responding to those needs quick enough,” Sampson said. “Our architecture allows us to create different batteries without completely re-engineering the thing each time.”

Fitbit Blaze

Fitbit – the company that’s currently dominating the fitness tracking market – showcased its new wearable that looks more like a smartwatch than any of its previous offerings. The smartwatch was also launched in India yesterday at Rs. 19,999 and is up for pre-orders.

The watch comes equipped with a sleep-tracker, GPS and Bluetooth Smart which notifies the user of calls, texts and calendars notifications. The user can also accept or reject calls using the watch when its connected to a compatible smartphone. On-screen controls also allows the user to navigate and play music from the connected smartphone. PurePulse feature of Blaze tracks the heart-rate of the user and helps make training routines more efficient.

Blaze seems high on design with its interchangeable bands, modular design and a high resolution colour touchscreen. It has a stainless steel display which further has three options to choose from -black, mist grey and camel. There is another option of a Luxe stainless steel band paired with the display frame available in silver.

January 8, 2016
5 Free Apps to Help You Keep the Fitness Resolution This Year

This New Year’s resolutions all around seem big on fitness. People in the virtual space have been talking a lot about being fit -from a deluge of pre and post work-out selfies to this never ending high of fitness-junkies. Yes, we get it -life is so much better after a work-out, and even better if your entire Facebook friend-list knows about it.

If fitness is your cup of tea, because of reasons mentioned above, or (hopefully) different ones, and if you too made a resolution about a healthier body and mind in 2016, we are here to help you keep it. Find below a list of five diet and exercise related apps to motivate yourself to keep in shape. Here goes:

Nike+No list on fitness apps can be complete without this. If you already don’t know about this cool and pretty useful app, this is why Nike+ is important -it made running so much better with its constant motivation in the form of trophies, badges and NikeFuel. It allows users various running programmes and challenges to choose from, along with the option of syncing it with your social media accounts. Nike definitely got it right with this one. It is available for both iOS and Android devices.

Tabata Stopwatch ProNow that we are on the topic of cardio, let’s talk about Tabata. This amazing four minute work-out is made for those who live life on the go. Doing this work-out once in the morning and once in the evening will let you maintain a basic standard of health. The biggest hurdle in doing Tabata is keeping the time in check. But worry not, Tabata Stopwatch Pro is here to save the day. It not only plays your favourite song during the work-out but also notifies you of time intervals every 20 and 10 seconds. It’s available in both the App Store as well Google Play.

Daily YogaIf cardio is not your thing, why not try your hand at flexibility and stretching with some good, old Yoga? Daily Yoga is an app which instructs users in Yoga for different parts of the body through comprehensive videos. Depending on the body-part and the trouble you’re facing -from aches to soreness in muscles to fat, Daily Yoga sufficiently covers all requirements. The app is available in the App Store and Google Play.

Calorie Counter – My Fitness PalOptimum health requires both physical exercise and a balanced diet to work in unison. Now that we have got the former part covered, it’s time to move on to the latter -that is, the right diet. Calorie Counter, as the name suggests, lets you keep a check on the daily consumption of carbs and fats. You can enter in the meal and it would give you an estimate of your calories. Once you start using it, you’d be pleasantly surprised with how customizeable this app is. Calorie Counter too is available for both iOS and Android devices.

Hydro Coach and Daily Water Free ‘Nuff with all the huffing and puffing -make sure to keep the body well-hydrated. That’s much easier said than done; making sure to drink enough water is one of the most useful but also the most underestimated hacks ever. Enough water keeps the muscles replenished and healthy enough to take on any exercise regimes. It also keeps the metabolism up and running on its feet making sure your diet and exercise is optimised in the most efficient ways. While Hydro Coach is a useful app for Android phones that will give you regular reminders to drink water, Daily Water Free is the answer for iOS users.

January 6, 2016
CES 2016: Samsung’s Gear S2 to Soon be iOS Compatible

Samsung’s day at CES 2016 is now over. The company made some big announcements in technology today, one of which concerns the Tizen-powered Gear S2 lineup. Samsung’s newest wearables will be available in platinum and rose gold variant. But this wasn’t the big announcement we’re talking about. The Gear S2 will be iOS compatible later this year. As of now, the wearables can only work with an Android device.

now while Samsung promises seamless connectivity with iOS devices like the iPhone or iPad not all features in the device will be made accessible. Samsung Pay, for example, which is yet to roll to the smartwatch, is not likely to be iOS compatible, and will rather require a Samsung device for it to work.

Samsung’s decision to have its wearable work with iOS devices will be especially beneficial for those who aren’t all that excited about the Apple Watch (mostly due to its pricing), but are still keen on sporting smartwatches.

Samsung hasn’t revealed the precise date when the iOS platform for the Gear S2 will be rolled out to the public. You can expect Apple to take point on this as this is likely to affect sales of the Apple Watch once the cross-platform compatibility is made available.

January 6, 2016
Apple Watch Uses the Force to Fly a Drone

It’s a beautiful thing when science meets Star Wars. A group of Taiwanese tech researchers at PVD+ have created an app for the Apple Watch that allows you to control a drone using your arm movements. Yes, the Force is strong with this Apple Watch.

Reuters caught the motion-controlled drone in action. You can check it out in the video below. “Previously we’ve needed complicated controls to fly drones, but now we can use a wearable device, and through human behavior and gestures directly interact with them – using a hand to control and fly drones directly,” PVD+ founder Mark Ven told Reuters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX8ZkgFk_Rw

But that’s not all. The researchers also channeled their inner Jedi to create an app that controls light levels and colors via hand movements, and a spherical robot resembling the adorably rolly BB-8 droid seen in Star Wars: The Force Awaken. “We can also control a ball, like that in Star Wars’ BB-8 droid, using a wearable device as well,” Ven said.

PVD+ is calling the software Dong, and is working on securing a patent for it. Looks like it won’t be long before the line between science fiction and reality disappears completely.

January 2, 2016