How WhatsApp is fighting spam after its encryption

WhatsApp proved itself to be the most YOLO-crypto company of 2016 when it turned on end-to-end encryption by default last April for its more than 1 billion users. (Facebook, WhatsApp’s parent company, took a more cautious approach when it added opt-in encryption to Messenger.) But WhatsApp’s all-in approach has come at a cost — the company’s executives were arrested and its service was temporarily shut down in Brazil when local courts demanded that WhatsApp turn over the contents of encrypted messages.

Rolling out end-to-end encryption raised not just political concerns, but practical ones. If WhatsApp couldn’t read the contents of its users’ messages anymore, how would it detect and fight spam on the platform? WhatsApp could have become a haven for scammers pushing pills and get-rich-quick schemes, which would have driven users off the platform and harmed its business even more than short-term court-ordered shutdowns.

Instead, WhatsApp developed approaches to detecting spam that don’t rely on content at all, says WhatsApp engineer Matt Jones. Instead of looking at message content, WhatsApp analyzes behavior for indications that a user might be spamming. The approach is working surprisingly well. Jones says that WhatsApp slashed spam by 75 percent after launching end-to-end encryption.

“If you have well-instrumented behavioral features, it’s totally possible to detect spam without any access to message content in an end-to-end encrypted world,” Jones said at the USENIX Enigma security conference yesterday.

Some of WhatsApp’s behavioral detection systems will sound familiar to anti-spam experts. For instance, WhatsApp looks at how many messages a user is sending and will flag as spam if the user is sending an unusually high number of messages per minute, a common anti-spam strategy. But WhatsApp also uses a number of other signals to determine the probability that a message contains spam.

“The simplest approach is to look at the reputation of the things an actor is using,” Jones explained. WhatsApp examines data related to the internet service provider (ISP), the phone number, and the phone network being used, and compares that to previous spam reports. If the ISP data or the phone prefix (the first several digits of a phone number) have been previously associated with spammers, it’s likely that messages associated with that data are still spam. WhatsApp will also take notice if, for example, a phone with a Canadian country code connects via a cell network in Thailand and assess the probability that the user is a spammer or a traveller on vacation.

Once a spammer is reported, WhatsApp will also go back and look at the spammer’s actions on the platform for clues about why he wasn’t caught, then feed that information into its model. “Every message they sent before was an opportunity to prevent spam that we failed to take,” Jones said.

WhatsApp bans users based on these probabilistic models, and if the company makes a mistake, users can appeal the ban. Jones said that WhatsApp has also cut back on mistaken bans through its enhanced spam detection. “We cut spam by three quarters and the number of incorrect bans by half,” he said.

“The goal is to drive up the cost for attackers,” Jones added. “Eventually we’re going to catch all spammers. If you send spam, you’re going to be reported and if you’re reported, you’re going to be banned.”

However, this approach relies heavily on the analysis of metadata (the non-content information associated with transmitting a message), and WhatsApp has been criticized for hanging on to users’ metadata and sharing it with Facebook. End-to-end encryption only guarantees the privacy of message content, not metadata, but many non-technical users might not understand the difference and may be surprised to learn how WhatsApp collects and analyzes their information.

Open Whisper Systems, the maker of the encrypted chat app Signal and the Signal Protocol (on which WhatsApp’s encryption is based) recently released its first subpoena and its response. The documents showed that OWS doesn’t keep metadata on its users — all that the company could hand over was the account creation date and the last log-in time.

Harvesting metadata is a trade-off. As OWS grows, it may find itself struggling with a spam problem. And WhatsApp will have to balance users’ expectations of privacy with their demand for a spam-free experience. Jones told TechCrunch that it’s a balance he thinks about often. He said the company has chosen to dump certain categories of metadata that proved unhelpful for spam prevention so as not to unnecessarily retain user info.

Some firms are hesitant to implement end-to-end encryption because they worry it will prevent them from fighting spam or rolling out new features, but the spam-prevention success that Jones described might encourage other communications companies to take the encryption plunge

Twitter Staff Give $1m to Fight Trump Travel Ban

Staff at social media company Twitter have donated more than $1m (£790,000) to the American Civil Liberties Union.

The ACLU has pledged to fight President Donald Trump's temporary ban on refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries.

The civil rights group has reportedly raised more than $24m in online donations in the past few days.

Taxi hailing company Lyft previously said that it would donate $1m to the ACLU over the next four years.

Nearly 1,000 Twitter employees donated more than $500,000, which was matched by chief executive Jack Dorsey and executive chairman Omid Kordestani, according to TechCrunch.

In an email sent to Twitter staff and obtained by the tech news website, lawyer Vijaya Gadde said: "Our work is far from done.

"In the coming months we'll see a flurry of legal challenges, legislative pushes and public pronouncements.

"But as long as civil liberties are threatened, I'm proud to know that as individuals we will stand up to defend freedom and look after people."

It is also reported by Bloomberg that some of the largest US technology companies are preparing an open letter to President Trump, expressing concern about his order on immigration and offering help to "fix it".

Meanwhile, messaging platform Viber has offered free international calls to the affected countries - Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen

SMARTWATCH THAT CAN TELL EMOTION

Anyone who’s been on a first date knows that trying to read a total stranger’s emotions is completely bewildering. We all know story could be interpreted in a multitude of ways — telling your friend about your awesome new phone can come across as excitement or a brag, depending on the listener. To help detect the sentiment behind speech, a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology built a wearable app that can parse conversation to identify the emotion behind each part of the story.

The app, built into a fitness tracker for this research, collects physical and speech data to analyze the overall tone of the story in real time. Using artificial intelligence, the app can also figure out which part of the conversation was happy or sad, and tracks emotional changes in five-second intervals.

In the research, participants were asked to wear a Samsung Simband with the app installed and tell a story. The band also monitored the participants’ physical changes, such as increased skin temperature, heart rate, or movements such as waving their arms around or fidgeting. Overall, the neural networks were able to determine tone with 83 percent accuracy — though it is unclear whether the research has been peer-reviewed.

Generally, the AI associated parts of speech that had long pauses or used monotonous vocal tones as sad, while varied speech patterns were categorized as happy. The team hopes to label more complex emotions soon.

“Imagine if, at the end of a conversation, you could rewind it and see the moments when the people around you felt the most anxious,” said graduate student Tuka Alhanai, who is part of the research team. The product could be used to help those with anxiety or conditions like Asperger’s or autism. “Our work is a step in this direction, suggesting that we may not be that far away from a world where people can have an AI social coach right in their pocket.”

The research is an ongoing effort from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory to study emotion detection. Last fall, the team built a device to identify human emotions using wireless signals.

Ecobank launches US$500,000 Fintech Challenge

Ecobank Fintech Challenge is a pan-African innovation competition and start-ups partnership offering by Ecobank. It is designed to inspire, support and partner African start-ups and developers with the aim to facilitate the development of innovative “FinTech” and banking related solutions.

Ecobank is challenging Africa’s new generation of entrepreneurs to find lasting solutions to the continent’s most pressing banking issues. Submit entries in one or more of our key areas of interest for your Chance to win up to $500,000 funding.

The Ecobank Fintech Challenge will have startups submit applications addressing specific fintech challenges. Shortlisted applicants will get to pitch their idea at the Ecobank Innovation Fair for the chance to win cash prizes and get support from Ecobank to roll out their solution across 36 African countries. They’ll also get mentoring opportunities and have access to Ecobank’s vast network of partners.

If you’re interested in entering the competition, you can apply online.  Submit your solution to a fintech challenge in any of the areas listed on the dedicated website for the contest. Applications will be judged based on user experience, implementation practicality, functionality, innovation, and commercial prospects.

If you’re interested in entering the competition, you can apply online.  Submit your solution to a fintech challenge in any of the areas listed on the dedicated website for the contest. Applications will be judged based on user experience, implementation practicality, functionality, innovation, and commercial prospects.

Only entries that are adjudged to have met the selection criteria will be shortlisted for the pitch stage.

Applications will be received until April 14, 2017.

To register for the Ecobank Fintech Challenge, click here.

Lagos to join global UN SDG Hackathon

UK-based charity Influx Trust is to host a global hackathon around the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with applications currently open to the Lagos edition of the event.

For 48 hours over March 10 to 12, nine hackathons will be held simultaneously around the world, with each location hacking around one of three selected SDGs.

The Lagos-based hackathon will focus on SDG 9, and looks for solutions in the areas of industry, innovation, and infrastructure.

The winning teams from each regional event will be given resources and support by the UN to hone, test and scale their ideas into sustainable businesses. They will also have a chance to demo their solutions at the UN headquarters in New York, in June 2017.

Solutions emerging from the hackathon will also be placed on the Influx Trust crowdfunding page, to attract investors, mentors, and human resources.

“For the first time in our history, we are at a point where we have the tools, ideas and technology to solve the world’s problems and have a real impact on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals,” said the Influx Trust.

“It has become commonplace thinking that government cannot and should not be expected to solve all our problems and it is up to us to work together to build the future we need and help the the UN achieve it’s goals.”

The Lagos hackathon is hosted by Passion Incubator, Ford Foundation, Microsoft, Printivo and Starta; and will be held at the Ford Foundation in Ikoyi.

Registration is available here, until March 3

Nokia introduces MIKA, a digital assistant for engineers and telecom operators

The Nokia brand has been building a fair amount of heat in the weeks leading up to Mobile World Congress. The world’s biggest phone show is set to see the once-beloved brand’s big return to the smartphone space it once so unceremoniously left behind.

Of course, that’s the HMD version, the Nokia name being licensed out by a local company formed from ex-pats of the tech giant. The true Nokia has been chugging along with a focus on bigger, industrial and enterprise projects. So, when that Nokia announces that it’s got a new digital assistant to show the world, you know it’s not going to be debuting its own take on Siri.

That said, the company does have a nice, adorable name picked out for the project. MIKA stands for “Multi-purpose Intuitive Knowledge Assistant,” letting engineers and telecom operators access information through voice commands. The system is powered by the company’s cognitive services platform, using “augmented intelligence with automated learning to provide access to an extensive range of tools, documents and data sources.”

Essentially the system is designed to offer quick answers to engineer questions, based on experience drawn from other networks – so, it’s not entirely unlike Siri or Alexa, but it’ll provide answers to engineering questions, instead of turning on a smart lightbulb or checking the local weather.

Facebook Out With a More Safer Login Key

No one wants to hand over their account to a hacker. Today, Facebook is adding a new feature that will help protect users from getting their accounts compromised.

Facebook users can now use a security key to authenticate their identity during the login process. If you use a security key, hackers won’t be able to get into your Facebook account, even if they have your username and password.

Security keys are a form of two-factor authentication — an optional extra layer of security that helps you prove your identity when you log in.

During a typical two-factor authentication process, the user enters their username and password, then the site they’re logging in to responds by texting them verification code. The user enters the verification code, proving that he or she is the proper user of the account, and not a hacker logging in with a stolen password.

But this method has its downfalls. A determined attacker can reset the SIM for the user’s phone and intercept the SMS messages, as we saw in the targeted hack of the activist DeRay Mckesson last summer.

Security keys solve this problem by cutting out the need to transmit the verification code to the user. Keys like those manufactured by Yubico fit into a USB port and can generate a one-time code at the tap of a finger — and, unlike SMS, these codes can’t be captured without physical access to the security key itself. In addition to being more secure, security keys make the login process with two-factor authentication feel a bit faster and more seamless because you don’t have to sit around waiting for the text message to be delivered. Conveniently, security keys still work even when text messages don’t, so you don’t lose access to your accounts just because you don’t have cell service.

If you already use a security key to log into your accounts on Google or Dropbox, you don’t need a new one. You can use the same key across all your accounts.

Brad Hill, a security engineer at Facebook, says it was easy for the company to roll out the feature because it was already used in-house by the engineering staff for logging in to internal systems. It was simply a matter of extending the feature to Facebook’s users.

“We don’t consider two-factor a mandatory thing,” Hill explains. “We see account security as our responsibility regardless of technologies you choose to use. For people who want to stay in control, this would be a good choice for someone who wants to stay ahead of even the most advanced attacks.”

Unfortunately, there’s not a great way to integrate security keys with most mobile devices yet. When logging into their Facebook accounts on mobile, most users will still have to go through the regular old two-factor SMS process (Facebook also lets users generate their verification code through the Facebook app). Users with NFC-capable Android devices and the latest versions of Chrome and Google Authenticator can use an NFC-capable key to verify their identity on the Facebook mobile website.

The challenge of using a security key with a mobile device is one Hill expects to see addressed in the future. Although access is currently limited to certain Android users, Hill says he anticipates more APIs on the Android platform that will support security keys — and that other platforms will follow suit.

Ready to activate your security key? Go to Security Settings in your account and click “Add Key.” (Note: This will only work if you’re using the Chrome or Opera browser.)

Keyboard comeback: BlackBerry Mercury coming

Following the release of the DTEK50 and DTEK60, BlackBerry's next step in its Android-making venture - colloquially named BlackBerry Mercury - is on the horizon.

The news broke via a newly activated Twitter account for the security-minded phone maker. Its only tweet thus far teases something "distinctly different" coming on February 25, two days before MWC 2017 opens its doors but during the period when many companies announce their wares for the show.

The shadowy figure in the tease looks an awful lot like the Nougat-powered BlackBerry Mercury, which we got our hands on during this month's CES 2017 and is expected to release during Q1.

The Mercury also brings back the BlackBerry Classic's physical keyboard - something fans of the company's trademark clickety-clack have missed since the under-performing BlackBerry Priv.

In addition to learning the handset's official name, price, and release date, we hope to see the BlackBerry Mercury in action during MWC 2017 and get some hands-on time with that tactile keyboard for ourselves.

That said, if there's one thing that will likely disappoint us, it's the name. The last two handsets released in BlackBerry's Android line somehow went from the cool codenames Neon and Argon to the painfully unmarketable DTEK50 and DTEK60.

Samsung finally Explains Exploding Note 7 Battery.

After two bungled recalls — and three months after Samsung killed production of the fire-starting Galaxy Note 7 smartphone — the South Korean company is now ready to explain what went wrong.

The company said at a news conference Monday morning in South Korea that two separate problems with its lithium-ion batteries were to blame for the fires, which led to two unprecedented recalls of the smartphone.

DJ Koh, president of mobile at Samsung, said that during the aftermath, the company worked to replicate the incidents and "complete a detailed analysis," according to a translator at the news conference.

In the case of the first battery, Samsung pointed to a design flaw in the upper right corner that, in some cases, caused the positive and negative tabs to break down, resulting in a short circuit.

The second battery, which came from another manufacturer, was apparently faulty because of a welding defect that could cause the battery to catch fire, it said.

The news comes as Samsung is preparing to reveal its fourth-quarter earnings results Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET, which will cover the period that was arguably the most blemished in Samsung's history.

The Galaxy Note 7 launched Aug. 19 in markets including the United States, with the company touting its iris security scanner as one of its standout features. However, the flagship phone soon turned into a serious fire hazard that was blamed for a number of fires and injuries. 

Snapchat's Major redesign, with the Universal Search Bar has today hit the ioS store

Snapchat’s major redesign, which introduces a universal search bar to the top of the app, among other features, has today hit iOS. The refreshed user interface was first announced earlier this month, but was only available to Android users at the time with a promise that it would reach iPhone users “soon.”

The app has long been criticized for being too hard to navigate – something that gave it a bit of “secret club” status among its core demographic of young adults. After all, if the grown-ups can’t figure out how to use the app’s complicated swipe-gestures to move around and find its features, maybe they’ll just stay away.

While this has helped to contribute to the app’s coolness factor, it’s maybe not as good a look for a company that now wants to cater to brands and advertisers, grow its revenue, and potentially IPO in the year ahead

With the new search bar, Snapchat aims to make it easier for its users to find friends, groups, Discover publishers and Our Stories. By tapping into the Search box, a new overlay appears, letting you quickly access friends’ messages or stories through its “Quick Chat” suggestions, connect with your group chats, flip through a list of new friends, add others, or find friends in your contacts.

You can also tap and hold someone’s card to see their mini profile, as well as tap your Bitmoji to the left of the search bar to jump to your own full profile. Here, you’ll notice your profile includes your “Best Friends” (frequent contacts), too.

wants. (Before, users had to pick which Our Story they were authorizing.)

Whether these new features actually make Snapchat easier for newcomers is debatable. The search bar is fairly obvious, and opens the door for search ads in the future, but other features assume a level of familiarity with the app. Snapchat hasn’t really changed its core navigation of using swipes and gestures, but has rather created a way to access shortcuts that take users to its various features and sections.

The update comes at a time when Instagram has fairly successfully copied one of Snapchat’s most powerful features, as its own Instagram Stories have hit 150 million daily users, the same as Snapchat. The hope is that this update will keep Snapchat’s users engaged with the feature it helped pioneer.

So far, Twitter users noticing the update are reporting mixed feelings. Some apparently like the update, while others call it “weird” or “ugly.” Others still, say they’re unsure or confused. This is likely good news for Snapchat, as any new feature will see some griping, but there isn’t yet any major backlash about the changes.

Snapchat’s new version is available in the current iOS update, out now on the App Store.

5 Ways on How to Market on Twitter Like a King.

Here are 5 ways for you to start using Twitter to market your business.

1. Use Twitter Lists

Twitter lists are very powerful.

As your following grows, using the list feature is crucial. Twitter lists are a way for you to group Twitter users together. You may choose to create your lists or subscribe to others lists or both.

If you’re unsure how to create a Twitter list you can learn how right now.  Quick tip on naming your Twitter list, be creative. List can show up in Google Search so name your list for keywords pertinent to your business or service.

With lists you’ll want to do 2 things:

– add people to a list. They call it Social Media for a reason. People like to be included and will appreciate the recognition of being added to a list.

– follow other people’s Twitter lists (particularly your competitors).

Following other lists is an excellent way to do market research and gather information rapidly.

2. Use Twitter Search

Use the Twitter search tool regularly.

The search function on Twitter is one of the most powerful features of Twitter.

Using the Twitter search function, you’re able to search Twitter in real time for no conversations going on around:

Location (City, State or even Zip-Code)

Keywords

Phrases

Hashtags

Dates

User Accounts

With 500 million tweets sent every day, it’s certain that your prospects are on Twitter asking questions, making comments or asking for help – help that you could give to maximize your visibility while providing value at the same time.  With Twitter advanced search, you can zero in on live conversations and engage with people in real-time.

Examples:

Realtors can find conversations about people looking to move locally.

Gyms can find conversations about people looking to work out.

Restaurants can join in on conversations of people looking to eat out.

Website designers can find people looking for a new website.

Lawyers can find people who have just in an accident are in need of legal help.

Use your imagination and jump on Twitter Advanced Search today!

3. Trend is your Friend

Similar to Google Plus Explore or LinkedIn Pulse, Twitter tells you what conversations are trending live on Twitter currently.  These trending topics are located on the left side of your Twitter profile.Consider either joining in on a valuable trending discussion to stay active in the feed or consider using some of the trending Hashtags in your Tweets.  Doing so will get you massively engaged with others and if it’s a hashtag around your niche, you can build amazing relationships.

4) Follow the Who’s Who

Find the top influencers in your local area or niche.  These are the important people to follow and engage with. This will further expose your Twitter account, build your followers faster, and more importantly, help your brand. You can use an excellent free tool like Topsy to find the influencers in your business niche.

5) Engage, Engage, Engage

We’ve saved the most obvious and best, for last.  Engage with your followers regularly.  Remember Twitter is moving fast and unless you’re out engaging, you won’t benefit

from this amazing Social Media platform.

Make sure to regularly reach out and engage with:

Influencers

Those Retweeting you

Those favoriting your Tweets

New Followers

Consider using Commun.it to better manage your Twitter relationships.

This free tool allows you to manage profiles, find your most engaged followers, build and manage your relationships, as well as many other great features.

Conclusion

These 5 tips will help you become the King or Queen of Twitter and they’re easy to implement.

Use Twitter Lists

Use Twitter Search

Trend is your Friend

Follow the Who’s Who

Engage, Engage, Engage

the real magic for creating business happens when you consistently implement these 5 strategies on how to market on Twitter like a king.

Samsung confirm the leak of Galaxy s8

Recent leaks suggested this will be a design to die for, and now have both our best look yet at the Galaxy S8 and Samsung’s official confirmation. So let’s break them down…

First up Samsung has inadvertently confirmed the existence of the new phone and its ‘Galaxy S8’ name applying to the United States Patent and Trademark Office to register the new device. Needless to say, the application any particular “style, size, or color”.

But what Samsung couldn’t get around disclosing was the ‘Galaxy S8’ name itself. We’ve long expected the Galaxy S7 successor to be called the Galaxy S8, but given Samsung followed up the Galaxy Note 5 in 2015 with the Galaxy Note 7 in 2016 and there are doubts about what Apple will call the 2017 iPhone things are not always as simple as they appear.

Personally I blame Microsoft for this recent number jumping phenomenon after it leapt from Windows 8 to Windows 10 in 2015. Please no Galaxy S10 next year Samsung!

In addition to this - unless Samsung is returning to its 2015 three model release strategy - both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Edge are shown to have curved ‘Edge’ displays. This would make the Edge name somewhat redundant for the larger model in my opinion (and edge displays do trigger accidental touches) by the duo will look fantastic.

In fact this is a look Apple is expected to copy with an ‘all curve display’ new iPhone later this year, and you can see why. It is also likely to lay to rest the notion that Samsung always copies Apple rather than the reality which is everyone steals from everyone.

So with the expected Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Edge release date getting closer, Samsung has the opportunity to lay down a marker in 2017. With an eye popping Galaxy Note 8 also on the horizon this could be an explosive year for Samsung, in all the right ways…

Social Media is not a Safe Place

After the early, exciting expository years of the Internet – the Age of Jennicam where the web was supposed to act as confessional and stage – things changed swiftly. This new medium was a revelation, a gift of freedom that we all took for granted. Want to post rants against the government? Press publish on Blogspot. Want to yell at the world? Aggregate and comment upon some online news. Want to meet people with similar interests or kinks? There was a site for you although you probably had to hunt it down.

The way we shared deep feelings on the Internet grew out of its first written stage into other more interactive forms. It passed through chatrooms, Chatroulette, and photo sharing. Today the most confessional “static” writing you’ll find on a web page is the occasional Medium post about beating adversity through meditation and Apple Watch apps and we have hidden our human foibles behind dank memes and chatbots. Where could the average person, the civilian, go to share their deepest feelings of love, anger, and fear?

Further, social media is no longer protected. As careless CEOs quickly discover saying the wrong thing in a “private” chat or deleting an errant does not mean someone won’t screencapture your rant. In fact social media has become an id and ego collector, a fly strip where all of our worst thoughts are captured permanently. We exhale in anger and chuff in frustration. We tell people to unfollow us if they don’t like what we’re saying and we turn neighborhood pages into political cesspools

In short social media is no longer a safe place. I don’t mean this in the politically correct sense but in the very mental and physical sense. Whereas the web was once a broadcast medium it is now a two-way or many-to-many medium. Our errant Twitter thoughts can make us targets and we often don’t know we’re being watched. Entire wars can break out online that have real-world consequences – see Pizzagate – and hoaxes flit through the memetic bloodstream like cancer, breaking down our defenses. A prominent writer and friend recently mused about what would happen if he posted some political rants. The first thing that leapt to his readers’ minds was the potential for SWATing and doxing and then an visit from the FBI. Then, as evidenced by the above CEO example, you get fired.

Social media has become a very real, very visceral, and very censorial force and it can now only worsen the human condition. It was once an experiment but that experiment is over. Like most things that calcify into the mainstream the joy of exploration is now gone, replaced by a grim determination to just get it over with. There is a reason so many startups are trying to break our social media habits. We are exhausted by the endless mantra of Twitter-Facebook-Instagram and we will go so far as to replace our app icons with dummy apps simply to stop ourselves from Tweeting.

Samsung start updating it's devices with Android 7.0 Nougat

Samsung announced preliminary plans back in October  to start testing Android 7.0 on its latest devices. For the second year in a row, the company was mostly testing the waters early on, asking a select group of interested early adopters to test the update via its Galaxy Beta Program.
All these months later the almost-latest version of Google’s mobile operating system (the Pixel-esque 7.1.1 went live in December) is finally starting to arrive on Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge handsets. And now that the company’s got all that squared away, it’s going to go ahead and sprinkle a little more Nougat on a smattering of its other Galaxy devices at some point during first half of the year.

The list of compatible includes the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge and S6 edge Plus, Galaxy Note5, Galaxy Tab A with S Pen, Galaxy Tab S2 (LTE unlock), Galaxy A3, and Galaxy A8. More could be on the horizon, of course, but that’s the list for now.

Along with the standard array of feature improvements, the Galaxy Nougat upgrade also brings Samsung Pass, letting users log into sites and apps with their fingerprints, which mobile banking options arrive soon. Though the actual functionality of the app may vary from country to country, according the fine print.

Apple files a billion dollars lawsuit against Qualcomm

Apple is piling onto the lawsuit train just ahead of the weekend,

following in the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s footsteps with a roughly billion-dollar suit against the San Diego-based mobile chipmaker.

Apple was specifically named in the recent FTC filing, which 

accused Qualcomm of engaging in an anti-competitive 

“no license, no chips” policy, which jacked up licensing fees on

patents and forced phone makers to pay more for using 

competitors’ processors.

Qualcomm precluded Apple from sourcing baseband 

processors from Qualcomm’s competitors from 2011 to 2016. 

Qualcomm recognized that any competitor that won Apple’s business would become stronger, and used exclusivity to prevent Apple from working with and improving the effectiveness of Qualcomm’s competitors.

Apple’s own $1 billion suit accuses Qualcomm of charging for patents “they have nothing to do with,” citing TouchID, displays and cameras as categories where the component maker has allegedly stifled innovation by making licensing more costly.

Qualcomm built its business on older, legacy, standards but reinforces its dominance through exclusionary tactics and excessive royalties. Despite being just one of over a dozen companies who contributed to basic cellular standards, Qualcomm insists on charging Apple at least five times more in payments than all the other cellular patent licensors we have agreements with combined.

The suit follows a number of other international legal proceedings for Qualcomm across the world, including large fines in South Korea and China. We’ve reached out to the company for comment

Nigeria developer on that path of culture

You got see this, new crop of Nigerian developers is drawing on the dept of culture across continent to make distinctly African games. And hope it go through 

Watch the video here

GOOGLE APPS MOBILE Android will now store Google searches offline

Google is rolling out an update for its Android app that makes it easier to search the internet with an inconsistent internet connection. Users can make searches when offline and the Google app will store them, delivering the results later (with an optional notification) when the devices gets signal again. As Google product manager Shekhar Sharad writes in a blog post: “So the next time you lose service, feel free to queue up your searches, put your phone away and carry on with your day. The Google app will work behind-the-scenes to detect when a connection is available again and deliver your search results once completed.”

Sharad also notes that the feature “won’t drain your battery”
 and will only have a “minimal” impact on data usage.
Any pending searches will be stored in the Google app
itself under the Manage Searches option. Let’s hope the iOS Google app
gets a similar update some time soon.

Use Google's updated Switch tool to go from iOS to Android

Using Google Drive you can back up and sync your contacts, calendars and photos with ease.

Google has simplified the process for iOS defectors to switch
to Android without forfeiting the most important data on
a device: contacts, calendars, and photos.

Instead of connecting your iOS device to computer and going
through a series of steps, as the process used to require,
you only need the Google Drive account installed on
your iPhone and a Gmail account.

Here's how it works:

Install Google Drive on your iPhone.
If you already have it installed, open the App Store and ensure
it's up to date.
Launch Google Drive.
Tap on the Menu button.
Select Settings.
Select Backup.
Tap on each backup category to disable or tailor the data that's being backed up.
For example, for Google Photos you can select the backup quality.
Finally, tap on Start Backup.
The process will take awhile, especially if you have a lot of photos and videos
(and back up in original quality). You have to leave your phone connected to
 a Wi-Fi network, leave the app open and your screen on.
 I suggest starting the backup before you go to bed.

When you're ready to set up your Android device, sign into the same
Gmail account you used in the Google Drive app on your iPhone.
You contacts will be in the Contacts app sorted into a group labeled
with your iPhone's name, as will your calendar entries.
Photos will be in the Google Photos app.

Vine is dead, to come back as Twitter video app

Vine is dead. Long live Vine Camera.

Tuesday is the last day that you can download and thus save your

 favorite six-second clips and comments from Vine before

Twitter guts the app. The social media company announced in October

 that it would kill off.

 Vine as part of Twitter's restructuring. Vine, just shy of its fourth birthday, 

gained popularity through its six-second video platform, pioneering

a new style of short-form clips for social media.

The brief format will live on through Vine Camera, as Twitter turns

 the platform into a recording app, where the looping videos will upload

 directly to Twitter instead of to Vine.

Vine.co will stay online as an archive for sifting through old videos, but there 

won't be any new clips uploaded after Tuesday. 

The shift comes as Twitter seeks to redefine itself as a media company, 

pushing for more video content on its 140-character platform.

Looking at Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store this morning, 

the app is still listed as Vine -- not Vine Camera. 

Twitter did not respond to requests for comment on exactly when 

the reincarnation is scheduled, so you're now in a race against time.

 It could even happen in the next six seconds.

Telegram now has a blogging platform called telegraph

Telegram now has a blogging platform to go along with its popular messaging app. It’s called Telegraph and, according to VentureBeat, offers fast publishing and anonymous posting — without requiring you to register an account or sign in through social media.

The app’s user interface looks very similar to Medium and allows for easy embeds. You can also embed images from your computer by clicking on the camera button. In comparison to Medium, the loading time for embeds is relatively fast. Publication is instantaneous upon hitting “publish.” Posts are shareable on social media platforms but are designed to work best on Telegram’s new Instant View layout, which works similarly to Facebook’s Instant Articles feature.

The simplicity and speed of Telegraph are not without its downsides. As TechCrunch points out, the lack of user history means that if you accidentally delete the link to your published post, it would be very difficult to track down unless you have cookies enabled on your browser. The anonymous nature also opens up opportunities for abuse, potentially paving the way for internet trolls and spreaders of fake news — a problem that has put tech giants like Facebook and Google under scrutiny.

Telegram’s user base has grown significantly since its inception, though it continues to lag behind WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. In February this year, founder Pavel Durov announced that the company hit 100 million active users.

The introduction of Telegraph continues Telegram’s expansion beyond just messaging. The company recently added games, and in a blog post, it teased “Something big is brewing in our secret dungeons. Stay tuned.”