WhatsApp Battens Down the Hatches

WhatsApp has added end-to-end encryption and enabled it by default in the latest version of its Android messaging application, partner Open Whisper Systems announced Tuesday.

The new feature taps Open Whisper's open source TextSecure encryption protocol to ensure that only a conversation's participants can read the messages they exchange. WhatsApp itself won't be able to decrypt the messages, in other words, even if law enforcement should try to require it.

Encrypted messaging isn't yet available for group chat or media messages within WhatsApp's Android client, but those features are coming next, Open Whisper said, along with support for more client platforms. Key-verification options also will be forthcoming once protocol integrations are completed.

A Rare Quality

Facebook-owned WhatsApp is one of several messaging applications called out in a recent scorecard report from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The EFF rated the security of more than three dozen such apps on seven different dimensions, including encryption. Also taken into consideration was whether or not the apps' code was audited and open to independent review.

Only six tools scored all seven stars, including ChatSecure, CryptoCat, Signal/Redphone, Silent Phone, Silent Text and Open Whisper's TextSecure app.

WhatsApp, on the other hand, was among those whose lack of end-to-end encryption resulted in a lower ranking. Included in that category were Google, Facebook and Apple's email products, along with Yahoo's Web and mobile chat and Secret.

Lacking encryption altogether were messaging platforms QQ, Mxit and the desktop version of Yahoo Messenger, the EFF found.

One Fell Swoop

"I think it's great news," said Joseph Bonneau, a fellow at both the EFF and Princeton University's Center for Information Technology Policy.

"One of the things we were hoping with the scorecard project is that we'd be able to push others to do the same thing," he told TechNewsWorld.

This one change "basically absolved them from being one of the apps that didn't really provide much security to being one of the most secure mainstream messaging apps out there," Bonneau said.

The Open Source Advantage

WhatsApp's choice of TextSecure was a good one, noted Bonneau.

"TextSecure has really been refined over the years," he said. "It's great to see them using a public application that has earned a lot of confidence and has a lot of strong security features."

The fact that TextSecure is open source is a particularly compelling advantage, Bonneau pointed out. "In practice, it means that any weaknesses are far more likely to be found and fixed. Open source is the way to go."

Billions of Encrypted Messages

Open Whisper Systems has been working with WhatsApp for the past half year or so to implement the new feature in what it called the largest deployment of end-to-end encrypted communication in history.

Billions of encrypted messages now are being exchanged each day through the enhanced service.

Users likely won't even notice that the additional security is there, however.

"It shouldn't affect the user experience at all," Bonneau remarked.

Educating Users

Of course, whether they realize it or not, the app's more than 600 million monthly active users are benefiting from the superior security the TextSecure code provides, Jean Taggart, senior security researcher at Malwarebytes, told TechNewsWorld.

"Implementing the Open Whisper Systems protocol under the hood of a popular messaging platform is a huge improvement," he said.

Looking ahead, moves like this one will begin to make it clear to users that there are "big security differences among messaging platforms," EFF's Bonneau observed. "Hopefully users will start demanding this kind of security." 

Coming soon: ''

Bosses may soon be demanding that employees get on Facebook and do some work. The social media giant is getting ready to roll out a workplace version of its site called "Facebook at Work," insiders tell the Financial Times.

The site—which will compete head-to-head with Google's and Microsoft's workplace products, as well as LinkedIn—will look and function much like Facebook's existing site, the sources say, but will include tools for people to work on things like shared documents and will allow users to keep their personal Facebook profiles completely separate from their professional ones.

The project, inspired by Facebook employees' own use of the site for work purposes, is now in an early pilot program and doesn't currently host ads, according to Mashable.

But will it catch on as the place to have workplace chats? The office version of Facebook could be a hit because it will have the "fastest learning curve ever in the history of enterprise software," writes Erika Morphy at Forbes, but with corporations fearing leaks of sensitive information, the company's "fast-and-loose approach with consumers' privacy may come back to haunt it." (Facebook is also rumored to be planning a move into health care.)

Flip phones are hip again

Hipsters, rejoice. Next time you ride your fixed-gear bicycle to the the thrift store, where you find a vintage, grease-stained mechanic's shirt that matches your Rollie Fingers mustache and Grizzly Adams beard, there's an edgy, if technologically sub-optimal, way to tell your friends about it.
Use a flip phone.

In an age of the iPhone 6 Plus and massive Android phablets, flip phones are inexplicably making a comeback.

No less an arbiter of cool than Vogue magazine editor Anna Wintour has apparently dumped her iPhone in favor of a flipper. Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, actress Kate Beckinsale and even Rihanna are just a few of the celebrities spotted proudly brandishing the famous piece of paleo-technology.
And, believe it or not, "dumb phones" aren't exactly the elusive unicorn that some of us think they are.
As of January, 56% of American adults owned smartphones, compared to a total of 90% who had a cellphone of some kind, according to the Pew Research Internet Project. Among millennials age 18-29, an overwhelming 83% of those who owned cellphones had a smartphone, but that leaves the other 17% who keep their mobile life more basic.

The hinged, snap-shut "flipper" form factor was originally introduced to the public in 1982 by laptop manufacturer GriD with its Compass computer.

Motorola, perhaps the king of flip phones with its Razr line, introduced the clamshell style in 1996 with its StarTAC phone (which, appropriately enough, was re-released for nostalgic techies in 2010).
Is this really all about going for retro, hipster street cred? There is, at times, a mystifying aspect of "cool" that centers around eschewing modern convenience for vintage ... well ... inconvenience.
Writing on typewriters? Check. Racing high-wheel bicycles from the 1880s? Yes. Playing baseball with the rules and equipment of the 1860s? Absolutely.

But there are obviously some more practical reasons some people, including millennials, go flip.
For some, it's about simplifying and uncluttering in a 24/7 plugged-in society.
"It just seemed like it would be better for my addled brain than a smartphone," 26-year-old Angelica Baker, a tutor and writer, told TIME. "Personally I'm too scattered and unfocused to handle email and Facebook on my phone."

Baker swapped out her Droid for her mom's retired flip phone, a pink Motorola Razr.
No one has to worry about the iCloud being hacked when they use a flip phone. There's little to no eye and neck strain. No fear of Flappy Bird addiction.


And, let's be honest ... there's something satisfying about a switchblade-like phone flip after an annoying phone conversation that even the most emphatic tap of a touchscreen will never approach.
Maybe the hipsters are onto something after all. Though we'll still pass on the bushy beards.

Android Lollipop update causes problems

Users have reported Adobe Air-based apps being wiped from their handsets

Early adopters of Google's latest Android operating system are warning others of problems with the software.

Issues include the update causing Nexus 7 tablets to run slowly and repeatedly crash, with several users complaining they had become "unusable".

The code also appears to remove apps built with Adobe Air and then prevent them from being reinstalled.

Adobe said it had not been aware of this "critical" bug before Tuesday and had escalated it with Google.

A spokesman for the search firm was unable to comment at this time.

'Shockingly bad'
Android 5.0 - also known as Lollipop - is described as a "quantum leap forward" by Google and has attracted several positive reviews, fuelling desire for the software.

It revamps the system's user interface, offers greater control over notifications, and makes changes to the way the OS executes code, which Google said should mean fewer "temporary glitches" than before.

At the moment, it is only available to a limited number of machines, because many network operators and device manufacturers have yet to complete their own tests.

However, owners of Nexus-branded machines - which are sold by Google itself - can install the software by downloading it from the firm's website or, in the case of the Asus-made Nexus 7, accepting an over-

Victoria's Secret Wants to Win Over Millennials With Its Own Mobile Messaging App 'Pink' lets you talk and shop

Victoria's Secret wants to see what today's millennials are talking about with a new twist on mobile messaging.

At the same time that practically all millennial-minded marketers are using Snapchat, Line, Kik and every other social and mobile platform out there to get in touch with teens, Victoria's Secret has rolled out its own chat feature within its Pink shopping app.
The lingerie brand is the first marketer to use a chatting feature from a mobile messaging app called Frankly.
After opening the chat feature, app users can talk about predetermined topics like holiday gifts or school. Because this is Victoria's Secret (and millennials are fickle) the public chats are customizable with different shades of pink backgrounds and branded emojis. There's also the usual crop of smiley face emojis that app users can play with, much like a text message.
On Dec. 9, the chat function will be used to push out exclusive content during the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in London. The retailer recently used the app to announce that singer Ariana Grande was performing at the show.
There is also a button to download the stand-alone Frankly mobile messaging app.
With a demographic that’s highly skewed toward millennials, mobile is important for Victoria’s Secret. This summer the brand launched an augmented reality feature within its app, in addition the the usual games and content, to keep people engaged.
Frankly claims to have been downloaded 1.5 million times, which is small potatoes compared to most messaging apps. Earlier this year, Forrester Research published a report showing that WhatsApp has 500 million users and Line has 420 million.

He Sold 'Draw Something' For ~ $200 Million — Now Dan Porter Is Back With A New Startup

Dan Porter left Zynga in April 2013, almost exactly one year after it acquired his startup, OMGPOP, for ~$200 million.

OMGPOP was the maker of Draw Something, one of the first mobile games to go viral. It racked up 1.2 million downloads within its first week and a half. Three months later, Zynga dropped tons of money on it. After the acquisition, users promptly lost interest in the game. Zynga later shut down its entire New York operation, and Porter agreed to leave.

That year for Porter was exhausting.

"That was a tough experience at Zynga," Porter tells us. "Obviously making an app and having it be so successful is amazing. It's really fun and I wish it on everyone. It was just like, I wanted to make something else."

As a free agent, Porter and his wife spent the summer traveling. When they returned to New York, Porter took a cushy corporate job at Ari Emanuel's talent agency, WME. Emanuel and Porter had been introduced by an OMGPOP investor, Marc Andreessen. The role, head of digital, would allow Porter to continue innovating at startup speed.

"I basically took [Emanuel] at his word that I could join WME and we could figure out cool stuff to make, and they’d support me," Porter says. "And that ended up being true." Over the past year, he's stayed out of the spotlight, quietly making digital investments for the company in startups such as ClassPass and Into the Gloss.

Now, Porter is ready to be a startup CEO again.

He and a group of former OMGPOP-ers have launched a new mobile startup, Tally, that's backed by WME. Porter will remain head of digital at the parent company while trying to get Tally off the ground. It launches on iOS today.