Monthly Archive: January 2016

The security specialists at Lookout recently uncovered a batch containing 13 apps that forms part of a dangerous family of malware commonly referred to as the Brain Trust. This Brain Trust malware has the capability to assign an automatic five-star review to its own family of infected apps, but the most important and dangerous aspect is its ability to gain root access to any android device.

This family of 13 sneaky apps that enjoyed uncommonly high ratings suddenly vanished from Google’s Play Store after the Lookout security research team discovered the app group’s hidden agendas. Apps infected with the Brain Trust vulnerability has proven even after gaining root access privileges to android devices to be like cockroaches surviving a nuclear war, they continue living on despite performing full factory resets.

This family of malware apps had a secondary but very important agenda that allowed them to assign apps belonging to the group excellent reviews via its infected device, allowing per quality apps such as Honey Comb and Cake Tower to aggregate review score averages amounted to 4.5 stars. This in turn encouraged purveyors of the Google Play Store to download these high-scoring apps, which automatically assisted in spreading the disease even faster and further.

The two above-mentioned games delivered their malware and a disguise of being harmless treats. According to the research team at Lookout, the architects behind the scheme displayed patience in choosing the correct app types to install their malware and in discovering new ways by which they gained access to the maximum number of users. This frightening scenario now implicates the users that exclusively obtain their apps from Google’s Play Store who commonly trusts its security measures to avoid these types of security issues.

Lookout recently published a complete list naming those apps removed from the Play Store, the list comprised of the following apps: Crazy Block, Cake Blast, Crazy Jelly, Jump Planet, Piggy Jump, Honey Comb, Ninja Hook, Timy Puzzle, Just Fire, Hit Planet, Cake Tower, Eat Bubble, and lastly Drag Box.

Any Google Play Store clients that may have downloaded one or more of these apps, should download and install Lookout’s security app to scan their devices and ensure they are not infected. Lookout recommends that the unlucky users that find their devices infected the stock ROM for the device before flashing and reinstalling their stock ROM.

The glossy new, much-publicised, endlessly reviewed and tested Android 6.0 aka Marshmallow operating system has been released for general consumption and most android smart device users have waited with bated breath for their service providers to release their own branded, customised, and approved versions of the much vaunted new king of the smartphone world. Well recognised skilled testers and product reviewers have already assessed and reported on the performance and looks of Marshmallow, establishing that its graphical interface remained relatively untouched, with most of the improvements having occurred under the bonnet, in the engine room that drives this powerful new beast. As is the nature of most Android users, many of its fans are tinkerers forever striving towards greater functionality, customisability, and improve performance, with that said the below apps delivers the aforementioned requirements with aplomb.

Native Clipboard is a free Android app that extends the rather rudimentary copy and paste functionality that came as part and parcel of the android OS since its earliest incarnations. This very handy functionality has unfortunately remained fairly rudimentary on the greater device spectrum, but now Native Clipboard lends this handy support function and immense increase in power, by simply saving everything users copy to a very user-friendly and speedily accessible clipboard. Users just need to tap on the data in the floating window where it has been saved to have it instantly reposted, users also have the option of pinning often used or important pieces of text, or clear items that are not required any further. The pop-up can be customised via a multitude of interface and theme settings, the functionality in this totally free app makes it an absolute must have.

Custom Quick Settings for Android 6.0 for the greater part known as Marshmallow delivers a number of experimental tools whereby users may change their quick settings menu and status bar layout. In the standard Marshmallow these newfound features are evidently remiss of a couple of necessities; however, the Custom Quick Settings app now makes those missing items available by allowing its users to create additional tiles for quick settings. This enables users to single tap open any app, or website, as well as performing some very handy Tasker type actions via an in app $1.49 pro upgrade. This new app performs incredibly well by plugging into that yet to hidden experimental features.

Most avid Smartphone users tend to share a common trait amongst themselves in that they are app junkies always straining the leash to get to the latest and greatest new applications to discover and share the knowledge with everyone they know. The most difficult concept for them to comprehend is that not all share their passion for discovering great new applications; however, even those new app chasing junkies amongst us have an extensive list of brilliant, long-lived, standby apps that always feature on their personal mobile devices and slowly evolves and expands over time. Below are two of the handiest apps that this past year joined that slowly evolving and expanding standby list and it should be added to any smartphone.

AppChat exists because at times we all need to, and wish to connect with other bipedal creatures that are also in possession of mobile smart devices. When that time arrives it is a confusing scramble from one brilliant texting app to the next in order to communicate with all your smart phone carrying bipedal friends, because they each have their own communication apps that meet their personal preferences in texting communications. AppChat exists in order to stop this made scramble between applications, social media and forums just to send out a simple message or two to a couple of friends. This app offers a useful, simple resolution to the above problems by creating a singular chat room connecting all texting apps on a mobile device that its users may log into to chat and share files with other like-minded bipeds. Its users will be able to view device and manufacturer specific chat rooms for their own devices.

Palabre serves as a brilliant replacer for the now-defunct Google Reader, because RSS feeds continued going strong despite Google’s snuffing out of its own app. Users will find it immaterial whether they use services such as Feedly in order to aggregate their links prefer to have manual control over basic functions. Palabre offers a fantastic solution to keeping up with the changing news from around the world, the app is a ground up rebuild utilising the best basic design principles last seen in the Google app.

Users can choose a number of differentiated layouts that includes options for magazines, thumbnails, as well as list views and includes dark and light themes to cater for ambient conditions.

With the festive season over everyone has started the daily commuter rush back to work again, which means time for play has been reduced substantially and useful apps that extend the range of your Smartphone’s capabilities become far more significant. An accurate weather application could assist in one of two ways, in the first manner it will prevent you leaving the house without that umbrella for that late afternoon shower on your way home. In its second and most useful instance will provide you with an accurate opening line picture to the cute young lady across from you in the subway or bus. Which-ever purpose suits your need the best, it always remains a necessity on every Smartphone, and once you’ve broken the ice with that opening line you may want to show her a couple of your bare-chested action shots that perfectly displays your rippling six pack.

Weather Timeline is one of the few paid apps that one can consider to be positively essential, despite there being no free or trial versions. This is not the greatest financial derailment, since it only costs 99 US cents, and is by large margin the greatest weather app available to android users. The interface displays, as the name would suggest, and nicely laid out timeline, that ensures easy scrolling through both its hourly as well as extended weather forecast. Anyone requiring additional info regarding 99% of all weather-related aspects will find the answer in Weather Timeline, it offers its data in both graphical and text based layouts to display humidity, precipitation, wind speed and direction, as well as loads of other information. Its built-in Time Machine allows users to take a peek at probable maps of future weather predictions, built on data from weather patterns recorded in the past. The app also offers brilliant home screen widgets which are probably the best on the android market at the moment.

Focus is an unmatched photo viewing and managing app that offers blinding speed and a killer design. As with most current day gallery apps images are displayed in its folder locations, what differentiates it from the rest is its fantastic tagging system that makes finding favourite photos and pictures much easier. All images that require a modicum of privacy can be securely locked away in its fault from any potential prying eyes, in addition it supports all the latest Android 6.04 / Marshmallow fingerprint APIs, which enables users to unlock vault content with their fingerprint reader. Users can enjoy it’s free version will pay $2.99 as an in app upgrade that delivers an additional dark theme, customisable tags, and the incredibly handy secure photo vault.

Populating your newly received Christmas gift smart-phone with fantastic new apps presents a great way to start the New Year. That’s discussed below intends to change the way users interact with their phones, by providing new tools, simpler more user-friendly interfaces, remain more stable, and enable easier connectivity. Any app that can accomplish the goals targeted above is worth having the listed apps discussed below represent fine examples that achieved the above goals.

Cabinet Beta is a free and highly competent solution to those owners that use these smart phones intensively. We are happily moving into a new era that finally reaches beyond the 16 GB standard storage space provided in smart phones, with the greater balance of top end smart phones now lacking the capacity to expand via the standard micro SD card. This presents a potential new problem since users will now need a more capable for manager to riffle through all that data and all kinds of other stuff on your increasingly spacious smart devices. The market can provide a plethora of file managers to help you dig; however, Cabinet Beta offers amazing user-friendliness via a truck load of features that includes home screen shortcuts, root access, zip file support, numerous plug-ins, and a great deal more. The name says “Beta”, but the stability says rock solid.

Unclouded is a solution to mobile devices that need to instantly access a multitude of different cloud storage spaces, that even in its simplest forms have become an absolute necessity to prevent the loss of precious personal data, securely share files, and provide access to your office without cumbersome storage devices. With Unclouded, you can access all of your cloud drives simultaneously without the need to hop around between stingy official apps that only provide access to a single cloud space. Anyone that has ever tried this app quickly came to adore it, due to its ability to instantly move between Mega, Google Drive, One Drive, and Dropbox, while providing you with the capacity to download, upload, view storage space capacity, locate duplicated files to save space and avoid clutter. Unclouded is free to use but most prefer the $2.99 in app Pro upgrade but allows users to add an unlimited number of accounts, has more security features, and provides a dark theme.

Every new phone owner wants to make their phone all it can be, just after receiving your new phone the first thing is to install a couple of new apps. No one needs to be told that they need to install the stalwarts like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, et cetera, since anyone that owned a Smartphone before knows these most popular worldwide apps.

The question is, what else should you implant on your brand-new cellular beast and that can be a major task with in excess of 1.8 million apps available on Android. The fact is that not many of them will actually change the manner in which you inject with and via your phone, that however is not the case with the app below. It fills in a fundamental Android security gap to create a far more fulfilling experience and it is also free.

Authy is a free security enhancing app that allows users, in this day and age of data and security breach woes, to take some action and protect their online accounts. This is especially handy considering all Android devices are connected via your central Google account, which makes it susceptible to data theft and attacks. 2FA or two-factor authentication remains the best possible protection at any users disposal.

However, it has a reputation that it is a real pain to use, correct?..Wrong, with Authy installed it definitely makes using 2FA authentication a breeze and it supports any service imaginable that requires 2FA support and authentication. All that is required is that you set up Authy using your mobile number activate it, and this app will generate the necessary security codes that are required to log into service occurrence such as Google, One Drive, Dropbox, Facebook and any other app that requires password authentication.

The great thing about Authy is that over and above the fact your device will now by protected by 2FA is that it automatically syncs all encrypted authentication tokens throughout all connected devices, which includes any other mobile devices as well as computers.

This early in the year, so soon after the New Year’s festivities, dynamic iOS owners will need to get up on time each day, get going to the gym, running, or just to monitor how far and successful they are in meeting their New Year’s resolutions. These living kicking balls of energy may just require a little bit extra in order to motivate themselves to do so. They may possibly need the services of a fun new alarm, or just wish to secure the privacy of their browsing habits and personal identity. All these requirements may well be satisfied by the newly released apps discussed below.

Early Game Alarm from Byteout transforms waking up into a fun activity by deactivating all the normal manner by which alarms can be deactivated and replacing it with a fun game that turns your alarm volume down as you play. The main challenge that wakes its users up is the fact that they will be required to win in order for it to turn off, for those especially tough mornings players may escape their proffered game for the day by escaping via settings menu. Early-morning gamers will enjoy its multitude of settings allowing a far more personalised app to greet them each day via its capacity to manage all their alarms, offer cool animations, and deliver a personalised motivational message.

FREE VPN offers an unlimited bandwidth free VPN to provide 4G hotspot and Wi-Fi security with no required registration that will accelerate games and websites. The free version VPN service provides users with a minimum of 10 free VPN hours per month, which delivers a package larger than most users would require. Virtual Private Networks or VPNs enables users to receive and send data across unsecured Internet connections as if they were in direct connection to a private network, while enjoying the anonymity benefits provided by their private network. The service is especially useful while accessing the Internet for private use from your workplace, in addition the service provides for unlimited data transfers.

The beginning of each new year brings about the anticipation we all imagine into the possibilities presented by new upcoming gaming releases and nothing stirs the imagination like an upcoming game release. Below are a few more features as was made available by the developers, just to further spur on even more imaginative gaming possibilities.

SPYJINX, a collaborative effort between ChAIR of Infinity Blade fame and JJ Abrahams of Bad Robot and Star Wars fame, is to be released to both Android and iOS mobile gamers, providing a brand-new mobile experience that is built on the indefatigable Unreal Gaming Engine. Players will need to become an ultimate mastermind in the world ruled and filled by thieves, hackers, as well as con artists from which players will be required to form their team in this latest spy action experience.

The Walking Dead: Michonne another dual platform release on both iOS and Android from developers Telltale that apparently still lots more at their sleeve for this new year. The game presents players with a brand-new standalone The Walking Dead spinoff delivered as a three chapter series to tell Michonne’s untold story, with its basis found in comic issues # 126 and continued in # 139. Since Michonne left her trusted group the player reveals her reasons that motivated her to venture out on by self and also to learn why she then returned to Ezekiel, Rick and the rest of the gang.

Crashlands also platformed for both Android and iOS based players will see release somewhere in January 2016. It offers players a thrilling indie game that requires loads of building, crafting, while offering full quests, including battling for survival after you crash landed on the planet Woanope. Players will assume the role of a galactic delivery vehicle driver, that requires the player to manage their inventory, with play mixing elements from an number of popular titles from the previous generation of gaming releases. Gaming elements strongly reminds one of Pokémon, Ridiculous Fishing, and even Minecraft, while offering in excess of 60 hours game play.

During 2015 a huge number of new immersive gaming experiences featuring massive graphical extravaganzas became available on mobile devices via Google Play and Apple’s App Store. With the continued giant leaps made forward in device hardware development gamers will be spoilt even more with the next generation of gaming apps fully enabled to make use of the latest hardware technology. Already 2015 produced several great options in gaming types such as classic sports, MOBA’s as well as net new experiences. Currently 2016 promises an increase of this type of high quality gaming apps that will see the evolution gain ground in leaps and bounds to continue the trend. Below are a couple of highly anticipated gaming apps that will see the light of day 2016.

Pokémon GO, will be released on both Android and iOS platforms, to a highly expectant gaming community that’s been waiting for the classic Pokémon of GameBoy fame to translate onto mobile devices. This unfortunately is unlikely to happen in the near future but the company announced their intention to deliver an entirely new gaming experienced, promising to be the next great gaming discovery with their new Pokémon GO. A game in which players can catch, barter trade, and do battle with Pokémon in a real world environment in an augmented reality, location-turn commotion via the new Niantic Labs development.

Tell-tale Batman, will also be platformed for both Android and iOS devices. With any new development from Telltale Games known to be highly exciting, due to a well-deserved reputation that they gained via their brilliant cinematic gaming player experience delivered by their past products. Their interactive tales connected well with players across the numerous worlds that they’ve created including games such as The Walking Dead, Minecraft, and Borderlands. In keeping with Batman’s current trend players can expect a brooding dark storyline, with the hero crossed by encounters with DC Comics’ greatest villains.

FNAF World will see players enjoying the game on both iOS and Android. Five Nights at Freddy’s always received a most interesting spin from Scott Cawthon, and after delivering the previous four instalments of his spellbinding survival horror story line, his next latest FNAF World receives an increasingly cheery approach that promises to avoid the edge of your seat scary stuff. A brave new approach that has everybody on the edge of the seat to see how it pans out.