Big hoax: 'How to send WhatsApp messages without Internet'

 new message on WhatsApp reads that your device supports ultra-light Wi-Fi technology and you won’t need an internet or data connection to run WhatsApp anymore.

Well, if you have read this message before, you know what we are talking about. If you haven’t, then you should know that this fake message is nothing but a cam by some malware developers.

What you can do with a bunch of ignorant newcomers in the technology world? Or, in short, what can you do with a bunch of new smartphone users? Well, make them earn for you! It’s true.

Welcome to the world of scammers, where you probably won’t need a virus or a malware anymore. All you need is a little intelligent thinking and some great words to trap those who are ignorant with new technology.

Gone are the days where a virus was meant to steal your data. Today, your private data may be important, but getting past the encryption of modern operating systems and software is difficult, but not impossible. And after hours of planning and developing codes that can break through your smartphone’s security, the hacker just gets some junk photos and useless phone numbers that probably won’t fetch him much in the black market. So what does he do? Simple—he makes you click on advertisements, make you make your friends click on advertisements, makes them do the same too and in return, earns big money from the ads themselves. No data stolen, but simple tricks to make people click on ads.

Curiosity 'always' kills the cat!

This is not a new trick in the hacker/scamsters book—it has been used for a while, but it still is pretty much successful. There are hundreds of messages which inform users that they are getting free money, free data or some free stuff, creating a huge curiosity. This leads the user to click on the message, which takes him through a series of pages which has advertisements. Clicking on each advertisement and page earns the hacker gain money from ad companies. He then makes you think that the message and the webpage are genuine by scraping the entire content from the original website. He then makes you click on a series of check boxes, enter your personal details and then pass the message on to a series of friends to become eligible to the offer. Lastly, to make sure you are a human and not a robot who is accepting the offer, he also makes you download a few apps and register to the said services. Once done, he says you will be able to get the offer.



In the bargain, he made you click on various advertisements and also made a copy of your personal information that ‘you’ gave him. He then also made you share the invitation to friends (who will witness the same treatment) who will think it is genuine as it came from a close ‘friend’. Lastly, he also made you swift through some pages and download a few apps which could be a bonus for him if they too contain a malware.

A similar fake message about enabling WhatsApp Calling was doing its rounds recently. That was the time when WhatsApp was testing the calling feature and you needed to be invited to get the voice calling enabled on your app.

Now the scene is a little different, but the scam is similar. Many don’t know what Facebook’s Free Basics is all about. Some even think that Mark Zuckerberg announced that the basic internet will be completely free to most people around the world. So using the internet for email, WhatsApp and similar serviced won’t be charged. But the scheme is yet to see light of day in India. Taking Facebook’s Free Basics planning into consideration, hackers are milking on the issue. You must know that Free Basics has been banned (for now) in India as net neutrality is a strong debate that is still a big controversy. So, free internet is still a myth in India; unless you are ripping off someone else’s data plan by using their Wi-Fi network.

About the new WhatsApp message scam, you should beware about the recent rounds it is taking. The new scam is an invitation to an internet-free WhatsApp messaging pl

Google Drones For Internet Access Could Take To The Skies Soon

Google has been on working on their Google Drones since the company purchased Titan Aerospace and now it looks like these new Titan drones could be hitting the skies shortly.

The Google Drones will be used to provide Internet access and the company has now registered two of these drones with the Federal Aviation Authority in the US.

According to a recent report by re/code, these two new drones which have been registered by the FAA are part of Google’s Project Titan, which is designed to bring Internet to parts of the world that have no coverage, Google is also working on other project with a similar aim, like Project Loon which uses balloons.

As yet there are no details on when Google will start testing these new drones, as soon as we get some more information, we will let you guys know.

Source Techmeme

Snapchat shutting down original content channel

Snapchat Stories have been a good addition to the app and the Discovery content partner lineup has been growing giving users interesting content from sources like ESPN, Mashable and others. However, things are changing. The content lineup is losing the original content channel from Snapchat itself. Despite all of the effort and resources that were thrown behind the so called ‘Snap Channel’.

It had a team of 15 people working on it, headed by Marcus Wiley who was head of program planning and development. You may not be aware of it, but Wiley had an impressive resume before being hired by Snapchat. He was the senior VP of comedy at Fox, and was even helped to launch popular shows like “The Mindy Project”, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”, and “Bob’s Burgers”. So he knows about content.

Well it looks like Wiley will be moving on, and apparently Snapchat is planning to fire several of the other 15 members of the Snap Channel team too. But don’t think that Snapchat has totally given up on the idea of original content. It will just have to be down the road. Right now content creation in the app will be left to the 15 channel partners. And, if Snapchat does get back into the content game, it will surely take a new approach.

Source Phone Arena

Vodafone invests Rs 500 cr for upgrade of its network in Mumbai

Apart from investing Rs 500 crore for upgrading its network in Mumbai, Vodafone India is also planning to launch 4G services in the city by December 2015, having successfully started the testing process earlier this year. As it stands currently, the brand is the leading mobile service provider in Mumbai.

Mumbai contributes to over 30 percent of Vodafone India’s data revenues, making it an important market for the brand. According to a statement by the company, it’s launched over 1000 new sites and sunk in nearly 500 crores into the metro in the past 6 months. The operator has joined hands with leading international infrastructure service suppliers for the 4G rollout.

Vodafone initially began LTE trials for India in select circles in July this year. It supplies the high-speed network in 18 countries, with over 24 million customers across the globe. The company thinks its previous experience in the area will inform the quality of service it provides in Mumbai.

The release further mentioned Vodafone was investing heavily in high-capacity fiber or backhaul to increase data connectivity. Ishmeet Singh, the brand’s Mumbai business head, stated that the 4G network in the city would be provided through the 1800MHz band. The operator is also planning to kickstart the service in Kerala by December this year.

Trivandrum, Kochi and Kozhikode will be the part of the initial roll-out in the state, which will commence in a phased system across the circle. It currently has over 5300 sites in the area, and has invested nearly 350 crores in its efforts towards network upgrades in the ongoing fiscal.

Vodafone is presently the second largest telecom company in India. It will face-off against Reliance Jio come December, as the operator is also debuting its 4G services around the same time. Airtel has the advantage for now as it’s already started the commercial pan-India launch of the network in 296 towns.