NETVOICES BLOG

WhatsApp undoubtedly is one of the world’s most popular means of communication, with over 1 billion users across the globe, 95 per cent smartphone users in India using it. Similar to other messaging platforms, WhatsApp users have also been victims to all kind of scams, and hoaxes circulated everyday. WhatsApp is also plagued by spam, hoax and phishing messages, in the same way SMS and emails are today. But the trick to stay safe from such scams and hoaxes has always been the same — dodge them. Here are some recent scams, hoaxes and phishing messages you should be aware of... Fake ‘Video Calling’ invitations: Before launching any new feature on its messaging app, WhatsApp developers rollout some features on its beta platform for the testers. After being tested, these features are then released to public for world-wide use. Beta testers usually reveal to the world about the new features that will soon be added to the final version. However, there are a few too many scamsters who t...

Facebook has acquired CrowdTangle, a four-year-old tool used by publishers like Vox, BuzzFeed, and Mic to track how their content is shared on social media. The two companies announced the deal on Friday for an undisclosed sum. CrowdTangle had raised $2.2 million in funding from investors like Betaworks and Advancit Capital. Facebook's Page Insights tool already lets publishers track the performance of their Facebook pages, but CrowdTangle can track content across other platforms, including Twitter, Reddit, Instagram, and YouTube. CrowdTangle said it will continue to operate within Facebook and that its customers "should expect even more from us going forward." CEO Brandon Silverman and CTO Matt Garmur will join Facebook along with many members of the team, according to a Facebook spokesperson. CrowdTangle became an official Facebook partner earlier this year. “Publishers around the world turn to CrowdTangle to surface stories that matter, measure their so...

            See Countries with the fastest 4G LTE in 2016 4G LTE_courtesy of Netvoices forum  OpenSignal is back with another report into the state of the world’s 4G LTE  networks this year, and it makes for some more interesting reading. Compared with last year and even earlier this year, global speeds are up on average, with countries poised to pass the 50 Mbps speed for the first time very soon. While global infrastructure varies, 4G LTE is now also a faster than the world’s typical broadband speeds. Globally speaking, 4G speeds average out at 17.4 Mbps, with many countries now easily passing 20 Mbps. This is up from an average of just 12.6 Mbps around the same time last year, and the fastest countries have continued to dramatically increase their average download speeds. However, countries with developing infrastructure are still some way behind, such as India which only offers customers an average 4G speed of 6.4 Mb...

Now the entire Facebook family has a piece of Snapchat. WhatsApp is currently testing Snapchat-like Stories that lets users share images with doodles and text captions.  The experimental feature, called 'Status', adds a new tab between Chats and Calls and, just like Snapchat, they vanish in 24 hours. WhatsApp is currently testing Snapchat-like Stories that lets users share images with doodles and text captions. The experimental feature, called 'Status', adds a new tab between Chats and Calls and, just like Snapchat, they vanish in 24 hours WHAT IS STATUS?  Status is a Snapchat-like Stories that lets users send images with doodles, text captions and emojios. Although an experimental feature, some lucky users have been able to test it while it is in beta. The feature is displayed as a new tab between Chat and Calls.  It also allows you to edit videos after they've been shot, specifically trimming them down. These creations are only visible for 24 h...

In case the first recall, second recall, house fire, airline ban, internet-winning Halloween costumeor physical injuries weren’t enough to deter you from using your Galaxy Note 7, Samsung is going to take the option out of your hands. New Zealand phone companies are working with Samsung to start blacklisting any Note 7 devices left in the wild, which should be the final blow for the hottest smartphone in recent history. Reports suggests that the New Zealand Telecommunications Forum estimates that there’s a “few hundred” devices left active in the country, but not for long. Starting on November 18th, Note 7 devices won’t work on any of New Zealand’s cell networks. This isn’t being achieved by a remote software update, but rather by blacklisting the IMEI number of every Note 7 handset. The phones will still work offline or over Wi-Fi, but there won’t be any cellular data connection. In theory, a particularly dumb or stubborn user could keep using their Note 7 with a por...

WhatsApp has been warned by European privacy watchdogs about sharing user data with parent company Facebook. The regulators said they had "serious concerns" about the changes made to WhatsApp's privacy policy, which made the sharing possible. In a letter to the messaging firm, they asked it to stop sharing data until it was clear that European privacy rules were not being broken. WhatsApp said it was working with data watchdogs to address their concerns. Data oversight In August this year, WhatsApp revealed that it would be sharing more information with Facebook, which bought the messaging app in early 2014 for $19bn (£16bn). WhatsApp justified the change by saying this would mean suggestions about who people should connect with would be "more relevant". But many criticised its decision because of earlier pledges that WhatsApp had made to remain independent of Facebook. The decision to share information prompted inves...

The MTN Group has just concluded its acquisition of fibre networks company, Smart Village. This news is coming just a year after the company first disclosed it's plans to acquire Smart Village from MULTICHOICE. Smart Village is a multimedia and telecommunication services provider that offers fibre-optic access to gated communities with about 29,000 residential homes on their platform. With this acquisition, taking effect on November 30, 2016, MTN hopes to boosts its fibre to-home (FTTH) services and strengthen their presence in the market. According to Mteto Nyati, CEO of MTN South Africa, “The acquisition of Smart Village provides MTN with the opportunity to cement its market leadership in the FTTH space and to make inroads in the enterprise sector.” MTN may be the new parent company of Smart Village, but that doesn’t mean things will change for the subsidiary. In an email to subscribers, Smart Village said they will “continue to operate as a self-standing company,” and ha...

Of all the games I've played over the past year, PES 2017 is quickly becoming my favorite. It's a callback to the days of PES' (or Winning Eleven's) rise to prominence in the soccer game scene, when it commanded attention with its outstanding representation of the sport. Although the sales figures might not suggest it, PES 2017 is the mark of a series that is arguably back to its best. It achieves this by implementing a whole host of careful refinements, capitalizing on last year's positives and repairing many of its weaknesses to great effect. If the dramatically enhanced goalkeepers of this year's version aren't enough to convince the doubters, the game-changing Adaptive AI system should be. Not only are games more balanced, authentic and fluid than last year, but they're a lot more fun too. What Has Changed Since Launch? Thus far, the game has seen very little change since release. Early issues surrounding button lag...