How to Remove the G-button from the Android Keyboard

If you are Android user and using the official Google Keyboard application (now called Gboard), you may have noticed that at the top of the keyboard, Google Keyboard application features a new G-button. Regardless of application you are in, you can run web searches directly in the keyboard interface just by tapping on G-button. Means if you are using WhatsApp or facebook or any other application, you can search for “funny image.”

Though it may be useful rarely, but often it is awfully distracting especially if you accidently tap on the G-button accidentally and it brings up the search interface. So if you often don’t use G-button, you can also remove it. As you know that as you tap on the G-icon, it opens the search interface and Google shows suggestions and an option to type custom search queries. Results are always only a tap away and displayed in the interface, with weather searches and news.

If you don’t need the functionality, you don’t need the icon. It is the icon that provides you with or gets in your way. If you don’t need G-button, you may get rid of it from the keyboard. However, there does not seem e a way to remove the full line the G-icon is placed in.

How to remove the G-button:

Tap on the G-button in the chat interface and then tap on the preferences icon that displays next to other icons and the search interface.
On the Gboard keyboard settings page that opens up, choose Search.
Now search for options to hide the “G” button, and to disable predictive search.
The button itself is removed, if you toggle the Show “G” button switch. However the main issue is removing G-button will show a line there and it will be there as the button icon is replaced by an arrow icon.
If you tap on an arrow icon, it does not trigger the search interface directly, but it shows options to open the settings among other things and to run searches.
Right now, there does not seem to be an option to remove that line completely and you are left with dead weight in the keyboard layout that is of no use for you, but you can’t remove it.

There are many Android users who find the new Gboard “G” Button useful as it enables them to run direct searches without switching to another app. That’s why Google is pushing it with the update. There is no option to completely remove it, but you can avoid it technically by installing and using another keyboard app.

Flash Will Soon Be “Click-To-Run” in Microsoft Edge

Most of the browser makers are chipping away their dependency at the web’s Flash and Microsoft is also following the footsteps of others browser makers and announced that upcoming Edge browser versions will favor HTML5 by default over Flash.

Microsoft said on 14^th December 2016 that sites that support HTML5 will default to a clean HTML5 experience and in this case users will have better performance, more security, and improved battery life as Flash will not even be loaded.

On sites where Flash is required, users computer screen will show a pop up like one attached below and it will remember the user’s choice for subsequent visits.

Edge users will see the prompt shown above when accessing a website with Flash content

On Windows Insiders builds, Microsoft has already implemented these changes to Edge users. For regular Windows users, this update may be available in the coming weeks. Although, Microsoft has not announce the exact day when it will integrate the new default multimedia playback technology HTML5 in Edge, but it is certain that Flash will be demised.

Microsoft also announced that in the beginning, major websites that have millions of monthly visitors and still rely on Flash will be exempt for the click-to-run Flash popup. The spokes person of Microsoft said that in the coming weeks and months, we will actively monitor Flash consumption in Microsoft Edge and will then take a decision of shortening the list of automatic exceptions gradually. Microsoft explains the reason of doing this and said that by doing so, users will remain in control at the end of this process and we will be able to select Flash for any site user visit. Microsoft is expecting that major websites will have a clear clue that Flash’s death is coming at a fast pace so they will try to migrate their user experience to more modern technologies.

Google and Mozilla have done the same in the past and now Microsoft is advising web developers to focus on deploying new technologies such Encrypted Media Extensions, Media Source Extensions, Canvas, Web Audio, and WebRTC instead of Flash. In fact, it is advising to ditch Flash altogether. It is not only the Google, Mozilla, or Microsoft; Apple also has announced that its Safari browser will automatically disable old Adobe Flash versions because of increased security risks.

Mozilla made an announcement in July that Firefox would block certain Flash content that is not important to the user experience. For those websites where Flash is the only media playback solution, Google Chrome 55 already using HTML5 as the default multimedia content handler rather than Flash with a similar click-to-run popup.

Microsoft has clearly said that Windows 10 next release will default to HTML5 content if possible and it even won’t load Flash content in the background. If this happens, users will have better performance, battery life and security. If you access a website that relies on Flash, you need to actively choose if you want Flash to load via a prompt. To make user experience better while browsing something in the Edge browser, Edge will stop certain Flash content and ads which will not be central to sites and it may speed up the loading process of the site.

Microsoft isn’t clear about how long this transition may take, but it is good that Microsoft is putting its foot down against the scourge of the internet by making its browser more secure.

Hacking Forums and Dark Web are Advertising and Selling New Exo Android Trojan

Malware is a type of malicious program that cyber-criminals use to infect a computer or mobile device. Hackers use malware codes to advertise new infections and viral them from one machine to another or one network to another. Now hackers have found a new Android Trojan to trade on and advertise malicious infections. Malware coders are using new Android Trojan phishing attempts and stealing banking credentials, locking devices with a password (ransomware-like behavior), intercepting SMS messages (confidential), and more.

The new Trojan known as Exo Android Bot, or Exobot is being advertised and sold via Jabber/XMPP spam, via Dark Web marketplaces, hacking forums, and even on the public Internet via a dedicated website. This malware has infected and hacked a lot of Android running devices till the date and unraveled by the security experts this year in the month of June when its creator sold it and opened a topic on a Russian-speaking hacking forum.

Shortly after listing on Russian hacking forum, it was found listed on AlphaBay which is the largest Dark Web marketplace for illegal products. It was also noticed that someone had also registered a domain on the public Internet in the month of October, where the owner of the domain hosts a website, peddling the malware. In November, cyber security experts also came across Jabber/XMPP spam advertising Exo. Currently, the trojan is being sold at different prices on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis, depending where you see its advertisement and what deal you have chosen.

Its developer(s) claim that Exo is worth its price. First of all, it works on Android versions 4, 5, and 6 and in some ads, it’s also advertised that it works on Android 7. However, it may be just false advertising, because all listings do not advertise this feature. Furthermore, the creators of Exo also boast that the Trojan doesn’t require root access to work so users can’t uninstall it manually. It means, to get rid of Exo, users need to do a complete phone reflashing.

A few other features that are taken from the AlphaBay listing are embedded as they were almost original text]:

SMS intercept (send the SMS content to admin panel in real time. If desired with jabber notifications too, can be configured for a target or by sender phone numbers)
Send SMS to a specified phone number
Hide/delete incoming SMS (this feature works up to android 4.4 versions)
USSD’ requests
Web injects (perform phishing over targeted app names to steal data, username, password, telepin whatever you want)
Custom injects could be made under customer request
CC Stealer (Steal CCs data Including VBV/MSC/SAFEKEY) (CCs stealer can target the desired apps. For instance: Whatsapp, Viber, the Google the Play Store)
Jabber notifications for incoming new CCs or Web inject data or the SMS from specified phone numbers Collected
Lock / unlock mobile device with a password / disable screen and phone use also can show a custom page on locked screen
Uninstall the bot manually (without the PC / cable) is impossible
Wi-Fi access / mobile data automatic enabler for stored Wi-Fi networks on range
Send bulk SMS to all contacts from the infected phone
too In case no internet access, control the bot with SMS
Exo Android Bot do not require Root privileges to work Correctly
Admin panel to manage your bots
Bot works from 2.3 to 6.0.1 Android versions

The same AlphaBay listing also has a short FAQ section that gives a hint on Exo’s origins [almost original text]:

we don’t install admin panel files outside our servers, the customer will need to provide us a vps/server root access to install frontend/proxy script
Customer must provide from 1 to 3 domains names where the bot be pointing to
we are noob friendly , means we may guide you to setup all the necessary stuff for a fast start on this Android scene
if you consider our product is expensive and no worth , is not our problem if you dont have money. Or dont have the intention to use our services and just want troll around
we are here to make happy our customers and be sure all the features which we are offering it works and continue working offering a good support
This project was made from scratch? answer : No, we purchased a base source code 4 months ago directly from developer before he vanish from internet, and we began our own project and development/improvements/new features
what if i rent your product and your dissapear? Answer : No definetly we are not going to disappear or run away least for the next year
what other features are planned for the incoming months? Answer: VNC/Geo Fencing / File Manager Browser and others
Why you are renting this if is stable and good as you say to be? Answer: Direct Financial to keep improving this project and be sure will be alive during many time, so we don’t need to use our parallels earnings to use on this.
Where can i contact you? Answer : you may contact us directly on our sales jabber id: [REDACTED] (Serious people with serious deal only, Haters. Time waster pls stay away)
we dont provide apk builder
Cleaning service? Answer : we delivery the apk file clenaed and include free cleaning 1 time monthly. for other cleaning services can be discussed

As you can notice that the Exo author is providing a control panel for organizing and managing infected bots, but buyers can access this only via a proxy client installed on their own servers.

Cyber security experts reached out to one of the contacts listed in many of the ads who admitted that he was only a reseller. It means that Exo already runs its own affiliate system. Exo’s creator had listed the times of day In the original hacking forum ad during which he wanted to be contacted: “14:00 — 20:00 MSK” (MSK stands for Moscow Time). Furthermore, Exo added a feature that stops the trojan from executing on devices from users based in former Soviet states, and the US. This filter is there so that the author may avoid being on the radar of Russian or US law enforcement agencies.

Windows 10 Insider Build 14986 Release to PC with Many Updates

On 7^th of December, Microsoft released the Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14986 for PC only to Insiders on the fast ring. This build packs in a lot of new features and updates in Cortana, Game Bar, Windows Defender, Printing, and more. All the new features that this Windows 10 insider build 14986 includes are listed below:

Controling music with Cortana
More supported games for using Game Bar in full screen.
Enterprise Cloud Printing
New Windows Defender Dashboard
Narrator Improvements
Improved Windows Update Experience
Registry editor improvements
Default to use the Microsoft USB Audio 2 class driver instead of hardware specific drivers.
Improved support for Windows 10 in Asia

To know more about each new feature, go through the corresponding section below:

What’s new in Build 14986?

Making Cortana brilliant:

Now Cortana can do a lot for you including turning it off, changing its volume with voice commands. Apart from this, Cortana can do things like shut down, lock, put it on sleep. Now you can use Cortana to control music playback while listening to music. Use your voice to control playback and volume.

Microsoft has added support for “What’s Playing” as many radio listeners wanted to know what that catchy tune is that has played a million times. It will work for the specific apps and may give you right answer of you say “Hey Cortana, What song is Playing?” Cortana has been smarter and it will remember your last played music app, means you don’t need to say “on Groove” again and again. You just need to speak your desired app one time, something like “Play jazz music on iHeartRadio”; next time to repeat the same, you just need to say “Play rock music” and it will play on iHeartRadio.

Microsoft has added music recognition support to Chinese (Simplified) in Cortana, means it can now recognize music for customers in China.

Full screen when idle:

It is one of the major improvements to Cortana’s look when your PC is unlocked and idle and you say “Hey Cortana.” When your PC is in in unlocked and idle state and you ask something from Cortana, it will result in a stunning full-screen experience that is optimized for far field viewing!

Cortana sign-in using Azure Active Directory (AAD) identity:

This feature let you signing into Cortana with your work or school account instead of using your MSA, even if your organization does not support MSA. To sign in to Cortana using account other than MSA, go to Cortana’s Notebook and “About Me” and sign in. Currently AAD join is only available on Windows 10 PCs.

Enterprise Cloud Printing:

The new Enterprise Cloud Printers discovery UI enables corporate users to detect corporate printers on Azure Active Directory joined devices while IT admin deploying and configuring the backend services under Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners.

Corresponding backend services (are not yet available) need to be working for this feature to work, so to discover and install printers in the interim, continue to use existing UI.

Windows Game Bar improved full-screen support:

Microsoft added support for six full screen games in Game Bar with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. For the Windows 10 Creators Update, many more are added. In full-screen mode, Microsoft has added support for 19 additional games with Windows game bar. As always, to invoke Game Bar to capture a recording or screenshot, just hit WIN + G.

Taking users’ Windows Ink experience to the next level:

With the Creators Update, Microsoft has already announced and released few improvements for our pen and Windows Ink users and with this build a few more are announced.

Resuming previous screen sketches:

Users bring it in notice that it was too easy to accidentally lose their Screen Sketch, so Microsoft made a change with build 14986 and now you can resume previous sketches. By default, it will always open a new screenshot when you open Screen Sketch, but now you will be taken to the sketch you were working on by clicking on when Screen Sketch last closed the Resume button.

Updated Ink Flyout Visuals:

The Windows Ink pen, pencil and highlighter flyouts can show a preview to give you glimpse about how it would look like to color with the currently selected ink and width. Any app that uses Windows Ink with the Windows 10 Creators Update SDK will show these improvements visibly. Flyouts are also updated so that duplicate entries don’t appear in high contrast. To close the flyout, support using the Esc key, and returned the flyout to dismiss once you tap a color or change the width.

Better control over ruler rotation:

Updated the Windows Ink ruler that can rotate in sub-degree increments while moving it with touch. Now it is easier to line the ruler up with two points on the screen

Enhancing your inking experience:

To make you feel that you are creating something on paper using pen, the cursor will not be shown while you’re inking.

New Extensions in Microsoft Edge:

There are a few new extensions to share with Windows 10 users. Have a look at Ebates, Intel TrueKey, and Read & Write.

Updated Rendering Technology:

Rendering technology used for many types of UWP app content has been changed. If you notice any new visual glitches in UWP apps send your feedback to the Microsoft. Microsoft is widely using the same Windows.UI.Composition API that app developers have access to for XAML UWP app and shell rendering for additional context on this change.

Narrator improvements:

Microsoft’s aim is to make its products more and better performing. Narrator improvements are a big part of that including:

It has a new feature to provide additional information about colors, fonts, line spacing, margins and more.

Press Caps Lock + F to hear this information. To cycle through nine categories of information, continue to press Caps Lock + F. To move through these categories in reverse, use Shift + Caps Lock + F.

Context Awareness, the default level for a Narrator feature is now set to 2. As you move around areas such as the Start Menu, Office ribbon, etc. you will hear additional information. To cycle through the different options, use Alt + Caps Lock + /. Zero tells off for the feature.

The key to get advanced information about the item with focus has been changed from Caps Lock + F to Caps Lock + 0 in Narrator.

An issue is fixed from recent flights where Narrator only say “No item in view” when placing focus on the Start menu tiles.

New Windows Defender dashboard:

With the availability of a new dashboard coming in the Windows 10 Creators Update, Microsoft is making it easier for you to view and control Windows 10 device security with the health features available on your PC or tablet. Upgrade to this build to get a preview of the new experience. Insiders just need to restart their PC to see the preview. By searching for “Windows Defender” and clicking on the search result that says “Windows Defender/Trusted Windows Store app,” you can find can find the dashboard. Remember, the dashboard is not fully functional just yet as it is in a work-in-progress state.

Registry Editor Improvements:

Considering users feedback, Microsoft has added the familiar File Explorer keyboard navigation shortcuts to Registry Editor to continue enhancing your registry experience. Now, you can easily go up (Alt+ Up arrow), backwards (Alt + Left arrow) or forwards (Alt + Right arrow) in the registry. To customize the font Registry Editor Uses, a new entry point in the View menu is also added.

The USB Audio 2 Class Driver and You:

To get more miles on the class driver, Microsoft is temporarily changing things as of 14986 to prefer the class driver over third-party drivers. It has been done to flush out device compatibility issues and other bugs in its own driver.

Improved Update Experience:

Windows developers always try to keep your devices secure, reliable and fast performing. In this space, build 14986 comes with two more improvements.

Improving Windows 10 in Asia

Along with Cortana’s new music recognition support for Chinese (Simplified) also made a few changes to improve the Windows 10 experience in Asia based on feedback.

Chinese Input Method Editor (IME) Improvements

New context menu for the IME mode
Microsoft Pinyin IME now supports importing and exporting self-learned phrases
Wubi IME has been updated to support user-defined phrases

Line Mode for Chinese (Simplified) Handwriting

Japanese Input Method Editor (IME) Improvements:

It’s now possible to remove text prediction candidates
Improving the Japanese IME conversion accuracy
Improved reliability and responsiveness

Other changes, improvements, and fixes for PC

Windows Hello face is improved which may require you to “Improve Recognition” to get recognized again. To enable this, go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in Options and under “Windows Hello” and “Face Recognition”, then choose “Improve Recognition” to go through the Improve Recognition wizard.
The Taskbar’s context menu settings entry are update to now explicitly be called “Taskbar settings”, as that is where it pointed.
Fixed the issue where the Virtual Touchpad’s right and left buttons might not work on some devices. An issue where the Virtual Touchpad wouldn’t launch if the primary monitor was non-touch also fixed, and the Virtual Touchpad icon to the Taskbar settings is added where you can Turn system icons on or off.
The issue where apps such as Store, Photos, and People might launch on their own after PC had been inactive for long.
The issue where navigating to Settings > System > Battery would crash the Settings app is also fixed.
The default state of the Handwriting Panel that docked at the bottom of the screen is changed to be floating next to the text field. If you want to use it in docked-mode, select it by tapping the icon in the top right corner of the Handwriting Panel.
An issue is also fixed where using ~ to switch languages using the Thai keyboard might sometimes result in a hang while typing in Office apps, such as Outlook or Word 2016.
Migration logic is also updated to preserve unlock setting across upgrades when going forward from 14986 the default user’s.
An error is resolved where Microsoft Excel was crashed while double-clicking on an Excel document to open it from File Explorer.
An issue is also fixed where Windows Hello might get stuck “Looking for you”.
An issue Insiders with Surface Dial is also fixed that users were experiencing while rotating the Dial as it was making unexpected beeps.
A few things have moved around in Storage Settings like, “settings to change save locations” has moved to its own page. An issue of showing an unexpectedly high number for Storage Usage for the Other category is also fixed.
An issue is also fixed where the PowerShell entry in File Explorer’s File menu sometimes gets unexpectedly grey out.
An error is fixed where the Clock and Calendar flyout in the taskbar wouldn’t launch if the system was using the phonetic sorting method and the display language was set to Chinese (Traditional).
The full screen Settings search results are updated, now use smaller icons. It is expected that it will deliver an overall more polished feel because more search results will display on the page at a time.
An error where some notifications might draw too low or too high, and then be seen shifting itself to the correct position.
An issue is also fixed where the outline incoming notification toasts might still be seen even if notification banners as a whole for that particular app had been turned off.
An issue Insiders may have experienced where despite having items in the Favorites folder, the Favorites bar on desktop might appear empty is also fixed.
The issue of CPU throttling when idling on certain webpages with many looping videos or gifs in Microsoft Edge.
Insiders reported that sometimes pressing Alt + D was not being able to set focus to the address bar in Microsoft Edge, this issue is also fixed.
For Insiders with PCs that upgraded to builds 14926-14959, some default power settings may have been lost and not recovered on subsequent upgrades. The effect of this causes devices to potentially use more power, change the power button behavior on tablets, etc. Starting with 14986, an attempt to detect this issue and re-apply the power settings will be made during upgrade. This attempt is a temporary process to help address this issue for Insiders, and will be removed once we’re closer to the Creators Update release.
Windows Error Reporting logic is also updated so that online game play, video streaming, Skype calls, or other network-intensive activity don’t get interfered by uploading crash data.
An issue that result in potentially freezing at the splash screen on launch of Microsoft Studios games like Microsoft Sudoku, Jigsaw, Minesweeper, Taptiles, and Treasure Hunt.
An issue is also fixed where the task bar was visible on the Welcome screens after upgrading even if its location was set to be on top.

How to invade Cybersecurity Challenges

This is the digital age and everybody is connected through one or another technology performing many of their regular activities including personal as well as professional. There is a plethora of gadgets and automated workflows running on integrated platforms to function. With the increasing dependency on latest technologies and devices, cybersecurity challenges have forced the technocrats to work together in order to invade upcoming challenges. One of the best ways to handle cyber threats is work together for better outcomes.

More and more security designing organizations are connecting to each other to come up with a solution that can not only secure the users and businesses in the present scenario, but also in future. With the collective effort of them, feasible solutions are suggested and provided by the security software developing organizations. Many big player of the same vertical are aiming to win the trust of users. Although, security designing organizations always try to bring up a product or solution that doesn’t leave any scope for the hackers, but technologies are changing at every instant, it is user’s responsibility also to challenge their knowledge and skills. They need to abandon obsolete defense technologies and adopt the advanced techniques and hacks for a more secure world.

Staying safe in today’s scenario a big challenge as it is not only the matter of trust. One needs to invest time and money along with the trust to stay safe for longer duration. There are thousands of products having emphasis either only on user’s device security or the information it has. One needs to take innovative measures to strengthen their cyber culture and cyber infrastructure. Every key point in the cloud technology should be protected. Users awareness at individual as well as professional level will helpful in addressing threats quickly using fewer resources.

Today, hackers are very smart and they have been quietly assembling themselves into hierarchies and complex criminal rings on the “Dark Web.” Doing so will help them in running extremely large, efficient and profitable operations in an illicit manner. Today the ratio of cyberattcaks through crime rings have been increased more than 80 percent. It is simply not enough having the basic protection like firewalls, antivirus software and logging. Breaches can lurk undetected in systems even if you have the basic protection. To prevent cyberattacks and advanced threats, businesses need to able of:

Performing advanced network and big data analytics.
Diagnosing and detecting both major as well as minor anomalies like repeated login attempts, traffic spikes on off hours across a huge range of data and network traffic.
Responding immediately if any security breach is detected.

What is the best way to back up data?

Many of you must have heard the news or stories of data loss every then and now. Users know that they need to backup their system and data, but they don’t know what strategy is best to implement. Just analyze that what would be a good backup strategy and would you implement it? What you want to backup and how convenient it will be to retrieve your data? People started creating backup after hearing terrifying stories how all their data was lost and now there is no way to rover and get it back.

A virus may be responsible for data loss, or hard drive failure may land you into troubles and make it impossible to recover your data. If you have backup of your data and system, your information will be secure even if you lose its one copy. Most of the people aren’t bothered about how important it is to create backup. The problem with most of them is, they don’t know what, when and how to backup stuff.

Today, there are pre-packaged “solutions” of various types to create backup of your business or personal information. Different users may have different amounts of different data types.

Backup strategies

For the retrieval point of view, it’s a good idea to schedule incremental backups to a network-attached (NAS) server or an external hard drive. Apart from powerful third-party products, you can also use the software programs that come with Windows or with the NAS. You can create separate backups of the less volatile data like movies, music, photos etc and keep it on a separate drive partition as most of the computers have their hard drive divided into C and D for the operating system/programs and data respectively. If your computer doesn’t allow you to do so, create a Data folder with sub-directories for your less volatile data.

Please remember that copying files from C to another partition does not provide a backup so if your computer is lost or stolen or the hard drive fails, you will lose all the partitions on that drive. If you want to save these files, copy these files to removable storage such as optical discs (CD-R, DVD or Blu-ray), USB thumbdrives, SD cards, etc. or to an external hard drive or server. Also remember that moving a lot of big files to NAS or an external hard drive either to save space or to share them, then, you don’t have a backup. In that scenario, to back up the primary EHD or NAS, you may need a second EHD.

Backing up a PC

If you have created full backup of PC, you would be able to restore your PC to a previous state when your system fails that too without losing not much or anything. Backup software including the programs provided with Windows and other operating systems are meant to do this. To save your time and the space on disk, they record only changes at scheduled interval or at the point when you manually do this. Moreover, the files are compressed before saving them. Though you can see original on the drive, but can extract them.

Although it’s easy to set up a full backup system, but non-tech users may run into troubles if the entire space on the disk is filled by the program. There are some systems which may throw old files to save new one, but in that case, you won’t be able to recover old files that has been replaced by the new ones. Windows 7 OS has a feature to create new full backups periodically and to get the option to delete an old one for managing the space for new, you can use options “manage space” in the Backup and Restore control panel.

Another approach is to take a “disk image” that you may adopt to backup a computer. Just copy the entire drive sector by sector instead of worrying about the files. Most of the backup programs including the programs provided with Windows allow this flexibility. This approach gives you the advantage to get back to where you were just by simply “re-image the drive” or copying the whole thing back to your PC. While setting up a new computer, you will be able of grabbing an image that includes all the programs, Windows updates, and settings. This will be helpful if something wrong happen.

Backing up files

One option is organize your files into different directories and create their backup in the most suitable way. There are different types of data and some data changes a lot so need to backup frequently to store and protect current work files. If files are backed up in directories, it is easy to see what you’re got, and retrieve a file that you delete accidentally.

Backing up Multiple PC

If you want to back up several PCs, buying a NAS or set up a home server is better option. To centralize the process, you may use an old desktop PC. While purchasing a NAS, verify that the built in software can back up multiple PCs and other devices.

How Mobile Device Users can Hide Sensitive Data on their Smartphones

Today, smartphones are no less than computers. In fact in terms of flexibility, they are superior to them. Because of their usability, mobile devices have a huge user base, but along with these flexibilities, there are some challenges that are attached with these technologies. Many of you either have heard about data breaching and hijacking or snooping. Today prowlers are everywhere who looks for a chance to steal your devices and trade on by reselling the stole device to the innocent users at relatively a low price. All of us store so much information on our handheld devices and very much dependent on them.

If your mobile device that held so much personal information is lost, hackers and intruders can easily exploit this very personal and confidential information of yours to minting the money off stolen device. Cybercriminals may use the data stored on your smartphone like emails, photos, and bank accounts to perform crimes like identity theft. You may also fall victim of such crimes and attacks if you don’t use preventive measures to secure your smartphone. Using the preventive measures, you will be able of securing the device along with data if it is lost or stolen. Defense in place will safeguard you if a prowler gets hands on your Apple or Android phone so here are some hacks for your help:

APPLE

Find My iPhone: it is available as a free app on the App Store that you can download if your phone is lost. To track where your device is, log into your Apple ID account from another device. Using this app there is strong probability of getting the phone back, but if you can’t find it, the real saving is you can erase all content and settings of your Apple device.

Fingerprint: iPhone 5s or above versions users can use Touch ID to trade on online items available on the App Store, iTunes Store, iBook Store, and Apple Pay. Enabling this feature will prevent thieves buying something through your device if your phone gets stolen. For enabling Fingerprint, open the “Settings” app, tap “Touch ID & Passcode, and ” then enter your passcode. Here you will see a list displaying options to enable or disable actions that require your fingerprint.

Secure your Apple ID: Your Apple ID holds very crucial information including contact and payment information that you use to access the Apple services you use. To make sure that your Apple ID remains inaccessible to others, create a unique password and change it frequently. Set up two-step verification for logging into your account. To enable this feature, sign into your Apple ID account and in the security section of the page, under two-verification choose “Get Started.” One more thing you need to keep in mind is choose the hard to guess answers of your questions.

ANDROID

Android Device Manager: Like Find My iPhone, Android Device Manager is also a free app for the devices running on Android OS. You can visit the Google Play store to download it. This phone works in the similar way as Find My iPhone works. If your phone is lost or stolen, use another device to log in to your Google account and see the map to track the location of your phone. It’s great if you get back your phone, otherwise it is really important that you can wipe the phone clean as this app let you erasing all your phone data as well as resetting your lock screen passcode.

Fingerprint: Android’s latest operating system Marshmallow users have the liberty of using Fingerprint feature. Enabling this feature allows you to sign into apps and purchase things with Android Pay. If this feature is enabled and you lose your phone or it is stolen, the thief won’t be able to make any purchase through your device. To enable this feature, open the “Settings” app, tap on “Security” option under “Personal,” and then “Pixel Imprint” or “Nexus Imprint.” Further follow onscreen instructions for scanning your prints.

App-specific passwords: Most of the apps that are somehow related to the financial transaction give you the control to assign specific passwords. Apps like mobile banking, document sharing and emails hold private information hence their security is the subject of utmost concern. If your device is not compatible with Fingerprint locking, Google Play store has a free app called AppLock where you are allowed to set up passcodes for apps, videos, and photos. It is a great alternative on older Android phones.

Also, make sure that you install the most recent software update on your smartphone as these updates are released with improvements and patches to your phone’s security.

Important Note: It is requested that don’t use Find My iPhone and Android Device Manager by yourself to retrieve a stolen phone as it may bring more risk for you and thieves may harm you in any way. Better to contact cops to get back your device and apprehend the criminal.

How to Disable Last Seen Feature in Google Hangouts

The last seen or last active feature is not a new thing for most of the instant messengers and Hangouts. However, the last seen or last active feature may be the reason of incertitude because of the fact that people come to know that you were online and just ignored them. Thankfully, Google gives you the option to disable this feature in its Hangouts app so that you don’t get into the trouble with the last seen feature of Google Hangouts. Below the steps are given to disable last seen or last active feature of Google Hangouts on different platforms:

Disable the Last Seen Feature in the Hangouts Web Client or Extension

If you use Google Hangouts through its web portal, just login to your Google account in the Hangouts web client and click on the hamburger menu button to see the sidebar.

To disable the last seen feature, click on “Settings“in the sidebar, and on the same page, uncheck the option “Show when you were last online”.

If you want to disable Hangouts’ last active feature otherwise, you can do it through its Chrome extension. Open the Chrome app, click the hamburger menu button and from the options, uncheck the option “Show when you were last online”.

Disable Last Seen in Gmail Web Client

If you use Hangouts in Gmail instead of using the standalone web client or extension of Hangouts, you can disable last seen by just clicking on your name and uncheck the option “Show when you were last seen online”.

Disable Last Seen in Hangouts App On Android

To disable last seen in the Hangouts app, Android smartphone users just need open the hamburger menu and click on the Settings, then select their account. There they need to tap on the option “Share you status” and turn off the toggle for “Last seen”.

Disable Last Seen in Hangouts App On iOS

To turn off the last seen feature of Google Hangouts on an iPhone or iPad, open the settings of the app then tap on the “Status” option and turn off the option “Last active” option.

It is very easy to turn off or disable the feature of last seen or last active Google Hangouts be it any device running on any operating system Windows computers, Mac operating PCs, iOS, or Android. Google provides you the flexibility to turn off last active in Hangouts from any location across the world.

Why the Protection of your Cellphone Number is as Important as Your Social Security Number

Due to the increasing awareness and activities of cybercriminals, your personal information is always at risk of data breach. You have to keep your guard always up before sharing any kind of information with anyone. Make sure that you don’t share your login credentials to a site with anyone, giving up your credit card number and such details with anyone other than the legitimate banking institution. The modern-day scammers are very intelligent and have multiple elaborate plans at their disposal to find and trap as many victims as possible. Hence, being a user you need to be intelligent to ditch these fraudsters and avoid them giving a chance at success.

You all know what is the value and worth of your Social Security number (SSN). You are well aware of this fact that it is something that you are not suppose to give out to just anyone. You are always advised to hide and protect it as if your life depends on it. Social Security number (SSN ) is a very valuable asset because if a cyber criminal gets his hands on it, he may easily misuse it for identity theft and fraud purposes. Many innocent people are unknown of the risk cybercriminals may carry for them. Like your Social Security number (SSN), your cellphone number is may be misused as a tool to attack on your digital identity.

Your cellphone number isn’t just mean to contact you. Many companies, including financial institutions and social networking sites use it as your identity and a link to your private information. Privacy is one of the major distinctions between a Social Security number and a cell number. Social Security numbers are regulated and companies are forced by law to keep them private where as cellphone numbers are not. People tend to share them without giving a second thought of its and their own security. They don’t consider as if it may bring any sort of risk for them. In this age of wireless technology, more and more people are not willing to use landlines and most of the households have at least one wireless telephone.

Over the last few years, a rapid growth in the number of households with only wireless phone service has been observed. Using the wireless cellphone numbers open you at a higher risk as cellphone numbers may be used against you at some point. In fact, as per a study, cellphone numbers may be the more valuable tools for cyber criminals than Social Security numbers because they are linked to many databases and connected to your handheld gadget that almost always remain by your side. There are certain reasons that cybercriminals target phone numbers. Cybercriminals always look to commit fraud or steal someone’s identity for getting the access of the victim’s Social Security number.

The Social Security number is given to track the earnings histories of workers, using for computing benefit levels and determining Social Security benefit entitlement. Since the introduction of the SSN, it has expanded significantly and now it is popular as computing technologies made it possible to create and store large digital files with people’s personal information. These digital files are stored on corporate and government databases and by attacking these databases, cybercriminals look for new identity theft victims. With the time, the trend is being changed and scammers are targeting cellphone numbers. Scammers and cybercriminals know that databases hold personal information and if they are able of knowing cellphone numbers, they can get the access of the personal information of the users for their own benefit.

Your Android operating cellphone numbers are lucrative targets because suing them, criminals make a way to get your personal information. If you don’t want criminals to dig your personal information follow some basic rules for your own protection.

Use two-factor verification

If there is a flexibility of using two-factor verification, use it to protect your account and personal information. If you have activated two-factor verification, a security code SMS will be send to your smartphone whenever there is any login attempt made into your account. This security code with the password put added protection to your account.

Be Brainy

Use your brain and think rationally before sharing your cell number. Verify the authenticity of the site that asks you to give your number.

Keep a check on banking transaction

If you feel like you may the target of any fraud, keep a check on your bank statements. If you find any suspicious activity in your account, let your financial institution know about it immediately.

Check your credit reports

To keep an eye on all transactions, it is a good habit to check your credit report regularly. This may be helpful in keeping you away from being a victim of identity fraud. Cross check if there is any credit accounts under your name that belongs to you, but you don’t know when did you open it.

1800 TECH 24 (AUS)

Monthly Archives: December 2016