New Threat: Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Explodes In A Woman's Purse

It may interest you to know that the Galaxy Note 9 smartphone has been found to have copied the nightmare Samsung Galaxy Note 7 had in 2016.

The explosive incident of Samsung’s recent Note model is still on the go! Sad as it may seem.

Samsung is being sued by a woman who reported an explosion of her Galaxy Note 9 smartphone

Recently, an American Galaxy Note 9 user reported that the phone exploded inside her purse. Reporting from New York Post, Diane Chung sued Samsung regarding the disgraceful explosion of her Samsung Galaxy Note right inside her purse. She filled a lawsuit against the company and she is currently waiting for the court’s judgement.

Diane Chung explained how the incident occurred, that she was using the smartphone while in an elevator and it suddenly became hot. For safety sake she stopped using the phone and dropped it inside her purse. Not quite long, she heard a noise and found smoke escaping out of her purse, only did she realise it was her Galaxy Note 9 that got exploded and in an attempt to bring it out, her fingers got burnt.

This is not funny at all! A $1234 (£899) Galaxy Note 9 has been found to be a threat to health. And according to her, the Galaxy Note 9 only stopped burning when it was carried with a cloth and dipped into water.

What Could Be The Cause Of This Galaxy Note 9 Explosion?

If one should investigate the cause of a smartphone that got burnt, the battery would be the first suspected part.

However, Kate Beaumont, product director, had a security check on Galaxy Note 9 batteries and concluded that the batteries did not catch fire. Meaning the battery may not be the reason for Diane Chung’s Galaxy Note 9 explosion.

Meanwhile, Samsung unleashed the following statement: “ We have not received any reports of similar incidents involving a Galaxy Note 9 device and we are investigating the matter.”

Still, we are advised to follow these precautions to care for our phone battery

Continue Reading

How To Effectively Recognize A Phishing Attack

In the technology world today, cyber fraud is the most occurring activities performed by so many people who claim to be a computer guru. It's now as if being a black hat hacker is what tells one to be a computer wizard which is absolutely wrong.




So many devices’ users have fallen victim to this cybercrime. There are many ways to which these attacks come into your devices,  but one of the methods is via Phishing.

The phishing attack is the most used method for hackers to gain access to one's social login credentials or even your bank account details.

You might have received emails from scammers containing links such that when visited, will automatically redirect you to a scam web page that looks similar to an existing popular website. For example, the redirected webpage might seem to be facebook login page, asking you to input your facebook email, or phone number or username, and password associated with your Facebook account, claiming to be partners of the Facebook team.  And immediately you input those credentials of yours, it will automatically find its way to the attacker, thereby granting the hacker access to your facebook account and might steal any relevant information found on your Facebook account. The same thing is applicable to Emails, where you will be asked to renew your email via a link that will be sent to you.



So for this, I’ve published this discussion and reading it through will help you prevent yourself from all these cyber attacks. All you have to do now is to read them carefully.

You may be wondering, what is Phishing attack?

The phishing attack is a type of cyber attack in which an attacker sends a spam link such that when visited, will open a webpage that will look the same as an existing and popular website page, it may even be social websites or any other.

Now haven known what Phishing attack really is, you now need to know how to detect their spam message whenever you see them.

How do I identify Phishing attack?

Identifying them is quite easy and needs no technical procedure. Read the methods below.

Identifying their emails:

Identifying phishing emails is very easy. At first, you will need to do the following.

» Check the source of the email, I mean their email address, their addresses are never real. Most times they use email addresses that are similar to a popular email address owned by a company ( it may be a bank, Place of work ) or a social network.

For example, you may receive an email from the email address >>>> Manager@GTbank.com or gtbank02@GTbank.com instead of gtbank@gtbank.com  which is said to be the official email address for GTbank Nigeria.  You can only identify their fake email address only if you know the actual address they tried to copy.

» Most times their messages contains forceful language which is the number two proof to detect phishing attack. These scammy and forceful languages can be seen in their emails, forcing you to input some kind of your details in relation to what they are trying to steal from you. But these forceful languages are often seen on their webpage where they redirected you to, they mostly use pop up messages forcing you to input your credentials.

So you have to be aware of this!

Recommended: How to protect your Android from hackers

Check if the email contains grammar mistakes and misspelled words.

Most of their emails contain grammatical misspelled words, though not all are perfect phishing attackers does this mistake often.




Note: You may also receive phishing link via your phone message inbox. Like the one I received some time ago, I was told that my BVN has been deactivated, and a link was provided to reactivate it and I was threatened that if it exceeds 72 hours, they will have my BVN permanently deactivated. Isn't that a scam?  Yes, it is because only the bank you are operating on has the right to send such message with no threat, and if they were to give you a link, then it should be their official website and not others.

So be aware of these tricks used by phishing attackers to keep you and your credentials protected.

Recommended: How To Secure Your PC From Hackers

Please share this with others too using the share button given below.

Continue Reading

How To Verify Your Instagram Account (simplified steps)

Just as Facebook and Twitter already had created an option for users to verify their profile to better help the social platform protect verified accounts against any existence of a fake account created by another user to gain popularity which may end up misleading users.

Instagram has also introduced this feature in which users will have to request verification to keep their account authenticated, and it just got much easier.

So lots of persons have been asking me about this process. Here, I’ll be discussing the process of how you can verify your Instagram account and get the blue badge attached to your profile. The procedures have been simplified below.

Recommended: How To Download Your Instagram Pictures

How To Verify Instagram Account

• Open your Instagram account on your Android or iOS device and click on the three Vertical lines
• Scroll down to ‘Settings’ and click on it
• Scroll down and tap ‘Request Verification’

• Fill every required filed correctly.

The following information is what you should drop in the required field;

• Your Full Name • A government ID that clearly states your Full Name and Date Of Birth.

NOTE: Government ID such as; National ID Card, International Passport, Driver’s License or any other Government ID existing in your country could be used, provided it clearly states your full name and date of birth.

• Having filled these requirements, click on ‘Send’

Your application for Instagram verification will be reviewed and you will be notified of any response Instagram should take regards your request. That is, you may get approved or be denied.

According to the official blog post, Instagram would review every verification request to check whether the profile is real and belongs to a global brand, celebrity, an entity, or a notable figure

If you happen to apply and gets disapproved, consider reapplying after 30 days (from the day you received the last notification).

Recommended: How To Secure Your Android From Hackers

Continue Reading

How To Secure Your Android From Hackers (Cyber Attackers)

Top Security Tips To Secure Your Android From Cyber Attack (Hackers)

As an Android user, there are many cool kinds of stuff you could do with your Android device, meanwhile, several precautions have to be observed whenever you do what you do, this could help prevent prying eyes from seeing the contents in your Android device.

This post will teach you the essential security measures you should always practice as an Android user. Keep reading...

• Regularly Update Your Android

Whenever your Android device receives an update, be sure to update your device. This may help fix some bugs/issues if there is any kind on your phone. Also, updating your Android may bring some new features such as improved security to keep your Android device and information protected.

• Set Up An Antivirus Running

Antivirus/Antimalware apps/software is always ready to secure your device, you just have to download and install a strong Antivirus/Privacy Security app from a trusted source; I recommend Google Play Store.

Apps like Avast Mobile Security, Kaspersky Internet Security are very helpful when it comes to privacy protection.

If your Android device is rooted, the possibility of viruses/malware attacking your phone is on the high side. This is because rooting your Android device can automatically create flaws for attackers to pierce in. To prevent your rooted devices from hackers, a strong Antivirus needs to be installed.

• Install Apps From Trusted Sources

Downloading and installing Apps from trusted sources like Google Play store gives a huge relief of having your device compromised by attackers. By default, Android is configured to block installation of apps from Unknown Sources. If you wish to download and install apps from sources other than Play Store, be sure you are making use of a malware-free website.

Recommended: How To Prevent Trojans From Entering Your Android Device

• Always Use A Secure Browser To Surf The Web

There are so many Android browsers available on the web which is developed and is maintained to give users the maximum level of security and protection from malicious websites.

A perfect choice of such protective browser is Google Chrome browser

• Read Up Permissions Before Installing An App

Many times, we download and install apps on our Android device without first getting to know what access or permissions will the device grant to that app required for executing its function.

Before Installing an app/game, make sure you read its permission(s) to conclude whether they are essential requirements for running the app or are contrary to what the app allegedly declares.

***How worthless and dangerous it would be to have an installed calculator seeking permission to access contact or even GPS***

Conclusion

There are many other tips to secure your Android phone from cyber attacks, however, the above-discussed tips are the most essential precautions you should always observe as an Android user.

Continue Reading

How To Avoid Downloading Trojan Viruses On Your Android Device

What Are the Trojans?

Since the title says “how to avoid downloading of trojans on Android devices”, you should know that the so-called trojans are enemies to devices and its users.

Trojans are corrupt/unwanted/malicious files which no one would ever want to have on his/her device but still, they find their way into the device via a downloaded software or app that is affected. They are more like Viruses and when they are downloaded along with an affected file, it gives the hacker (developer of the trojan)  full access to that device which he can steal as much information found in it without encountering any security challenge.

It is best you know how these bad files can download itself into a device and some preventive measures you should practice. This post contains several ways you can avoid downloading Trojans on your Android device and stay protected.

Never Fail To Update Your Android

On any device, updates will always flow in whereby the user will decide whether to proceed with the update or ignore. Most times an update may be released to help fix existing bugs/issues affected on the smartphone and if a smartphone is suffering from a specific bug and the user failed to update the system, the bug will remain unfixed.

READ ALSO: Programmer, Developer, Hacker and Security Researcher: Who Are These People? Believe Me, They Are Not The Same

These new Android updates may not only fix existing bugs, they may come with enhanced security features to keep Android devices protected.

Android Security Patch Level is an example of security updates which Android releases almost on monthly basis to keep users save. Read more on Android blog

Do Not Install Apps From Unknown Sources

There are so many malicious sites on the web waiting for you to pay a visit and download from there, but Android is always ready to keep users safe from harm of which it configures Android devices by default to reject installation of apps from third-party websites other than the Google Play Store.

Most of us have long ago modified this setting to allow installation of apps from sources other than the Play Store. However, there are some cool websites where we can download awesome apps & software but we should learn to take preventive measures.

Google advises Android users should always get Apps and Games from the Play Store. But what about apps such as Fortnite For Android which cannot be found on Google Play? Then you should ensure that the site you want to get that app from is well trusted to be free from malicious contents like Trojans or malware or viruses. I recommend some APK sites like ApkPure, ApkMirror to get those apps.

Not All Free Apps & Games Are Genuine

Now, this may sound more scary and weird, should you download paid apps and games only all in the name of keeping your device(s) and personal information safe?

Not really. Some free apps and games especially modded apps (modified apps) may likely accommodate Trojans. Someone might have modified a paid app and inject trojans in it which he will disclose online for people to download for free. Be careful! Instead, download apps and games from trusted developers.

Read Up Permission Before Installing An App

While trying to install an app we most times skip to read what permissions that app is requiring from the device and we continue with the installation progress probably because we are eager to make use of the app. Don't be too quick to install and use an app, take just little of your time to read what kind of information or permission your device will grant to it if it is installed.

If at the end you conclude that the kind of permission it seeks is what normally should be required for such an app to run on your device, then proceed with the installation.

But what if you download a Recorder app and instead of requesting permissions to access just your Microphone & Storage, it further requests let's say internet access & Location; What for?

Get An Anti-Virus / Anti-Malware App

This is one essential type of apps every Android devices should have. It is best you keep your personal information undisclosed to spies and you may need an assistant to help you with the task, such assistant is an anti-virus or anti-malware app. I will always recommend Avast Mobile Security; it is the perfect app for this job.

Download & Install Avast Mobile Security From Google Play Now!

An alternative Mobile Security app is Kaspersky Internet Security

You now know what Trojans means and what they do. Be sure to implement the above instructions on the daily use of your Android device, do not forget that your Android device and your personal information needs protection.

Thanks for reading my article.

Be sure to visit this blog every day because we post new Tech update (not excluding Android tips) on daily basis. Thanks again. 

Continue Reading

Programmer, Developer, Hacker, Security Researcher — Who are these people? Know now and stop getting it wrong

I used to be confused about these four professions especially the first three, and not long ago I was able to figure out what each of these profession does.

Believe me, they are very much similar and it has lead most of us to ask questions like; What are the difference between a Programmer, Developer, Hacker and a Security Researcher? Are they the same profession?

Short answer: No, they are not the same though they all have a simple relationship.

Are you gonna exit this page with that little knowledge I shared above??? Come on! Read to the very end to grab all full details about these professions then you'll stop being curious as I used to.

Let's have some discussion on the difference between Programmer, Developer, Hacker and Security Researcher;

I assume in this post that a programmer, developer, hacker and research security is a male human.

• Programmer

A programmer is one who is always found sitting in front of his computer screen writing codes, running test, debugs and maintaining the computer programs which devices use to execute their functions.

They also test logical structures to solve computer problems. They make use of available programming languages like C, C++, PHP, Java, HTML, XML, and many more. A programmer may be specific to any of the programming languages.

When a programmer finishes a program design, he translates it into codes (instructions) that the computer can understand and run via the use of some required platforms known as compilers.

Having converted the program design to codes, he reads the codes to see if there's any bug or errors and if there's any, he corrects the code and re-run them again. The process is repeated until he gets satisfied with the low-level error codes being the outcome.

Recommended: Top best methods to schedule WhatsApp messages for future delivery

• Developer

The developer’s role is to make finished software designs, Applications, Games and many more. The developers achieve this by putting already created codes into work. These finished programs (permit me to use the word) are now ready to be used by users of which the application or software will execute exactly what it was created to do.

A developer may specialize in the development of a website or making of applications and software, it all depends on his area of specialization, and there are selected codes to be used on either web development or mobile application development.

• Hacking

Here come the profession which everyone always refers to as “nasty job”

One who tries to compromise the security of any platform  (website, network, software, tool) illegally is always referred to as a Hacker.

There are two kinds of hacking; White Hat hacking and Black Hat hacking.

White Hat hackers are known for hacking with the primary aim of securing or retrieving the privacy and security of a platform such as a website, software, tool which may belong to an establishment/firm or someone’s personal property.

Black Hat hackers are the disastrous kind in hacking 😂

These smart folks can do whatever it takes to gain access to a secured platform, not excluding bypassing a legal permission

A hacker may not have an in-depth knowledge on coding and the use of programming languages but he surely knows some roots and flaws through which a platform security could get compromised, they work with different strategies/skills and tools to enable them to get their way into what they want.

Recommended: Best ways to make your phone battery last longer than it used to

• Security Researcher

A Security Researcher may be compared to a White Hat hacker. What they do is performing research for possible threat or flaws in the build (app, website, etc) which a hacker might easily break into the platform’s privacy and security.

Now you know the reason why we most times misquote the meaning and duties of these professions in computer science.

Yes, it's quite agreed that they all have similar perspectives and are very related.

Are you having any opinion or suggestions regards this post? Then we are ready to hear from you, please kindly use the comment section provided below this post.

Thanks for reading 👍

Continue Reading

Tips to manage and extend your phone battery health

As the world is growing old so is our technology making more advancements. Comparing the phones that were used in the 90s with our present-day "smartphone" as we refer to them should give an awkward result.
With these present-day smartphone technologies, life has been made much easier than the way it was 30 years back.

But one would still prefer the odd mobile phones that existed during his youthful age (of course I'm speaking of the elders of today), however, some of them still exist. This is because the battery life cycle of these odd devices are far more durable than the battery we make use of in this present day, and this is as a result of the few numbers of petty workload they were designed for.



It's sad to know that the batteries of our present day smartphone devices do not meet up to the standard advancement that smartphone has acquired. Meanwhile, in order to make our battery have a long-term partnership with our phone, some tweaks have to be practised and that's what this post is all about. Keep reading to learn more…

Do not kill apps when you leave them

Most of us act against this after using an app in our smartphone. I used to be fond of eliminating every app (third-party and built-in) launched on my Android device thinking that it would help prevent rapid battery drain. This habit never produces anything good at the end of the day other than depleting the battery’s lifespan.

But you may want to get rid of annoying apps that consume battery heavily, consider uninstalling such app if it (the app) is incompetent. To know which app sucks more of the juice, then you should try navigating to your Settings>>Battery (in some phones, Power is seen instead) and there you will see how your apps are consuming your phone battery.

RECOMMENDED: Best Ways To Schedule WhatsApp Messages For Future Delivery

Turn off any connectivity after use

Unlike apps which we've found unfriendly when we kill them, connectivities like Wifi, hotspot, Bluetooth, Location (GPS) should be turned off after use to help save battery usage for other relevant tasks. If possible, Mobile (cellular) network should be turned off too.

Alternatively, you can turn on Airplane mode and every other connectivity will be turned off.

Disable Auto Synchronization

By default, apps and services like Google account and its integrated products, Whatsapp, Facebook and others are set to synchronize automatically.

Do you know that Auto Synchronization uses background processes that rely on your mobile data and battery? Yes, that's how it works, and you should consider disabling it and practise manual synchronization. How?

Go to your Settings>>Accounts>> Click the three vertical dots in the upper right corner and untick “Auto-Sync data”.

Moreover, some modifications could be made and this involves; manually adjusting which apps should be in sync and how frequently.

Why not avoid live wallpapers?

Live wallpapers could be so beautiful and give your screen a catchy look but unfortunately, your battery is what is being paid heavily for using live wallpapers.

Implementing static wallpaper is recommended to save your battery from being drained drastically. A lot of Static wallpaper is available online or you might even want to set one of your pictures.

RECOMMENDED: Here are 5 Reasons your phone slow down over time

Restrict Background Data For some Apps

Most times while you don't even think of using some apps, unknowingly to you, these apps will forcibly run and send data in the background causing abnormal battery usage. Apps such as the Google Play Store and Gmail are good examples of this habit.

You can restrict background usage of data for every app. Just go to your Settings>>Data Usage>>Mobile data usage>> choose any app you wish to restrict from Background data and turn off the icon.

But Note: Turning off Background data usage for certain apps may cause those apps to malfunction.

Reduce Animation Scale and Background Process

If you really wanna do this, then be ready to become a developer 🤘

To set these changes, you’ll need to access the Developer Options in your Settings, but you won't find it unless you've unlocked “Developer Options.”

To unlock Developer Options, head over to your Settings>>About>> Tap on the Build number 7 times and congratulations you're now a developer.

Now head back to Settings and Click on “Developer Option” above About. Scroll down gently until you see Window animation scale, Transition animation scale, and Animator duration scale. By default, each of these is set to Animation Scale x1, edit and turn off Animation for each case. Doing this will slightly increase your battery life as well as your phone performance.

Still, on that same long list of Developer Options, scroll down to find Background Process limit, and by default, it is set to the Standard limit but adjusting it further by three or four processes can slightly improve your battery life and performance.

NOTE: While on the Developer Options, be careful as any unknown option(s) you alter may change how your phone should function.

RECOMMENDED: These charging habits might reduce your battery lifespan; Here are tips for you

Finally

Maximizing your battery usage will help reserve some amount of juice for other operations. Android is blessed with so many optimizations to help you modify your device to your taste.

I'd love to share more, but let's end it here.

There are many things you can do with your Android device, I beseech you to subscribe to our newsletter below or keep visiting oshetech.com for more Android tips and tech-related gist.

Thanks for reading 👍

Continue Reading

Minimum Requirements to get Fortnite Mobile for Android

Fortnite game for Android is soon to hit the internet, though according to a recent report, the game might skip google play, that is, we might be unable to download this game from Google Play rather via the Fortnite installer.

According to Tim Sweeney, Epic Games CEO, "the Fortnite Game will be coming to all Android devices that have met up with the requirements of running it stable and with good performance. Stay tuned for details of the launch timing."

He added that Fortnite will be playable via the Fortnite installer and will not be available in Google Play, the reason being that the company doesn't believe in offering 30% of Fortnite’s revenue to "Games & Apps market" such as the Google Play Store.

Tim Sweeney said, “ The 30% store tax is expensive in a world where a 70% revenue going to the game developers must cover all the cost of developing, operating and supporting their games before thinking of how much profit is earned." This means Epic wants to build a direct relationship with its customers across all possible platforms.

Two key requirements to having Fortnite Game on Android is an Android version of 5.0 (Lollipop) and higher, and the Android should be powered with 3GB RAM, at least.

Minimum requirements needed to run Fortnite Mobile on Android are;

• Android OS: 64-bit Android 5.0 Lollipop or higher
• GPU: Mali-G71 MP20, Mali-G72 MP12 or higher, Adreno 530 or higher.
  RAM: 3GB
• Reporting from Gadget.ndtv.com, Samsung devices with its Exynos 8895 and other devices with Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processors or higher should be able to install and play Fortnite Mobile Game.

As previously stated, Fortnite for Mobile is soon to be launched, however, the date is yet unannounced.

Though, the Android Beta version of Fortnite Mobile is available on the Game’s official site. All you need to do to play the released beta version is to visit the Developer's Site and sign up for an email invite. The invitation email will be sent to you as soon as you can play.

See the list of devices initially eligible for Fortnite for Android Beta.

• Samsung Galaxy: S9 / S9+, S8 / S8+, S7 / S7 Edge, Note 9, Note 8, Tab S4, Tab S3

ALSO READ: Galaxy Note 9 — Full Specs, Review and Price

• Google: Pixel 2 / Pixel 2 XL, Pixel / Pixel XL
• Asus: ROG Phone, Zenfone 4 Pro, 5Z, V
• Essential: PH-1
• Huawei: Mate 10 / Pro, Honor 10, Honor Play, Mate RS, Nova 3, P20 / Pro, V10
• LG: G7 ThinQ, G6, G5, V30 / V30+, V20
• Nokia: 8
• OnePlus: 6, 5 / 5T
• Razer: Phone
• Xiaomi: Blackshark, Mi 8 / 8 Explorer / 8SE, Mi 5 / 5S / 5S Plus, Mi Mix 2 / 2S, Mi Mix, Mi Note 2, 6 / 6 Plus
• ZTE: Axon 7 / 7s, Axon M, Nubia / Z17 / Z17s, Nubia Z11

Continue Reading