Forwarded from Pavel Durov
Hackers could have full access (!) to everything on the phones of WhatsApp users.
This was possible through a security issue disclosed by WhatsApp itself last week. All a hacker had to do to control your phone was send you a malicious video or start a video call with you on WhatsApp.
You are probably thinking "Yeah, but if I updated WhatsApp to the latest version, I am safe, right"?
Not really.
A WhatsApp security issue exactly like this one was discovered in 2018, then another in 2019 and yet another one in 2020 (tap each year's link to see the corresponding vulnerability). And yes, in 2017 before that. Prior to 2016, WhatsApp didn't have encryption at all.
Every year, we learn about some issue in WhatsApp that puts everything on their users' devices at risk. Which means it's almost certain that a new security flaw already exists there. Such issues are hardly incidental – they are planted backdoors. If one backdoor is discovered and has to be removed, another one is added (read the post "Why WhatsApp will never be secure" to understand why).
It doesn't matter if you are the richest person on earth – if you have WhatsApp installed on your phone, all your data from every app on your device is accessible, as Jeff Bezos found out in 2020. That's why I deleted WhatsApp from my devices years ago. Having it installed creates a door to get into your phone.
I'm not pushing people to switch to Telegram here. With 700M+ active users and 2M+ daily signups, Telegram doesn't need additional promotion. You can use any messaging app you like, but do stay away from WhatsApp – it has now been a surveillance tool for 14 years.
This was possible through a security issue disclosed by WhatsApp itself last week. All a hacker had to do to control your phone was send you a malicious video or start a video call with you on WhatsApp.
You are probably thinking "Yeah, but if I updated WhatsApp to the latest version, I am safe, right"?
Not really.
A WhatsApp security issue exactly like this one was discovered in 2018, then another in 2019 and yet another one in 2020 (tap each year's link to see the corresponding vulnerability). And yes, in 2017 before that. Prior to 2016, WhatsApp didn't have encryption at all.
Every year, we learn about some issue in WhatsApp that puts everything on their users' devices at risk. Which means it's almost certain that a new security flaw already exists there. Such issues are hardly incidental – they are planted backdoors. If one backdoor is discovered and has to be removed, another one is added (read the post "Why WhatsApp will never be secure" to understand why).
It doesn't matter if you are the richest person on earth – if you have WhatsApp installed on your phone, all your data from every app on your device is accessible, as Jeff Bezos found out in 2020. That's why I deleted WhatsApp from my devices years ago. Having it installed creates a door to get into your phone.
I'm not pushing people to switch to Telegram here. With 700M+ active users and 2M+ daily signups, Telegram doesn't need additional promotion. You can use any messaging app you like, but do stay away from WhatsApp – it has now been a surveillance tool for 14 years.
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Forwarded from Pavel Durov
As promised, we've launched the ability to buy Telegram usernames on a dedicated platform – Fragment. Auctions for the most valuable usernames are already live, so make sure to check it out. In a few days, we will also introduce the ability for users to sell their existing usernames on Fragment.
For the first time in the history of social media, a fair, transparent market for usernames is established. Finally people will have ownership over their social media addresses, secured in the immutable ledger of a decentralized blockchain network.
This is just the beginning, and yet an important milestone – the power has started to shift into users' hands.
For the first time in the history of social media, a fair, transparent market for usernames is established. Finally people will have ownership over their social media addresses, secured in the immutable ledger of a decentralized blockchain network.
This is just the beginning, and yet an important milestone – the power has started to shift into users' hands.
🔥 ROOTING RELATED TERMS 🔥
⚠️ Recovery: Every Android device comes with a recovery through which the OS can install over-the-air updates. It i s also used by the system whenever you factory reset a device. If you want to flash a custom ROM, you will have to replace the stock recovery with a custom one.
⚠️ Superuser/SuperSU: This application is automatically installed on the device during the process of rooting. It is used to grant or deny root access to other apps.
⚠️ TWRP/CWM: Both are custom recoveries that allow users to install custom ROMs, format certain partitions or make nandroid backups.How to Flash the TWRP Recovery Environment to Your Android Phone (Team Win Recovery Project or TWRP)
⚠️ Custom ROM: A customized and advanced version of Android containing many features and optimizations, usually based on the latest version of Android.
⚠️ Bootloader:Is a the code that runs even before the operating system on your device boots. It helps in booting other operating systems by systematically loading their files in the memory. The bootloader of your Android device can either be locked, unlocked or unlockable.How to Unlock Your Android Phone’s Bootloader
Usually, you will need to unlock the bootloader of your device before rooting it.
⚠️ Rooting a device is a process of gaining full control of the device's OS and the software that runs it.While you can customize Android to suit your taste, device manufacturers add layers of software on top of the operating system hence limiting a user's options.
Rooting is a way to bypass this barrier and exploit your device's full potential. Rooting is the equivalent of jailbreaking an iPhone
✅ 👉 @gitcotech
⚠️ Recovery: Every Android device comes with a recovery through which the OS can install over-the-air updates. It i s also used by the system whenever you factory reset a device. If you want to flash a custom ROM, you will have to replace the stock recovery with a custom one.
⚠️ Superuser/SuperSU: This application is automatically installed on the device during the process of rooting. It is used to grant or deny root access to other apps.
⚠️ TWRP/CWM: Both are custom recoveries that allow users to install custom ROMs, format certain partitions or make nandroid backups.How to Flash the TWRP Recovery Environment to Your Android Phone (Team Win Recovery Project or TWRP)
⚠️ Custom ROM: A customized and advanced version of Android containing many features and optimizations, usually based on the latest version of Android.
⚠️ Bootloader:Is a the code that runs even before the operating system on your device boots. It helps in booting other operating systems by systematically loading their files in the memory. The bootloader of your Android device can either be locked, unlocked or unlockable.How to Unlock Your Android Phone’s Bootloader
Usually, you will need to unlock the bootloader of your device before rooting it.
⚠️ Rooting a device is a process of gaining full control of the device's OS and the software that runs it.While you can customize Android to suit your taste, device manufacturers add layers of software on top of the operating system hence limiting a user's options.
Rooting is a way to bypass this barrier and exploit your device's full potential. Rooting is the equivalent of jailbreaking an iPhone
✅ 👉 @gitcotech
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Elon Musk orders job cuts at Twitter
Days after acquiring Twitter, its chief Elon Musk has reportedly ordered some managers on Saturday to "draw up lists of employees to cut".
Previous reports indicate Musk seeks to cut down on Twitter’s workforce by 75%, though he reportedly told employees otherwise when he arrived at the company's headquarters carrying a sink on Wednesday.
Twitter currently has about 7,500 employees, but the number of staff being laid off remains to be seen, although it is noted that some departments will be affected more than others.
Layoffs could occur before November 1, the same day employees are due to receive stock grants, which "typically represent a significant portion" of their pay. By firing workers before this date, Musk thus may avoid paying the grants.
Days after acquiring Twitter, its chief Elon Musk has reportedly ordered some managers on Saturday to "draw up lists of employees to cut".
Previous reports indicate Musk seeks to cut down on Twitter’s workforce by 75%, though he reportedly told employees otherwise when he arrived at the company's headquarters carrying a sink on Wednesday.
Twitter currently has about 7,500 employees, but the number of staff being laid off remains to be seen, although it is noted that some departments will be affected more than others.
Layoffs could occur before November 1, the same day employees are due to receive stock grants, which "typically represent a significant portion" of their pay. By firing workers before this date, Musk thus may avoid paying the grants.
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Forwarded from Pavel Durov
Apple claims they review apps within 24 hours, but, in our experience, it takes at least 7-10 days for any meaningful product update to reach the App Store. My friends who run smaller apps tell me it's even worse for them, as they have to wait more than a month just to ship bug fixes to their Apple users
However, positive change is coming. Tomorrow, a new set of laws called the Digital Markets Act will come into force in the European Union. This regulation should put an end to the abuse of market power by gatekeepers like Apple and Google.
We, the developers, should start relying on the DMA to defend ourselves and our users. If you are an app developer who faces issues with the App Store or Google Play, let me know about it at pavel@telegram.org from your company e-mail address with the word "DMA" in the title. It will be up to Apple to decide if they want to spend their resources on improving their processes — or on fines.
Happy Halloween!
Time to fight some demons
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Wikipedia
Digital Markets Act
European Union regulation on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector
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Forwarded from Pavel Durov
I feel particularly excited about today’s Telegram update. It adds topics to large groups, transforming these linear chats into slick mobile-friendly versions of good old Internet Forums.
Ironically, the very first popular internet service I built around 20 years ago was also an Internet Forum – a message board for students of my university, which eventually grew into the biggest student portal in the region.
16 years ago I again incorporated forums into the Communities section of VK, a social network I founded. Since VK was the most popular communication platform in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other countries, tens of millions of people used the forum feature there.
I feel nostalgic about those times: I had yet to learn the skill of hiring engineers and designers back then, so I programmed and designed everything on my own, working 20 hours per day.
Today I am fortunate to have the best coding team in the world to recreate the forum experience for hundreds of millions across all platforms in a more modern, fast and accessible form. Telegram will now support organized conversations where thousands of people can concurrently discuss different subjects in the same group.
Topics today come packed with lots of features – including the ability to close and pin topics, flexible notification options and lots of fun animated emoji to be used as topic icons. But this is just the start. Taking advantage of the two-week delay caused by Apple’s review, we have begun to expand these new threaded groups into something even more powerful.
Ironically, the very first popular internet service I built around 20 years ago was also an Internet Forum – a message board for students of my university, which eventually grew into the biggest student portal in the region.
16 years ago I again incorporated forums into the Communities section of VK, a social network I founded. Since VK was the most popular communication platform in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other countries, tens of millions of people used the forum feature there.
I feel nostalgic about those times: I had yet to learn the skill of hiring engineers and designers back then, so I programmed and designed everything on my own, working 20 hours per day.
Today I am fortunate to have the best coding team in the world to recreate the forum experience for hundreds of millions across all platforms in a more modern, fast and accessible form. Telegram will now support organized conversations where thousands of people can concurrently discuss different subjects in the same group.
Topics today come packed with lots of features – including the ability to close and pin topics, flexible notification options and lots of fun animated emoji to be used as topic icons. But this is just the start. Taking advantage of the two-week delay caused by Apple’s review, we have begun to expand these new threaded groups into something even more powerful.
Telegram
Topics in Groups, Collectible Usernames, Voice-to-Text for Video Messages and More
Today's update adds topics to organize discussions in large groups, a new form of collectible usernames secured on a blockchain, an option to convert video messages to text, and much more.
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