apps

Infopackets Reader Steve G. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thank you so much for your article on How to Disable Full Screen Popup Ads in Android ! Lately I have been inundated with full screen ads appearing on my smartphone and I have no idea where they are ... coming from. I tried your suggestion in the article, which says to wait for the full screen ad to appear, then press the app button on my phone to see where the ad is coming from. The problem is that these full screen ads don't have a title, so unfortunately I can't tell where the ad is coming from. You also suggested using a firewall but I am not ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Sam G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I work from home and also own an Android smartphone, which I use to communicate (via text messages) with friends and family. Because I am home all the time, I use WiFi on my phone instead of data. ... Therefore, I purchased a very cheap 'pay as you go' data plan for when I'm away from the office. The problem is that my data is being eaten away by apps on my phone whenever I'm on the go. I have tried disabling 'background data' on my Android phone to limit which apps can use data, but this is incredibly time consuming because each data permission is ... (view more)

Microsoft is ditching a special version of Windows 10 that was based around security and low costs. That said, Windows 10 S had some major restrictions on the programs it could run. Though it will no longer be available as a standalone edition, it ... will now be included as an optional mode in some Windows computers. That means Microsoft is likely continuing to target schools with the option. To many analysts, Windows 10 S was Microsoft's take on the Google Chromebook range. The distinguishing feature of Windows 10 S was that it only ran apps that were downloaded and installed from the Windows ... (view more)

Fitness apps used by soldiers may have inadvertently revealed their location and activities while deployed overseas. They've been warned to activate privacy options that can prevent data collection. The problem is with an app called Strava, which ... lets users track their activity when they go running or cycling. It goes beyond some apps that simply allow individuals to keep their own records or choose to share them with friends for motivation or suggested routes. Instead, Strava combines all the data collected from a reported 27 million users and produces "heat maps" that show the most ... (view more)

Scammers used a computer code loophole to trick more than a million people into downloading a rogue Android app. The fake variant of WhatsApp appears to have been designed to distribute ads. The bogus app took advantage of the popularity of the ... genuine WhatsApp Messenger, which has been downloaded more than 60 million times on Google Play alone. It's a tool for exchanging messages with friends or groups over the Internet rather than eating into SMS text message allowances. Extra Space Went Unseen "Update What's App Messenger" was one of numerous bogus apps that tried to mislead users with ... (view more)

Microsoft says it won't add any new features or devices for Windows 10 Mobile. It's a sign that hopes Windows 10 would revive the company's smartphone presence have largely failed. While what was then called Windows Mobile was once technically the ... most common smartphone operating system, it faded behind Apple's iOS and Google's Android as smartphones became more widely used. The attempt to relaunch under "Windows Phone" failed to make a breakthrough, and the system fell well under a one percent market share. The most recent figures suggest just one in every three thousand phones ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Richard A. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am so glad I found your website! I have a major problem with my Samsung S6 Edge (with Android Marshmallow). Recently I started receiving full screen pop up advertisements on my phone - these ads ... are appearing even when my phone is idle! At first they appeared every few days but now these full screen advertisements are popping up every few hours. I have NO idea where they are coming from. I searched google for 'block popup ads android' and came across an article suggesting it is possible to disable notifications from apps by adjusting the ... (view more)

Microsoft is to give Windows 10 users more details about exactly what an app is able to do on their computer. It's a similar security measure to that available on some mobile device apps. Until now, apps only usually have to get a Windows user's ... permission when they want to access location data, for example in a mapping tool. That's changing with the 2017 Fall Creators Update, the next major twice-yearly feature update for Windows 10. Microphone and Webcam Access Need Permission The change means apps will need the user's permission to access key hardware components on the computer such as a ... (view more)

Microsoft has unveiled a new variant of Windows 10 known as Windows 10 S. It has some key benefits for price and security, but with some major drawbacks. The new variant of the system will be built in to several machines, ranging from more basic ... $189 laptops to a $999 Microsoft Surface, which combines an ordinary laptop with a touch screen. The name doesn't stand for something specific, but rather Microsoft has thrown around terms such as security, simplicity, speed and streamlined. Devices running at the system will be billed as loading and running more quickly than many rivals and all ... (view more)

Motion sensors in smartphones could give away your lock code to hackers according to new research. But practical limitations mean related attacks might have to be specifically targeted. Researchers at Newcastle University explored the idea that ... tools such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, compasses and GPS chips in phones could reveal more detail than users realize. The tools are used for a variety of functions such as location tracking, fitness tracking and gesture control such as a user turning a phone face down to instantly switch it to "do not disturb" mode. Their theory was that ... (view more)