Update WhatsApp Immediately to avoid Spyware Installation!!!

A vulnerability discovered in Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging app is being exploited to inject commercial spyware onto Android and iOS phones by simply calling the target. The spyware was developed by the Israeli cyber intelligence company NSO Group. Attackers could transmit the malicious code to a target’s device by calling the user and infecting the call whether the recipient answered the call or not. Logs of the incoming calls were often erased

Once installed, the spyware can turn on a phone’s camera and mic, scan emails and messages, and collect the user’s location data. WhatsApp is urging its 1.5 billion global users to update the app immediately to close the security hole.

WhatsApp said that the vulnerability was discovered this month, and that the company quickly addressed the problem within its own infrastructure. An update to the app was published Monday.

Though that back-end fix alone should have patched the vulnerability, the company is still recommending that users update WhatsApp to the following latest versions:

• WhatsApp for Android: v2.19.134
• WhatsApp Business for Android: v2.19.44
• WhatsApp for iOS: v2.19.51
• WhatsApp Business for iOS: v2.19.51
• WhatsApp for Windows Phone: v2.18.348
• WhatsApp for Tizen: v2.18.15.

The hack targeted all commonly used smartphone operating systems, including Apple's iOS, Google's Android, Microsoft’s Windows Phone and Samsung’s Tizen.

NSO limits sales of its spyware, Pegasus, to state intelligence agencies. The spyware’s capabilities are near absolute. Once installed on a phone, the software can extract all of the data that’s already on the device (text messages, contacts, GPS location, email, browser history, etc) in addition to creating new data by using the phone’s microphone and camera to record the user’s surroundings and ambient sounds, according to a 2016 report by the New York Times.

WhatsApp has about 1.5bn users around the world. The messaging app uses end-to-end encryption, making it popular and secure for activists and dissidents. The Pegasus spyware does not affect or involve the app’s encryption.

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WhatsApp is Rolling out a Feature to End Spam Forever!

WhatsApp on Android has received a new update which should make it easier for users to find whether a message is self-composed or is being forwarded from another group message.

After Facebook became a place for fake news and fraudulent shared links, WhatsApp is where all the spam lies. The average user has no idea whether the things they see in a group is legit or being shared to create chaos in whichever country he or she lives. While introducing a new tag that has the quote “forward message” on top of it may not immediately stop spam, it does give users an idea that whatever they are reading is actually distributed possibly on multiple channels.

According to a tweet by WABetaInfo, a fan site that tracks the future WhatsApp updates and changes, WhatsApp is testing the Forwarded Message feature that will show the forwarded message string on the bubble if the message has been forwarded from a different chat or the same chat.

The new feature on WhatsApp is still in its beta stage as like many other features that were eventually rolled out in the past. Facebook, the company that now owns WhatsApp is facing a whole lot of criticism for not checking the source of news before making it public to millions of users. The messaging app may not face such issues because it doesn’t promote any news stories or sponsor content. A social media website is very different compared to a texting app.

Users know that WhatsApp is meant for one to one communication but the ability to create groups had led to lots of rumours and fake news being shared on the platform repeatedly. The development team is making its progress towards creating a safer environment for their users and adding the forward message transparent quote on those messages automatically is the first step towards building a spam-free messaging environment.

The tweet posted by WABetaInfo reads, "The new "Forwarded Message" feature notifies you or the recipient that the message has been forwarded. It is NOT about SPAM! "Forwarded message" will appear if the message has been forwarded at least once. [AVAILABLE IN FUTURE]". But there is no information on when this feature will be rolled out to the users or the beta version in which this message is being tested.

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Fake WhatsApp.com URL gets users to install adware

WhatsApp users across the world are being urged not to click on a new spam message which teases an option to customize the app.

The message, which was first spotted by reddit user yuexist, states that, “Now you can change your WhatsApp and leave it with your favourite colour.”

The spammer used non-ASCII characters rather than ASCII to look identical to its "whatsapp.com" counterpart. This fueled the adware's supposed legitimacy. Thus, WhatsApp users may see a whatsapp.com URL and think it's legitimate, but it's really with Cyrillic characters instead of its ASCII equivalents.

After clicking on the fake WhatsApp link, the user is commanded to share the link with multiple other groups to verify identity. After sharing, the user unknowingly spams more groups of people. Then, the adware forces you to install a series of its spam apps onto your phone.

Now, you have just installed the adware. After installing the adware, do you get to change your WhatsApp to the color of your choice? Nope.

Once you’ve ‘verified’ yourself, you’re then told that WhatsApp’s colors can only be accessed on a desktop, and are asked to install an extension from the real Chrome Web Store called BlackWhats (Google has removed this extension from the Chrome Web Store).

There are plenty of WhatsApp users who don’t spend their time on tech blogs and might fall for it – the fake URL is certainly convincing enough at first glance. The extension itself has over 16,000 users and a 4 star rating from 55 ratings, though there are only 3 text reviews – it’s hard to tell if these ratings are somehow fake.

Though spreading has been halted by removing the extension now, one should be careful while opening web link received in messaging app as well as email. We all are aware of the ‘Wannacry‘ ransomware that has put a large number of computer systems at risk all around the globe over the last weekend.

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WhatsApp Now Lets You Pin Your Favorite Chats on Top

Sometimes it becomes a task to hunt for important groups or chats on WhatsApp with recent chats burying them even further. To make life easy, the WhatsApp Android app has received an update which brings “Pin to Top” feature on the chat list. With this, you can select the chats, including groups, you want to see on the top whenever you open WhatsApp. If you’ve ever been chatting with a bunch of different people during the day and got tired of scrolling to find the person you want to respond to, this feature will come in handy.

This feature is currently available only for the beta users. Users with WhatsApp beta 2.17.162 or 163 versions can enjoy the feature. The feature is presently in its testing stage and will be soon available on both Android and iOS.

Users can only pin 3 contacts/chats. If the user tries to pin more than 3 chats, WhatsApp will pop-up a message stating “You can only pin up to 3 chats”. By bringing this feature on WhatsApp, the application reduces the burden of scrolling down the long chat list for the users.

How to Use this Feature?

STEP 1: Open WhatsApp messenger on your Android or iOS phone
STEP 2: Long press on the most contacted chat
STEP 3: Pin option will appear right next to the delete, mute, and archive icons at the top right corner of the screen
STEP 4: Click on the Pin icon, after which the chat will be pinned at the top of the screen

After successfully testing the feature, WhatsApp is expected to eventually roll out the feature to both Android and iOS. However there is no information on when the Pin feature might be released officially. 

To unpin the chat, the user will just have to long press the pinned chat and click on disable pin. 

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How To Put An Empty WhatsApp About (Text Status)

Have you just seen someone in your contacts having a blank About (Text Status)? Never mind. In a few minutes, you too will be able to set empty About on WhatsApp. Here are 2 methods with which you can easily make WhatsApp About invisible.

Method 1: Remove/Hide WhatsApp About (Android & iOS)

This method can be used by both Android and iPhone users. It uses the setting available in the official app to hide WhatsApp About making it disappear.

1. Open WhatsApp and go to Settings.

2. Under Settings select Account.

3. Next, go to Privacy and select About.

4. Finally, select Nobody.

Method 2: Use Unsupported Characters/Emoji to Get Empty About(Android)

This procedure is tested and updated for 2017 (Recently tested on Apr 20, 2017) and it works perfectly fine.

As the title says, this method uses characters or emoji that are not supported by WhatsApp in order to put blank WhatsApp status.

1. Copy the following two characters  ⇨ ຸ

2. Head over to WhatsApp and open your profile.

3. Under profile, tap on About to edit it. Long tap and select Paste to get the two characters copied earlier.

4. Now, remove the first symbol(arrow) and Select Save.

With this, you’re done. Android users have the luxury to choose from the two methods. But iOS users can only go for the first method to get empty about

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WhatsApp Beta Gets New Font Shortcuts, Revoke/Unsend Message Feature

WhatsApp is testing two major new features that could soon make their way to all users.

The messaging app has long been rumored to be working on an “unsend” option for messages, which would allow users to delete messages they’ve already sent.

The company is testing the feature in a new beta release of WhatsApp Web, reports @WABetaInfo, which says it offers users a five-minute window to revoke sent messages. Once those five minutes are up, the message is there to stay.

A new beta version of WhatsApp for Android, meanwhile, introduces new shortcuts for formatting text.

Currently, users have to remember a range of commands to format their messages i.e. users are required to place the text between two asterisks (*), like *this* to make the content bold. While other commands are — underscore ( _ ) for italics and tildes (~) for strikethrough. But, spotted in Android Beta version 2.17.148 are font shortcuts for formatting text using bold, italics, and strikethrough commands.

Instead of making users learn and type those commands, the test version of the app displays the full range of formatting options when a user selects an excerpt of text with a tap and hold.

If feedback from the tests proves positive, WhatsApp will roll the features out to all users in future updates.

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'Free Internet' without WiFi : Dumb WhatsApp Scam Spreads Malware

Recently, WhatsApp users all around the world had to deal with a new scam that appeared online on their favorite messaging app. As it seems, various users received messages that convinced them they can have free Internet without Wi-Fi. Though those who are more experienced know that this is not technically possible, many people are tempted by this opportunity and go for it.

First of all, the scam is quite dumb to begin with because the only way to use WhatsApp without Wi-Fi is to have a cellular data connection and WhatsApp cannot offer data - it's just an app, not a provider.

Secondly, the scam is spreading because it prompts victims to forward the message to 13 friends or five groups on WhatsApp to activate the "free internet."

How It Works

"As usual, the message spreads via WhatsApp groups or comes from a friend who 'recommends' the service - often unaware of it. In this case, you receive a special invitation with a link," explains the WeLiveSecurity blog of antivirus and security firm ESET.

"You can already get Internet Free Without WI-FI with Whatsapp, and it is by means of invitations, here I give you an invitation," reads the poorly written message.

Upon clicking on the included link, users are taken to a website mimicking the WhatsApp domain. It detects the device's language based on the browser settings and invites users to pass along the invitation to more people, ensuring that the scam keeps spreading. The message also shows fake reviews from fake users, claiming to be incredibly satisfied with this amazing offer. Those users don't even exist, much like this "free internet" invite-only deal. Don't fall for it, or you'll get more than you bargained for - and not in a good way.

Surprise! Malware

After sharing the message with at least 13 people or five groups, users who have fallen victim to this sham end up on various sites where a number of malicious actions can wreak havoc.

According to WeLiveSecurity, such actions range from subscriptions to premium and expensive SMS services to installing third-party apps on the device, of course aiming to generate some money for the scammer on the victims' expense.

Victims will see various offers, but they obviously will not get any "free internet." The only way to use WhatsApp to communicate with people is to have an active internet connection, be it cellular data or Wi-Fi, and the scam does absolutely nothing to change this reality. At best, victims waste their time and end up disappointed that the magical chain message didn't work. At worst, they end up with malicious software on their phones.

How To Avoid Such Scams

First of all, keep in mind that any message that shows up out of the blue, poorly written and making seemingly attractive promises are most likely fake, part of a scam. Raising awareness regarding these scams plays a crucial role in limiting their damage and slowing their spread rate.

If you've received this "free internet" offer or some other dubious message that looks like a scam, warn the sender and your friends so that they're aware it's a scam. Moreover, reporting the fraud is also important and it's not that big of a hassle - just flag it in your browser as you'd normally report any phishing campaign.