WhatsApp improves security in its desktop version
14/03/2022In accordance with the growing use of WhatsApp in the desktop version and with the aim of guaranteeing users maximum security, Meta has announced that has implemented in this app, a new security layer called Code Verify that acts as an open source browser extension verifying automatically the authenticity of the web code of this application. According to Meta, which has offered this utility to other services to use it, Code Verify allows web browsers to verify that the resources they obtain have not been tampered with. "When someone uses Code Verify, the extension automatically compares the code that is executed in WhatsApp Web with the version of the code verified by WhatsApp and published in CloudFlare", has said the company, who also explains that if any violation or inconsistency is detected , the user will receives a notification, immediately. This new WhatsApp code verification, which Meta has confirmed does not record metadata or user data or share information with the application, will be available in the official browser extension stores for Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox.
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WhatsApp offers the multi-device service in beta version
24/09/2021WhatsApp has announced that in some IOS mobiles it´s available to test the new multi-device functionality. This new service allows this instant messaging application to be available on four devices at the same time without any Smartphone connected. For run it, it´s necessary to have the latest WhatsApp update. To find out if our Smartphone can access this beta test, click on the three points in the upper right part of the WhatsApp interface and choose the option "Linked devices". If you have WhatsApp version later than 2.21.180.14, you will then be offered multi-device test support. The developers warn as this is a beta version can appear some problems with the quality of the new service and they announced that the multi-device service will be able to everyone when it passes all the tests.
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Detected a Trojan that emulates the WhatsApp account and fraudulently manages subscriptions to payment sites
17/10/2022Kaspersky researchers has reported that YoWhatsApp advertised on Snaptube and Vidmate, two of the most popular download platforms at the moment, is actually a Trojan capable to issuing paid subscriptions and stealing WhatsApp accounts. YoWhatsApp would act as a mod of the original messaging program, offering new functions that the official service does not allow, such as wallpapers, personalized fonts for chats and password-protected access to conversations, .... As Kaspersky researchers have explained, when a user installs YoWhatsApp on a device, it’s forced to log in to they real application account, and in this moment, Triada Trojan is activated, downloaded and executed on the terminal. Once this is done, the Trojan is capable of accessing the user's real WhatsApp account credentials, steal all the data, having already detected unauthorized subscriptions to paid subscriptions. Kaspersky recommends to install, only, Apps from official stores and reliable sources and they have insisted on the need to check always the permissions granted to each application. Installing an antivirus is another recommended measure.
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A fraudulent email simulates a WhatsApp Backup and installs a Trojan
29/09/2021WhatsApp users, Internet users' associations and also some police officers have alerted through social networks about a new virus that arrives by email with the subject "Backup of WhatsApp messages. This email offers a link to download the history of conversations in this application, which should not be clicked if you don’t want to install a Trojan on your device. The message arrives with the same appearance and usual colors of WhatsApp and provides supposed information about the number of messages deleted, restored and read through the application, looking like a real information and causing confusion in the victims If we receive the message but we don`t use the link, the Trojan will not run and we only need to delete the message to get rid of the virus. But if we have opened the link, or downloaded and opened the zip file that arrives in some emails, then the device will be infected, and we will need to use an antivirus to detect the malicious software and destroy it.
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End-to-end encryption of Facebook Messenger and Instagram delayed until 2023
25/11/2021Security and privacy have become two of the main worries of the new virtual world. Meta, the new name of Mark Zuckerberg's company, has been working on end-to-end encryption system for Facebook Messenger and Instagram platforms and has just reported that finally this protection will not be ready until 2023. The delay, they explain, is due to their effort to ensure that end-to-end encryption will be the protection that all their messaging applications have by default, but at the moment only WhatsApp offers it. This technology means that only the sender and the receiver can know the content of a conversation. It's also known that end-to-end encryption has open the debate about privacy and collaboration with police investigations, specially in cases of child abuse. "As we implement end-to-end encryption, we will use a combination of unencrypted data in our applications, account information, and user reports to keep them secure in a way that protects privacy while assisting in public safety efforts" , has assured the Security director of Meta, Antigone Davis.
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