Google Hangouts shutting doors on apps by April

 

messaging platform strategy has never really been stable. Over the years it has switched from one system and app to the next, practically promising “this” would be it. Substitute “this” with Voice, Messages, Hangouts, and now Allo and Duo, and you pretty much get the picture. Unfortunately for those who actually invested in, for example, Hangouts, they might soon find their investments rendered useless as Google shuts down Hangouts’ API that third-party app developers once used to hook into the service.

Hangouts was supposed to be the be all and end all of Google’s messaging platform, a single coherent brand both users and developers could rally behind. Although initially a part of the now obsolete Google+, Hangouts quickly group from group video chat to all-around phone, text, one-on-one video call, and video conferencing service. It even became the umbrella name for a stillborn Helpouts video chat assistance service.

Today, however, Google has Allo for text-based chats and Duo for one-on-one video chats. Hangouts, in their new vision, will be relegated to business use cases, particularly video conferencing. And to “streamline” that transition, Google has silently given its Hangouts API a death sentence. On 25th April, the API will shutdown and apps in Hangouts will cease to function.

These apps have mostly been used to add a more social, less serious flavor to Hangouts, from stickers to doodles, and even AR overlays. As such, they no longer have a place in Hangouts’ new business-minded world. Some third-party apps, however, did use those APIs exactly for what Google now intends Hangouts to be, so integrations with services and apps like DialPad, RingCentral, Slack, Control Room, and the like, will continue to function. At least until further notice.

The big question now is how long before that situation changes again, if not for Hangouts then for Google’s current messaging strategy. And Google has practically made Hangouts, to put it bluntly, boring, which would probably discourage new users and further investment, driving users towards rivals like Slack or Skype.

MongoDB Database Hit By Ransomware Attack

MongoDB databases have suffered a surge of ransomware attacks, with over 27,000 servers currently compromised as hackers steal and delete data from unpatched or poorly-configured systems.

Used for analytics and data study, MongoDB is a famous open-source NoSQL database. In popular rankings, it comes after giants like Oracle, MySQL and Microsoft SQL Server.

According to ethical hacker Victor Gevers, one-fourth of 99 thousand MongoDB instances which are open to the internet have been attacked. It has been said that ransom criminals target mainly those accounts which do not have password protected admin accounts.

Hackers use automated scanning tools searching the web for signs of insecure or improperly configured MongoDB systems, he added.

Currently, the situation is really bad for MongoDB owners and there is no sign of hope. The worse part is many groups are hacking the same servers again and again, and exchanging notes on ransom which makes are almost impossible to track victim’s data. And this results in paying ransom to other people.

Hackers use ransomware to attack computers specifically of organisations and then encrypt delicate and important data, before asking for a ransom to give the data back. Small businesses to big enterprises, no one without proper resources is safe for such threats. Ransomware is used for encryption of valuable files and it is impossible for companies to get them back, and has to give in to the ransom demands.

when redmi 4 phone release

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 expected to launch in india on 19th of January

Xiaomi to launch Snapdragon powered Redmi Note 4 in India on January 19. It is expected to be priced at below Rs 13000 in India (probably similar to price of redmi note 3).

The highlight of the smartphone is its metal build and Snapdragon 625 SoC. In china it was launched with helio x20 deca-core SoC. 

Redmi Note 4 in India to feature a 5.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD IPS display powered by a 2.0GHz  Snapdragon 625 processor with 2GB/ 3GB RAM  and 16 GB / 64GB of internal storage. Redmi Note 4 will have  a Hybrid Slim slot. It will have a 13-megapixel camera and 5 MP front facing camera. The device runs on Android 6.0  powered by a 4100mAh Battery. 

It also sports an infrared sensor. Connectivity options include GPRS/ EDGE, 3G, 4G with VoLTE, Bluetooth, GPS, The smartphone measures 151x76x8.35mm, and weighs 175 

How to use UPI to transfer money

What is UPI?

We can consider the UPI as the improved version of IMPS to make money transfer hassle less. National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) approved UPI payments and instructed banks to make arrangements for the latest payment mode. Below are the benefits of UPI.

What are the UPI benefits?

– To transfer money to others accounts you no need to use complete bank details. Earlier without Bank Name, Branch location, IFSC code and the account number we were not able to transfer funds to others accounts. But with UPI just the UPI ID (i.e. like mail ID) is sufficient for fund transfer.

• No need to add beneficiary to transfer funds into their accounts
• You can transfer up to Rs. 1 Lakh per single transaction.
• The complete processor works on Unique ID called UPI – ID. So now onwards to transfer funds to your friends you need to ask for their UPI – ID instead of complete bank details.
• You can transfer funds only from a mobile phone and a dedicated UPI app released by your bank. If you have accounts in two banks, you must install two separate apps published by both the banks from the Google Play store.
• There are no time restrictions on the transactions. Now you can transfer funds around the clock.

How to Register with UPI?

To make UPI fund transfers you have to download dedicated UPI app released by your bank. Here is the list of banks providing the UPI app right now, soon other banks are going to release apps on Google Play Store.

First Step:

Once you downloaded your Bank’s UPI app from the Google Play Store, open the app and enter your mobile number along with four digits PIN of your choice. Whenever you wants to transfer money with UPI app the PIN is required, so remember the PIN you created at this step.

Second Step:

Now your bank UPI app asks you to create a VPA address (Virtual Payment Address). VPA is like email address, create with care. If you are using ICICI, their VPA domain is “pockets”. So if you are a ICICI customer, your VPA address can be “person@pockets” or “mail@pockets” or “98763210@pokckets”. You can set whatever available name.

Third Step:

Once you created the VPA you need to link your Bank account with your VPA address.

How to transfer money with UPI?

In your UPI app, once you finished all the above steps you will get send money, collect money, respond to collect request and finally QR code scanning features.

Select Send Money option. On the next screen specify your friend’s VPA ID, the amount you want to transfer and the remarks. Finally, confirm the transaction simply by tapping on the screen. Now the amount will be transferred to your friend’s account instantly.

How to Receive money with UPI?

Open UPI app installed on your phone and select “Collect Money” option from the menu. Now specify the VPA ID of the person from whom you want to collect money, the amount you need to collect and other details, once you configured the transaction your friend also got notified by his UPA app and SMS about the collect request you initiated.

Nokia E1 Android phone specifications 

People are very much excited about Nokia re-entry into the smartphone market. Nokia is planning to launch various models into the market in 2017. One of the models is Nokia E-1 which is intended for budget users.

The Nokia E-1 smartphone specifications are leaked on Weibo, a social networking site similar to Facebook. According to the leaked specifications, the phone will be equipped with 5.2 or 5.3-inch screen and runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 1.4 GHz processor.

The phone powered with Adreno 308 graphic processor, and it may have 2GB RAM and consists of 16 GB of onboard storage with microSD support.

Nokia E-1 may come with Adreno 13 MP rear camera and 5 MP front facing the camera. The phone runs on Android 7.0 Nougat operating system.

Indians show much interest in Nokia brand because of its solid build quality and battery backup. Whether the company maintain the same quality for the upcoming models is now a big question for the consumers.

How to use Skype even if you don’t have an account

Skype, the most popular video calling website from the software giant Microsoft requires an account to use the service.

But recently the popular video calling service has introduced a new feature using which the users can now video call with their friends and family even if they don’t have an account.  This comes as an extension to the feature added by the company in 2015 October where the users are given the choice of adding non-Skype users to their conversations.

Using this feature, you will be considered as a guest. All the guest conversations are done with the unique link which one can share with their friends or family to whom he/she want to talk over the video calling service. The link lasts for 24 hours and allows a text chat for about 300 people and 35 people over a voice or video call.

Screen and file sharing are the basic account features that can be accessed by the guest users.

Getting started:

• https://www.skype.com/en/

This is the webpage that one needs to go through to start up the process of accessing account free Skype.

• You will find an option called start the conversation, just click on it.
• Enter a name for the conversation and it will prepare a screen for the conversation.
• On the left side of the screen, you will find the copy the link option, and after copying, you will send that link through various means like messaging, email, Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp and many others to the people whom you would like to chat with over the service.

PC users will be directed to open that link using the Skype app, or they can even choose to join the conversation using the web as a guest. Mobile users can join the conversation using the mobile app.

Nokia 6 Android phone

                        Nokia 6  Android phone 

Good News for the Nokia fans, the first Android-based Nokia phone Nokia 6 is going to launch in China in a few days. HMD Global, the company behind the Nokia, announced the news in a statement.

The phone comes with 5.5-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080p) resolution screen and equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor. It sports with 4 GB RAM along with 64 GB internal storage. We can get more storage through microSD slot

Coming to the camera department, Nokia 6 has 16 megapixels back camera, and 8 MP front facing camera. The phone is equipped with 3000 mAh battery.

HMD Global acquired rights to use Nokia brand for all the smartphones and tablets by paying a huge royalty. So HMD is the company that is going to release various Nokia smartphones in the market.

Right now the Nokia 6 model is exclusively releasing in the China market only, shortly the same model will be available across the globe. The company has the plan to release few more Android smartphones in the market soon.