Rayman Legends PC Made Free by Ubisoft to Ease Coronavirus Lockdown Woes

Ubisoft will be running month-long offers on some of its popular titles and franchises, in order to ease the monotony of being stuck at home, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Candy Crush Saga Adds Unlimited Lives for Players Till April 5 Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

King, the developer of Candy Crush Saga, will be offering unlimited lives on seven of its games, including Candy Crush Saga.

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Zoom app privacy concerns grow as fast as its popularity

Even in times of the Coronavirus outbreak, companies continue to find ways and means to make money off of people. After Houseparty went through what would be considered a PR nightmare, now Zoom is at the centre of a privacy firestorm. After being discovered that the app was sharing user data with Facebook, Zoom’s tryst with controversy continues.

One of the promises made by Zoom is that all video calls on their platform are end-to-end encrypted. The Intercept reports that that’s not entirely true and that the contents of the video call can be intercepted. According to the report, Zoom is using transport encryption. Interestingly, a Zoom spokesperson told The Intercept that, "Currently, it is not possible to enable E2E (end-to-end) encryption for Zoom video meetings," the spokesperson said, adding, "Zoom video meetings use a combination of TCP and UDP. TCP connections are made using TLS and UDP connections are encrypted with AES using a key negotiated over a TLS connection." TLS encryption could allow Zoom to actually access the contents of the video call, and hence, could eventually be compelled by law enforcement to turn the contents over. Zoom has emphasized that “Zoom has layered safeguards in place to protect our users' privacy, which includes preventing anyone, including Zoom employees, from directly accessing any data that users share during meetings, including—but not limited to—the video, audio and chat content of those meetings. Importantly, Zoom does not mine user data or sell user data of any kind to anyone.” Zoom’s privacy and security practices have attracted the attention of New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has started querying the scope of protections offered by Zoom to its users’ privacy.

Another issue that’s popped up is the mass availability of email IDs on Zoom. The video conferencing app has a nifty feature that clubs users with the same domain names in their email IDs together. For example, if I signed up with my email ID that ended in @digit.in and my colleagues did the same, its logical to assume that we’d want to have a conference together, so making our IDs available to each other is sensible. Users signing up using Gmail or Hotmail-like big domain names do not get their mail IDs clubbed together, but those with lesser-known domain names are now suddenly finding their address books flooded with thousands of unknown contacts.

Zoom, as an app, has been around since 2012 on the App Store and 2013 on the Play Store. It is not a new app, by any means, that was rushed to the public due to the potential offered by the lockdown. However, as the app gained rapid popularity, the number of people scrutinizing it for privacy issues also increased. It would appear that Zoom is again dealing with a PR problem, all of which could be addressed with a simple, detailed disclosure.

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TouchID-based iPhone 9 could launch on April 15 if the coronavirus pandemic doesnt play spoilsport

It’s clear by now that this is the year we are going to see a budget iPhone launch from Apple. The only question was when Apple will be announcing it. The smartphone is expected to be called the iPhone 9 and according to a new report, Apple will be launching the budget smartphone on April 15. Apple is yet to send out invites for the launch event. Although going by the present situation, it might just host an online-only live stream to announce the launch of the phone.

According to a tipster, Apple recently held an internal meeting where it was decided the iPhone 9 will be launched on April 15 tentatively with shipments starting from April 22. However, the tipster also said that since we are in the midst of a pandemic, things can change.

iPhone 9 update Per an internal meeting yesterday, Apple is now preparing for an April release. Tentative dates: - Announcement on April 15 - Shipments on April 22 Keep in mind: we’re in the middle of a pandemic, and things could change. Fingers crossed pic.twitter.com/egz8UWXd9F

— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) March 31, 2020

But there are some conflicts in this report. A previous report by 9to5Mac claimed stores like Best Buy in the US have been asked to not put iPhone 9 cases that they reportedly received on inventory till the end of this week, which is April 5. The report states the phone will be announced on April 5, and the cases will be put up on display after the announcement.

iPhone 9 case inventory arriving at Best Buy, other retailers with April 5 merchandising date https://t.co/qqnA0DgWGA by @ChanceHMiller pic.twitter.com/NE38sWj3DE

— 9to5Mac.com (@9to5mac) March 30, 2020

The same publication also said they received a photo from a tipster at Best Buy that showed a case for a 4.7-inch iPhone with a cutout for TouchID-based home button. The presence of TouchID was also found in the code of iOS 13.4.5 beta.

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Watchout Netflix, Disney+ launching in India via Hotstar on April 3

Disney+ was originally set to launch in India via Hotstar on March 29 but is now officially launching on April 3. The information comes from Hotstar's Twitter account. The Tweet reads, “This is not a drill! The biggest Super Heroes, magical stories for everyone, exclusive Disney+ Originals and all that you've been waiting for are (finally) landing on Disney+ Hotstar. 3rd April. Really.” According to TechCrunch, the subscription fee for the service will go up from Rs 999 per annum to Rs 1499 per annum. Hopefully, we will get to see a bump in the streaming quality as well, but that is something we will know when the service is publicly available. 

TechCrunch goes on to say that there is a more affordable plan priced at Rs 399. This plan will include movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) along with live sporting events and a catalogue of movies and shows along with Hotstar originals. The 399 plan will not include Disney+ Originals. The Rs 1499 plan, however, will offer customers content from partners including HBO, Fox, and Showtime. So if you are one that likes watching shows like Game of Thrones, True Detective and more, then the Rs 1499 plan is the one for you to consider. 

Disney+ Hotstar was expected to launch in India on March 29, but it looks like this was delayed due to the Coronavirus outbreak. We still aren't sure about whether the service will finally start streaming in 4K and HDR or whether it will give users the option of profiles or increase the number of simultaneous streams. We will get you the answers to all these questions soon. 

In the meantime, know that the Amazon Prime subscription costs Rs 999 per annum, giving you access to Prime Videos, Prime Music and Even Prime Delivery. Netflix has a bunch of plans ranging from the mobile-only Rs 199 per month plan all the way up to Rs 799 per month, giving you access to 4 simultaneous playbacks and quality up to 4K and HDR. You can read more about Netflix’s subscriptions here.

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Xiaomi to hike prices of smartphones after 6 percent increase in GST on mobiles

Xiaomi smartphones are set to get more expensive, and the company is putting the blame on the Indian government for it. Manu Kumar Jain, Xiaomi MD announced on Twitter that because of the hike in GST in smartphones, the company has no choice but to hike the prices, keeping its 5% profit philosophy in mind.

GST on mobile phones saw a 50 per cent hike from 12 per cent in the last financial year to 18 per cent from April 1, 2020, onward. With Xiaomi’s philosophy of only making a 5 per cent margin on its hardware, the company has had to increase the prices of Mi and Redmi smartphones, as explained by Manu Kumar Jain on Twitter.

Mi fans, #GST on mobile phones has increased by 50% from 12% to 18%. After much deliberation & in keeping with #Xiaomi policy of maintaining

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Is Houseparty app really hacking your phone Everything you need to know

Ever since various countries, ours included went into lockdown, Houseparty, a video calling app shot through the roof in popularity. The app allows you to add contacts to your profile and as you video chat with someone, others on your friends list can join the conversation, without seeking permission. The app also offers games built-in that you can play with your friends during the video chat. Given the social distancing and isolation brought on by it, people turned to the app as a means of being digitally social. Now, the app has come under some serious fire for claims of stealing users banking details, trying to hack into their Netflix, Spotify accounts and more. Are these claims real?

Where it all began

Claims of Houseparty running rogue through the smartphone started early on Monday, with users taking to Twitter to report suspicious behaviour. Many tweets said “someone is trying to access my Uber account, two days after I installed Houseparty” and similar. Many users shared screenshots from Spotify stating that someone was trying to access their accounts from Russia, Israel, Netherlands etc. Some people even shared screenshots alleging unauthorized transactions, again with the claim being that the behavior only started after they installed Houseparty.

What security experts have to say

Before we get into what professional cybersecurity experts have said, let’s first just consider how Android and iOS protect apps from each other, especially banking apps. Both iOS and Android offer a Sandbox, a cordoned off part of the ecosystem for secure apps to run, without being in contact with anything outside of it. Think of it like a fenced off area, your banking app lives inside it and all other apps outside. The outside and the inside cannot interact. That prevents apps from “hacking” into your banking app. Additionally, banking apps do not store your login information on the device, so any claims of credentials being stolen are either uninformed paranoia or the result of a very poorly developed banking app.

As for Houseparty running a hack through your phone is concerned, Naked Security is a threat newsroom by Sophos, a security and encryption company that’s been in the business for over 30 years. Naked Security’s report notes that it is unlikely that Houseparty is a rogue app, designed and serving he purpose of stealing data and credentials.

What Could have gone wrong

Naked Security hypothesizes that in case Houseparty was responsible for all the illicit activity, its more likely that a server of theirs was compromised. That would need to be in conjunction with the fact that many users may have used the same password for their Houseparty account as they did for many others, effectively making their Houseparty password a “masterkey” of sorts. Additionally, Houseparty’s servers would need to store your account information, including your passwords, in a plain text file, a practice that is gravely frowned upon and definitely not expected from an app owned by Epic. while they company has denied any breach of their servers, there has been a trend amongst big corporations to defend their innocense until irrefutable evidence to the contrary is found. Thus, the only way to prove that Houseparty's servers were hacked is if the group reponsible was to come forward with damning evidence.

Another nail in the “hacker app”coffin

Typically, when hackers want to siphon off data from your phone, they will usually send you a link to click on, which will take you to a legitimate-looking website, but in the background, it’s probably installing malware scripts to steal the contents of your phone. The reason for this is because both iOS and Android have a very robust app-screening process, one that catches apps that are pure “malware.” While a few apps with deeply embedded questionable code do slip through every now and then, an app that housed code to infiltrate every sandbox, monitor all keystrokes and upload all that data to third-parties would never pass Google’s Play Protect scans or the scrutiny of the iOS App Store moderation team. Typically, if users do find an app behaving maliciously, teams at Android and Apple proactively look into the app and remove it, something that hasn’t happened with Houseparty yet, despite the major social media uproar.

Epic Bounty Program

Convinced that this is nothing short of a smear campaign, Epic has announced two bounty programs. The first bounty program offers a million U.S. dollars to anyone who can provide hard evidence of the Houseparty app actually hacking through a user’s phone. The second bounty program is for another million dollars, up for grabs to anyone who can point to the source of this misinformation campaign. With two million dollars up for grabs, it’s difficult to ignore the confidence Epic has in its property’s innocence.

What Should You Do

If the novelty for Houseparty has worn off, you can delete your account before deleting the app. If you would still like to continue using Houseparty, it would be recommended that you change the passwords to your other social media, email and services accounts. This is so that in the off-chance hackers gained access to the host server for Houseparty and discovered the user passwords, your other accounts are no longer vulnerable. Although Houseparty has clarified through its official Twitter account that none of their servers were breached and that all accounts are still secure. If you’re still shaking with paranoia, then feel free to delete your account and the app, but DO NOT forget to change all your passwords.

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