These 7 Apps are among the Worst at Protecting Privacy

Free/Paid Apps Accompanied with Hidden Cost

While browsing through the various apps which are made available from Apple and Android app stores, one will observe that around 98% of them tend to be free for download. However, several of the various free apps together with the paid ones tend to be accompanied with hidden cost which is your privacy. When apps are installed on the gadget the user is prompted with permission to access certain information or phone features. At time they need this information and at other times it does not seem to be essential.

Messaging app for instance requires permission for accessing contacts and Wi-Fi connection to do its task. But a Flashlight app does not need to know the location or have total internet access. Often users tend to hit `accept’ to install apps without checking what they do.

Apple devices enables apps to approve or deny permission individually wherein one can go to Settings – Privacy and open a feature such as Camera to view and control which apps have permission to access it. Another option is to go to Settings and scroll towards the bottom and tap on a particular app to see and control its permission.

PrivacyGrade – Popular Android Apps

Carnegie Mellon University had a few years back, set up a site known as PrivacyGrade which analyses popular Android apps to check what permissions they ask and how they utilised the information with a grade from A to D for each of them. With the scoring system, the score of PrivacyGrade tends to change over a period of time. At times the app which used to be on the `D’ list would get a `B’ or even an `A’. That is because; at times the app pulled its permission though at other times it decided to be more open on what it tends to do with the information.

The following are the seven popular apps which PrivacyGrade a low score -

1. Draw Something Free – D

This app enables the user to play a version of remote Pictionary with their friends which is enjoyable. However, it comprises of several advertisers libraries and utilises the `Read phone status and identity status’ permission to allow advertisers your call log, phone number, signal information, carrier and much more.

2. Words with Friends - D

This well-known app is similar to a fast game of Scrabble and is good for brushing up on vocabulary. But it is from the same developer as `Draw Something’ and is not surprising that it has the same privacy, though it goes a little further with the `Precise location’ permission. Since it does not use the location for the game, it does tend to use it to indicate to you location based ads.

3. GO Locker – D

The app tends to act as a screen lock for the phone, promising to be more secure and smarter than the built-in screen lock on the device. It means that it needs to know a lot about the phone and needs all permission available right from location to reading the text messages. Though it does not have advertising libraries installed, it could send data to advertisers utilising its own first party codes. It does not link up to send information to app stores other than Google Play which could be dangerous since app stores besides Google have malicious app. These could get hold of information from your phone.

4. GO Weather Forecast & Widgets - D

This app from the same company which brought GO Locker, provides the weather and forecast, but like GO Locker, it tends to utilise plenty of its permission to direct data to app markets besides Google Play. After some bit of checking, it seems that each GO app inclusive of GO Battery as well as GO SMS Pro, seem to have the same design and should be avoided.

5. Camera360 Ultimate – D

The default camera app of Android is serviceable, but not fanciful. The Camera360 Ultimate has the potentials to add more camera modes, with filters, free cloud storage, real-time `touch-ups’ facial recognition and much more without ads.

6. Angry Birds - C

Angry Birds was the first modern `virus-related’ mobile game with over 2 billion downloads since 2009 and most of its sequels as well as by-products do not fare well with privacy. Several of them include targeted ad libraries which tend to grab the identify information of the phone including call logs, carrier, device ID and number, etc. Beyond the score of PrivacyGrade, Angry Birds also has the difference of being one of the apps which NSA and British GCHQ had targeted to get hold of user information from smartphones. The improved version of Angry Birds is not vulnerable and they have scored a higher `B’.

7. My Talking Tom - D

This app is a little game where one can adopt and take care of a kitten but its privacy settings are not so lovable. It comprises of an eight targeted ad libraries besides the phone’s identifying information which is sent to the advertisers audio from the microphone.

Boomer Alert: Exercise Keeps Your Brain Young

Photo: Kelly Rossiter

Boomer Alert – Exercises Keeps Brain Young

Baby boomers are aware that exercise tends to keep the brain young and several of them would be pleased to know that using the phone or a computer could be of great help. In the course of the ageing we tend to suffer from cognitive decline but there are options wherein we could slow it down and one of these options is exercising the brain to keep it active.

It is a known fact that exercise can add years to our lives and helps in keeping physically fit and a new study shows that it keeps us mentally fit as well. A new study – Smarter every day: The deceleration of population ageing in terms of cognition indicates that the use of computers and smartphones could make a difference.

The authors of the study were not the first to notify about it. Nora Ephron had pointed it out some years ago. She indicates that we tend to live in the Google years and there are benefits to it. When one tends to forget something, you take the iPhone and go to Google. The Senior Moment has become the Google moment and by controlling the obligation of the search mechanism, one can prove that you can cope up.

The Flynn Effect – To Perform Better

Study conducted indicated different intelligent tests that were performed on people 50+ in 2006 and thereafter in 2012 and it was observed that the 2012 group had cognitive functioning equivalent to people four to eight years younger.

 Moreover there has been a steady inclination among all ages to do perform better on these tests which is known the Flynn effect, which has been attributed to nutrition, education and other causes. However, they studied in particular if the technology made any kind of a difference.

The theory that the growing use of modern technology in daily life tends to increase cognitive demand on the older people which can helps them in maintaining cognitive potentials to higher ages, is put to an experimental test in the current study.

As the authors of the study draw their conclusion observing other factors which could have affected the consequences they conclude that the use of computers as well as smartphones does make a difference. Valeria Bordone, one of the study authors has summarized the results in an interview in `business website Quartz’.

Smartphone Users – Enhanced Thumb Sensory Representation

In several cases 52 years old from 2006 obtained the same score as 60 years old from 2012 and the levels of education had not changed between these two groups. However, it was observed that their use of computers as well as mobile phones had undergone a bit of a change.

Evidently to kids essay at Quartz, 52 and 60 years olds are considered senior citizens. The authors of the study reason and suggest that video games together with the other software programs could be helpful in keeping multi-tasking skills and attention extents high as we age.

Nora seems to be right that living in the Google years tends to keep one smarter for a longer period of time, not for the information one gets whenever essential but for the act of looking out for it and locating it tends to keep the brain working. As per another study, smartphone users also have `an enhanced thumb sensory representation in the brain’ and utilising the phone and the tablet could keep your thumb young also.

Smartphones Could Be Used to Detect Earthquakes

Smartphones – Used as Initial Warning Signals for Earthquakes

According to a latest research, smartphones could now be used as initial warning signals for huge earthquakes. The built-in GPS sensors in the smartphones could help in detecting the quakes, giving several seconds of warning to people living in the vicinity which would be yet to be hit by earthquakes. The smartphone can detect big earthquakes with magnitude of 7.0 or larger as per the study published in the journal Science Advances.

The study indicate that the technique `crowdsourcing’, could be useful in sections of the world, which are vulnerable to quakes, in the absence of costly warning systems. With crowdsourcing observations from user’s smartphones, one can detect earthquakes, analyse and customize quake warnings which can be transmitted back to users. According to LiveScience, the system is still to be tested though a pilot project is scheduled later this year in Chile.

Geophysicist, Kristine Larson, of the University of Colorado, Boulder, states `what is really nice about this work is they are using sensors that people carry around anyway and it could be very useful’. Prior to an earthquake,a little bit of warning could help the people in seeking some help by taking shelter, nuclear power plants could take last minute precautions and natural gas utilities could shut down pipelines.

Crowd sourcing Earthquake Initial Warning System 

Japan has an early warning system which relies on over 1000 seismometers all over the country thus saving lives during the magnitutde-9 Tohoku earthquake which hit in 2011. Mexico too has a similar system while another is under research in California. Though these systems could be time-consuming and expensive to install together with maintenance, cell phones could be an attractive choice in case of earthquake prone countries in developing world.

Earlier research of crowdsourcing earthquake initial warning systems have trusted on phones’ accelerometers that estimate the phone’s movement instead of GPS tracking locating the position of the phone with satellites. Though scientific GPS stations have been utilised in detecting earthquakes, the new study indicate that consumer devices with GPS could also be useful for crowd sourcing signals. Since most of the prevailing devices integrate GPS navigation which also includes vehicles, increasing amount of data could enhance the sensitivity of these efforts.

To comprehend if smart phones and other consumer devices could identify quakes with GPS, researchers tested the sensitivity of these devices. The cell phones tend to use a typically coarser method of positioning than the most sensitive scientific instruments that take advantage of more information that is encoded in the GPS signal.

Consumer GPS Devices – Identify Earthquakes of Magnitude 7 & Above

They studied the accuracy of cell phone GPS on shaking the phone, matching its recorded displacements with more accurate scientific device and monitored the phone for movement while holding it stationary and measured the chance for false alarms. The scientist believed that consumer GPS devices could identify earthquakes of magnitude 7 and above enabling probable warnings to people located away from the epicenter of the most critical earthquake, as reported in Science Advances.

Thereafter they tested the concept by using a computer stimulation of a magnitude-7 earthquake near Oakland, California on the Hayward fault, a probable area for future tremors which runs through the San Francisco Bay Area. On stimulating the typical response of cell phones shaking, they appraised the signals in cell phones near epicentre.

As per the researcher’s system, a quake activates a phone if the same and four adjoining devices tend to record instantaneous movements which could be greater than 5 centimetres. To clear out coincidences, the system tends to issue only an alert if more than 100 devices tend to see such causes.

Adequate Data –Improvement in Warning Potentials

Presuming data from 0.2% of population, less than 5000 people, the system was capable to identify the stimulated earthquake within five seconds a speed enabling a few seconds of warning prior to the strongest shaking started in San Francisco and 10 seconds before it started in San Jose, thus giving time for children to get beneath their desks and for trains to come to a halt.

They then tested their system with real data from Tohoku quake and used an array of 462 GPS stations all across Japan to estimate the data coming from cell phones. Though scientific instruments tend to be more precise than cell phones, they record lower quality data too which is same to data from consumer devices. With enhancement in technology and more devices integrate GPS tracking; this system could turn out to be more useful according to study author, Benjamin Brooks, an earthquake scientist in the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, California.

He states that `it is not really just about smart phones, it’s about all sorts of internet connected devices that have positioning associated with them – and think the numbers are going to be so large that one could be very liberal with criteria for using a specific device’. Detecting with cell phones could be difficult since users are always on the move though with adequate data, the system could depend on devices which are not in motion prior to the quaking thus improving the warning potentials.

A New App That Provides Real-Time Sun Protection Advice

Now to get the real time sun protection advice, all you need to use a new smartphone app, which is good enough to provide individually personalized, real-time sun protection advice to improve sun protection behavior, according to new study reports.

This new Smartphone app provides real time sun-protection advice purely based on personal information from users and UV Index forecasts, as well as basic alerts to apply or recover skin with sunscreen. Klein Buendel, Colorado in an association with National Cancer Institute of US have developed “The Solar Cell app” for the purpose of real time sun protection advice.

In 2012, David B Buller from Klein Buendel and few other co-authors conducted a randomized clinical trial that enrolled 604 participants with 305 individuals in the treatment group. In research 232 people have downloaded the Solar Cell app whereas; 41 per cent or only 125 individuals used it. After the whole research data was available as per the study on 454 individuals in which 222 people were in the treatment group and rest 232 people were in the control group.

As per the study reports it’s clear that there were no significant difference in the number of sunburns, which were for the duration of three months between two different groups. Users of the Solar Cell app reported spending more use of sun protection behaviors while spending less time in the sun like; use of protective clothing, sunscreen and shade combined. All participants from same treatment group reported that they spend more time in shades with an average of 41 per cent and use less sunscreen for that particular duration with an average of 34.5 per cent.

It is expected that “the Solar Cell mobile app” will promote the sun protection practices and it will also spread the harm of UV rays among the public. The other possibility is that it can enhance the use of shade because shades are good enough to reduce the direct exposure of UV radiation or UV-R, but to avail these benefits person should have this app on their Smartphone, as authors said. In second randomized trial of the app, it showed some specific improvements, which was associated with more sun protection.

Researchers and scientists have found that all participants in the group have received the app with wide-brimmed hats for the duration of seven-week through follow-up process and then it control participants, who didn’t receive any app.

The ratio between men and women participants, who used the Solar Cell app reported that more use of sun protection like; protective clothing, shades and sunscreen was 46.4 per cent vs 43.3 per cent, whereas; the ratio between men and older participants were 32.7 per cent vs 35.5 per cent.

Now if you have the Solar Cell app on your smartphone, so you don’t have to take advice from medical experts or doctors as it is obvious that app is providing authentic advice and as well as information.

The JAMA Dermatology was published same study and research in their online journal.

Surprising Apps That You Might Have Missed- 2014

Each year ends with a list of apps released for televisions, phones and camera in that year in terms of features. However, when it comes to smartphones it becomes very difficult to make a list of the applications, which have topped the chart, and the ones, which we may have missed out. If someone will ask as to what they think about the best apps for 2014, we might end of scratching the head with tons of apps in play-stores for Android and iOS. However, ask anyone about the apps that they will not recommend their friends and family, and then you will have a whole list of apps in front of you.

Surprising apps:

Some of the apps that you might have missed out this year and are worthy of atleast one try are:

1. Vainglory :

It is free and for iOS only. This game achieved something, which was never achieved by anyone in the past, and it was not a surprise that it featured in the iPhone 6 Apple event. It showed people how to play MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) game in a very simple way. Everybody was able to access the game due to the simple explanation of the rules and the objectives of the games. It explains the part of the game, like for example it will explain the player that minions are used like a barrier to soak up the damage and keep their character safe. The game explains the player how to gain advantage over their enemies.

2. Tastemade :

This is also free and meant for Android and iOS. This is completely foodie app. This app allows the users to use perfect tools to make video reviews of the restaurant in professional way. Although the app was launched in 2013 but due to some makeovers, it was released in 2014. This app is all about self-made reviews.

3. QuickPics Photo Manager :

There are lots of apps available in the app store similar to this one. As it is only available for iOS, it does most of the job that is required for iOS photos. This app allows users to tag people in their photos in the gallery and if you are searching for photos of your app, you need to select the tag. This app at present is not available in iOS 8. It is quite surprising that Apple has not come up with this idea of tagging the picture on the phone and it was started by a third party. If you like to tag photos to remember the person in future, then this app is something you should not be missing.

4. Trial Frontier:

Even though this game is available for desktops and consoles, the iOS version has garnered lot of attention. The players have to cross through endless number of obstacles before reaching the finishing line. It is very amazing for a mobile game. You can have more than 50 hours of game-play and nearly 70 different tracks.

Discover and Monitor Your Wi-Fi Network

Who doesn’t love a speedy Wi-Fi connectivity and in order to accomplish our task faster we get a Wi-Fi network connected. But do we have any idea about the Wi-Fi network on which we rely? Many times we complain that our Wi-Fi speed is slow or not up to the mark, but do you know that most of the time the problem is from the user end rather than from the ISP or the service provider. You should always be aware of your Wi-Fi network connection, its setup and also should be aware who is using your connection and when.

Fing application 

Fing is that android/iOS application which shows all the devices, manufacturer, IP address and host name that are connected with your wireless network. It is free and fast application which can be used in order to control your network and use it efficiently. Most of the time an individual may configure a weak or default password but with the help of Fing application we can verify the users those are connecting with our network. If we find a doubtful user we can directly deny their access by changing the password and include couple of more strong security mechanisms.

Amazing features of the application

The features of the app that cannot be missed out are stated below.

• Firstly, helps the user to identify the devices those are connected to their wireless network. 
• The application is relatively accurate and fast. 
• Accurately displays the MAC address, IP address and the manufacturer of the device. 
• It is user friendly. 
• The application is free from the banner ads and also it is free of cost. 
• You can easily assess the security levels, detect invaders and solve several kinds of network related issues easily with the help of  app.
• For further usage the history of all the discovered wireless networks will be securely stored. 
• If you feel like sharing any kind of stuffs you can do it easily via E-mails, Facebook, Twitter and text message. 
• The launching of application for particular ports like FTP, SSH and browser is possible. 
• Within fraction of seconds you can find hundreds of open ports. 
• For comfort access of the app you can sort by name, MAC, state, last change, IP address and Vendor. 
• The application merges with the Fingbox to backup and sync the customization, monitor remote network and much more. 
• The application is available for android, windows, iOS and Linux.

On September 13, 2014 the application was updated and if your handset have an android version of 2.1 and above you can easily install this application in your handset. The application has seen the total downloads from 1,000,000 to 5,000,000.

So what are you waiting for? Get that app installed in your handset and secure your wireless network from unwanted users and maintain the speed of your network. Stay connected stay safe and be in the race of high speed.

Smart sports equipment turns phones into coaches

CNN

What if you have just won the match and walking proudly out of the court and meet the other person, who has just lost the match. You think he will also storm out of the court in anger and grab his water bottle but, instead you find him picking up his phone and checking in the mistakes that he had made during the match.

New discovery

Now we have new range of tools available in market which will allow you to check on the speed of a pitch, the arch of a basketball toss, the quality of a serve and the speed of a pitch, the strength of a putt. These tools are not meant for professional players or even touring golfers. These professional level tools are meant for using as part of the casual sports, starting from a beginner’s level to league level. So what makes this gadget so unique? It is the technology behind these tools which is mainly the amalgamation of increasingly affordable and small sensors such as gyroscopes and accelerometers. Every smartphone is loaded with these sensors giving boost to the developing fitness tracker industry. These sensors have already the total experience biking and running by coming up with different apps like Strava and other wearable apps like Fitbit. Now, companies are installing these unique sensors in different kinds of existing sports equipments like running shoes, tennis rackets, golf clubs and basketballs.

Similar technology is being used by Babolat, which has been making tennis rackets for nearly 20 years. Year 2013 saw a completely new kind of racket being launched, which was priced at $ 399 called Pure play drive. This was the very first kind of connected racker having a trio of sensors hidden in the hollow handle of the racket which has the ability of tracking down the vibrations and the movements of the user. The sensors have the unique ability to track the exact spot where the ball touched the racket, the spin was given by the players and the force it hit the racket.

All these statistics are sent to smart phone app that will reflect this through easy diagrams. The app has been equipped to track even the length of the game and even the total shots, misses and hits. Similar types of tools are coming up for different range of sports. Another example will be the 94Fifty Basketball even though looks like real ball, it has the ability to measure the intensity of dribble, the arch of each shot, and the speed as well. Adidas has also developed football which has the ability to collect information about every kick. But the main point to remember is that these sensors are meant for practice matches are not for the team games.

Professional athletes have always relied on the phone camera and now even the beginners are starting to depend on the smart phone cameras for a quick slow motion replay. One of the biggest challenges is that these sensors need to turn the raw data into understandable information. Well now people can expect every action of their sports activities to be tracked with the increasing usage of sensors.

New Free Caller ID App “Holaa” Launched to Take On TrueCaller

This free caller ID app allow the call receiver to identify the caller’s name, location, present photo, network and it also help to block the spam calls. 

Nimbuzz, a new call telecom group announced the launch of new platform “Holaa” for call management. Latest app “Holaa” was created in India by the team of young developers, which allow the users to identify the name, location, his or her photo during an incoming call with the advantage of spam calls blocking. Nimbuzz, a VoIP service provider and mobile messaging company was acquired by UK-based Company and last month ISP New Telecom has launched the Android dialer app named as “Holaa”.

According to officials, Nimbuzz doesn’t have any future plans to release the Holaa on an iOS version because its targeting the emerging market not existing one. Soon Holaa will be launched in other countries such as; South Asia, where Nimbuzz has a strong market and also in the Middle East.

Holaa vs Truecaller: 

After the launch “Holaa” is considering as the competitor of Truecaller,but according to reports there isn’t something new as Truecaller also provides a advantage of spam call blocking, however the last month Truecaller had launched a new dialer app known as Truedialler for Android Phones & Windows Phone, which provides the info about the caller and also allow the user to search the unknown number on Truecaller.

Truedialler app searches both the Truecaller’s database and as well as user’s phonebook to provide the missing information about any specific number. As in India many of the users are getting a lot of unwanted calls, so TrueCaller app is extremely in Indians than western countries.

Features of “Holaa”: 

Holaa is one of the call management app which provides standard features such as; caller ID, in which user get the information about callers photo, location, network, & email ID with the caller name by phonebook synchronization and Facebook & Google accounts.

It also gives the missed call alerts and its activity tracker, which keep the tabs on duration the calls so that you can track the call duration. Holaa also provides the feature named as Smart Search, which allow the user to search for a any particular contact based on location, photo, name or email ID of the person.

The other interesting feature is call Merge, it provides the new information about a contact and allow the user to add the caller in phonebook instantly. For spam blocking Holaa app collects the information about spam-marked numbers on a a central server for proper function and if spam-marked number from any users calls, so app automatically identifies the number and blocks the same.

But for spam blocking users should have the active data connection or Wi-Fi network to look up spam-marked numbers from the database of central server. In present Holaa is calming that they have the data base of more than 300 million phone numbers, which can identify the unknown callers. Currently this app is available in English, Arabic, Persian, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

Download TrueCaller for PC Free Software for Computer

Download True Caller package for laptop Computer- Free TrueCaller golem Application: If you are A golem mobile user than you could be certainly aware of TrueCaller. TrueCaller is essentially a decision primarily application based. TrueCaller directory has several phone numbers. It additionally has varied alternative options at the side of immense information. TrueCaller application has over twelve million active users worldwide. Such a large user base makes it a successful application.

Its one in all the foremost downloaded apps on Google Play Store. But TrueCaller may be a free app however you'll be able to get abundant options in paid version. You’ll be able to transfer the official TrueCaller application from. Several fans want TrueCaller for laptop or pc. That’s why we have a tendency to are sharing the tactic to use TrueCaller on pc. By victimization this methodology you may be ready to use all TrueCaller options on laptop too. Following this methodology you'll be able to additionally run alternative standard golem applications on pc.

Officially TrueCaller package isn't accessible for pc and Windows OS like Windows seven, XP, Vista, Windows 8 etc. however as an alternative you'll be able to use Bluestacks (A golem App human for pc). This human can assist you to run TrueCaller on PC/ pc. Thus you ought to transfer BlueStacks initial so as to run it on TrueCaller laptop.

How To Use TrueCaller on laptop

simply transfers and install the appliance, nothing a lot of. If you aren’t ready to notice this app than attempt to search it victimization Windows soul. That’s complete procedure to urge TrueCaller for laptop or pc. If you're facing any hurdles victimization TrueCaller on laptop than comment below with you issue relating to True Caller.

About Truecaller for laptop

At the time of mobile phones, we have a tendency to weren't having uncountable choices to alter such phone numbers however currently those days are gone. Yes, Smartphones are creating our world of portable usage smarter than before. Currently victimization Truecaller app on your Smartphone will allow you to recognize a minimum of name and town of any unknown person line or texting you. This can be however no signaling remains unknown.

This is not the sole feature provided by the Truecaller application. The simplest feature of this app is that it works mechanically and you ought not to do abundant concerning it. Whenever you get decision from AN unknown signaling then the app starts operating and appears into its information and gets you the name and town of that unknown signaling.

If you’re obtaining an excessive amount of unwanted decisions from a specific signaling and don’t need to urge any call or text once more in future then you'll be able to block any signaling on your device, this can be however you'll be able to get on the safe aspect.

As signaling of the one that was annoying to you is blocked thus you ought not to worry that. You’ll be able to live your life while not interference of that person. This can be sort of a power feature of the Truecaller.