10 things you didn't know you could do with Facebook Messenger
1.3 billion people use Facebook Messenger each month. But are they really making the most of it?
Since Messenger became an app of its own, Facebook has been quietly adding functionality to make it stand out. The app has a ton of neat hidden features, from GIFs to addicting games and ever-innovative ways to write and present text.
Here's some of the coolest stuff you didn't know you could do with Facebook Messenger.
1. Use Messenger on the computer
If you want to message your friends on your computer without the distraction of your News Feed, try pulling up Messenger directly onto your computer. Just go toMessenger.com and sign in with your Facebook account. You can also access a conversation directly by going to Messenger.com/ and adding your friend's Facebook username at the end.
The desktop Messenger looks just like the Messenger page that can be accessed from Facebook, but it lacks the Facebook search bar at the top of the screen.
2. Send and request money
Facebook has been allowing users to send and receive money for the past few years. Much like Venmo, Messenger lets you connect your credit card to the app, and send money to your friends, and request money from them as well.
To use it, link your debit card by going toProfile > Payments > Add New Debit Card. To send and request, enter a chat with the friend hit the plus sign on the bottom left corner, select Payments, and enter the necessary amount.
3. Add friends instantly with your profile code
If you ever meet someone and like them so much that you want to friend them instantly, you can have them scan your unique profile code.
To pull it up, tap your profile's icon in the top left corner of the app, then tap the large profile picture in the center of your screen. Press My Code to display your own code, and Scan Code to scan someone else's.
4. Play games
Facebook has a lineup of really addicting games from user favorites Words with Friends and 2048 to classics like Pacman and Snake — all of which can be played right in Messenger.
To challenge a friend or group of friends, start a conversation, press the plus sign, and select Games. If you're a loner, or you want to get some practice, start a conversation with yourself to play any game alone.
5. Chat with bots
If you've had enough of human interaction, never fear: Messenger's army of bots will keep you company. They'll send you news, help you place orders, play games, and more.
Tap Discover in the bottom right corner, and start a conversation with the bot that strikes your fancy.
6. Secret Conversations
You can start encrypted conversations in Facebook messenger that nobody outside of them can see — not even the government or Facebook itself. They useend-to-end encryption similar to that of Facebook's Whatsapp.
Start a conversation, tap Secret in the top right corner, and select the friend you want to message. To make your messages disappear after a certain period of time, tap the clock icon to the left of the text box.
7. Customize your conversations
Facebook has a number of ways to make your conversations with your friends your own. Open a group chat and tap its name to open customization options.
You can change your group's color, give your friends nicknames, or set a group emoji (to replace the "Thumbs Up" icon).
8. Share news, recipes, restaurants, flights, and more
With Messenger's lineup of integrated third-party apps, you can send your friends some pretty cool stuff in just one click.
If you're chatting about travel plans, you can search for and share hotel and flight options with the Kayak extension. You can share recipes from the Food Network, restaurants from OpenTable, songs from Spotify and Apple Music, and news articles from the Wall Street Journal.
To access these extensions, open a conversation and tap the plus sign in the bottom left corner.
9. Scribble Chat
Scribble Chat turns your messages into fun 3D animations. There are currently 42 animation options, and they're all adorable.
Open a conversation and tap the plus sign in the bottom left corner, then swipe left to select ScribbleChat.
10. Send an audio recording
An audio recording is an easy way to share a song you're listening to, or send a fun birthday greeting.
To start a recording, open a conversation and press and hold the microphone button to the left of the text box. Drag up to cancel the recording, and let go of the icon to end and send.
Recent estimations project that global gross app revenue will double to reach $102 billion by 2020.
As the mobile app ecosystem undergoes rapid expansion, app publishers will find it more and more challenging to stand out in a crowded marketplace.
To capture a slice of the market, you’ll need to implement monetisation tactics that evolve as quickly as the ever-changing preferences and demands of your users.
In this article, I’ll explain 6 widely used and emerging monetisation strategies for driving in-app revenue.
I’ll also share 3 key trends that app developers need to know in order to monetise their apps successfully in a dynamic mobile landscape.
1. In-app purchase
In-app purchases are typically used with the freemium model.
While the app is available for free downloads, users are given the option of purchasing virtual or physical products, or paying to unlock additional features or new content on the app.
This method is commonly implemented in most gaming apps.
An example would be Pokémon GO, where users visit the Touch Shop to purchase PokéCoins, which they can then use to obtain a variety of premium items to enhance their gaming experience.
With gaming apps, a key consideration is presenting the right offers to the right players at the right time.
Rather than display numerous options at every stage of the game, you’ll need to assess the purchases that different types of players are likely to make, and display these accordingly.
In-app purchases are also implemented by shopping and e-commerce apps. Etsy is a great example — the app’s simple onboarding process and personalised product suggestions provides users with a seamless and unique purchase experience, and enables businesses to achieve a shorter sales cycle.
2. Subscription
With subscription-based apps, users get limited access to try out the app, but are required to subscribe to gain access to exclusive content or unlimited usage.
This has been one of the most powerful game-changing strategies used by the founders we work with here at Appster.
Content-based apps are the first type of apps that come to mind when we think about subscription models. Marvel Unlimited, for example offers a selection of comics that are available for free, but most of its content is accessible for subscribed users.
Music streaming apps like Spotify also implement this model, providing subscribers with exclusive content, additional features like sharing playlists with other users and ad-free music.
The second category are service-based apps. A wide-ranging array of apps fall under this category — from learning resources (Ekhart Yoga) to scheduling apps (Appointy) and dating apps (Tinder).
The latter has reportedly generated a whopping $285.3 million in revenue in 2016, with over 1 million users paying for additional features like unlimited swipes, Super Like or Tinder Boost, where individuals get to jump the queue to appear at the front of the feeds of other users.
3. Ads
Ads are one of the most common strategies used for app monetisation, and is typically implemented by free and freemium apps.
Here’s an overview of different types of mobile ads:
Banner ads: As the oldest form of mobile ads, banner ads have garnered a bad name for being intrusive, poorly designed and unengaging. However, it can be effective for apps that are gaining traction: Flappy Bird racked up an average of $50,000 a day from in-app ads at the height of its popularity. Banner ads remain widely implemented as it is a low-cost ad format, compatible across mobile and mobile-web apps and easy to implement.
Interstitial ads: These are interactive ads displayed across the entire screen, often during key moments during navigation, such as launching the app, or in between games. User action is required, either to close the ad or tapping on a call-to-action to view the desired content.
Video ads: Video ads are implemented in natural pauses during app navigation, and typically last between 15 to 30 seconds. With rewarded videos, users receive in-app rewards in exchange for watching a video in full. When it comes to video ads, it helps to abide by a few rules: keep it short and sweet (a study by ad-tech startup Visible Measures showed that 19.4 percent of viewers click out of a video within the first 10 seconds), use an eye-catching screen grab and autoplay videos should be muted.
Native ads: Native ads are content that integrate seamlessly with an app. With its non-disruptive approach, native advertising provide positive user experiences, and typically garners better results compared to traditional formats.
4. Freemium
As its name suggests, the freemium model offers both free and premium access: users gain access to a select few features, while exclusive content or additional features are available with a one-off or subscription fee.
An example of an app that has perfected the freemium model is Clash of Clans. While users may advance through the game without spending, the app taps on the impatience of gamers by offering small purchases that enable players to progress through the game at a faster pace.
These small purchases can add up rapidly — the app reportedly generated a revenue amounting to US$ 1.5 million per day at the peak of its popularity.
5. Sponsorship
Sponsorships offer a more target, integrated presence compared to in-app ads. As sponsorships are often negotiated with a single company, the ads are likely to be more relevant to the needs of your users.
When Gayot, an app that offers restaurant reviews written by professionals launched its mobile application, it nailed an exclusive sponsorship deal with The Marriott Rewards Chase card.
The sponsorship was a good fit as Gayot appeals to business travellers who valued fine culinary and travel experiences — a key target audience that Marriott sought to reach out to.
6. Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is a fairly new monetisation model.
Developers present their idea on platforms such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo, CrowdFunder or AppsFunder, seeking donations to fund the development and promotion of their app.
Mobile Growth Stack reports that non-gaming apps seem to be more successful in being crowdfunded: as of May 2017 on Kickstarter, there have been 138 non-gaming apps that raised funding between $10,000 — $100,000, compared to 29 mobile games that achieved a similar funding goal.
But there are exceptions to the norm, likeHELLO EARTH. Based on the widely popular celebrity cat, Lil BUB, the game garnered a funding of $148,003 — well past its goal of $100,000.
Three Key trends for app publishers:
1. Subscription-based apps look set to be on the rise
While the freemium model currently dominates over other monetisation strategies, a shift in the ecosystem looks set to take place. As of June 2016, Apple and Google implemented changes which signal that subscription growth will continue to be on the rise.
Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Apple announced a new revenue sharing system for subscription-based apps — while Apple used to collect 30 percent of the monthly subscription, it now decreased its rate to 15 percent after the first year.
Apple also opened up the subscription model to all categories on the App Store; previously, it was limited to a few select categories like media, entertainment or cloud services apps.
Google introduced changes such as an account hold feature, which allows for a service or content access to be blocked for a user if payment isn’t made, as well as a new subscription dashboard that displays subscription data like the total number of subscribers, cancellations and best-selling products.
Following these changes, publishers may increasingly offer apps based on paid subscription or recurring micro-payments.
Already, both app stores have experienced growth: Apple’s 2016 app subscription billings were up 74% year over year to $2.7 billion, while Google indicated that it had seen a tenfold increase in consumer spending on subscription apps over the past three years, while subscribers doubled in the past year.
2. Programmatic and native advertising are rising trends
When it comes to mobile ads, native and programmatic advertising are key trends to keep an eye on.
“No question that programmatic ad spend is growing, and will continue to do so. A recent eMarketer reportshowed that programmatic was responsible for two thirds of all ad spend, and programmatic mobile video would eclipse desktop in 2017.
If mobile publishers aren’t paying attention to programmatic and figuring out their strategy now, they are falling behind. Native advertising is increasing as well, and we see a lot of customers that want to integrate the ad units due to their non-intrusive nature and seamless aesthetics.”
Similarly, Becky Campbell states in a Think with Google article that while brands have done well in adapting content experiences for mobile devices, the same can’t be said for advertising.
She suggests that “programmatic native could be the answer”, as programmatic buying enables advertisers to make native ads more relevant through tapping on machine learning and contextual signals.
3. Innovative business models and ideas are key for monetising in emerging markets
The majority of these users are likely to be feature phone owners getting their first smartphone, and having access to mobile internet for the first time.
While this presents exciting opportunities for app developers, it comes with its own set of challenges.
The IDC-App Annie Monetisation Reporthighlights a critical point: while current monetisation models are effective for the current smartphone user base due to their purchasing power, these strategies are unlikely to work for the emerging base of users, most of whom will have lower disposable income, limited access to credit and insufficient purchasing power for subscription or freemium models.
Increasingly, app publishers will have to look towards developing innovative business models and ideas that leverage on a large volume of subscribers.
App Annie suggests implementing a “crowdsourced by-products” model, where businesses start with creating a free app that addresses the needs of its users.
The app then serves as a crowdsourced labour pool that generates a by-product in exchange for the free usage of the app. The by-product can then be monetised by the company.
Duolingo’s initial business model is a good example of this. Back in 2014, the app generated revenue through selling translations to companies like CNN and Buzzfeed.
These businesses sent their news articles to Duolingo, which then used these content as translation exercises for its students. Duolingo then sold the translated content back to the news sites, effectively generating revenue from the “by-product” created by its user base.
In conclusion
If you’re in the midst of figuring out your monetisation strategy, consider implementing a mix of these models, and ensure that your strategies are aligned with key emerging trends.
I’ll round up the article with a final tip: it’s never too early to think about monetisation.
It starts from the concept stage; the type of app that’s developed, the potential target market and its features and aesthetics can impact the final monetisation strategy, so you need to think about how to monetise your app in a way that doesn’t affect your users’ experience right when you’re deciding on these factors.
How Scammers Forge Email Addresses, and How You can tell
Consider this a public service announcement: Scammers can forge email addresses. Your email program may say a message is from a certain email address, but it may be from another address entirely.
Email protocols don’t verify addresses are legitimate — scammers, phishers, and other malicious individuals exploit this weakness in the system. You can examine a suspicious email’s headers to see if its address was forged.
How Email Works
Your email software displays who an email is from in the “From” field. However, no verification is actually performed – your email software has no way of knowing if an email is actually from who it says it’s from. Each email includes a “From” header, which can be forged – for example, any scammer could send you an email that appears to be from bill@microsoft.com. Your email client would tell you this is an email from Bill Gates, but it has no way of actually checking.
Emails with forged addresses may appear to be from your bank or another legitimate business. They’ll often ask you for sensitive information such as your credit card information or social security number, perhaps after clicking a link that leads to a phishing site designed to look like a legitimate website.
Think of an email’s “From” field as the digital equivalent of the return address printed on envelopes you receive in the mail. Generally, people put an accurate return address on mail. However, anyone can write anything they like in the return address field – the postal service doesn’t verify that a letter is actually from the return address printed on it.
When SMTP (simple mail transfer protocol) was designed in the 1980s for use by academia and government agencies, verification of senders was not a concern.
How to Investigate an Email’s Headers
You can see more details about an email by digging into the email’s headers. This information is located in different areas in different email clients – it may be known as the email’s “source” or “headers.”
(Of course, it’s generally a good idea to disregard suspicious emails entirely – if you’re at all unsure about an email, it’s probably a scam.)
In Gmail, you can examine this information by clicking the arrow at the top right corner of an email and selecting Show original. This displays the email’s raw contents.
Below you’ll find the contents of an actual spam email with a forged email address. We’ll explain how to decode this information.
Delivered-To: [MY EMAIL ADDRESS] Received: by 10.182.3.66 with SMTP id a2csp104490oba; Sat, 11 Aug 2012 15:32:15 -0700 (PDT) Received: by 10.14.212.72 with SMTP id x48mr8232338eeo.40.1344724334578; Sat, 11 Aug 2012 15:32:14 -0700 (PDT) Return-Path: <e.vwidxus@yahoo.com> Received: from 72-255-12-30.client.stsn.net (72-255-12-30.client.stsn.net. [72.255.12.30]) by mx.google.com with ESMTP id c41si1698069eem.38.2012.08.11.15.32.13; Sat, 11 Aug 2012 15:32:14 -0700 (PDT) Received-SPF: neutral (google.com: 72.255.12.30 is neither permitted nor denied by best guess record for domain of e.vwidxus@yahoo.com) client-ip=72.255.12.30; Authentication-Results: mx.google.com; spf=neutral (google.com: 72.255.12.30 is neither permitted nor denied by best guess record for domain of e.vwidxus@yahoo.com) smtp.mail=e.vwidxus@yahoo.com Received: by vwidxus.net id hnt67m0ce87b for <[MY EMAIL ADDRESS]>; Sun, 12 Aug 2012 10:01:06 -0500 (envelope-from <e.vwidxus@yahoo.com>) Received: from vwidxus.net by web.vwidxus.net with local (Mailing Server 4.69) id 34597139-886586-27/./PV3Xa/WiSKhnO+7kCTI+xNiKJsH/rC/ for root@vwidxus.net; Sun, 12 Aug 2012 10:01:06 –0500
…
From: “Canadian Pharmacy” e.vwidxus@yahoo.com
There are more headers, but these are the important ones – they appear at the top of the email’s raw text. To understand these headers, start from the bottom – these headers trace the email’s route from its sender to you. Each server that receives the email adds more headers to the top — the oldest headers from the servers where the email started out are located at the bottom.
The “From” header at the bottom claims the email is from an @yahoo.com address – this is just a piece of information included with the email; it could be anything at all. However, above it we can see that the email was first received by “vwidxus.net” (below) before being received by Google’s email servers (above). This is a red flag – we’d expect the see the lowest “Received:” header on the list as one of Yahoo!’s email servers.
The IP addresses involved may also clue you in – if you receive a suspicious email from an American bank but the IP address it was received from resolves to Nigeria or Russia, that’s likely a forged email address.
In this case, the spammers have access to the address “e.vwidxus@yahoo.com”, where they want to receive replies to their spam, but they’re forging the “From:” field anyway. Why? Likely because they can’t send massive amounts of spam via Yahoo!’s servers – they’d get noticed and be shut down. Instead, they’re sending spam from their own servers and forging its address.
The logo on this phone case is what powers its suite of accessories
At first glance, this just looks like a regular iPhone case, but in fact that logo is composed of some pretty cool tech.
The Case By Case Kickstarter page bills itself as "the best phone case ever," which is a pretty bold claim. I don't know if it's the best, but it's certainly pretty versatile, with a suite of interchangeable attachments that cover a range of activities. The logo itself is what makes the attachments work, which is both a cool idea and a smart branding move.
The double Cs on the Case by Case fold out to create a kickstand, but that's only the beginning. The X is indented and magnetic, so you can attach and remove accessories easily. Case by Case makes an external battery pack, card holder, folio wallet, arm band, handlebar mount, and GoPro compatible mount that all attach via magnets. The fold out C loops also serve as tension locks for the mounts.
In addition to the various accessories, theCase by Case does provide the basic function of a phone case—protection. They make tempered glass screen protectors, a slim bumper for everyday use and a "buoyant" bumper which appears to be waterproof or at least floats on water.
Check out their campaign video below:
The Case by Case is currently available for iPhones 6 through 8+ and Galaxy S8 and Note8. If you've got another phone (or just really like your current case) you can buy a "Back Plate" that sticks to your current case via 3M adhesive.
Backing the project gets you 39% off retail and your backer level determines how many accessories you can add-on. For the "case + one accessory" option you can donate $49 but if you want all nine attachments you'll need to drop $209.
The Kickstarter campaign wraps up on December 1. They need $50,000 to get funded and are less than $9,000 away at the time of writing.
Case by Case is working on an iPhone X case and more accessories, so if you're on the fence because you don't see exactly what you're looking for, it's coming.
As flagship Android phones become more competitive, and the differences between them seem to narrow, marketing teams throw more numbers and jargon at us to convince us of their products’ worth.
But it’s a mistake to judge phones purely by their specs. It’s no longer true to say that the best specs always mean the best device. Flagships might give you the nicest design, built from the most premium materials, but that’s all you can guarantee.
Here’s how to cut through the marketing hype, and discover why some phones are better (or worse) than they look on paper.
Processor
Processor specs are crammed with numbers, like the number of cores or the clock speed, that show off how fast and powerful it is. In fact, putting an identical processor in two different phones will not result in identical performance.
There are too many other factors at play. The quality of the other components used, how well optimized the operating system is (each phone has its own build of Android), and how the manufacturer has chosen to set up the processor. Some might prefer to tune it more for battery life at the expense of raw power, or vice versa.
And while it’s safe to say that a high-end processor is better than a mid-range one, that’s only guaranteed for models from the same generation. In some cases, a modern mid-range processor may outperform the flagship processor from a previous generation.
Let’s also consider the elephant in the room.
If you’ve ever compared your flagship Android phone to your friend’s iPhone and felt that the iPhone seemed faster, that’s because it is. Benchmark tests show that while the two are somewhat comparable in multi-core performance (for power hungry tasks like gaming and shooting high frame rate video), the iPhone is in a different league for single core performance. This covers everyday tasks like swiping, scrolling, and opening apps.
RAM
The amount of RAM in a current flagship phone ranges from 4GB to 8GB. Does that mean the 8GB model is twice as good? No.
Here’s the thing about RAM: it’s only of value when it’s being used. Free RAM is a waste of RAM.
If you’re using apps and games that require huge amounts of memory, then, yes, the performance will better than on the 4GB device. But those apps and games don’t exist on Android, so assuming you’re going to get better performance just because your phone has more RAM couldn’t be more wrong. It’ll futureproof your phone, but nothing more.
Even on phones with the same amount of memory, performance will not always be the same. The speed and responsiveness of a device is dictated to a large extent by how well optimized the operating system is. Very few devices run a stock version of Android. Instead, manufacturers use their own heavily customized versions with extra features and apps.
Some are more efficient than others. Even after a factory reset, the amount of RAM available will differ from one model of phone to another. And either way, Android is very good at managing memory. So unless you’re using a very budget device with limited RAM, you won’t have to worry about it at all.
Screen
Screen specs are always packed with jargon designed to impress.
There’s OLED and LCD, resolution, pixel density, and so on. And now refresh rate, too. The 120Hz display on the new Razer Phone should deliver a smoother scrolling effect, which could result in improvements to the perceived speed of the phone. Expect more phones to have this in future.
OLED is often regarded as the best display technology due to its greater contrast, dynamic range, and better power efficiency. It’s also a must if you want to use Google’s Daydream VR system. But at the flagship level, the difference between OLED and LCD might not be as great as you’d expect.
Unfortunately, whatever type you’re using, not all displays are made equal.
First, there are potential quality issues. Just recently, we’ve seen the LG V30 screen exhibiting uneven brightness across the entirety of the display on some units.
And on Google’s Pixel 2 XL there has been issues with screen burn in. This is where images that remain on screen for an extended period of time become permanently burnt into the display, and remain visible at all times. Android’s status and navigation bars are prime candidates for causing burn in, but it should take many months or even longer to happen.
And then there are the ways that manufacturers set up their screens. Some choose very bright displays with vivid colors, while others prefer a more natural look. There’s no right or wrong here, it’s all about personal taste. But once you get used to one, the other can be quite off putting.
Battery
When it comes to the battery, bigger is normally better. But as always, it’s not quite that simple. A smaller battery doesn’t automatically mean poor battery life if it’s coupled with well optimized software and an energy efficient processor.
But there are so many factors that affect battery life that it’s impossible judge how well a battery will perform from its specs alone. Maybe you’re running one of these power-sapping apps. Or maybe you’re in an area with poor network coverage, so your phone needs to use more power to maintain a connection.
If your battery is underperforming, there are lots of things you can try to improve it. And don’t forget that a battery’s capacity diminishes over time. If you find you’re getting an hour less screen time than you were a year ago, that may be completely natural.
Storage
The main thing to remember when looking at headline storage specs is that the actual amount of space available to you will always be a lot lower.
Internal storage contains the operating system and pre-installed apps as well, and it’ll often account for a good 10GB (or more). That 32GB phone with no SD card slot might be creaking at the seams after six months of use.
One other overlooked detail about storage is its speed. It’s rarely mentioned on the spec sheets but can have a dramatic effect on the overall performance of your phone. If you wonder why your phone seems slower after several months of use, one factor could be that the performance of yourinternal storage is degrading.
The only way to get the lowdown on read/write speeds of phone storage is to check the benchmarks in online reviews.
Camera
Specs have always been used to try and sell cameras, and smartphone cameras are not immune to this. Fortunately, smartphones were spared the “megapixel race” — the mistaken belief that more megapixels means better pictures — but there are still plenty of other areas they compete on.
All but the cheapest phone cameras nowtake decent pictures in good light conditions, so most of the attention falls on their ability to shoot in low light. There are numerous hardware factors that can affect this, but they aren’t always as important as they might seem.
The main one is the aperture. This is the size of the hole between the lens and the sensor, and it controls how much light the camera can draw in (it’s measured as an f-number, and a smaller number represents a larger aperture).
The LG V30 has the largest aperture on a phone at f/1.6. It captures a third more light than the f/1.7 lens on the Galaxy S8. But that doesn’t automatically mean it’s better.
A larger sensor also captures more light. So do larger pixels on the sensor. And so does optical image stabilization, which enables the camera to use slower shutter speeds. It’s very hard to compare these in a meaningful way, so reducing them to numbers on a spec sheet tells you nothing.
Camera Software
But the hardware isn’t even the most important thing in a phone camera. More than ever, it’s the software that is responsible for producing images. The HDR+ mode on Google’s Pixel phones, for example, takes a rapid burst of shots and blends them together into a single image with high dynamic range and low noise.
The effect is so good that it is able to overcome many of the limitations of the hardware, and surpass those cameras that should be better (based on their specs). Most major phones have similar features, although they don’t always work quite so well.
How the software processes images is also important. Some manufacturers produce pictures that are ultra-sharp with vibrant colors that are punchy but not realistic. Others prefers softer, more natural images. The worst cameras have software that delivers flat, digital looking photos that are uninspiring. In these cases, choosing abetter camera app might help.
Ultimately, the best way to judge a camera is by looking at sample images and deciding for yourself.
Choosing a Phone
Not so long ago, specs were an important indicator of the quality of an Android phone. Each generation of devices was better than the last, and each bump in specs brought tangible benefits.
But that’s no longer true. Smartphone development has largely plateaued. Most phones from $300 upwards will give you an HD display, fast processor, and decent camera. But it’s impossible to discern how these details will translate to real world performance. Some mid-range devices far exceed expectations, some flagships disappoint. The Android specs race is over.
Everything you need to know about a new Facebook virus that has started doing the rounds in South Africa…
Another Facebook virus has been released, unlike any other and it has just reached South African shores. This malware has a botnet-like capability and can post your profile picture along with a URL and a video on your Facebook timeline making it look like your friend has made a video of you.
Users of the social media site are receiving a seemingly innocent message from people on their friends list with a video link attached, which claims to be about the receiver.
But when opened, the video redirects to afalse YouTube page where the user is prompted to download a file to view the video.
However, there is no video.
This malware can post your profile picture along with a URL and a video in a message making it look like your friend has spotted a video of you.
“Instead those who do follow the instructions and complete the request unwittingly download a virus which in turn spams the user’s friends list with the same link.”
This type of Facebook Trojan operates on the botnet principle. Its primary purpose is to steal your information including:
IP and other System Info
Facebook account information
Browsing history
E-mail accounts and other passwords
There have been reports that some users have been unable to log out of their accounts after mistakenly downloading the virus.
But there are steps you can take to avoid being compromised
If you receive one of these messages, DO NOT OPEN it and inform the friend who “sent” the video that their account has been hacked.
If you do find that your Facebook profile has been compromised by the scam, you need to secure your account as soon as possible.
Be sure to change your password and run an activity check to spot any suspicious activity on your page.
You can also remove any downloaded malware by going into Facebook Settings & Apps, Websites and Plugins & Select Disable to protect your account from unauthorized access of third party apps.
It is also recommended to run any anti-virus or malware programs to rid your device of any bugs that may have been downloaded to your system as a result of the download.
