Should you install Aarogya Setu mobile app?

Ever since the beginning of Covid19 pandemic lockdown in India, Aarogya Setu mobile App is widely being shared on WhatsApp. In recent days, Aarogya Setu mobile app TV Commercial is also being aired across TV channels in India.

The mobile app is developed by Indian Government and is visibly being backed by it.

Although, Aarogya Setu is a mobile application developed by the Government of India to connect essential health services with the people of India; the app is also being used for contact tracing app. The Government claims that the contact tracing will help it control the spread of Corona virus (Covid19 pandemic). 

What is Contact tracing ?

If a person with the app installed in his/her mobile goes to place where a Corona Virus positive person is also present, then the mobile app will give an alert to the person about the presence of a Covid19 positive person there.    

The app uses location data via GPS trails (in addition to Bluetooth) to get to the exact location of the user. 

Should you Install Aarogya Setu mobile app? 

You decide yourself.

Do you want to give a mobile app your exact location any time?

The Aarogya Setu mobile app is designed is to get your exact location anywhere any hour. In addition, the kind of data being collected by the app is somewhat unclear. That apart, serious data safety and privacy concerns are being raised about the app because it uses GPS trails along with Bluetooth to find a person's location. 

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Aarogya Setu , Contact tracing , GPS trails , mobile Apps

Should you install Aarogya Setu mobile app?

Anil Singh Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Lenovo and Motorola | 75 Day Warranty extension during COVID-19

For months before the present pan India lock-down, people in India were buying mobile devices such as  laptops or mobile phones or other mobile devices.  They may not be doing that in large numbers but at least those who wanted them for their work were buying with some regularity. People across world were doing the same, although alike their Indian counterparts they acted more discerning in recent years. Now that most people across world are working from their homes, courtesy the challenging time of COVID-19 pandemic; the same work devices have become more prone to wear and tear and other issues. 

Keeping this in mind, Lenovo and Motorola are trying to provide a better support for their customers by offering a free global warranty extension for up to 75 days through May 31, 2020 for all Lenovo/Motorola smartphones and accessories with warranties that are coming to an end between March 15 2020 through April 30, 2020.

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Service Warranty

Lenovo and Motorola | 75 Day Warranty extension during COVID-19

Anil Singh Saturday, April 4, 2020

Remove, Disable Ad Blocker on your Browser | Protect your Personal Information Online

Are you using an advertisement blocker in your web browser?

Are you using an advertisement blocker enabled browser on your mobile, Tablet, Laptop or Desktop PC?

Are you using an add on or an extension with the web browser of your choice such as Google Chrome, Firefox Safari or any other mobile/tablet/PC?

If YES, then without any delay disable ad blocker on your web browser OR remove any browser add-ons or extension you may have installed on your web browser , be it on mobile/tablet/laptop/PC.

Ad blockers on web-browsers or ad blocker extensions or add-ons installed on browsers found to indulge in Personal Data Theft (or Personal Data harvesting)

You may have heard a saying : There is No Free lunch.

It means that any service which is being offered for free, might not be free of cost. There are some costs involved.

According to some studies, the ad blocker or advertisement blocker extensions for browsers or browsers enabled ad blockers have been found harvesting or storing or stealing the personal data of millions of unsuspecting consumers. This personal data harvesting is taking place across ad blockers and; includes the most popular names.

The data so harvested (collected) is then sold to those businesses for whom such personal data is valuable. For example, not only your sensitive data such as credit card information, tax returns, medical records, your connected surveillance videocam footage links, travel history and other sensitive data is valuable for any such buyer but also some very simple looking data such as your browsing history, the products you window shop online, terms you search etc. is a valuable information for the business buyers. All such data helps them understand your search habits, buying habits and the frequency of your spends online.

According to some research conducted by reputed research firms online, the global business for such harvested data is continuously growing and; because of the habit of mobile users using utilities such as ad blockers etc. to save time or to have a distraction free web browsing, the data harvesting business is likely to grow at a high rate in near future. 

According to an independent cyber security research mid 2019, the unlimited access of such harvested data was found to be given to a Company buyer for as low as $10-$50.

How to Protect Yourself From online Personal Information Theft or Data Theft or Harvesting

You may be thinking why, I'm not using the word Theft directly. The reason is simple: Most users who use ad-blocker enabled browsers or ad blocker extensions do not read the TOS (Terms of Service) document while installing the browser or an extension. They simply agree to the long TOS document. So in real, neither the browsers nor the browser add-ons/extensions are harvesting data without your permission. It is only that you gave them the access to the data without reading the TOS.

So what you must do to protect yourself from such personal Data Harvesting or Data Theft:

1. Disable any additional functionalities in your Tablet/Laptop/Desktop/ Mobile web browser :  Keep your browser to as simply as you can. Note that nobody is immune to some data harvesting but the smaller the number of functions you enable on your browser, the lesser data you will give to the browser. Some amount of data harvesting is necessary for your browser such as Chrome, Firefox, Opera etc. to offer you good services and keep the browser happy. But the moment you start adding additional utilities such as advertisement blockers etc. the more personal information you will have to offer in return.  
2. Remove web or mobile browser extensions / Add-ons: The reason is the same as above. The more extensions you install the more personal information you give. Installing extensions from Play Store or any other such App market place becomes additionally risky because mobile usage data reveals that people use the same mobile device for both surfing and banking, purchasing purposes. 
3. Keep your web/mobile browser to as simple as possible.

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The increased use of mobile devices and economical mobile internet charges have increased internet usage on mobile phones and devices. In addition, the availability of thousands of mobile apps, browser utilities, apps and browser extensions on Play Store etc. have increased the habit of using such free utilities. But in a World of where the risks of data theft or personal information theft are real, it is good to keep one's web/mobile browser to as simple as possible and simply disable/remove utilities/addons such as ad blockers, social media sharing extensions etc. 

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data harvesting , data security , mobile browser , personal information online , protect online data theft , Web Browsers

Remove, Disable Ad Blocker on your Browser | Protect your Personal Information Online

Anil Singh Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Only Paid version works | Link Checker WordPress Plugin

If you want to check your WordPress website posts for previously linked non-existing URLs, denial of service URLs etc. then free Link Checker WordPress plugin may not solve your problem.

The free version simply checks yours website and just gives you just the summary of such URLs. That is just numbers. No other details such as URL description etc. In addition it only checks for 500 URLs. But again, you cannot download the data so gathered. You cannot fix them unless you opt for the paid Link Checker professional version.

In simple words, you simply send data to the plugin and get nothing in return.

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Link Checker , wordpress plugins

Only Paid version works | Link Checker WordPress Plugin

Anil Singh Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Best website price checking tool online -- Site Price

If you are a new blogger or website owner, you may want to know the price of your blog or website. There are multiple website valuation tools online. But the west price check tool which I think does the best work is quite accurate is the Site Price online tool.

To check your website price or website worth at any moment visit THIS PAGE; and enter your website/blog url in the blank field (copy paste your website url) and click on Calculate. Within minutes you will find your website price.

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Blogging

Best website price checking tool online -- Site Price

Anil Singh Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Facebook Messenger Kids for children under-13

According to reports online, Facebook's ‘youth team’ is developing the Facebook ‘Messenger Kids’ App.

Facebook has started developing a messenger app specifically targeted at children aged 13 or under.

At present, the minimum age for a person to open his/her Facebook account is 13 years.

So the new Facebook Messenger for kids  can be seen as a way to bring children aged 13 years and below to the Facebook in a safe and informed manner; So that they get to know the online social media platforms' environment and social media communication landscape, before they are allowed to create the usual Facebook account, defends Facebook.

To make the Kids' Facebook Messenger app safe for children, the child-specific messaging app will be controlled by a parental Facebook account. Other safety features include: all contacts must be approved by the parental account, and the parental account has the power to delete messages and contacts deemed inappropriate.

By the look of it, the Facebook messenger apps for kids is trying to do two things at the same time:

1) Increase Facebook adoption rate among young people, by bringing them to the platform at an even younger age.

&

2) Bring an App bundled up with parental control and monitoring features to get away with any parental concerns.

But, the Facebook App for children does not address some obvious questions:

Why will any parent want to introduce online social media to his/her child before 13 years of age?

and

How does the new app address the concerns of parents who already see the usual Facebook platform somewhat 'unsafe'?

and

What measures Facebook or any other social media network has taken to discourage children below the minimum age open the usual Facebook account?

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Facebook Messenger App for Kids

Facebook Messenger Kids for children under-13

Anil Singh Saturday, February 16, 2019

Facebook makes Facebook Page Location, Name change history etc. PUBLIC

Facebook is showing more information about Pages and; the country form where they're managed in the Info and Ads section on Pages.

This is to increase the accountability and transparency of the pages.

The information below will be compulsorily shared by Facebook on Info and Ads section on the bottom left of the page:

• Place of origin of the page will be the country name (if the page admin chooses to share more details then they will also be shared)
• Date the Page was created. 
• Primary country locations where the Page is managed. This applies to all Page roles -- Admin, Editor Moderator, Advisor, Analyst. 
• Number of people who manage the Page in each country. 
• Page's previous name changes. 
• Any Page merges that happen on or after September 6, 2018.
• For the Users who manage the page but are not the owners of it or are not admins; their country will be shown. 

See the Screen-capture below:

What if someone puts a wrong country in his Facebook profile? 

Primary country locations where Pages are managed are determined by a person’s information and activity on Facebook Products, including the stated location on their Facebook profile, and device and connection information. Facebook will use Location Services to help trace the country location.

It is still uncertain whether Facebook will show the names of the Page admin and other roles. From the information it is clear that it will NOT.

What if someone doesn't want to disclose the name of the country?

Then the request for the same can be submitted to Facebook.

If approved, in the information will be shown "Information Hidden by Page manager"

Effect of sharing Facebook page's country location (managers and admins), name change progression and date of formation on accountability and transparency of the pages 

From the snapshot above, the above information seems good if not adequate.

The name change progression history of a page can show new followers the basic philosophy and motivations behind the page. There is a history of Facebook page name changes of propaganda and hate speech pages.

The location of the Page managers and Admins will show the extent of possible indoctrination and manipulation, especially for political pages, blog fans pages etc.

The use of Ad spend location to trace the country location will help as the Fake news, propaganda and hate pages are also seen as those having high ad spends.

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Facebook Pages

Facebook makes Facebook Page Location, Name change history etc. PUBLIC

Anil Singh Sunday, February 10, 2019

Backup your photos before Flickr deletes them!

If you have long forgotten your Flickr account and all the photos which you had shared on Flickr long time ago; then

There is an action worthy information for you... Flickr has started deleting users’ photos.

This is not sudden and the picture-sharing website announced in November last year that it would no longer offer 1 TB of free storage. The non-paying members instead will be allowed to share just 1,000 photos.

What are the reasons for scaling down of free service by Flickr? 

As per the Flickr's new owner SmugMug, who bought Flickr from Verizon last year, the reason is unreasonable money being spent on to keep the free service alive.

So you can rescue your Flickr photos before Flickr deletes them.

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Flickr , Photo Sharing

Backup your photos before Flickr deletes them!

Anil Singh Thursday, February 7, 2019

Wirelessly charge other phones with a phone | Huawei Mate 20 Pro

A phone charging another phone wirelessly is an interesting feature. It is approximately similar to a human being giving CPR to another (not wirelessly though). For phones the ability to charge other phones wirelessly is truly a novelty. One of the features of Huawei Mate 20 Pro launched just hours back is its reverse wireslessly charging. Simply touch the battery depleted phone on the back of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro ... and that's it.

Yes, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro also acts as a power bank --- A wireless powerbank.

Not to to mention it charges itself wirelessly as well, with the world's fastest 15W wireless charge, claims the smartphone maker.

See the video below:

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Huawei Mate 20 Pro , Reverse Wireless charging

Wirelessly charge other phones with a phone | Huawei Mate 20 Pro

Anil Singh Wednesday, October 17, 2018

What is better than using an Ad Blocker --- Follow these 3 simple rules

According to a some recent studies, about 30 percent of all web users on mobile use ad blockers while browsing.

In some countries such as India, the number is as high as 60 percent.

The main reasons for using any ad blocker (or a web browser with ad blocker) are:

• Data theft and other security concerns
• Protection from virus and other malwares
• browse quickly and save time
• Save mobile data

But the question is: Do these mobile ad blockers bundled with UC browser or any other browser offer all the above benefits?

The answer is NO.

According to some latest authoritative studies, most of these ad blocking claims are either FAKE or; such browsers themselves are malware laden and are involved in Data Theft.

What you must do?

Do not use ad blockers while surfing web; and follow these simple rules:

1. Deactivate ad blockers
2. Do not install any ad blocker extension for browser
3. Visit reputed website (they carry just two or three ads). If you are unsure whether a website is safe to visit or not, then use this Safe website to visit tool by Google.

To conclude, many mobile web users believe that using an ad blocker will make their device and data safe. But the reality is entirely opposite --- The more extensions or utilities such as these ad blockers you use, the likelihood of data theft and other risks only increases.

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Ad blocking

What is better than using an Ad Blocker --- Follow these 3 simple rules

Anil Singh Tuesday, August 28, 2018