How to replace your Android or iOS keyboard

Simple and easy ways to replace your Android or iOS keyboard.

Android handsets are much competent however if user still needs to replace their keyboards both Android as well as iOS users have the option to opt for the third party replacement. We have divided the article into 3 segments which will help users to understand the procedure better:

1. First we will check the easy methods to change the Keyboard settings of the phoneand prepare for installing a third-party keyboard:
   •  Android Phone: These settings are for the Android version 4.4.4. i.e. Kitkat version.
     • Users need to go to ‘Settings’ then click ‘Personal Section’ then click ‘Language & Input’ then to ‘Keyboards & Input Methods’. This category will show a list of keyboards which has been installed in the device. The active keyboard have a check mark on the left hand side.
     • Now to change the active keyboard user needs to first tap on the ‘Default Settings’ and then choose from the various keyboard options given to them from the ones which have already been installed in handset.
     • Alternatively user can also click the button on the right of the installed keyboard and change its settings.
   • iOS Phone:  
     • Users need to go to ‘Settings’ then click ‘General’ then click ‘Keyboard’ with these steps users will reach the main screen that has the iOS Keyboard details. Now click on the ‘Keyboard’ option and it will give a list of active keyboards on the iPhone or iPad, usually there is only one keyboard set as default which is based on the language selected by user.
     • Now to add more keyboards user will need to go to the keyboards in different language. Then tap on the option of ‘Add New Keyboard’ which allows users to select any keyboard from the list of keyboards in different language, user can check any option that they want from the list.
     • Further users can click on the arrow on the right hand side of the keyboard to get more layouts from which they can select. For example: English keyboard user would get an option of QWERTY, AZERTY, and QWERTZ layouts.
     • In case user does not want any keyboard then they simply need to go to the ‘Keyboard’ screen and just tap delete and get rid of the keyboard. Other method is to tap ‘Edit’ and drag the right hand side button of the keyboard and thus rearrange the keyboards in the list.
2. Now that users know how to reset their keyboard settings in Android and iOS phones so the next thing which we need to understand is how to install the third party keyboards in Android and iOS phones. This procedure is much easy user would need to follow some basic instructions given below:
   • Android Phone: Go to the Google Play Store and choose the Keyboard which you like then install the app as is done for any normal app. Now, a new third-party keyboard appears in the ‘Keyboards & Input Methods’ list. User needs to check the check-box of the newly installed keyboard and then select it by clicking on the ‘Default keyboard’ setting.
   • iOS Phone: Go to the Apple App Store and choose the Keyboard which you like then install the app as is done for any normal app. User will be able to see the downloaded keyboard when they click ‘Add New Keyboard’ on the Keyboards setting screen, under the Third-party Keyboards heading. User would need to tap the new keyboard and it gets added to the list of active keypads.
3. This section we will see some Third Party Keyboards that are available and can be used for Android as well as iOS phones:
   •  SwiftKey: The SwiftKey keyboard is free with the in-app purchases for Android and iOS phones. This keyboard has 2 basic features for both the phones: It enables the “Swipe” typing which helps on faster typing accompanied with the auto correction features with the EMOJI features (emotional characters). The other major feature is that the keyboard scans the social networking posts of the user and based on that it can predict the word which user would want to use. Also it has a feature that it can take up word and phrase from the Cloud. In addition to these features in Android phones there is a variety of customization options with an array of free themes options and the additional feature to change the size of the keypad. The Android version has also won awards for its beautiful features. Android users can click https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.touchtype.swiftkey&hl=en to download this keyboard. iOS phones user can download the keyboard from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/swiftkey-keyboard/id911813648?mt=8
   • Fleksy: The Fleksy keyboard is available as free in-app purchase as well as paid for Android and for iOS it is a paid version. This keyboard is one of the fastest and most customized keyboards. The keyboard is barely of only 3 rows and has minimum alphabets. With some practice one can easily use this keyboard. The free version can re size the keyboard and paid versions provide a variety of themes with the keyboard to make it more customized. Both the Android and iOS users need to log in to http://fleksy.com/ and download the required keyboards.
   • GO Keyboard: The GO Keyboard is again a free in-app purchase for Android as well as iOS with an array of colorful themes some of the themes may fall under premium versions. This gives users a personalized keyboard accompanied with the EMOJI and also auto correction  feature. It also has the feature of typing out whatever user speaks which means accepts voice inputs. It provides a variety of layouts like QWERTY, QWERTZ and AZERTY keyboard and optional plug in for tablets. Android users can check this site to download the GO keyboard: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jb.gokeyboard&hl=en. For iOS users they need to click on this link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/go-keyboard-colorful-theme/id916226412?mt=8
   • Swype: Both the Android and iOS users need to avail a premium version of the Swype keyboard. Swype was the first one to introduce the swiping idea to the smartphone instead of typing. All other keyboards have now taken up this feature wherein user just need to swipe to type the words. Other keyboards which we saw earlier have additional customization color themes which is not there in Swype. It has the feature of proving layouts like QWERTY, QWERTZ and AZERTY keyboard. Users can download this keyboard from the following link: http://www.swype.com/product-features/android/features.html.

With the help of the instructions given above users can try out to replace their keyboards and enjoy the different features provided by the third party keyboards instead of using the boring keyboards of the smartphone.

Just a word of caution for users is that some of the third party keyboards may ask for “Full access” to users keystrokes and this it does so as to smartly put up the words when user is typing out something however user should never give full access as it may also read some sensitive data like passwords and account numbers.

Finally WhatsApp calling feature is here in latest Google Play Store version

WhatsApp’s latest version for Android now allows all users to make voice calls, (no invite needed) WhatsApp calling for iOS coming soon

After lots of flip flops, beta releases and updates the WhatsApp voice Calling is finally here. You can enable and make voice calls without the WhatsApp Invite, through Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) if you have installed the latest WhatsApp version number 2.12.5 through Google Play store.

Once you download the WhatsApp 2.12.15 version you will see a revamped user interface with three tabs for calls, contacts and chats unlike the old version which has only two tabs for contacts and chats.

Sadly the version of WhatsApp on Google Play varies from device to device so you will have to check up your version number by going to Help > About and continuously upgrading it to the latest version.

You can also download the APK file from from WhatsApp’s website and sideload it onto your Android smartphone. Do remember to enable the Allow Installation from Unknown Sources option in Settings > Security if you want to install the APK directly. The version on the site reportedly brings voice calling too.

To place a call, tap the Calls tab and then the new call button at the top of your screen. Then, select a contact to call your near and dear ones over WhatsApp. Do remember to tell them to download the latest version from Google Play.

As we reported two days back, iPhone and Windows Phone users will also be getting WhatsApp calling feature in about two weeks time.

Cheaper 4 inch iPhone 6c coming soon?

Leaked iPhone images suggest a cheaper 4 inch iPhone 6c! it is going to happen?

Leaked images by Future Supplier suggest Apple is planning to release a 4 inch version of iPhone 6. The leaked images point towards the fact that Apple may be making an attempt to woo budget buyers with a iPhone 5c type of model for iPhone 6.

Though the leaks dont reveal much of whats going to be inside the 4 inch iPhone 6, the images give a fair idea of what the iPhone 6c will look like on the outside.

From this image it is clear that the new iPhone, if it does come will be very much similar to the iPhone 5c. One of the noticeable features is the camera housing given in the image above.

The second noticeable change is at the bottom. The ‘iPhone 6C’ shows a pair of matching six hole speaker grills whereas the iPhone 5C had just a single side of four speaker holes and a couple of holes on the other side for the phone’s dual mics.

Forbes points out that unless Apple has a similar plan to launch iPhone 6s in coming months, the whole idea of iPhone 6c looks flawed. Given that there were thousands of leaks about iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus before its release which were in no way nearer to the original product, it looks like the Future Suppliers leaks may just be a concept smartphone which was leaked.

Facebook tracks all users, including ones who have logged-out or not registered for FB in violation of European Union law

New study reveals that Facebook tracks logged-out users in ‘violation’ of European Union law

TL;DR : New Study reveals that Facebook tracks people without Facebook accounts, logged out users, and EU users who have explicitly opted out of tracking.

It is already known that Facebook tracks its users for providing them with contextual ads but a new study reveals that Facebook is tracking users who have logged-out of FB and even those who have opted out of FB tracking feature.

A study commissioned by the Belgian data protection agency and conducted by members of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Law and ICT/Centre for Intellectual Property Rights (ICRI/CIR) of KU Leuven, the department of Studies on Media, Information and Telecommunication (SMIT) of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and the department ofComputer Security and Industrial Cryptography (COSIC) of KU Leuven has revealed.

The researchers from the joint probe claim that Facebook tracks computers of users without their explicit consent and even if they are logged out.  The report also says that FB trackseven those users who have not at all registered for Facebook and who opted out of the FB tracking feature in Europe.

Under European Union laws all websites have to take users explicit permission before placing any kind of tracking cookies on their browsers and computer.  The study found out that Facebook was bypassing this requirement by using a workaround. Its social plugins such as the ‘Like’ button which are present on approximately 13 million websites act as tracking cookies  placing them these websites.

Facebook places tracking cookies on users’ computers if they visit any page on the facebook.com domain, including fan pages or other pages that do not require a Facebook account to visit. When a user visits a third-party site that has any Facebook social plug-in placed on it, it detects and sends the tracking cookies back to Facebook. The study reveals that the tracking cookies are used even if the user does not interact with the Like button, Facebook Login or other extensions of the social media site.

Facebook flately disagrees with the above report and has Facebook spokesperson issued the following statement :

This report contains factual inaccuracies. The authors have never contacted us, nor sought to clarify any assumptions upon which their report is based. Neither did they invite our comment on the report before making it public. We have explained in detail the inaccuracies in the earlier draft report (after it was published) directly to the Belgian DPA, who we understand commissioned it, and have offered to meet with them to explain why it is incorrect, but they have declined to meet or engage with us. However, we remain willing to engage with them and hope they will be prepared to update their work in due course.

It remains to be seen whether the European Union holds this report as valid and acts against FB. European Union has already warned users to opt out of Facebook if they want to preserve their privacy.

Microsoft’s Spartan browser now available on Windows 10 build 10049

Microsoft releases Windows 10 Build with its Project Spartan Browser

After almost 2 months since the announcement of a brand new browser called Spartan, Microsoft finally included the new browser bundle with the latest Windows 10 build 10049.

The latest Windows 10 build includes a preview version of the new browser. This means that the browser will be a stripped down version. Microsoft said that the browser was an internal testing version and it may contain bugs and issues.

The all new Spartan browser will give users the following features :

• Cortana is built-in and ready to assist: Cortana in Project Spartan is a personal assistant that helps make Web browsing easier for you, with whatever you’re trying to get done. Cortana offers help at just the right moment, based on what she knows about the Web, about you and what you might be trying to do. She remains in the background but provides additional information when you need it, making browsing easier and more efficient. Cortana in Spartan will be available in the US versions of this build, and available more broadly later.
• Inking and sharing so you can capture and communicate your thoughts: Everyone uses the Web routinely to share questions, thoughts, info and comments with friends and colleagues. Now with new inking capabilities, Project Spartan enables you to write or type directly on the page, comment on what’s interesting or clip what you want – then easily share this “Web Note” via mail, or a social network. Researching and collecting information from the Web is just as easy, as you can save your notes directly to OneNote.
• Distraction-free reading with Reading List and Reading View: Keeping up with information overload on the Web is one of the challenges that we all have to manage. Project Spartan helps with a beautiful new Reading List to collect everything you want to read, including the ability to save any webpage or PDF for convenient access later, and an integrated, distraction-free Reading View that keeps you focused on the content.
  A new engine for the modern Web: Project Spartan’s new rendering engine is built around the idea that the Web “just works,” while being fast, more secure and more reliable.

If you have signed up for Windows 10 Technical Preview and the fast update option, you can get the Build 10049 with the Spartan browser right away.

Microsoft has promised that Spartan will be updated at regular intervals to bring users latest features

Microsoft Releases Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 10049 with New Spartan Browser

Windows 10 Technical preview Build 10049 Released with new fixes,  better performance and project Spartan browser available for Download

Microsoft engineers have been working overtime to improve the windows 10 experience. Today with the release of Windows 10 Build 10049 it has once again improved the existing windows 10 technical preview version with faster performance and many bug fixes from its previous build 10041.

Microsoft has also integrated project Spartan with this new build. In this preview, Microsoft said,

“You will see a bold new design for Project Spartan – one that is streamlined and puts the focus on the page, not the browser. This is part of our vision for a browser that doesn’t visually interfere with your life on the Web, but supports it. You will also see some of the features that we demo’ed back in January and we hope you’ll love them.”

Issues that are fixed in this new build:

• The issue from Build 10041 for when the Photos app on your PC crashes when you tap on the circular icon at the top left to view the photo you just took has been fixed now.
• You no longer will have issues where windows open on your desktop are accidentally visible behind the Start Screen, Task View, Snap Assist, and when rearranging windows in Tablet Mode.
• No longer getting stuck when you manually lock your PC (Windows Key + L) during the initial out-of-box experience.

Some issues which users will continue to face in this build:

• After logging in, you may see a blue screen instead of your desktop. To work around this issue, lock your PC (with the hardware button or by pressing the Windows Key + L) and try logging in again.
• You can also try Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
• Indexing of new email in Outlook is not working, so search results will be limited to when the last index was built.
• If you have Virtual Machines hosted in Hyper-V on your PC running Windows 10, you will want to move to the Slow ring and wait for the next build as this build breaks the ability to run VMs.
• There are 2 issues using Visual Studio 2015 preview on this build:The emulators will not boot and you won’t be able to deploy a Windows Universal app to the Mobile emulator.
• The XAML designer in VS and Blend will crash when opened.If you are a developer using these tools today to develop Windows Universal apps and need this functionality to work – Microsoft recommends switching to the Slow ring until they release a patch to fix these issues.

Download Windows 10 Technical Preview ISO from here

Note: Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 10049 is in its beta program. You will have to signup and agree to Windows Insider Program before downloading.

Microsoft announces “Surface 3″ a low cost tablet which gives full experience of a laptop for a price of $499

Microsoft’s low cost new tablet Surface 3 has been announced today for a price of $499 and it can also be used a laptop.

Microsoft announced the Surface 3 which is a new edition to the Surface series which falls between a tablet and laptop. The new Surface 3 is ready for pre order from today and it will be shipped from 5th May 2015 in U.S. and Canada and internationally it will be available since 7th May.

Quick features and technical specs of the new Surface 3:

• In comparison to the Surface Pro 3 the new Surface 3 is thinner with 8.7 mm thickness, smaller, lighter weighing 622 grams and less-powerful and available in the same silver magnesium casing.
• Price of Surface 3 is also less and it is available for $499 which includes Surface 3 with 64GB of internal storage and 2GB of RAM however this does not include the accessories. Users will have to pay additional $129 for Surface 3-designed Type Cover and Microsoft has a variety of colors for the covers which includes blue, red, silver and black. Also by paying an additional $100 users can double the storage capacity and the RAM.
• At a glance the Surface series look alike however the display screen is now 10.8 inches giving a 3:2 ratio. In addition the Surface 3’s Type Cover lacks the bezel and its more narrower now also the keys have been stretched to the end of the hardware just like the new Macbook keyboard.
• Microsoft has added a three stage adjustable kick stand to its screen however this stand does not help if user wants to adjust the screen in case there is the glare issue or if users wants to set the screen at some comfortable level.
• Microsoft will also provide Stylus which is its selling point and it was available in the Surface Pro 3 as well. The Stylus is a pen which activates OneNote just by a click and it is available in a variety of colors blue, red, silver and black. Users would need to churn out additional  $49.99 to avail this pen.
• USB port: The Surface 3 has a Micro USB charging port hence users can use their Android or Windows Phone chargers to charge their Surface 3. Microsoft has not yet opted for USB Type-C.
• Connectivity: In addition  Microsoft is also providing a full-size USB port, microSD reader and a mini DisplayPort. Microsoft is also planning to ship its LTE version which will be available at a price of $599 with additional support for the nano SIM cards.
• Microsoft will provide the Surface 3 as well as its Surface 3 LTE versions with Windows 8.1 which can be upgraded to the Windows 10 when it will be available. Also it will be pre loaded with one-year subscription to Office 365 Personal that would include full Office apps and 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage.
• It seems Microsoft has designed the new Surface 3 with the students in their mind because with its 2GB base it will not be possible to play the Steam games on this tablet also editing work would be a bit difficult on this tablet as in Photoshop or any video editing apps. Basically the Surface 3 is good for tasks like surfing the web and document edition.
• Surface 3 has the Intel’s Atom as its processor instead of earlier Nvidia’s Tegra processor
• Camera: Surface 3 has a front 3.5 MP and rear facing 8 MP camera and that both capture 1080p video. Surface 3 has the auto focus feature and it can be used for capturing images of documents, barcodes etc.

With all the accessories the total cost of the Surface 3 would be somewhere $680 hence when compared to the 64GB iPad Air 2, that’s only an extra $80 so it has been priced competitively. With all its features seems good buy for the students who can afford a low cost and a much sleek designed tablet Surface 3 that can be used as a laptop.

Facebook's next step to world domination is the Internet of Things

Facebook announced a new software development kit (SDK) on Wednesday to support the growing influx of web-connected devices for the home, like smart garage door openers and refrigerators.

The company will be opening its mobile app building suite, Parse, to web-connected devices to support the Internet of Things.

The Internet of Things refers to products — and, well, things — that are connected to the web. This includes everything from smart thermostats and garage doors to toothbrushes, tennis racquets and even your bed. They collect data about your usage patterns and habits, and typically connect to an app that offers feedback to improve your lifestyle (or your racquet swing, for example).

Eventually, these products will work together and form what the industry is calling "smart home."

Earlier on Wednesday, Facebook accidentally leaked news that it was going to reveal "Parse for IoT" via its official F8 conference app.

It's unclear as of now how exactly Facebook will want to incorporate Internet of Things technology into its platform, but perhaps dimming the lights at night or opening your garage door could one day all be possible from directly within the social network.

BONUS: What Is the Internet of Things?

watch here

6 New “open source tools” has been launched by Facebook for the Mobile developers

Facebook launched 6 new open source tools for the Mobile developers during its F8 conference.

Facebook’s F8; an annual developer conference, which took place at San Francisco this week witnessed the release of  6 new “open source projects” for Mobile developers namely Year Class, Network Connection Class, Fresco, React Native, Nuclide, Componentkit.

Device Year Class: This is a sort of library which can be used to evaluate the specification of the mobile device as well as calculate as to which year the device can be considered as “high end”. Basically the library comprises of using simple algorithmic methods to map the RAM, CPU cores of the device and also check the Clock rate of the processor and thus using all these specs check the “year class” of the mobile device. In simple words this tool would help the developers to determine the kind of device that is being used by user. Furthermore, this tool would also help developer to understand the hardware of the device and then modify it with new advanced apps or with fancier features. This tool can be related to performance library. For more information users can check : https://github.com/facebook/device-year-class

 Network Connection Class: This also works on almost same principle as above, however the main difference here is that it comprises of a library of the network connections instead of using the specifications of the hardware. This tool evaluates the current network traffic in the app and based on this it will categorize the quality of the network in the mobile device. With the help of this tool the developers would be able to determine the speed of the network connection of the users and thus tune the apps accordingly. The tool helps developers by notifying the changes in the network connection of the user’s device and this information would be used by developer to make the appropriate changes in the device.  Thus unlike Year Class this tool would require some coding from the developers. For more information users can check: https://github.com/facebook/network-connection-class

Fresco: This is a new image library for Android apps. Basically in mobile device the storage is very limited and hence if users start storing multiple images then the app runs out of memory which  might lead to crash of the app. Hence a new image library Fresco has been introduced which smartly manages images and the memory they use. Hence Fresco would basically be responsible for memory management and also streaming the images as and when required. Other basic functions like displaying placeholders and image caching would also be done by Fresco. For more information users can check : https://code.facebook.com/posts/366199913563917/introducing-fresco-a-new-image-library-for-android/

React Native: It is a sort of framework which is used to build the native apps by using React. React Native empowers developers to build world class iOS and Android user interfaces without using any web viewer or  browser. React Native basically focuses on developer efficiency across all the platforms. Facebook uses React Native in multiple production apps and it plans to continue investing in React Native. Hence Facebook has decided to  open-source React Native for iOS and also make it available on the GitHub. Facebook is now awaiting for more inputs from developers on how to make Android better using React Native. For more information on this users can log in to http://facebook.github.io/react-native/

Nuclide: During the F8 conference Facebook announced Nuclide, its open source project, which is an Unified IDE (Integrated Development Environment) based on GitHub’s Atom editor. Nuclide has been created with an aim to provide built-in support for React and React Native development, develop the Facebook’s Hack based web applications and also the JavaScript type checker has been added into Nuclide for inline error lighting and linting. For more information users can check : http://nuclide.io/

ComponentKit: ComponentKit derived its inspiration from React and its functional reactive programming model for building UI which thus resulted in the native Objective-C++ library which is used to deliver the News Feed in Facebook iOS app. In simple words ComponentKit is a native iOS library for functional and declarative UI. For more information users can check: https://code.facebook.com/projects/961592997185255/

Facebook wants all the Android developers to give their feedback and inputs on the various “open source projects” as well as the GitHub. Developers can login to https://code.facebook.com/ and get all detailed information regarding the open tools here.

GitHub was hit with massive DDoS attack from China for past 24 hours

Online Repository service GitHub was hit with massive denial-of-service attack from China

The popular online repository service, GitHub was hit with a massive Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack since Wednesday night rendering it to be intermittently down for users all throughout Thursday and yesterday.

The attack which started on Wednesday, emanated from scripts belonging to the internet giant Baidu. The scripts began directing useless traffic to two specific GitHub pages: one run by GreatFire, and the other offering translations of The New York Times, in the process bringing the entire GitHub down.

The useless dataflow resulted in a massive DDoS attack on GitHub and caused it to go down on many occasions throughout Thursday night.  Server logs show a sudden drop in app server availability just before midnight, and page failure rates spiking to 100% just before 3am. Although according to admins, the attack is still ongoing, and recent tweets suggest a surge in attack volume on Friday morning.

Though the attacks originated from scripts being hosted on the popular Chinese website, Baidu, it has denied any involvement in the attack.

It released a statement saying that it was not involved in any traffic redirector nor was its internal security compromised.  “We’ve notified other security organizations,” the company said in a statement, “and are working together to get to the bottom of this.”

Security researchers from Insight Labs said that it was most likely that the scripts were hijacked as they crossed the Chinese Border. “A certain device at the border of China’s inner network and the Internet has hijacked the HTTP connections went into China, replaced some javascript files from Baidu with malicious ones,” wrote a researcher at Insight Labs.

The Chinese web censorship beating and web traffic monitoring website GreatFire was subjected to a similar massive DDoS attack last week and was offline for more than 2 days. That attack and the current one on GitHub seems to suggest that the attackers want to DDoS any websites participating in circumventing the Chinese firewall and web censorship.

Since GitHub is served over HTTPS, countries can’t block individual pages without blocking the entire site, a feature that’s proved extremely useful for anti-censorship services like Great Fire.

Popular Chat room service Slack hacked, personal information of 500,000 users exposed

Slack Technologies Hacked: 500,000 Emails Exposed

Popular chat room service, Slack was hacked in month of February 2015 and may have left a massive 500,000 users personal information like email addresses, phone numbers, Skype IDs and anything they might have added to their profiles exposed for spam attacks and identity thefts.

Slack has been gain popularity over past few months and has been valued at a whopping $2.8 billion by its investors. The hack was noticed by the Slack security team who made a post on their website announcing the same.

“We were recently able to confirm that there was unauthorized access to a Slack database storing user profile information. We have since blocked this unauthorized access and made additional changes to our technical infrastructure to prevent future incidents. We have also released two-factor authentication and we strongly encourage all users to enable this security feature.”

Though the hack occurred in February, it took more than a month for Slack to announce the hack. It also announced that it had enabled 2 factor authentication after the hack attack.

“This further highlights the need for all organizations – both startups and established companies – to invest in post-infection software that can quickly identify security breaches and prevent valuable data theft,” said Paul Martini, CEO of iBoss, a cybersecurity provider.

“We are collaborating with outside experts to cross-check assumptions and ensure that we are meticulous in our approach,” stated the company. “In addition we have notified law enforcement of this illegal intrusion.”

The blogpost said there were no indications of the financial and payment card information being compromised by the hackers and the hack attack lasted for approximately 4 days before its security team uncovered the same. It also said that it had started notifying the 500,000 users whose information has been exposed.

Slack has been criticized for its security practices in the past. In October 2014 for a design flaw which left its chat room names visible and open to anyone. After a furore online, Slack denied that the design flaw was a bug.

Hacking Guru Kevin Mitnick hacks CeBIT 2015 audience

Hacking guru and security consultant, Kevin Mitnick enthralls CeBIT 2015 audience with live hacks

Well known hacker and now a security consultant enthralled the audience at CeBIT 2015 by presenting three live hacks.

Kevin Mitnick who once found the spot on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for his hacking skills and underwent prison sentence for the same, is now a well known security consultant. Kevin and his team have been on the roster of several big tech firms including Fortune 500 ones, and boasts of a 100 percent success rate in finding the weaknesses in their cyber defences.

Mitnick demonstrated a range of impressive hacks live on the CeBIT stage. He gained full control of targeted machines through use of weaponised USB drives, Wi-Fi access points, PDF files and more, as well as cloning wireless keycards that many companies use for building access, all within 15 minutes.

Kevin said in his address to the fascinated CeBIT 2015 crowd that he never used exploits or software 0-days to hack into the web defences. Instead he relied on a method called social engineering. Social engineering is a method to target the weakest link in the cyber defences of any company, its cyber security team.  Kevin says that instead of relying on the exploits and vulnerabilities it is much easier to target low level and less tech-savvy employees and gain access to the system.

Kevin who’s visiting card includes a fully functional lock-picking kit, has made hacking a full fledged career. He earned his title of ‘most famous hacker’ in 1990s when he entered the FBI’s most wanted cyber criminal list. He was awarded a two year prison period for hacking into some of world’s most formidable tech companies and websites like North American Air Defence Command.

Upon his release he again was back to his favourite game, hacking and again the law caught up with him, only this time his prison sentence was 5 years. In 1999, as part of a deal, he pled guilty to four counts of wire fraud, two counts of computer fraud and one count of illegally intercepting communications. The prison sentence included eight months in solitary confinement because a federal judge believed he could “whistle tones into a phone and launch a nuclear missile.”

Now aged 51, Kevin concedes that he hacked into computers belonging to companies like Motorola, Nokia and Sun Microsystems “for the pursuit of knowledge and adventure” and not for personal profit or to cause any meaningful harm.

These days, Mitnick is a highly paid and successful security consultant to some of the world’s largest companies including FedEx, Toshiba, CBS, IBM and Lockheed Martin. “My primary business is doing penetration testing,” he said. “We test the physical security, the technical security, the people. We test their wireless networks, their VOIP phones. We test everything across the board to look for vulnerabilities so our clients can fix them.”

And CeBIT hacks prove that the worlds most famous hacker hasnt lost his touch.

WhatsApp calling to come to iPhone and Windows Phone in couple of weeks

WhatsApp For iOS and WhatsApp for Windows Phone Will Receive Voice Calling Feature In A Few Weeks

WhatsApp calling, the voice-over-data feature on WhatsApp was made available to Android users after a couple of flip flops by WhatsApp engineers. Now users need to download the latest version of WhatsApp and enjoy voice calling through VoIP protocol, however the enable voice call feature has not been activated due to some technical reasons.

Last week iPhone users have also been spotted using the calling feature, which means that the developers have started testing WhatsApp on the iOS platform too.  WhatsApp has said that WhatsApp calling will also be available on Windows Phone in a couple of weeks.

For iPhone users who have jailbroken iOS aboard their smartphone, they can use this technique given by TheFuseJoplin.com :

1.) You will need to install AppSyn and download the latest WhatsApp BETA version. Then you have to add the cydia.angelxwind.net and apt.imokhles.com repository on the Cydia sources.

2.) Download the latest version of the WhatsApp beta application and WhatsApp Call Enabler. You have to make sure that WhatsApp Call Enabler is activated in the settings.

3.) After voice calls are activated, however you will need to have someone call you through WhatsApp and restart your iPhone.

For Windows Phone users, WindowsTeca, an Italian website has reported about a leaked email from WhatsApp team to developers inviting Italian developers to help translate WhatsApp for Windows Phone, which includes the calling feature.

As of now neither WhatsApp nor its current owner, Facebook has given any official confirmation about the release WhatsApp calling for iPhone or Windows Phone however the workarounds and the leaks reveal that it should be available by end of April on all iPhones and Windows Phones. BlackBerry users though would have to wait a little bit longer.

Hands on: Apple Watch review

Most of us expected the Apple Watch to appear in 2015, but it made a (semi) surprise launch alongside the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

And we've now seen it in more depth at Apple's special launch event, with all the variants on display and a little more info on the bits you might not have seen.

The Apple Watch release date has been set for April 24, with pre-orders going live on April 10.

This means the September launch was a deliberate ploy by Apple to make sure you weren't buying a Samsung, LG or Moto 360 option in the run up to Christmas.

But there's a pretty good reason for most to hang on – this is a very stylish wearable indeed.

Apple's clearly aiming this at the fashion market as much as the person who loves to be an early adopter – given the smartwatch market is still yet to take off, it makes sense to focus further afield in terms of consumer targeting.

It also packs NFC, allowing it to be used as part of the new Apple Pay system - something that's either going to be really helpful or a big turn off to some.

But essentially this is a product that defines a new chapter for Apple. Well, that's if it's any good, of course.

Design

The Apple Watch is coming in six different versions: there's the Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Sport and the Apple Watch Edition. And each of these comes in two sizes, for those that like a larger or smaller device for their wrist.

In terms of combinations with straps, that's a whopping 38 options - and we've rounded them all up here.

You can't call it a lady or man's watch, but there will be those that do, and it's opened Apple up to a new market in doing so.

While I expected it to be rounded, the fact is the Apple Watch looks like a small fusion between iPhone 6 and iPod Nano. It's not unattractive, but it is on the chunkier side of things.

It's rounded at the sides, which works in its favour, and the very slightly curved back makes it feel nice, if a little heavy (depending on the band) on the wrist.

The Edition... edition is a properly heavy device though. It's one that will look great but feel like you've spent a thousand dollars on it. Actually, that's bang on the money: it will cost up to $17,000 (£13,500, AU$24,000). Ouch.

The design is basically saying 'money money money MONEY' as even the sports band, the basic rubber strap you use to stop sweat destroying your leather has a gold pin.

Interface

The interface is curious, but I really think Apple has done better than most with the way it's approached interacting with a wrist-dwelling device.

The Digital Crown is essentially a scroll wheel that lets you zoom in and out of the interface, so for apps (with a fun new home screen that looks NOTHING like the iPhone's version, more a spherical look at all the apps available on the watch) it's a new way of doing things.

The spherical interface is going to take some getting used to. The demos I saw showed a slightly tricky method of hitting the right area to open the app you want, leading to needing to use the Digital Crown more often than not.

It's got a very smooth action when twisted and pressed, where I expected it to be a clicking feel (just because that's what you get with a watch). It will be interesting to see if this becomes embedded as a way of using the Watch, but anything that takes away from having to touch the screen will be a good thing.

Tapping the crown inwards sends you back to the home screen, but you can also use the touchscreen on the Watch to to interact with apps.

The button below the Digital Crown serves two functions: one to take you to your contacts, and the other to work as a way into activating the Watch as a payment vehicle.

The contacts app is interesting, as it allows you to send things through to your friends that go beyond the normal messaging paradigm. And it's been updated: it's now a circular dial to track through your best buddies, and it works a lot better than just tapping their faces in rows.

That said, the Apple Watch is adept at doing the basic smartwatch things: you can make and receive calls from your wrist (with mic and speaker) and it will scan messages coming in to work out if it can generate an easy response for you to tap.

So if someone asks 'Fish or Chips for dinner?' the Watch will ask you to tap Fish or Chips as a reply. Although if it's really smart, it will offer both as an option. Because everyone loves fish and chips.

Beyond that though, you can send some really weird things. For instance, you can draw pictures and send them over (although let's be honest, you're going to be getting lots of pictures of male genitalia from your friends sent to your wrist when you're presenting) or a vibration code that you've predefined with a pal.

Or you can even hit the screen with two fingers to send over a heart rate image, which vibrates on that person's arm. The graphic is kind of intense - but it doesn't explain why Apple has offered this.

I tried this again... and it feels weird. Really weird. I'll leave it at that.

The Apple Watch also has a feature called 'Glances', where you can flick upwards and get a whole range of different one-shot views of stuff. Whether it's the time left until your Uber turns up, unlocking your hotel room at the W Hotel or flicking through Instagram images, there's a lot for developers to play with here.

I really don't like the way all this works. A click of the large button on the side will take you to contacts, but a double click on the digital crown (done slowly) will bring the watch face back up. One click takes you back into the spherical view of apps.

It's all a lot of clicking where Android is all about the flicks - it seems odd that Apple is all about the clicks instead - it seems the brand really doesn't want you to touch that screen.

Fitness

The Apple Watch is neither a fitness band, watch or fashion accessory though, despite taking a bit from each of those camps. It's hard to define what it really is, which means that users may struggle to justify the purchase.

I think its greatest chance of success is in the health market, as Apple has made this a decent choice for people looking to get a little bit healthier.

What has saddened me in the time since launch is finding out that Apple won't be selling it properly into the health market. Apparently early tests to add in a stress sensor and blood pressure monitor failed, (beautifully partly because of hairy arms) so the Apple Watch - at least version one - will be a cut down version of what it could have been.

That said, the Watch will still have decent health ability. Not just checking steps or heart rate once in a while, the watch will be able to help you be a bit less sedentary as well as noting when you run around and how hard the exertion is.

• Apple is going to make the perfect running watch

Of course, it needs an iPhone to work really effectively, but it works very well autonomously too in terms of tracking the above. However, with no GPS on board it can't be classed as a running watch - although the interface is nice.

This partly explains why Samsung has teamed up with Nike to make the Gear S a running companion – but at least Apple has got its own version of a full running system to make up for it.

As a smartwatch, the Apple Watch is a pretty nifty device too. Its discreet dimensions mean that while it's obvious when it lights up, most of the time most won't know you're wearing a smartwatch.

I'm still not sure whether the device stays showing the time in standby mode

The Apple Watch will also come with the ability to pay for things with the aptly-named Apple Pay – however, this wasn't available for demo, and therefore I can't work out how the security aspect will be handled.

With the phone you'll need to hold the TouchID element to confirm it's you that's paying, but with the Watch it's the equivalent of a contactless card, where low-value purchases are enabled through a tap of the wrist.

It makes sense. If you're on a run without your phone, chances are you won't need to buy a flatscreen TV. You will need a drink of water or banana though, and that's a tap away. For the bigger stuff, the phone is in the pocket to use Apple Pay... or you can just, you know, pay with money.

Battery life

Apple has confirmed that you'll need to charge this device every day, which is a bit of a shame - with the lack of GPS I was hoping that it would at least match the competition and only need to be plugged in every 48 hours.

"We think people are going to use it so much you will wind up charging it daily," Cook later reiterated at a conference in late October - and at the launch event he said that it would last 18 hours with most use cases, with the 42mm version lasting slightly longer.

There is a power saving mode on board which will help extend things, but this is hidden waaaaaay down in Glances. It's not a simple method of getting there, that's for sure.

That's not enough, let's be honest, and especially not for the money being charged.

At least the charger is attractive: it's an inductive option that clasps to the back of the Watch through magnets. It looks the business, although it doesn't look cheap to replace if it breaks, unlike a Lightning cable.

Early verdict

The Apple Watch is a device that many will want to own with the iPhone 6, as the stylings match really well, and let's be honest: people like buying wholeheartedly into the Apple ecosystem. I'm not a fan of the interface though, as I felt I spent too long looking at the watch when I needed to do something.

Now we know the Apple Watch price: $350 (£299, AU$499) all the way to $17,000 (£13,500, AU$24,000), and it will be here at the tail end of April. The battery life is a shame, but then again it's not unexpected.

One thing's for sure – now Apple has brought visibility of wearables to the wider market through the Apple Watch, everyone will benefit through higher consumer traction.

Will we see everyone wearing one? Probably not, but then again not everyone owned an iPad or iPhone at the start. This is phase one of a much longer product game – but the Apple Watch One still leaves some things to be desired.