Apps

Beware: Lots of fake Pokémon Go and Minecraft apps are still on the loose

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Despite constant warnings not to download apps outside of Google Play and Apple’s App Store, people are doing it anyway, and it’s getting increasingly worse. Security experts at Trend Micro noticed a rise in the number of adware installed on smartphones, and repackaged Pokémon Go and Minecraft software are at the heart of the problem.

While adware-infected apps have been around for ages, dubious third-party sources have been getting better at tricking people into downloading them. According to Trend Micro, a Vietnamese group named HiStore has already achieved over 10 million downloads for its counterfeit Pokémon Go app on iOS alone. That’s a crazy number when you think about it, considering how tight Apple’s ecosystem is. They also have fake versions of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms.

China-based Haima adds to the staggering amount by achieving over 68 million downloads for its fake Minecraft mobile app. How do they manage to trick so many people? You’d be surprised; social media is their main front, and clickbait titles distract users from downloading from the official App Store instead.

Luckily for those who got scammed, the damage shouldn’t be too critical. Trend Micro explains that the adware’s primary purpose is to dig into your smartphone and push targeted ads onto it. The scammers get paid by the advertisers for each appearance, and you have to suffer with pop-ups while playing what you thought was a legitimate copy of the game. Pokémon Go became a major success for Haima and HiStore, since lots of people wanted to get a head start over the competition during the slow global rollout.

What’s the lesson here? Don’t get too excited about downloading the newest game until it hits the official servers. As long as you download from Apple or Google’s certified stores, you’re in the clear. Trend Micro is also advising developers to fortify their software in order to prevent more fraudulent apps from being distributed.

[irp posts=”4643″ name=”Pokémon Go Plus wearable is out, doesn’t really do much”]

Source: Trend Micro, via Wired

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YouTube improves guidelines against medical misinformation

Taking the fight to the next level

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September 13, 2023

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Google is taking its fight against medical misinformation on its streaming platform to the next level.

YouTube has started streamlining its existing medical information guidelines, categorizing them into “Prevention”, “Treatment”, and “Denial” for a solid foundation for developing guidelines as other medical data arises.

Prevention will remove any information that contradicts prevention and transmission of health conditions.

This includes content around harmful substances, practices, or prevention methods, as well as claims that there is guaranteed protection against diseases like COVID-19 or other cases such as videos saying that MMR vaccines cause autism.

Treatment, meanwhile, deletes content that contradicts treatment of health conditions. For example, a video that promotes the use of caesium chloride (cesium salts), Hoxsey therapy, and coffee enema, among others, for cancer treatment shall be banned.

Lastly, Denial erases content that disputes the existence of a health condition. A popular instance would be videos denying that there is COVID-19, or that people have not died from the contagious disease.

Apart from these improved guidelines, YouTube plans to make playlists of cancer-related videos, partnering with Mayo Clinic for informational content.

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WhatsApp might soon let you chat with Telegram, other apps

Beta is ongoing

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September 12, 2023

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The European Union’s effect on Apple is well documented. The region is forcing the company to adopt USB-C as a standard. However, Apple isn’t the only target of the European Union’s ire. It is also targeting companies that it deems a “gatekeeper” in the world of technology. Meta is one of those companies. In response to the European Union, Meta is working on a WhatsApp update which allows cross-platform messaging.

Currently, WhatsApp does not allow users to interact with users on other messaging platforms like Telegram and WeChat. According to an ongoing beta spotted by WABetaInfo, Meta’s messaging app might soon allow users to message these third-party platforms straight from the app. Recipient users won’t need a WhatsApp account to use the feature.

After naming the world’s biggest tech companies as gatekeepers, the European Union is forcing them to enable interoperability with competing brands. WhatsApp’s new beta is an effort to comply with these new rules. Meta is required to implement the update by March next year.

The report does not reveal much about how the third-party chats will work. For example, will chats between platforms have the same features as chats between those on the same platform. If anything, WABetaInfo believes that WhatsApp will still retain the end-to-end encryption enjoyed by the main platform.

There is no word on when WhatsApp plans to implement the feature for all users.

SEE ALSO: WhatsApp now lets users share photos in HD

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Pick.A.Roo Wholesale announced for small, medium businesses

Improving the supply chain

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September 9, 2023

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Pick.a.roo Wholesale

Pick.A.Roo is introducing an innovative feature called Pick.A.Roo Wholesale which shall help the supply chain for small to medium-sized enterprises, including independent restaurants and bars.

This will let such business owners have direct access to the industry’s biggest suppliers and outlets, like S&R Wholesale, SuySing, Tiptop Distribution Inc., Farmer’s Market, Boozy, and more.

The collaboration between Pick.A.Roo and suppliers will allow the app to deliver to 40 key cities from a catalogue of about 400,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs), improving the way small and medium businesses can conveniently access supplies.

The streamlined approach eliminates the challenges of supply and stocking while giving owners flexibility for their orders, which can be delivered in a matter of hours.

Pick.A.Roo is available on the App Store and Google Play.

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