Tag Archive for: messaging

Messaging, News Apps Stuffed With Data Stealing Malware Listed On Google Play Store; Check List Here


VajraSpy Malware: Instances of malicious apps appearing on Google Play Store have been on the rise in recent times. Continuing this series, ESET researchers identified 12 Android apps with malicious code, six of which were listed on the Play Store. Most of these apps were messaging apps with one being from the news category. The apps execute VajraSpy, a remote access trojan (RAT) code of the Patchwork APT group on the affected device.

Depending on the permissions granted to these apps, they can steal call logs, contacts, messages and files from an affected device. Plus, it can extract messages from WhatsApp and Signal, record calls, click photos using the camera, intercept notifications and search files on the compromised handset. Among the most affected regions with this campaign were Pakistan and India. According to ESET Research, the apps on Play Store absorbed over 1,400 installs.

Also Read: Clean Malware From Android And Windows Devices With These Govt-Approved Free Tools

The cybersecurity firm managed to geolocate 148 devices compromised with the VajraSpy due to its weak security protocol. The blog of WeLiveSecurity stated that these bad actors used a “honey-trap romance scam” to lure victims to install the malware. Here is the list of apps that were available on the Play Store:

 Privee Talk

 MeetMe

 Let’s Chat

 Quick Chat

 Rafaqat (News)

 Chit Chat

The above-stated apps have now been removed from Google Play Store. (Image:Unsplash)

While the apps have been removed from the Play Store, here are the other apps that were available in the wild

YohooTalk

 TikTalk

 Hello Chat

 Nidus

 GlowChat

 Wave Chat

Also Read: Operation Triangulation To Xamalicious To Chameleon Trojan, Latest Threats Targeting iOS, Android Users; How To Be Safe

ESET researcher Lukas Stefanko noted that the impact of VajraSpy due to third-party app markets remains unknown due to the lack of download figures. As a precautionary measure, users must not download chat apps from links received from unknown people and monitor the permissions of apps on their devices.

Google shared a statement to BleepingComputer: “We take security and privacy claims against apps seriously, and if we…

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Apple’s Pledge to Support RCS Messaging Could Finally Kill SMS


Good news is coming to your group chat. Today, Apple said it will add support for the RCS messaging standard to the iPhone. The website 9to5Mac broke the news that Apple will release a software update some time next year that will bring support to iOS for the messaging standard, which is already widely used by Android phones.

RCS, or Rich Communications Standard, is a messaging service that’s a step up from the SMS and MMS messaging standards that smartphones have used since they first arrived. RCS can do more than SMS and MMS: It allows users to share higher-resolution photos and videos between their devices; it supports read receipts; and there’s more fun stuff, like the ability to easily drop emoji and GIFs into a conversation. It also adds extra layers of security that the older messaging standards lack.

Apple has famously shunned RCS in favor of its own iMessage platform, resulting in a layer of incompatibility that anyone with an Android phone—or any iPhone user who regularly texts people with Android phones—is painfully aware of. Videos shared between iOS and Android are crunchy and low-bandwidth, and Android users are often confounded by group chats, with missed messages, absent emoji, and other glitches.

For years, Apple has been relying on SMS and MMS to bridge the digital divide between these messaging platforms. It’s the last major holdout, as RCS is already supported by major players like Google, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. When Apple adds support for RCS, it won’t need that old bridge, and the move could signal the eventual death of SMS.

“It’s long been time for SMS to go away,” says Anshel Sag, principal analyst at the technology analyst firm Moor Insights and Strategy. “Now SMS can die, it can be sunset. So all the viruses and all the security flaws that are due to SMS can be eliminated.”

The move isn’t happening immediately; Apple told 9to5Mac that RCS support will come “in the later half of next year.” This timing suggests that support could arrive with the next version of iOS, which typically rolls out in September.

So it’s a ways out, but it’s certainly closer than Apple’s previous plan for the feature, which was apparently “never.”…

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The Best SMS Text Messaging Apps for Android


Although SMS remains the only way to be sure of reaching anyone with a mobile number, in any country, very few apps currently support it. That’s partly due to the age of the protocol, and partly to advancements by WhatsApp and other messaging apps.

The latest Android app to drop SMS support is Signal (iOS apps were never allowed access to SMS, of course). The developers say it “no longer makes sense” to have an SMS component in the app. Signal reasons that it’s less secure than newer messaging standards, may attract extra data bills, and can confuse users.

Many people do still use SMS, however, not least to communicate with friends and family who may not have the same messaging apps installed or who are on a different mobile operating system. If you need texting on Android, here are your options.

Messages by Google

Courtesy of Google

Messages by Google supports RCS and spam filtering.

The default messaging app on Pixel and Galaxy phones is Messages by Google, although Google is pushing the successor to SMS: rich communication services (RCS). This new standard adds a lot of the extras now taken for granted in modern messaging apps, such as read receipts, group chats, and better photo and video support.

Messages will use either RCS or SMS, depending on what the contact you’re chatting with has access to (factoring in their SMS app, phone, network, and the country they’re in). If RCS is enabled, you’ll see notification bubbles, rather than an “SMS” label in your conversations, and all of the messages in your chat will be end-to-end encrypted.

It’s not the most elaborate or feature-packed app you’ll ever see, but there’s still plenty on offer, especially with RCS. Google can use a dash of AI to set up suggested replies, for example (just like in Gmail), links and numbers can be scanned for spam threats, scheduled messages are supported, and you can also access your chats on the web.

Pulse SMS

Courtesy of Pulse

Pulse SMS manages to pack in a lot of features.

As with Messages by Google, part of the appeal of Pulse SMS is that it can take your SMS out of the confines of your smartphone and let you access it on the web. There’s more to the app as well, though we…

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The Global Blockchain Messaging Apps Market size is expected to reach $215.7 million by 2028, rising at a market growth of 42.8% CAGR during the forecast period


ReportLinker

ReportLinker

A messaging system that leverages blockchain technology to send and send messages is known as a blockchain-based messaging system. Blockchain is a distributed database that enables transactions that are safe, open, and unchangeable.

New York, Jan. 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report “Global Blockchain Messaging Apps Market Size, Share & Industry Trends Analysis Report By End-user, By Application, By Operating System, By Regional Outlook and Forecast, 2022 – 2028” – https://www.reportlinker.com/p06412015/?utm_source=GNW
As a result, it provides the perfect messaging system platform since it can offer a great degree of confidentiality and anonymity.

One of the most often used methods for regular contact is messaging applications. There are several blockchain messaging applications available that include Web3 features. Blockchain messaging applications’ primary objective is to provide consumers with a dependable, decentralized substitute for popular messengers. Blockchains process data via decentralized networks of nodes. Blockchain-based messenger applications provide consumers with very private and secure communication options. Users that seek privacy and security while sending communications are increasingly using these features.

In terms of network topology, blockchain messaging applications are the direct opposite of centralized messengers. To enhance user communication via blockchain transactions, these applications make use of blockchain technology. Distributed ledger technologies, or blockchains, are fundamentally decentralized network architectures. Blockchain messaging applications employ several independent network nodes rather than a single centralized system to handle the traffic.

Data security is one of the key advantages of adopting a blockchain-based messaging system. Messages are far less prone to breaches and hackers when they are kept on a decentralized network. It is considerably more difficult for unauthorized persons to view the messages since each one is encrypted and accessible only with the right key.

COVID-19 Impact Analysis

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