Facebook security breach allowed hackers to access 30 million accounts; Facebook will send customized messages to affected accounts

There was a security breach in Facebook two weeks ago that allowed hackers to control 50 million accounts and the company today is sharing more details about the attack. The attackers said to have exploited a vulnerability in Facebook’s code that existed between July 2017 and September 2018. The vulnerability was the result of a complex interaction of three distinct software bugs and it impacted “View As." This allowed attackers to steal Facebook access tokens, which they could then use to take over people’s accounts. Access tokens are the equivalent of digital keys that keep users logged in to Facebook, so they don’t need to re-enter their password every time they use the app. Facebook said that it noticed an unusual spike of activity that began on September 14, 2018, and started an investigation. Again on September 25th, it determined that it was an attack and identified the vulnerability and closed the vulnerability in two days, stopped the attack, and secured people’s accounts by resetting the access tokens. It also turned off the 'view as.' However, the company now says that only fewer people were impacted than it originally thought. A total of 30 million were attacked instead of 50 million. The attackers ...

POCO Launcher for Android out of beta, now available for most smartphones

Xiaomi’s sub-brand POCO launched the POCO F1 running on Android 8.1 (Oreo) with a skin on top, which company is referring to as MIUI For POCO. MIUI for POCO is regular MIUI with few new additions like POCO launcher, stock Android like quick setting tiles and others. POCO Launcher (Beta) was leaked early, later it appeared on the Play Store bringing several news features.  After over a month of test, the app is now out of beta and is available for download for several smartphones. [gallery link="file" size="large" ids="262241,262242,262243"] The POCO Launcher v2.6.0.6 stable release doesn't bring any new features, but the changelog says that update includes bug fixes and has  optimized performance and improved the fluency of the launcher. If you are not able to install from the Play Store, you can grab the APK from the link below. Download POCO Launcher Beta [APK] Highlights of POCO Launcher Clean Home screen - POCO puts all apps in the App drawer, so your Home screen looks neat and clean. Convenient search - App recommendations, icon color categories, and lots of other customizable features allow you to find what you need much faster. Manage apps - Group apps by category automatically or create custom groups to always keep important things just a tap away. Customize icons - Use third party ...

Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 (LTE) 2-in-1 with built-in pen announced

Samsung introduced the Samsung Chromebook Plus (V2) back in June. Today it has introduced the Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 (LTE) with support for built-in 4G SIM slot for LTE support, making it one of the first Chromebooks with 4G support. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evNNbHM6QdU The company says that it is powered by Intel Celeron processor. Other specifications should be similar to the WiFi version, including 12.2-inch (1920×1080 pixels) touch screen that transforms it from notebook to tablet to sketchbook, 4GB RAM and 32GB internal storage with a microSD card slot that can be expanded up to 400GB, built-in pen for the precision of the stylus, 2 x USB-C with 4K display out, 1 x USB3.0, Aluminum alloy/Glass/Plastic body, 1MP front camera and a 13MP rear camera, Stereo Speakers and a 39Wh battery. The Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 (LTE) is priced at $599.99 (Rs. 44,150 approx.), $100 more than the WiFi model and will be available starting from November 2, 2018 at Samsung.com as well as Best Buy and Verizon.

Airtel offers free Netflix, ZEE5 premium subscription with select plans

Back in August, Airtel offered  free Amazon Pay digital Gift Card worth Rs. 51 to its pre-paid and post-paid customers as a part of its 23rd anniversary celebrations. Today it announced the launch of #AirtelThanks to offer exclusive benefits including three months Netflix subscription and access to premium content from ZEE5. Airtel mobile customers on Infinity Postpaid plans of Rs. 499 and above will get three months Netflix subscription gift worth Rs. 1500 at no extra charge. Existing Netflix subscribers will also be eligible for this gift and will receive a credit of Rs. 1500 in their Netflix account. Eligible customers can avail the three month Netflix subscription gift on Airtel TV app or MyAirtel app. Airtel Prepaid and Postpaid customers with monthly ARPU of Rs. 199 and above will get ZEE5 premium that can be accessed by eligible #AirtelThanks customers via Airtel TV app. The#AirtelThanks initiative will also provide offers on smartphones and online shopping vouchers. "The higher the monthly ARPU commitment, the more benefits a customer gets," said the company. As part of Flipkart’s Big Billion Day sale, Airtel Prepaid customers can get special benefits of up to Rs. 4500 plus 100 GB bonus data on all Flipkart exclusive smartphones. The offer will ...

Nokia 3.1 Plus Hands On and Photo Gallery

HMD Global launched the Nokia 3.1 Plus smartphone in India, making it the first country to get the phone. Check out the first impressions and the photo gallery of the smartphone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LCw2xfCUmU The phone comes with a large 6-inch HD+ display 1440 × 720 pixel resolution, 18:9 aspect ratio and 2.5D curved glass on the front. The company says that it has toughened glass for protection. Even though it has just 268 PPI, the display looks bright. It runs on stock Android 8.1 (Oreo), and the company has promised Android 9.0 (Pie) update for the phone in the future. There is an 8-megapixel camera on the front along with Nokia branding. It is powered by MediaTek Helio P22 Octa-Core 12nm SoC with 3GB of RAM. [gallery link="file" columns="2" size="medium" ids="266050,266052,266054,266051"] The phone has a metal body. The volume rockers and the power button is present on the right, dual SIM and microSD slot is present on the left, 3.5mm audio jack is on the right and the micro USB port and the loudspeaker grill is present on the bottom. On the back there is a 13-megapixel camera with f/2.0 aperture and a secondary 5-megapixel camera with f/2.4 aperture. It has single LED flash. The fingerprint sensor is present below it. ...

Instagram is testing tap to proceed instead of scrolling through posts in Explorer

Instagram is said to be working on a new effortless way to fast-forward through Stories. A screenshot shows Instagram “Introducing a new way to move through posts by tapping through posts, just like you tap through stories.” The company even confirmed that it is testing tap to advance within Explore. Instagram already uses an auto-advance feature in its 'Videos You Might Like' section of Explore, where videos jump to next when you finish the current video. Since news feed is filled with countless posts, photos, sometimes it is not clear when you’re done viewing, a quick tap is the closest thing to Instagram propelling you through posts automatically. It also means users always see media full-screen rather than having to fiddle with scrolling to see the entire photo. This surely creates a more relaxing browsing experience. Instagram doesn’t show ads in Explore, but tap-to-advance could save your thumb stamina for more feed and Stories viewing. An Instagram spokesperson confirming the feature said: “We’re always testing ways to improve the experience on Instagram and bring you closer to the people and things you love.” As for the timeline of when this feature would come to the news feed, it is not clear when and where that would ...

Online smartphone shipments in India grows 65% YoY in Q2 2018, Xiaomi leads with 54% share: Canalys

The online smartphone market in India is expected to surpass 15 million units in Q3 2018 with a growth of more than 25% year-on-year and expected to account a record 38% of the total smartphone market. In Q2 2018, online channels including Flipkart, Amazon, PayTm Mall, mi.com, OnePlus.com grabbed 35% share, growing 65% year-on-year. Shipments sold directly via vendors and websites accounted for 9% of all online shipments, while retailers such as Flipkart, Amazon, etc. took the remaining 91%. While almost all vendors in India have some sort of online presence, Xiaomi led the market by a mile, grabbing a commendable 54%, followed by Samsung with 13% and Huawei was third with 7%. Thanks to the festive season, Flipkart and Amazon are expected to stimulate demand with aggressive offers during their festival sale. This adding to the launch of sub-brands targeted squarely at the online consumers. The Xiaomi's Pocophone and OPPO's Realme are expected to boost shipments in Q3 and Q4, 2018. As of Q2 2018, 62% of smartphones were shipped to distributors in India and eventually resold to lower-tier channel partners and retailers. Asus who was earlier a 100% distributor led company until Q1 2018, revamped its go-to-market and moved to 100% online-only ...

Sony Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact Android 9.0 (Pie) update starts rolling out

Sony Mobile officially confirmed the list of its smartphones that will get Android 9.0 (Pie) update back in August. It said that its Premium-range models will get the upgrade from November, now the company has started rolling out the Pie update for its Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact smartphones earlier than expected date. Android Pie update comes with lots of new features and improvements including navigation gestures, Adaptive Battery that uses machine learning to prioritize system resources for the apps, App Actions, and more. The update comes with new camera app, however it doesn't include portrait selfie mode. The OTA update is 1.05GB in size and has version number 52.0.A.3.27. It also includes the latest October Android security patches. Xperia XZ2 Premium, Xperia XZ1 and XZ should get the update soon. The company already said that its XA2 series will get the update in early 2019. Source

Facebook Groups gets custom chat rooms with up to 250 members

Facebook might just combine Groups and Messenger as the company will gradually roll out the ability for members of Facebook Groups to launch group chats about specific sub-topics where up to 250 members can join. Group members can also start an audio or video calls with up to 50 members. Chat for Groups could make Facebook’s discussion forums bring more real-time engagement in strengthening the loyalty. Facebook, instead, of notifying you of every message in every thread, you’ll first get a Facebook Groups notification inviting you to each new group chat you have to voluntarily join to receive further notifications. In case you miss the initial alert, you can go to the new Chat tab on Facebook Groups to browse the active threads or launch a new one. You can also turn off notifications about message reactions and Messenger games or opt to only be notified if you’re mentioned in the thread. With Groups Chats, Facebook expects users could “plan events, arrange in-person meetings, or have deeper discussions.” Source

Apple iOS 12 is on 53% of devices from last four years

After being in beta for a while, Apple rolled out the iOS 12 updates to every compatible phone on September 17th.  The iOS 12 update is now present on 53% of active devices introduced in the last four years, according to Apple states page on the App Store.  iOS installation rates are being broken down in a new way. The 53% statistic applies only to devices released in the last four years. While it is at 50% on the whole. Of all the device released in the last four years, 40% are running on iOS 11 and 7% are running an earlier version of iOS. Among all devices, 39% continue to run iOS 11 while 11% use an earlier version of the operating system. Apple's data is in line with iOS 12 adoption rates as monitored by analytics site Mixpanel which suggested around 46% of devices were running iOS 12. The iOS 12 adoption has outpaced iOS 11 adoption rates at the same time last year. In early October of 2017, iOS 11 was only installed on approximately 38.5% of devices and by the early November 2017, the iOS 11 adoption rate hit 50%, according to Apple's official numbers. iOS 12 adoption rates are in ...