Online - Softonic English

Big big changes coming to Twitter

Twitter is getting an even darker mode and a brand-new web layout

Over the last month or so Twitter has been rolling out one of its most requested features. The chronological timeline arrived for iOS users just before Christmas and Android users have recently received the new feature, too. It looks like Twitter is pushing ahead with even more changes. Some of which are quite significant.

Twitter Download Twitter Now

Twitter is getting an even darker mode and a brand-new web layout

In a recent Twitter exchange, Jack Dorsey, CEO of the micro-blogging site, recently agreed to fix Twitter’s dark mode. If you didn’t know it was broken, the pledge relates to Twitter’s dark blue background whenever dark mode is activated. Responding to an article by The Wall Street Journal calling for more apps to implement dark modes, Dorsey responded to a tweet by a Twitter user requesting a black dark mode.

Was just talking about this with @kayvz. Will fix.

— jack (@jack) January 20, 2019

Dorsey’s response of, “Will fix” has since been followed up by one of Twitter’s designers to say that Twitter’s design team is already working on the issue. To see what a big difference this will make to your phone’s battery life check out this report we wrote on dark modes and battery life back in November.

The other big news coming from Twitter HQ is the follow up to an announcement Twitter made back in September. The word then was that Twitter was testing a few mobile features for the desktop version of its site. In particular, the Explore tab and bookmarks would be coming to the desktop version of the site, via a redesign.

A new https://t.co/fHiPXozBdO is coming.

Some of you got an opt-in to try it now. Check out the emoji button, quick keyboard shortcuts, upgraded trends, advanced search, and more. Let us know your thoughts! pic.twitter.com/G8gWvdHnzB

— Twitter (@Twitter) January 22, 2019

This redesign is now rolling out and it is bringing with it a few more features than we were promised back in September. Twitter’s traditional three-column design is being stripped down to two. When the update arrives, the Trends for you section will be combined with the Who to follow section on the right-hand column.

Other new features include a new emoji button, keyboard shortcuts to help you get around the website easier, an improved search function, and a much better trending section. All-in-all this represents quite the update to the desktop version of Twitter with the site getting a new, fresh look and some tasty new features to go with it.

For now, these new features are only available to a small number of users who have been given the opportunity to opt-in. If you haven’t been given the chance to try them out yet, don’t worry, you’ll get one soon. There is no official word about when the new redesign will be available for all users, but we can expect that we won’t have wait too long.

WhatsApp changes to fight fake news

WhatsApp is limiting message forwarding to fight fake news

As well as the well-known problems Facebook has been dealing with recently, Facebook-owned WhatsApp has also been grabbing its own fair share of negative headlines. For too long, it has been easy for fake news to spread via the encrypted messaging app. This has led to a controversial far-right politician being elected president in Brazil and a series of brutal murders and lynchings in India.

These developments have had the team at WhatsApp scrambling to come up with a solution to its fake news problem that wouldn’t encroach on the core function WhatsApp has grown to offer. It seems that now, they’ve finally found a way to help curb the spread of fake news without taking away from user privacy or sacrificing any of WhatsApp’s big new features. A test WhatsApp has been running in India for the last few months is now being rolled-out globally.

WhatsApp Messenger Download WhatsApp ►

WhatsApp is limiting message forwarding to fight fake news

Fake news has been spreading like wildfire across the WhatsApp network as users have been able to forward any story they received with the simple click of a button. WhatsApp’s encryption has also meant that fact checkers have been unable to verify the information in the stories being spread. The dilemma for WhatsApp was whether to limit the message forwarding feature or allow third-parties access to the messages being sent across the network. WhatsApp chose the former.

The first step was the introduction of the Forwarded label, which shows whenever you receive a message that has been forwarded to you. This was coupled with a test of a limit on the amount of times a message could be forwarded, which was implemented in India last July. The forwarding limit has now been extended to the rest of the world.

10 Tricks for spotting “fake news”

Read Now ►

In a recent statement, a WhatsApp spokesperson said, “Starting today, all users on the latest versions of WhatsApp can now forward to only five chats at once, which will help keep WhatsApp focused on private messaging with close contacts.” This backed up an earlier report by Reuters that quoted Victoria Grand, vice-president for policy and communications at WhatsApp as saying, “We’re imposing a limit of five messages all over the world.”

The new limit means that you can now only forward messages, images, or documents to a maximum of five contacts or groups. WhatsApp believes that this allows users to continue sharing what they love with their friends and families while stamping out a potential path to abuse. The same WhatsApp spokesperson said of the new limit, “[We] carefully evaluated this test and listened to user feedback over a six-month period. The forward limit significantly reduced forwarded messages around the world.”

According to WhatsApp , progress has been made but the war continues, however, with WhatsApp going on to say, “We’ll continue to listen to user feedback about their experience, and over time, look for new ways of addressing viral content.”

Can you pass this anti-phishing test from Google?

This test from Google will make you smarter and safer.

Phishing scams are one of the most prominent ways we can fall victim to cybercrime. Fake websites, emails, and other communications are all presented as legitimate in a bid to see us hand over our personal details including our financial information. Two recent examples include a huge phishing scam relating to Netflix that set alarm bells ringing at the FTC and a rather sophisticated attack that targeted Apple users.

The 7 security tips you really need to know

Read now

Despite the fact they’ve been around for years, phishing scams are still claiming lots of victims each year, as the two recent examples prove. That’s why Google has been working on a training quiz to help you learn how to spot fake emails and links.

The key to protecting yourself from phishing attacks is being able to spot when something isn’t right and that is what the new quiz from Google’s Project Jigsaw aims to help you do.

How to avoid phishing scams and emails

Click here to start Google’s anti-phishing quiz. It starts by asking you to create a false name and email to use throughout the test. This is because you’ll often receive personalized scam emails that will use your own name in a bid to have you lower your defenses. From there you’ll receive eight emails, each containing links and attachments that the text will push you to click and open. It is your job to identify whether the email is legitimate or is a phishing scam.

How to detect scam emails

Find out now

Throughout the test, you’re pushed to look at the URLs and files attached to the email, as well as who sent it. Once you’ve decided whether the email is legitimate or not, the test will walk you through the reasons why, including floating text boxes over the areas that give the game away, if it is a scam or prove that the message is real. You can’t move on to the next question in the quiz until you’ve gone through the explanation.

This phishing quiz from Google is one of the most difficult security quizzes we’ve come up against. Rather than simply relying on simpler infractions like grammatical errors or dodgy looking graphics, it concentrates on the technical aspects that good scammers can’t avoid. A common issue is the subdomain that scammers have been using more and more as a way of making their URLs look like official URLs. For example, a URL like “https://google.com/amp/tinyurl.com/y7u8ewlr” looks like it is hosted on Google’s domain but if you look closer, you’ll see that it is actually hosted on tinyurl.com

This new quiz is definitely worth your time. Even if you get every question wrong the first time around, just working through it will help you avoid phishing scams in the future. We highly recommend giving it a go. You can try Project Jigsaw’s phishing quiz by clicking here.

The Fortnite privacy leak we all knew was coming

This Fortnite vulnerability left players open to invasion of privacy.

Fortnite is a true global phenomenon. The popular online game is played by over 80 million people and enjoys a reach so wide that it has also creeped into regular popular culture. You’ll see kids on every street wearing Fortnite T-shirts and hoodies, and you’ll also see major sports stars celebrating their wins and goals with celebrations taken directly from the game. Even Netflix pegs Fortnite as their greatest competition.

Fortnite: Battle Royale Download Fortnite: Battle Royale ►

As fun as it all is, we have to remember everything that is online is vulnerable to exploitation. Also, anything as popular as Fortnite is likely to me a magnet for attention from all the wrong people. Hackers and cyber-criminals will see Fortnite as a cash cow and target Fortnite players, often young children. This has already started happening.

This Fortnite vulnerability left players vulnerable to invasion of privacy

Researchers at Security consultant firm Check Point recently discovered a Fortnite vulnerability that allowed hackers to steal Fortnite’s virtual currency and even read private conversations online. According to Check Point the vulnerability wasn’t too complicated and was easy to exploit. All they had to do was send a malicious link to the Fortnite player over social media. Once clicked, the link would register the player’s Fortnite authentication token allowing access to their account without the need to enter their login details.

The high numbers of young children playing Fortnite makes this vulnerability all the more shocking. Oded Vanuu, who is the head of products vulnerability research at Check Point, said, “Fortnite is one of the most popular games played mainly by kids. These flaws provided the ability for a massive invasion of privacy.” Children are more vulnerable to further exploitation since the malicious link also asks questions relating to their account, including any financial information that might be connected to the account. They’re much less likely to be able to spot something out of the ordinary, meaning they’re more likely to hand over the information.

The key here is that, essentially, the vulnerability relies on unsuspecting users falling for a phishing attack. The malicious link is presented as a legitimate communication from Epic Games and the victims believe it. It is always very important to think carefully when you are contacted and asked to click links or hand over your details. For more information on avoiding these types of scams follow our tutorial on how to detect fake or scam emails, websites, and social media posts. Another key way to protect yourself from these types of scams on Fortnite is to turn on two-factor authentication for your account.

How to detect scam emails

Find out now

Fortunately, Check Point reported this bug to Epic Games, and it was fixed last month. This doesn’t mean, however, that there aren’t other vulnerabilities out there and that you can now let your guard down. On the contrary, this bug only indicates that it is more important than ever to remain vigilant when you’re doing anything online.

Online map searches just got more private

Apple Maps will now show location results for DuckDuckGo on mobile and desktop

Privacy is a big deal these days. As tech giants like Facebook and Google increase their influence over our daily lives, we become more acutely aware of the increasing efforts they put into knowing everything about us. Knowing what we do can make big tech companies a lot of money and that leads the likes of Facebook to try and monitor people who aren’t even members of Facebook and Google to keep extensive records of everything we’ve ever searched.

How to find and delete EVERYTHING Google has on you in 7 easy steps

Read now

It isn’t all bad though. As well as handy tutorials from Softonic teaching you how to purge your Google data or learn what Facebook has on you, there are companies out there that purposely avoid collecting user data. Privacy forms the cornerstone of their business model. One such company is DuckDuckGo, which runs a competing search engine to Google. DuckDuckGo doesn’t track your browsing habits or mine your personal data. The problem is that it is hard for DuckDuckGo to compete with Google and offer all the features the search giant can offer. Enter Apple.

Protect your privacy, choose this search engine over Google

Read Now ►

Apple Maps will now show location results for DuckDuckGo on mobile and desktop

Location searches are an incredibly useful way of finding what you’re looking for. To this end, we’ve recently seen a spate of updates to Google Maps as Google tries to turn it into the ultimate business directory. DuckDuckGo has, until now, been unable to compete with this. Now, however, whenever somebody searches for something using DuckDuckGo location results will show up on a small Apple Maps module, just like Google would show location results using Google Maps.

According to the blog post announcing the Apple partnership, DuckDuckGo explained that there will also be a new Maps tab for all search results. Clicking the Maps tab or on the small Apple Maps module will open up a map for further searches. The new Maps page will then list all the locations matching the search term in the selected area, again, just as a Google search would. This new function will work for addresses, geographical places, local businesses, types of businesses, and nearby places.

DuckDuckGo was also eager to point out that location searches will remain anonymous, saying, “Naturally, our strict privacy policy of not collecting or sharing any personal information extends to this integration. We do not send any personally identifiable information such as IP address to Apple or other third parties. For local searches, where your approximate location information is sent by your browser to us, we discard it immediately after use.”

Is Google Search Always the Best Option?

When

Trying to maintain a level of privacy these days can seem like an uphill struggle. Often, you’ll have to sacrifice functionality in order to keep your data private. This deal means that this is no longer the case for performing location searches with DuckDuckGo.

Amazon’s big new project is good news for gamers

Amazon is working on a Netflix for video games

Amazon sells millions of video games worldwide. It also owns Twitch, which is largest video game live-streaming website in the world. It seems though, all that is not enough for the online retailing giant. Amazon wants more of the video game industry and is currently working on a big new project to make it so. If you’re a gamer, there is a very good chance you’re going to love this.

How to get free games with Amazon Prime

READ NOW ►

The report claims that the Amazon service will run similar to Sony’s PlayStation Now service. PlayStation Now gives users access to select titles to play as much as they like during the period they’re available. There is no need to buy or download the titles, users simply play them. Apparently, Amazon has begun talking to publishers about bringing their games to the new service, but still has a lot of work to do. It looks like 2020 is being touted as the earliest possible release date for Amazon’s new service.

There has been no official word from Amazon about the service, but there is plenty of evidence that points toward this report being credible. First of all, there is the fact that Amazon already opens a global cloud computing service (Amazon Web Services) of the kind that would be needed to pull off something like an online video game streaming service. Other giveaways include job listings spotted by The Verge, including one that specifically mentions an unannounced AAA games business.

What are the best selling video games of all time?

Read Now ►

All of this points to the fact the video game streaming market is about to get very interesting. With services already on offer from Microsoft, Google, and Sony we know what we can expect from a new video game streaming service. None of the above, however, have cracked streaming video games quite like Netflix did with movies and TV shows. We’ll have to see if Amazon can take video game streaming services to the next level or if they’ll just become another face in the crowd.

Top 10 naval battle games for PC

Read Now

Delete this app now, it is selling your data

The Weather Channel app is being taken to court in Los Angeles for inappropriate data use.

The Weather Channel app is one of the most popular apps for smartphones. It has been around forever and has racked up over 100 million downloads over the years on both iOS and Android. The app registers tens of millions of active users every month. If you’re one of the people who have The Weather Channel app on your phone, unfortunately, we’ve got some bad news for you.

The Weather Channel app is being taken to court in Los Angeles for inappropriate data use

The lawsuit is based on what the State of California calls incomplete permissions requests. Basically, The Weather Channel app requests access to your location data but doesn’t give you the full details about why it wants them. The app says it needs the details to provide you with accurate weather reports but doesn’t say that the data will also be used to help advertisers target you better or even sold to a third party.

Protect your privacy, choose this search engine over Google

Read Now ►

Speaking to the New York Times about the lawsuit, Los Angeles City Attorney Michael N. Feur said, “If the price of getting a weather report is going to be the sacrifice of your most personal information about where you spend your time day and night… you sure as heck ought to be told clearly in advance.” It is the deceptive practice that the State of California is taking issue with, particularly with the sensitive nature of location data.

Interestingly, Feur is arguing in the case that small print alone isn’t enough. The details about how The Weather Channel app will use user data are included in the privacy policy of the app but aren’t mentioned in the standard permission request at the time of download. Feur is taking aim at the underhand ways in which tech companies like Facebook and Google use our personal data.

Through the lawsuit, Feur is seeking penalties of up to $2,500 for each violation, but the liability will only apply in the state of California. There is a still a good chance, however, that this could still cost IBM, which bought The Weather Channel app for $2 billion in 2015, a lot of money should the ruling go against it. Feur is also hoping that his lawsuit will inspire other lawsuits around the country that will aim to give users more control over their private data

Which weather app should replace The Weather Channel app?

If you have The Weather Channel app installed on your phone now, you’re probably going to want to delete it. We can recommend a couple of good weather apps for your consideration. You could use these as direct replacements for The Weather Channel app or at least use them while you look into a replacement yourself.

AccuWeather Download now

WeatherBug Download now

The Google Maps messaging update will be on your phone soon

The Google Maps Messages tab will help you contact businesses

We’ve been talking a lot recently, about big updates coming to Google Maps. We’ve seen lots of cool new features like a special mode for using Google Assistant while you’re navigating and a new feature for reporting traffic accidents and incidents. The other big news for Google’s flagship mapping app has been its pivot towards becoming a business directory to help users find businesses in their local area. There has been the addition of Instagram-style hashtags to reviews, making it easier to find exactly what you’re looking for, and Google has also promised us that Maps will soon have a messages tab. The new messages feature is now rolling out.

Google Maps Download Google Maps

The Google Maps Messages tab will help you contact businesses

We covered a lot about the functionality of the new Messages tab when we first reported on it back in November. The new Message button will show on the business overview tab of any business that has registered for the service with Google Maps. You’ll also be able to find all of your chats in the new Messages button found in the main settings sidebar of the app. The key, however, is that this new Messages button won’t enable you to spark up conversations with your friends, it is only for talking to businesses.

Did Google Maps just become a messaging app?

Read now

If this all sounds like something you’d be interested in using, then you’ll be happy to hear that users on social media have started to see the new feature land on their app. Over on Reddit, the response to the new feature seems positive, too. Now, if you need to ask a question about opening times, specific food allergies, or whatever you can just open up a chat bubble and ask away. At the very least, the new Messages feature looks set to remove the need to ask questions in reviews.

This move is not an attempt by Google to muscle in on social messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, or Snapchat. Not yet, anyway. There is nothing to say Google won’t extend the feature to all of a user’s Google contacts in the future, but at the moment there is no evidence to suggest that is the plan.

What this is though, is an attempt to move into a growing marketplace. Facebook’s Messenger app has long been trying to become the app for everything, with business messages forming a huge part of those efforts. Instagram also offers a great way for businesses and customers to contact each other and WhatsApp has recently launched WhatsApp Business, which will charge business users for contacting their customers using WhatsApp. It could be a crowded marketplace that Google is moving into, but with so many people using the app to find places already, Maps could be about to become the internet’s number one business directory.

This is the scariest Internet Explorer bug we’ve ever seen

Google has discovered a bug in Internet Explorer allow a hacker to gain control of the PC running it

Internet Explorer is an old browser, sure, and there are definitely plenty of better options out there. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of reasons for people to keep using it. If you are one of those people who still uses Internet Explorer for one of those reasons, then we have some very important news for you. You need to update Internet Explorer immediately.

Internet Explorer Download

Google has discovered a bug in Internet Explorer that allows hackers to gain control of the PC running it

The search giant, Google, has a special team tasked with searching out security threats across all software and programs. This team is called the Threat Analysis Group, and a member of Google’s team recently spotted a rather large vulnerability in Internet Explorer’s code. The particular type of threat is known as a remote code execution flaw. Microsoft explains:

“The vulnerability could corrupt memory in such a way that an attacker could execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user… An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the current user.”

How to enable private browsing mode on different browsers

Read now

This all means that if you are still using Microsoft Internet Explorer on any version of Windows, and you haven’t downloaded and installed Microsoft’s latest security update, your whole computer could be at risk.

If you are logged into Windows as an admin user, then the hacker could then gain the same admin privileges on the machine by exploiting the vulnerability. This would give them the ability to create new accounts, install new software, and even copy or delete your data. The scariest thing of all is that the vulnerability doesn’t need any new software downloading to do any of this.

All that is needed is for the users to click on a website that is designed to take advantage of the security flaw. This means that the flaw makes Internet Explorer users much more vulnerable than victims of regular phishing attacks, which often require the downloading of compromised software. In a post describing the security flaw, Microsoft outlined a scenario that would see hackers taking remote control of a victim’s PC. In the scenario, the specially designed website was promoted via email and merely clicking the link left the victim’s PC wide open.

The 7 security tips you really need to know

Read now

Fortunately, Microsoft has already created a security patch for Internet Explorer that closes the vulnerability. If you allow Windows to automatically update your system, then there is a very good chance that this serious flaw has already been corrected. If not, however, you’ll be able to find out more details about the flaw and how to correct it here. We suggest you do so immediately.

The Christmas sting operation to save your gifts

The police are using fake Amazon packages to try and catch thieves

Over the holiday season, packages from Amazon and others have been whizzing all over the country. Some of these will end up waiting on our doorsteps until we arrive home from work. Unfortunately, this leaves them vulnerable to thieves. Yep, people have been stealing packages off people’s doorsteps even if they contain Christmas presents. Shocking, I know, but there is good news to help ease your holiday worries.

Watch: porch pirates face justice from glitter bomb vigilante

Read Now ►

The police are using fake Amazon packages to try and catch thieves

The Associated Press reported that police in Jersey City ran sting operations in the run-up to Christmas, in order to tackle a growing problem up and down the country. They’ve been using fake Amazon packages with GPS transmitters inside them to catch the thieves red-handed. They’ve also been using doorbell cameras on the homes where they’ve been leaving their special packages to try and catch an image of the thieves doing the dirty deed.

These sting operations have been taking place in areas where the police have been receiving more reports of package theft. There are limits to the operation, but it has seen success. Obviously, the police can’t deliver as many packages as Amazon, but one of the sting packages was stolen a mere three minutes after if it was put out on somebody’s porch. The suspect was caught. Hopefully, word of these types of sting operation will spread and act as a deterrent that will make thieves think twice before they make off with that Amazon box.

Top 5 apps to help plan your holiday party

Read Now ►

Actions like these Jersey City sting operations are important as package theft has developed into a very real problem. Internet shopping is now a huge business and the amount of stuff we buy online grows every year. According to Adobe Analytics, we’ll have spent a massive $124.1 billion dollars online in November and December alone. This is up nearly 15% over last year. The more packages we buy, the more chances that somebody will take one of them before we get home. Between 8-30% of Americans have had a package stolen at some point.

In the meantime, there are a few tips you can follow to try and stop thieves from stealing your packages.

How to keep your packages from getting stolen

Install a doorbell camera, that will allow you to keep an eye on your porch even if you’re not home.
Have packages delivered to your workplace.
Require a signature for delivery so that the courier can’t just leave the package on your porch.