app

Thu
13
Dec
John Lister's picture

Android Ad Scam Hijacks Phones; Drains Data, Battery

22 Android apps are eating up data allowances to benefit scammers at the expense of phone owners, a security firm says. The apps are using smart phones to carry out fraud against online advertisers. Sophos says it's found 22 offending apps with a ... total of two million downloads. They are each described as offering simple games or basic utilities such as keeping the phone's flash activated to act as a flashlight. While they work as described, which helps get good online reviews and build credibility, the scam is happening behind the scenes. (Source: sophos.com ) The apps are used for click ... (view more)

Wed
29
Aug
John Lister's picture

Google Warns: Major Security Flaw in Fortnite Game

The makers of the hit video game "Fortnite" have called Google irresponsible for revealing a security flaw. The controversy follows Epic Games choosing not to use the Google Play store to distribute the game. Although it's free to download and play, ... Fortnite has proved hugely lucrative thanks to in-game purchases. Although 'buying' character costumes and animations doesn't affect gameplay, gamers - many of them children - have now spent more than a billion dollars. With so much money at stake, it appears Epic Games didn't want to go through Google Play for the Android version. Had ... (view more)

Wed
22
Aug
John Lister's picture

Microsoft Phasing Out Windows 8

Microsoft has announced several measures to slowly kill off Windows 8. It's targeting apps to try to persuade holdouts to upgrade to Windows 10. From October 31st, 2018, new apps designed for either Windows 8 or 8.1 on desktop or Windows Phone 8 on ... mobile devices can no longer be added to the Microsoft Store. From July 1st, 2019, Microsoft will stop sending app updates to Windows Phone 8 devices. The theory seems to be that developers will no longer have any reason to work on the platform and in turn it will become less and less attractive to users. Updates for existing Windows 8 and 8.1 ... (view more)

Wed
04
Jul
John Lister's picture

Samsung Phone Bug Secretly Shares Pics at Random

Samsung phone owners say they were shocked to discover photos from their phone were being sent to random contacts. An update to SMS text messaging appears to have caused the bug. One user says the entire contents of his photo gallery was sent to his ... girlfriend's phone via text message. His own phone had no record of the messages being sent and the first he heard of it was when his girlfriend asked him what was happening. Other users report similar issues, with no obvious pattern as to who received the images other than being in their contacts list. Reports suggest the problem is with the ... (view more)

Fri
11
May
Dennis Faas's picture

How to: Use a Firewall to Block Full Screen Ads on Android

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)

Mon
30
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

Explained: Absolute Best way to Limit Data on Android

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)

Wed
18
Apr
John Lister's picture

Apple to Launch 'Netflix' Style Magazine Package

Apple has bought a company described as "the Netflix of news." It's sparked speculation Apple will launch its own 'unlimited magazine' subscription deal. The purchase is for a company named "Texture," which lets subscribers pay $9.99 a month for ... access to more than 200 monthly magazines in digital format. The package includes some major titles including Vanity Fair, National Geographic, GQ and Entertainment Weekly. The company was started by six leading magazine publishers as a one-stop shop for targeting people interested in reading digital magazines. The magazines are viewable ... (view more)

Tue
30
Jan
John Lister's picture

Report: Fitness Apps May Compromise Military Security

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)

Wed
25
Oct
John Lister's picture

New Gmail Tools Easily Merge Data with Other Apps

Gmail users can now add third-party tools to merge email messages with other programs - without the need to manually load a specific app, then copy and paste data. The idea is similar to using browser extensions on a web browser, but will likely ... raise privacy and security concerns. Google already has its own tools that connect Gmail with other services. For example, users who receive a message confirming a flight booking or restaurant reservation can often add the relevant information to their Google Calendar tool with a single click. The Google Translate tool is also built in to Gmail. Now ... (view more)

Mon
09
Oct
Dennis Faas's picture

How to Fix: Windows Photo Viewer Missing after Creators Edition Update

Infopackets Reader 'Giselle' writes: " Dear Dennis, Recently my Windows 10 computer upgraded to the 'Creators Edition', and now the Windows 10 'Photos' app has magically replaced the 'Windows Photo Viewer'. I absolutely can't stand the 'Photos' app ... and I want Windows Photo Viewer back on my system! I have tried going to Control Panel -> Default Programs to change the settings but Windows Photo Viewer is nowhere to be found! Can you help? " My response: I also noticed that the Windows Photo Viewer went missing with the Creators Edition update. Windows Photo Viewer has been a staple in ... (view more)

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