Category: Mobile

Amazon Announces SMS Messaging Via Alexa

Posted on by Rob Burdett

Amazon has announced that it is introducing a service that will allow users of Alexa devices to send text messages to any contact via the digital assistant using just their voice.

Builds Upon Alexa Calling

The new service builds upon the Alexa Calling service introduced last year, which allowed owners of the Echo Dot to call a friend’s landline via the device, and to use it to call or message a friend if they had a smartphone with the Alexa app downloaded (and Alexa Calling enabled).

The difference with this new service is that, as well as being able to use the Alexa Calling service, voice dictated SMS messages can be sent using Alexa to recipients who don’t even have an Alexa device (Amazon Echo) of their own. With the new service, Alexa will decide which route is appropriate and will set up the communication accordingly.

Too Much Information

When the free Alexa calling service was introduced, Amazon faced criticism that the Alexa app tried to import users’ entire address books. This led to Amazon having to introduce contact blocking.

Just Android & Just In The US

Before you get too excited, as of now the new service will initially only be available in the US for Alexa devices that support Alexa calling and messaging, and will only work with Android phones. Amazon has reportedly said that it can’t yet offer a similar feature for iPhone users because Apple doesn’t offer their messaging API to third-parties.

How To Use The Service

User instructions are issued via a pop-up in the Alexa app on Android, and in the ‘Conversations’ tab of the app, users select ‘Contacts’, then ‘My Profile’, and then switch the ‘Send SMS’ feature to on. Messages can then be sent to Android phones by a person using voice on an Alexa device.

The service allows the sender to specify whether they would like to send the message just as a text / SMS, or as a general message which will be sent to Alexa devices first, and then as SMS if the intended recipient does not have an Alexa device.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

This new service seems to be an inevitable way to build upon the strengths of the Amazon Echo system, is consistent with its ‘Amazon Everywhere’ philosophy, and brings Alexa closer to Siri and Google Assistant in the voice messaging department. Although it takes the communication aspect of Alexa one step further, some critics have pointed at some limitations of the new service which are that it can’t be used to text 911, or to participate in group messages or send MMS, and users are limited to what they can do when they can’t actually see the chats anyway.

For businesses, this service may become especially useful when combined with Amazon’s plans to launch Alexa for Business – a small businesses-focused version of the Echo for the workplace. Amazon’s Echo dominates the voice-assistant market with a more than 70% share, and Alexa for business will have many useful functions from booking meeting rooms, reporting IT issues, providing directions around a building, and answering questions about the business, to enabling employees to make calls, manage calendars, run to-do lists, and set reminders. A voice-activated SMS service via a workplace Echo could, therefore, add value, save time and save costs.

WhatsApp For Business Launches in UK

Posted on by Rob Burdett

The new business-focused version of WhatsApp for Android is now available for download in the UK.

Small Business Needs

The new WhatsApp Business can be downloaded for free at Google Play, and is specifically aimed at the needs of small businesses, which account for 99.3% of all private sector businesses in the UK (FSB).

Facebook-owned WhatsApp has said that it wants people to use WhatsApp to connect with small businesses, and that the new ‘WhatsApp Business’ will make it easier for companies to connect with customers, and offers a more convenient way for the 1.3 billion WhatsApp users to chat with businesses.

Why Launch WhatsApp Business?

Since Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014 for $22 billion, the company has been looking for ways to monetize the app which, although was developed for use by individuals, is now being widely used by people in business, and in large and small organizations as a collaboration tool for staff.

This move by WhatsApp is also designed to gain a march on rivals in what has become a battle for the attention of consumers by messaging apps including Apple’s iMessage, Facebook’s Messenger, Kik, Slack for business, and others.
What Can It Do?

The launch in the UK (and the US, Indonesia, Italy and Mexico at the same time) is part of the wider worldwide rollout. According to WhatsApp, 80% of small businesses already using the App in India and Brazil say WhatsApp helps them both communicate with customers and grow their business (Morning Consult study figures).

Features

Features of the App include:

  • Business Profiles: to help companies to provide useful information to customers e.g. business description, email or store addresses, and website.
  • Smart Messaging Tools: to enable companies to respond quickly with answers to frequently asked questions, also greeting messages to introduce customers to the business, and away messages that let them know you’re busy.
  • Messaging Statistics: simple metrics like the number of messages read to see what’s working, and to give businesses a way of measuring and monitoring the effectiveness of the app.
  • WhatsApp Web: to enable the sending and receiving of messages with WhatsApp Business on the desktop.
  • Account Type: so that customers will know that they’re talking to a business because it is listed as a Business Account. This can become a Confirmed Account later (similar feature to Twitter’s verification process), and once confirmed, the account phone number will match the business phone number.
  • WhatsApp allows users to send photos, it has end-to-end encryption security (n important feature for businesses), allows for easy document sharing (up to 100 MB), and allows for seamless syncing of your chats to your computer so that you can chat on whatever device is most convenient.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Since many business people (and more importantly, their customers) were using WhatsApp for general communication anyway, it makes sense for Facebook to develop a version that is focused more specifically on small businesses. Clearly, this is a very large market in countries across the world, and it will, of course, present opportunities for monetisation and probably advertising using the Facebook-owned network in future.

From the perspective of businesses, WhatsApp provides a lot of powerful, useful, and cost saving features for a handy free app, and with speed and versatility of communications being an important factor in getting the business in today’s environment, WhatsApp Business is likely to prove popular.

WhatsApp Business offers businesses / brands the potential for building a relationship with their customers on a 1:1 level. The huge user base of the app, its speed and reliability, and the verification system of the business version could provide new opportunities for businesses that are able to harness it in a value-adding and engaging way.

There are many possible applications for WhatsApp Business e.g., KLM’s use of the app for flight confirmations and updates, brands using the app on competitions, and WhatsApp Business could work well in industries such as hospitality. WhatsApp could be a perfect way to enable customers to book a hotel room, get customer support, and even access an on-site member of staff such as a concierge. Retail brands could use the app for many purposes in addition to just shipping confirmations.

Many tech and business commentators are saying that 1:1 messaging is the future of personalized commerce and post-purchase customer service, and WhatsApp Business is well positioned enough, and widely used enough to provide opportunities for businesses worldwide to improve their communication and relationship marketing.

Beware Android Phone-Melting Malware

Posted on by Rob Burdett

A type of crypto-currency mining malware has been found to overload an android phone with so much constant traffic that its battery physically bulges and bends the phone cover.

Malware Causing Physical Damage

The Android phone-wrecking Trojan malware, dubbed “Loapi”, was discovered by Kaspersky researchers. In tests, after running it for several days mining the Minero crypto-currency, the android phone used in the test was overloaded with activity (trying to open about 28,000 unique URLs in 24 hours) to the point that the battery and phone cover were badly damaged and distorted by the resulting heat.

The Loapi malware is reported to have been found hiding in applications in the Android mobile operating system.

How It Works

Loapi reportedly works by hijacking a smartphone’s processor and using the computing power to mine crypto-currency.

‘Mining’ refers to the process of completing complex algorithms to get rewards of new crypto-currency units e.g. Bitcoin.

Loapi uses Javascript code execution hidden in web pages (usually via advertising campaigns) with WAP billing to subscribe the user to various services. This works in conjunction with the SMS module to send the subscription message.

What makes Loapi particularly dangerous is the amount of device-attacking techniques present in it, and the modular architecture of this Trojan which means that more functionality could be added to it at any time.

Part Of Trend For Mining Scams

It is likely, therefore, that Loapi is loaded onto an android OS when a user visits a web page website where mining software / mining code is running in the background, without the knowledge of the website owners or visitors.

For the scammer who plants the code, they can use the power of multiple computers / devices to join networks so that the combined computing power will enable them to solve mathematical problems first (before other scammers) and thereby claim / generate cash in the form of crypto-currency.

A report by ad blocking firm AdGuard in October this year showed that the devices of 500 million people may be inadvertently mining crypto-currencies as a result of visiting websites that run mining software in the background.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Unfortunately, many cyber criminals are now trying to leverage the processing power of computers, smartphones and other devices to generate revenue from mining crypto-currency. Mining software e.g. Coin Hive, has been found in popular websites, and crypto-currency mining scams are now being extended to target cloud-based computing services with the hope harnessing huge amounts of computing power and using multiple machines to try and generate more income.

The increased CPU usage and slowing down of computers caused by mining scripts waste time and money for businesses, and this new threat of actually having your phone melted by malware adds another level of risk, including that of fire.

There are some simple measures that your business can take to avoid being exploited as part of this popular scam, although it is unclear how well these will work with the newly discovered Loapi. For example, you can set your ad blocker (if you’re using one) to block one specific JavaScript URL, which could stop the miner from running without stopping you from using any of the websites that you normally visit.

Also, browser extensions are available e.g. the ‘No Coin’ extension for Chrome, Firefox and Opera (to stop Coin Hive mining code being used through your browser).

You can generally steer clear of dodgy Android apps by sticking to Google Play, by avoiding cloned apps from unknown developers within Google Play, by checking app permissions before you install them, by keeping Android apps up to date (and by deleting the ones you don’t use), and by installing an antivirus app.

Maintaining vigilance for unusual computer symptoms, keeping security patches updated, and raising awareness within your company of current scams and what to do to prevent them, are just some of the ways that you could maintain a basic level of protection for your business.

Unlimited Streaming Deals Contributing To Piracy?

Posted on by Rob Burdett

Stream RippingAs Three becomes the first network provider in the UK to launch a tariff that lets its customers use unlimited streaming services without it affecting their monthly data allowance, some media commentators are concerned that more streaming services of this kind could lead to more piracy.

Streaming & Stream Ripping

Streaming is the real-time transmission of data (e.g. audio and video) over the internet to computers and mobile devices. Stream ripping is the process of using software to turn that streamed data (music and video) into files so that they can be watched / listened to offline on computers and phones. Stream ripping is possible because music and video streaming services have urls, and there are now many freely available programs to download that can stream-rip content.

What’s The Problem?

The problem is that films, video and recorded music are covered by copyright and intellectual property laws. Although many people are happy to pay to use legal streaming services in the form they are delivered such as Netflix and Spotify, stream ripping and the storage and distribution of the ripped files infringes those laws and is technically piracy.

According to research by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and PRS for Music, usage of stream-ripping sites increased by 141.3% between 2014 and 2016, thereby making them more popular than all other illegal music services. The same research showed that in September 2016, these sites were used 498,681 times to pirate music in the UK

Who?

According to the IPO and PRS, research 15% of UK adults are now using these illegal services, with 33% of them being in the 16-24 age bracket.

Why?

According to the research, the most popular reasons given for using stream-ripping include a belief that music was already owned by users in another format (31%), simply wanting to listen to music offline (26%) and on the move (25%), not being able to afford to buy the tracks legally (21%), and believing that music is overpriced (20%).

The Three Deal

There is no suggestion that the new Three ‘Go Binge’ service is causing or contributing to piracy. The fact is, however, that it is an unlimited streaming deal for data-heavy users averaging 6GB a month. It is conceivable that without Three imposing their own security measures, Go Binge could be used for stream ripping.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

This story illustrates how difficult it can be in an online world to prevent publicly available content being shared for free, and how creative industries continue to suffer from not being able to find effective ways to get monetary rewards for recorded output or to make consumers comply with the law. In a share-everything-online world where users are used to content being free, copyright and intellectual laws are often either not widely known about or are ignored and circumvented in a kind of mass diffusion of responsibility due to the large numbers of people who are doing it without penalties.

The increased take-up of legal streaming services in recent years is, however, more promising but it is clear that more measures need to be taken, perhaps by companies offering streaming deals, to make sure that stream ripping is not taking place.