TheNewsGuru

Tag: Apps

  • The best way to block spam calls on your Smartphone

    The best way to block spam calls on your Smartphone

    The idea for caller ID emerged in 1968, perfected and widely used in the 80s but it wasn’t until recently technology is taking its root in Nigeria that we started adopting its use.

    The technology had to go through many different engineers and developers, who eventually were able to perfect it.

    Usually with caller ID, if a phone number is already in your contacts, you’ll see the person’s name and number, and it might include a profile picture, too. But what about the numbers you don’t recognize? How can you tell if it’s someone you need to call back or not?

    Recently, we presented you with 6 tricks financial fraudsters use to steal your money, and it can be really frustrating when they keep calling.

    The Truecaller app is the best app there is to block spam calls on your Smartphone. It’s free and lets you find out who’s behind that unknown number. Just copy and paste the number then throw it in the search bar embedded in the app.

    Truecaller will then search the unknown number to find out who it is. There are more than 1.6 billion numbers in the database, so Truecaller should have no problem identifying the caller for you.

    The great feature of Truecaller is its ability to block spam calls. When a pesky telemarketer calls, there will be a big warning in red, telling you that it’s a spam call.

    Simply swipe up when this happens to automatically block that caller and add them to the spam list. Next time they call you, you will see a screen like this:

    ImageFile: Truecaller identified as scam

    Truecaller will also fill in any missing details about someone already in your contacts lists, for example, it might add a person’s Twitter handle. It will also show you how you are connected to that person.

    Watch the video below to learn more:

    The free Truecaller app is available for iOS, Android and Windows Mobile.

    Download for iOS — free

    Download for Android — free

    Download for Windows Mobile — free

     

    Read: 6 tricks financial fraudsters use to steal your money

     

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  • 5 apps to edit videos like a PRO on your mobile device

    5 apps to edit videos like a PRO on your mobile device

    Before the advent of smart phones, we had to depend on professional editors to piece together footage and other content such that it makes creative sense and communicates a lasting message.

    I would say gone are those days, but to a certain degree, pro editors are still very much in demand in the professional space.

    However, mobile technology has made it much easier for content creators to edit in a matter of minutes and upload before content goes stale.

    People who create skits, covers, parody videos, competition entries, etcetera have changed the game of video editing drastically.

    We review 5 video editing apps that make editing on the go easy as ABC!

     

    • Viva Video

    We discovered that the Viva Video app was recognized as a “Top Developer” in the Google Play Store.

    It is the best video editing, slideshow making, movie making app andvideo editor on the Android market.

    With Viva Video, you can easily create professional-looking video stories/movies within a few taps, such as montage, meme, collage and duet videos. It has hundreds of user-friendly special video effects from which you can choose ranging from stickers and filters to animated clips and subtitles which allow you tell a good story.

    Some features of VivaVideo:

    • It has user-friendly editing tools which allows users to easily trim, cut, merge, copy/duplicate and loop clips in editing storyboard
    • It has video speed control with slow and fast motion
    • Allows you perform some video functions like reverse, playback & blurred background, voice enhancement & audio speed adjustment, video resizing and audio fade in and out.
    • Users can preview all edits on WYSIWYG interface
    • Direct share to your social media handles
    • Tons of themes/video templates to choose from including Birthday, Wedding, Holiday and all occasions.

     

    • Power Director

    This is one of the most “comprehensive” video editor apps around.

    The app makes use of the “timeline editor” method enabling people with video editing experience feel at ease.

    Movies are made with Full HD picture using simple video FX, transitions, and custom voiceover or audio soundtrack.

    It is very user-friendly and comes highly recommended by our editor who admits, if you have used Adobe before, you will find this very familiar.

    With Power Director, you can;

    • Add videos to your timeline
    • Experience sleek timeline editing interface tools
    • Create slow motion video
    • Add effects with a quick tap
    • Change your video’s music & add fading effects/voice over
    • Combine picture and Video in a movie
    • Save videos to your phone, or upload to YouTube, Facebook and more

     

    • WeVideo Video Editor

    WeVideo lets you easily add themes, filters, effects, transitions, emojis’, voiceover narration, music, and other artistic elements to your videos.

    You can choose from a gallery of 30+ unique video themes and video enhancing filters, add special effects and transitions, titles and captions, music, and record a voiceover or add emoji stickers. It basically allows you to edit video anyhow you want.

    It is quite easy to use and has some basic features which would work for every tom, dick and harry.

    Some features of VivaVideo:

    • Edit photos and videos from your gallery or capture from the app
    • 30+ unique video themes and video enhancing filters
    • Add special effects and transitions
    • Add titles and captions
    • Add music (or use ours) for a custom soundtrack
    • Easy clip arranging
    • Voiceover recording
    • Add emoji sticker to your video
    • Publish in HD

     

    • Magisto Video Editor & Maker

    The unique feature about Magisto is its ability to apply automatic video stabilization and facial recognition to your edits. Facial recognition detects the most important people in your photos and videos to create personalized movies for sharing.

     

    • FilmoraGo

    This one kept crashing but looked like it had a lot of potential!

    The UX is beautiful and the app makes your videos and pictures taken come out professional especially for images on an Android phone.

    There would not be any watermark stamp or time limit on your clip. Most of the editing tools you need can be found on the app. It allows you to create a slideshow of your media files such as images, pictures and soundtracks and also to do some basic editing such as trimming, merging, cropping, and rotating videos.

    You can also add background music or voiceovers to videos. The app has some special effects such as overlay and filter effects, animated text and title effects, motion elements etc.

     

    Many content creators who upload their stuff on Instagram and Twitter use at least one of these apps and because they have no need for the added special effects, they use the free editions which have their videos watermarked.

     

    Extra Tip

    Paying for the full version of an app is a worthy investment; especially if you are targeting a wider audience and brands. It makes your videos look more professional even if you are a rookie, mobile phone editor and they are not that expensive when you see how much more you can do with them.

     

  • Scam apps: How to check if an Android installation, APK file is safe

    Scam apps: How to check if an Android installation, APK file is safe

    One of the best things about Android is the amount of control that the operating system gives users. For instance, with an iPhone, if you want to install apps, you have to either use the App Store or jailbreak the phone.

    With Android, you can use Google Play, or side load the app using an APK file. To do this, all you need to do is copy the APK on your phone, enable Unknown sources in the privacy settings and launch the APK, and you’ll install the app that’s been packaged in the file.

    However, this level of simplicity also means that there’s a little risk – for Android users, downloading apps via Google Play is the safest option. Based on the data released by the Android security team this year, you’re about 10 times more likely to have a potentially harmful application on your device if you’re not just using Google Play.

    Because of that, if you’re planning to use an APK file you’ve downloaded, it’s a good idea to run a few simple checks to try and verify that it is really what it claims to be. Luckily, there are a few simple ways you can do this.

    Scanning the APK

    • VirusTotal

    The VirusTotal website lets you upload your APK files to check for viruses and other issues. Android files are the fifth most popular file to be checked on the website. The one caveat is that the file size has to be under 128MB, so some games in particular might be too big for this tool.

    To use, do the following:

    1. Open the site.
    2. Click on Choose File, and in the browser dialogue box, select your file.
    3. Click on Scan it! to get your results.

    ImageFile: Virus total home

    This will help you to quickly check if an APK is safe or not. In general, we’ve seen a lot of comments online praising VirusTotal’s effectiveness. It was acquired by Google in 2012, and is a non-commercial entity. The aggregated data is the output of different antivirus engines, website scanners, file and URL analysis tools and user contributions.

    • NViso ApkScan

    Another tool that’s similar to VirusTotal is NViso ApkScan. It also provides a detailed report on the APK file you have, and there’s no file size limit. We’ve seen this tool recommended on the most number of forums, and it worked quickly and easily.

    To use Nviso, do the following:

    1. Open the Nviso site.
    2. Drag and drop the APK file onto the site.
    3. Click on Scan package.

    ImageFile: Nviso result

    You can also tick the E-mail box, enter you email ID, and leave the site if you like. You will then get the results in your mail. The results are detailed, starting with a risk rating, and then showing you the permissions that the app asks for, general information such as its MD5 and SHA256 hashes, and file size (this information might be publicly available for the app you’re trying to download, helping verify the authenticity of the APK), and includes a virus scan.

    Checking the hash

    • Hash Droid

    As mentioned above, one way to see if you’re downloading the right APK is to check its hash. The SHA of a file is kind of like a digital fingerprint, and if the app you’re looking for has its SHA publicly mentioned by the developers, then you can compare that with the SHA of the APK you have. If the two match, you’re safe.

    Nviso ApkScan is one way to look up this information, but if you want to get it done on your phone itself, you can use the Hash Droid app.

    1. Install Hash Droid from Google Play.
    2. Select Hash a File.
    3. Under Select a hash, choose SHA-256.
    4. Choose the APK file you want to check.
    5. Tap on Calculate.

    ImageFile: Hash droid match

    This should show you the APK’s hash data, which would be a long string that looks something like this: 5a8679e3e4298b7b3ffac725106db12a21bdb0bcf746f44fa7e46c40dbf794aa. That’s the original Pokemon Go hash, in case you’re wondering.

    By using this method, you can compare the hashes of APKs and what the app publishers have revealed, to see if the APK is safe to install.

    That’s it – with these three methods, you can be have a greater degree of security when using apps downloaded from third party sources. However, it’s worth noting that these methods are never 100 percent secure, and if you’re worried about malware, then it’s probably better to stick to the Play Store.

    We hope that was useful to you – tell us about your experiences with APK files via the comments. And if you want to read more tips and tricks, check out our how-to section.

     

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  • Beware! This WhatsApp scam can hit you big!

    Beware! This WhatsApp scam can hit you big!

    Another day, another WhatsApp scam, this time one that tries to trick users into paying charges by saying their WhatsApp subscription has expired.

    WhatsApp, of course, is free to use, and has been for some time, though the service used to charge a nominal amount as annual subscription fee when it had initially launched.

    It seems the latest WhatsApp scam is playing on this distant memory of its users to try and extract some money.

    How the WhatsApp subscription expired scam works

    “People are being targeted by a message that reads ‘your subscription has expired, and to verify your account and purchase a lifetime subscription for just 0.99 GBP simply tap on this link’,” Independent.co.uk reported.

    By encouraging people to click on the suspicious link, scam artists are tricking people into providing their payment details. People who have received the WhatsApp message should delete it immediately.

    WhatsApp users should be on the lookout as scam artists are trying to charge users for using the instant messenger by faking a subscription fee.

    Like we mentioned earlier, WhatsApp is free to download and use, but used to charge a small fee several years ago which no longer exists.

    In case you have clicked on the link, safeguard yourself by running an antivirus software on your device to ensure you are not being infected with malware.

    Users can also block the sender, so that they can no longer message or call through WhatsApp.

    WhatsApp for Android recent update

    WhatsApp recently updated its Android app to bring the pinned chats feature to everyone.

    WhatsApp’s pinned chat feature lets users pin their favourite contacts to the top, which means you reach them quickly even if you haven’t been in touch via WhatsApp recently Read more>>

  • Something big, new comes to WhatsApp for Android in Pinned Chats Feature

    Something big, new comes to WhatsApp for Android in Pinned Chats Feature

    WhatsApp has finally introduced the new pin chats feature for all Android users, which was earlier this month only available to Android beta users of the messaging app.

    ImageFile: Something big, new comes to WhatsApp for Android in Pinned Chats Feature

    The pin chat feature in WhatsApp allows users to pin favourite chats on top of the Chats tab. With the new feature, WhatsApp users can pin up to three contacts on top of rest of the conversations.

    “With pinned chats, you never have to worry about scrolling through the long list of conversations to text your family members or your best friend.

    “Users can now pin up to three of the most important group or individual chats to the top of their chat list for easy access — simply tap and hold a chat, and then tap the pin icon at the top of your screen,” said WhatsApp in a statement announcing the Pin feature for Android.

    Unfortunately, the pin chats feature currently support only three chats after which it shows a notification that ‘You can only pin up to 3 chats’ if you try to pin another chat.

    Apart from Pin option, WhatsApp users can also see other options such as Delete, Mute, and Archive as well, which appears on long-pressing a chat.

    One of the biggest highlights of the new Pin feature is that once you pin a chat, it will remain on the top of your chat list, irrespective of your dialogue or conversation timings with the individual or group concerned. Users will be able to see any new chats or conversations following the pinned chats. You can also un-pin WhatsApp chats whenever you please, by long pressing the option, and disabling the Pin button.

  • China shuts 18 illegal live streaming apps

    China shuts 18 illegal live streaming apps

    A total of 18 live streaming apps have been closed for broadcasting illegal content, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) announced on Sunday.

    A number of app operators were punished for a lack of a mechanism to censor content.

    A number of anchors spread illegal content, dressed in military or police uniforms or were scantily dressed and acted flirtatiously, according to CAC.

    Some anchors announced their WeChat or QQ accounts during live streaming to induce fans to engage in prostitution.

    “The online behaviour of the anchors violated relevant Internet information service or live streaming laws and regulations, offended socialist core values and brought negative impact to the healthy growth of the young and teenagers,’’ CAC said.

    In November, CAC published a regulation banning the use of live streaming to undermine national security, destabilise society, disturb social order, infringe people’s rights and interests and disseminate inappropriate content, including pornography.

    According to the regulation, service providers are obliged to censor content before releasing it and have a system that allows them to immediately block improper live streams.

    CAC said it had previously joined hands with two other departments to blacklist 1,879 anchors, who had severely violated relevant regulations and banned them from registering on live streaming platforms again.

    The administration vowed to step up inspection and law enforcement.

    NAN

     

  • Twitter Dashboard for businesses to shut down February 3

    ImageFile: Twitter Dashboard for businesses to shut down February 3Twitter is shutting down its Dashboard feature that offers businesses a set of tools to track tweets, access analytics and more.

    Launched in June 2016, Dashboard will be completely shut down on February 3, 2017. However, Twitter has no transition plan for how businesses will access similar features going forward.

    “Twitter Dashboard will be closing down on February 3rd. In the future, we hope to bring the best features from Dashboard to the broader Twitter community,” Twitter Dashboard wrote in a series of tweets on Wednesday.

    According to a report in TechCrunch, the product may not have had a large install base, though, which is why it was marked for shutdown.

    “Twitter Dashboard was ranked a lowly number 432 in the ‘Business’ apps category on iTunes. The Sensor Tower says the app was downloaded around 40,000 times worldwide since its launch, and about 3,000 times in the past month,” the report noted.

    Twitter closed down Vine in October 2016 and said it would only maintain a simple camera app in its place.

  • Facebook acknowledges, fixes apps battery draining issue

    ImageFile: Facebook acknowledges, fixes apps battery draining issueFacebook has acknowledged that it’s main and messenger apps drain battery unusually on both iOS and Android devices, and had said the issue has been fixed.

    David Marcus, Head of Messenger at Facebook, replying to a Twitter user’s query claimed that the “issue was isolated and fixed server side,” adding that users experiencing battery drain issue can restart the respective apps and the issue is solved.

    “If you restart Messenger the problem should be gone now,” Marcus said with a tweet.

    Some of the users of the Facebook and Facebook Messenger apps on Twitter claimed that the Facebook app consumed over 1 percent battery every minute when it was in use. Users also lodged complaints that the Facebook Messenger app consumes battery juice abnormally.

    One user, whose tweet is captured below, particularly tweeted @davidmarcus lodging his own complaint.

    https://twitter.com/alxpap/status/818852606114234368

    While it is not clear whether the issue has been fixed or not but some Twitter users complaining about the battery drain issue did confirm that the restart fixed the issue.

    One of the users shared screenshot from battery setting showing that Facebook and Messenger apps were not draining the smartphone battery.

    If you are experiencing battery drain then you can restart the Messenger or Facebook apps to see if the issue has been fixed.

    Facebook last month revamped its Messenger app’s design with more camera-focused and new features like 3D masks and text-based artwork suggestions. The company later also added the group video calls feature to the Messenger app.

  • Users send 63 billion messages globally on WhatsApp New Year’s Eve

    ImageFile: Users send 63 billion messages globally on WhatsApp New Year’s EveWhatsApp has revealed that users of the instant messaging platform sent a massive total of 63 billion messages on New Year’s Eve.

    As we reported last week, a very significant part of that massive number was generated by India – which saw 14 billion messages being sent on the day. Both numbers set new single-day records for the messaging app.

    Of the 63 billion messages sent, there were 7.9 billion images, and 2.4 billion videos, the Facebook-owned messaging firm revealed, in a statement to Venture Beat.

    As we mentioned, New Year’s Eve saw 14 billion WhatsApp messages sent in India. Of those, 32 percent were media messages – photos, GIF images, videos, and voice messages. A total of 3.1 billion images, 700 million GIF images, and 610 million videos were sent on WhatsApp in India on the day.

    Notably, WhatsApp only recently rolled out the ability to share animated GIF images on the platform. WhatsApp for iPhone got the feature back in November, while WhatsApp for Android got the feature in December. Android recently also got the ability to stream shared videos, letting users view videos before they were downloaded.

    WhatsApp stopped working on older versions of Android, iOS, and Windows Phone on December 31. Devices running on Android 2.2 or lower, iOS 6 or lower, and Windows Phone 7 are no longer supported by the app.

  • Apple makes biggest sales ever on App Store New Year’s Day

    Apple on Thursday announced that the New Year’s Day 2017 was the biggest day ever for the App Store, with nearly $240 million in purchases worldwide on that day alone. That hints at robust sales of Apple devices during the crucial October to December quarter, ahead of Apple’s earnings call later this month.

    The Cupertino giant also announced that developers earned over $20 billion in 2016, up over 40 percent from the year before. Holiday spend was also at record levels, Apple said, with purchases from the App Store topping $3 billion in December.

    “2016 was a record-shattering year for the App Store, generating $20 billion for developers, and 2017 is off to a great start with Jan. 1 as the single biggest day ever on the App Store,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing.

    “We want to thank our entire developer community for the many innovative apps they have created – which together with our products – help to truly enrich people’s lives,” he added.

    Apple also announced that since the App Store launched in 2008, developers have earned over $60 billion across iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Mac platforms. Since Apple keeps 30 percent of most App Store revenue, passing on the rest to the developers, that means lifetime sales on the App Store have now topped $85 billion.

    China App Store revenue in 2016 saw ‘record’ 90 percent year-over-year growth.

    The App Store offers 2.2 million apps in total, up over 20 percent from last year, and is available in 155 countries. iPhone and iPad customers grew the App Store’s subscription billings significantly in 2016, to $2.7 billion, up 74 percent from 2015.

    Apple also announced that since iOS 10 launched in September, developers have shipped over 21,000 iMessage apps to send stickers and collaborate with friends.

    Analytics firm Flurry estimated that Apple accounted for 44 percent of device activations during the holiday period, a healthy figure, but down slightly over the previous two years.