Meta has blocked WhatsApp accounts involved in “a small cluster of likely social engineering activity” on the service. In its report, it has revealed that it traced the activity to APT42 (also called UNC788 and Mint Sandstorm), which the FBI previously linked to a phishing campaign that targeted members of the Trump and Harris camps. The company said that the suspicious activity on WhatsApp “attempted to target individuals in Israel, Palestine, Iran, the United States and the UK.” It also seemed to have focused on political and diplomatic officials, which included people associated with both presidential candidates.
The bad actors on WhatsApp pretended to be technical support representatives from AOL, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, though Meta didn’t say how they tried to compromise their targets’ accounts. Some of those targets reported the activity to the company, which compelled it to start an investigation. Meta said it believes the perpetrators’ efforts were unsuccessful and that it has not seen any evidence that the targets’ accounts had been compromised. It still reported the malicious activity to law enforcement, though, and shared information with both presidential campaigns.
Earlier this month, Google also published a report detailing how APT42 has been targeting high-profile users in Israel and the US for years. The company said it observed “unsuccessful attempts” to compromise the “accounts of individuals affiliated with President Biden, Vice President Harris and former President Trump.” While Google described APT42’s attacks as “unsuccessful,” the group had successfully infiltrated the account of at least one high-profile victim: Roger Stone, who is a close political confidante of Trump. The FBI previously reported that he had fallen victim to the phishing emails sent by the Iranian hackers, who then used his account to send more phishing emails to his contacts.
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. – As students across Colorado head back to school this month, authorities are warning about social media posts meant to celebrate the new school year.
Taking a picture of a child on the first day of school is a tradition for many families, but Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Michael Harris with the Child Sex Offenders Internet Investigations Unit (Cheezo) said sharing those photos can come with unintended consequences.
“Once you send something, whether it’s a message or a photo, you lose all control over that photo. Just like when you have your kid go to the mall, you tell them not to talk to strangers, but yet you’re posting these photos. And if you don’t know everyone in your social media or on your friends list, there could be somebody that takes an interest in your cute child,” Harris said.
Harris suggests only sending first day of school pictures to family and friends who parents know and trust.
But Harris said if parents choose to post those pictures on social media, they should double check their privacy settings to make sure only their friends can see them or stick to platforms like WhatsApp which encrypt photos.
“When we go and teach at schools, we tell the kids, you need to turn off location services, because it shows the exact place where that picture was taken. We don’t want that, because if you’re taking it at home, now they have your home address if you’re taking it at school. Now we know what school you go to,” Harris said.
Harris said now is the time to be vigilant and put parental controls in place.
Colorado authorities warn first day of school pictures could pose safety risks
Sadly, people aren’t always as nice as they could be, and that’s where you need to turn to the various blocking and reporting features on the digital platforms you frequent. Overall, these features work well and effectively put up barriers between you and those you don’t want to hear from.
Video Chat – From Sci-Fi to Sci-Fact
But what happens when you want to unblock someone? Maybe you’ve had a change of heart—perhaps enough water has gone under enough bridges to make you ready to think again. Or maybe you think you might have accidentally blocked someone you didn’t mean to. Whatever the reason, it’s worth reviewing your block lists once in a while.
This is quite a significant undertaking, considering all the different accounts you’re probably signed up to, but it only takes a few minutes each time—and you don’t need to do it all that frequently.
Social apps
Blocked contacts on Instagram.Screenshot: Instagram
On the Facebook website and inside the Facebook mobile app, you can click your profile picture (top right), then Settings & privacy, Settings, and Blocking. You can view and edit lists of people you’ve blocked outright or just asked to see less of in the news feed.
Instagram
When it comes to Instagram, in the app, tap your profile picture (bottom right), then the three horizontal lines (top right), then Blocked. If you’re using Instagram on the web, click More (bottom left), then Settings and Blocked.
Twitter/X
On the social network formerly known as Twitter (now called X), if you load up the website, you can click the three dots on the left, then Settings and Privacy, Privacy and Safety, Mute and Block, and Blocked Accounts. In the mobile app, tap your profile picture (top left), then Settings & Support to get to Settings and Privacy.
Snapchat
Head into the mobile app, and tap your profile picture (top left): Then it’s the gear icon (top right), then Blocked users. While there is an official Snapchat interface on the web you can access with your account, it does have its limitations—and you can’t access your blocked Snapchat contacts from a web browser.
Tiktok
In the mobile app, tap Profile, then the three horizontal lines (top right), then Settings and Privacy, Privacy, and Blocked accounts. As with Snapchat, while you can get at your TikTok account on the web and access a limited number of settings, you can’t see a list of people you’ve blocked in a browser.
Messaging apps
Finding blocked contacts on WhatsApp.Screenshot: WhatsApp
iPhone and iPad
If you’re on an iPhone or iPad, it’s the same block list for the Phone app, Messages, and FaceTime. Open up Settings in iOS, then choose Phone and Blocked Contacts, Messages and Blocked Contacts, or FaceTime and Blocked Contacts. It’s the same list in each case, and you can add new people to it as well as take people off it.
On Android, the situation varies slightly depending on your phone, but on Pixel devices, the blocked list is synced between the Phone and Messages apps. You can tap the three dots (top right) from the Phone app, then Settings and Blocked numbers. From Messages, you can tap your profile picture (top right), then Spam and Blocked to see messages you’ve blocked; tap the three dots (top right) and Blocked numbers to view those as well.
WhatsApp
When it comes to WhatsApp, even after all these years, the mobile app interface is still different depending on which type of phone you have: If you’re on Android, tap the three dots (top right of the Chats tab), then choose Settings, Privacy, and Blocked contacts. On iOS, it’s Settings, then Privacy, and Blocked.
Signal
As for Signal, you can get to your list of blocked contacts by tapping on the three dots in the top right corner of the Chats tab, then picking Settings, Privacy, and Blocked. The next screen lets you add another contact to your blocked list, or unblock a contact that you’ve previously put there.
Telegram
The last messaging app we’ll cover is Telegram, which, like WhatsApp, has a different interface on different platforms. On Android, tap the three horizontal lines (top left), then Settings, Privacy and Security, and Blocked Users. On iOS, you switch to the Settings tab, then pick Privacy and Security and Blocked Users.
Email apps
You may have blocked contacts in your email app, too.Screenshot: Apple Mail
Your email clients are the final group of apps you want to check for blocked contacts. In Gmail on the web, click the gear icon (top right), then See all settings and Filters and blocked addresses. Scroll down to see email addresses that have been blocked and unblock them if needed.
Gmail
Strangely enough, you can’t get to these email addresses through the Gmail app on mobile—you can only get to the contacts blocked through your Google account, which covers services such as Google Chat, Google Photos, and Google Maps. These blocked users are separate from Gmail, and you can also find a list in your Google account on the web.
Apple Mail
If Apple Mail is your email service of choice, in the macOS client you can open the Mail menu and choose Settings, then switch to the Junk Mail tab and click Blocked to see email addresses you aren’t receiving messages from. On iOS, this list is actually shared with the Phone, Messages, and FaceTime apps—you can see it if you tap Mail and then Blocked from iOS Settings. The list isn’t available via iCloud on the web.
Outlook
In the default Outlook app for Windows, you need to click on the gear icon (top right), then choose Email and Junk email to find your blocked senders and domains. The layout is exactly the same if you open Outlook on the web to get to the same feature, but the list of blocked email addresses isn’t available through the Outlook mobile app.
Suppose you’re using a different email application. In that case, whether through a desktop client or a web interface, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find the options for blocked senders or junk emails—if there’s a regular correspondent who you haven’t heard from for quite some time, this might be why.
Apple has removed WhatsApp and Threads from its app store in China, following an order from the country’s internet watchdog, which cited national security concerns.Related video above: French government watchdog agency ordered Apple to withdraw the iPhone 12 from the market (9/12/23)“We are obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate, even when we disagree,” an Apple spokesperson told CNN on Friday. “The Cyberspace Administration of China ordered the removal of these apps from the China storefront based on their national security concerns. These apps remain available for download on all other storefronts where they appear.”The apps, both owned by Meta, were already blocked in China and not widely used. They could be accessed in the country only by using virtual private networks (VPNs) that can encrypt internet traffic and disguise the user’s online identity.The removal of the apps by Apple represents a “further distancing between already separated tech universes” in the country and beyond, said Duncan Clark, the chairman of Beijing-based investment advisory BDA China.“It will cause inconvenience to consumers and businesses (in China) who deal with family, friends or customers overseas. Even if they use VPNs to access their existing WhatsApp apps, these over time will become obsolete and require updating,” he said.Other popular Western social media apps, including X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, are still available on Apple’s China app store, according to a check by CNN.The tech giant’s announcement comes against a backdrop of plunging iPhone sales in the world’s second-largest economy. Its smartphone sales tumbled a stunning 10% in the first quarter of this year, according to market research firm IDC.The company has lost momentum in China as nationalism, a rough economy and increased competition have hurt Apple over the past several months.The resurgence of Huawei and other Chinese brands, including Xiaomi and OPPO/OnePlus, will likely continue, according to IDC. Chinese consumers who once would have considered Apple are now turning to the country’s national brands.Besides being a key production center, China remains an important market for Apple as it is the largest market behind the United States. The company continues to offer discounts in the country to help boost sales.Its CEO, Tim Cook, visited Shanghai just last month to open the second-biggest Apple store in the world.Hassan Tayir contributed reporting.
Hong Kong (CNN) —
Apple has removed WhatsApp and Threads from its app store in China, following an order from the country’s internet watchdog, which cited national security concerns.
Related video above: French government watchdog agency ordered Apple to withdraw the iPhone 12 from the market (9/12/23)
“We are obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate, even when we disagree,” an Apple spokesperson told CNN on Friday. “The Cyberspace Administration of China ordered the removal of these apps from the China storefront based on their national security concerns. These apps remain available for download on all other storefronts where they appear.”
The apps, both owned by Meta, were already blocked in China and not widely used. They could be accessed in the country only by using virtual private networks (VPNs) that can encrypt internet traffic and disguise the user’s online identity.
The removal of the apps by Apple represents a “further distancing between already separated tech universes” in the country and beyond, said Duncan Clark, the chairman of Beijing-based investment advisory BDA China.
“It will cause inconvenience to consumers and businesses (in China) who deal with family, friends or customers overseas. Even if they use VPNs to access their existing WhatsApp apps, these over time will become obsolete and require updating,” he said.
Other popular Western social media apps, including X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, are still available on Apple’s China app store, according to a check by CNN.
The tech giant’s announcement comes against a backdrop of plunging iPhone sales in the world’s second-largest economy. Its smartphone sales tumbled a stunning 10% in the first quarter of this year, according to market research firm IDC.
The company has lost momentum in China as nationalism, a rough economy and increased competition have hurt Apple over the past several months.
The resurgence of Huawei and other Chinese brands, including Xiaomi and OPPO/OnePlus, will likely continue, according to IDC. Chinese consumers who once would have considered Apple are now turning to the country’s national brands.
Besides being a key production center, China remains an important market for Apple as it is the largest market behind the United States. The company continues to offer discounts in the country to help boost sales.
Its CEO, Tim Cook, visited Shanghai just last month to open the second-biggest Apple store in the world.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced Wednesday that users on the chat app with personal accounts can now convert them into business accounts by paying a monthly fee. This gives users the ability to list information such as location and opening hours, which might be helpful for small cafes and shop owners.
Some of the other features for business accounts involve organizing chats with color labels, using automatic greetings or away messages, and shortcuts for quick replies. On his channel, Durov said that Telegram plans to launch more business features this month including a way to integrate AI-powered chatbots for customer service.
“Telegram Business accounts will be able to seamlessly add chatbots as their invisible secretaries to respond to all or certain chats. With AI, these chatbots can bring customer service automation to an entirely new level,” he said.
Telegram is trying to compete with WhatsApp Business, which crossed the mark of 200 million monthly active users last year, with these new features. However, a major differentiation is that Telegram is charging a subscription fee to use business features, while WhatsApp relies on the type of conversations and frequency of chats to generate revenue.
To send those notifications that awaken a device and appear on its screen without a user’s interaction, apps and smartphone operating system makers must store tokens that identify the device of the intended recipient. That system has created what US senator Ron Wyden has called a “digital post office” that can be queried by law enforcement to identify users of an app or communications platform. And while it has served as a powerful tool for criminal surveillance, privacy advocates warn that it could just as easily be turned against others such as activists or those seeking an abortion in states where that’s now illegal.
In many cases, tech firms don’t even demand a court order for the data: Apple, in fact, only demanded a subpoena for the data until December. That allowed federal agents and police to obtain the identifying information without the involvement of a judge until it changed its policy to demand a judicial order.
Europe’s sweeping Digital Markets Act comes into force next week and is forcing major “gatekeeper” tech companies to open up their services. Meta-owned WhatsApp is opening its encryption to interoperate with other messaging apps; Google is giving European users more control over their data; and Apple will allow third-party app stores and the sideloading of apps for the first time.
Apple’s proposed changes have proved controversial, but ahead of the March 7 implementation date the company has reiterated its belief that sideloading apps creates more security and privacy risks. It may be easier for apps on third-party apps stores, the company says in a white paper, to contain malware or try to access people’s iPhone data. Apple says it is bringing in new checks to try to make sure apps are safe.
“These safeguards will help keep EU users’ iPhone experience as secure, privacy-protecting, and safe as possible—although not to the same degree as in the rest of the world,” the company claims. Apple also says it has heard from EU organizations, such as those in banking and defense, which say they are concerned about employees installing third-party apps on work devices.
WhatsApp scored a landmark legal win this week against the notorious mercenary hacking firm NSO Group in its long-running lawsuit against that spyware seller for allegedly breaching its app and the devices of its users. The judge in the case, Phyllis Hamilton, sided with WhatsApp in its demand that NSO Group hand over the code of its Pegasus spyware, which has long been considered one of the most sophisticated pieces of spyware to target mobile devices, sometimes through vulnerabilities in WhatsApp. The code handover—which includes versions of Pegagus from 2018 to 2020 as well as NSO’s documentation around its spyware—could help WhatsApp prove its allegations that NSO hacked 1,400 of its users, including at least 100 members of “civil society” such as journalists and human rights defenders. “Spyware companies and other malicious actors need to understand they can be caught and will not be able to ignore the law,” a WhatsApp spokesperson told the Guardian.
Here’s a solid rule of thumb: Don’t put any device in or around your home that has a camera, an internet connection, and is made by a Chinese manufacturer you’ve never heard of. In the latest reminder of that maxim, Consumer Reports this week revealed that countless brands of video-enabled doorbells have absolutely shambolic security, to the degree that for many of the devices, anyone can walk up to them outside your door, hold a button to pair their own smartphone with it, and then spy through your camera. In some cases, they can even obtain just a serial number from the device that lets them hijack it via the internet from anywhere in the world, according to the investigation. Consumer Reports found that these devices were sold under the brand names Eken and Tuck but that they appeared to share a manufacturer with no fewer than 10 other devices that all had similar designs. And while those devices might sound obscure, they’re reportedly sold through major retail platforms like Amazon, Walmart, Sears, Shein, and Temu. In some cases, Amazon had even marked the devices with their “Amazon’s Choice: Overall Pick” badge—even after Consumer Reports alerted Amazon to the security flaws.
WASHINGTON—During a congressional hearing Wednesday aimed at holding tech companies accountable for children’s safety online, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave testimony in which he assured concerned parents that he was keeping a very close, personal eye on teen accounts. “I personally spend most days and nights in front of my computer, closely monitoring every piece of content uploaded by your young teenagers, so there’s no need to worry” said the 39-year-old billionaire, explaining to parents that there was no way for strangers to exploit underage children without him seeing the private messages in real time. “There’s not a single image your precious son or daughter has sent through Instagram, Facebook, or WhatsApp that I haven’t seen and preserved on my own hard drive for safe keeping. I’m out there every day looking at their photos and making sure the racier stuff doesn’t get into the wrong hands. When I see something concerning, I immediately comment, ‘You okay, beautiful?’ to get to the bottom of it. Liking and hearting pictures of your kids in skimpy bikinis lets any predators out there know that Daddy Zuckerberg is watching.” Zuckerberg went on to tell the Senate Judiciary Committee that if bad people were targeting underage kids on his social media apps, he would be the first person to step in and let the children know that they could always come to him and tell him anything.
Facebook HQ On Lockdown After Mark Zuckerberg’s Avatar Breaks Out Of Metaverse
The FBI has charged six individuals over allegations of running an unlicensed crypto money-transmitting operation in New York.
According to an unsealed affidavit of FBI special agent Lawrence Lonergan, six people, Naineshkumar Patel, Nileshkumar Patel and Raju Patel, Shaileshkumar Goyani, Brijeshkumar Patel, and Hirenkumar Patel, operated an illegal money transmitting business between July 2021 and September 2023.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) requires virtual currency transmitters and exchangers to register with it and have state licenses before being allowed to operate.
Per the affidavit, the six used an anonymizer on the dark web called “darknet” to convert cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), into cash.
Of the six accused, one has been granted conditional release by a U.S. magistrate judge, according to CoinDesk citing a filing.
The charges come after years of investigations triggered by the identification of an individual on the dark web in April 2021 who was offering a service to convert Bitcoin into cash and ship it via the U.S. Postal Service’s Express Mail or Priority Mail.
On Feb. 7, the FBI arrested the individual who had been moving the cash packages through a Westchester, New York post office, upon which they agreed to cooperate with the law enforcement agency.
The FBI’s investigation involved photographic and video surveillance that caught the six accused in the act, running the unregistered and unlicensed business.
Additionally, the informant, who previously worked with the six defendants, said the operation raked in more than $30 million in the period it was active. The unnamed informant also claimed that some clients who used the service were drug dealers and cybercriminals.
They said the service was run through messaging apps, including Telegram and WhatsApp. It also involved in-person cash exchanges where the informant and the defendants would deliver agreed-upon sums of fiat money to customers in exchange for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
In today’s digital world, we use many ways to talk to others every single day, whether it comes to work or personal matters. We send emails, chat on messaging apps and use social media. But sometimes, all these messages can get confusing. Learn how to make your communication easier by using different messaging channels for different business purposes.
Are emails old-school?
No, in fact, email remains the cornerstone of professional communication. Period. Its formal and structured nature makes it ideal for external correspondence, official documentation, and client interactions. Additionally, important emails offer a written record of communication, making it easy to reference past conversations, agreements and decisions. My company keeps all professional communication with partners and portfolio companies within emails. This documentation is crucial for legal, auditing and accountability purposes.
We’ve all been in situations where we’ve asked someone to “send something via email to ensure it doesn’t get lost.” So, yes, you can easily flag, pin and highlight threads or single conversations and retrieve any information when you need it – email threads allow users to track the history of a conversation, making it easier to follow the evolution of discussions and decisions over time. In terms of security, many email platforms offer robust security features, including encryption, to protect sensitive information. For a company, this is also a crucial aspect.
We all value professional and personal privacy. I love email, and if I see an important email and don’t have an opportunity to read it carefully, here is what I do: I open it, read it quickly, then close it and mark it as unread. Sometimes, it is easy to get lost in open emails; in this case, I know I will get back to it when I have dedicated time for it.
LinkedIn: professional networking and personal brand
I personally love LinkedIn. It is a premier platform for building and expanding professional networks and connecting with colleagues, peers, clients, industry experts and potential business partners.
I have one habit when it comes to this social media – I try to read and respond/react to every message I get, except for obvious scams. I receive many messages on LinkedIn every single day – some of them are work-related (e.g., messages from founders, potential partners, and other players in the innovation ecosystem), while others are more personal and not within the scope of our fund.
It’s a great place to share best practices, keep up with the latest innovation and venture trends, and stay updated on industry matters.
However, when I spot an opportunity or an important issue to discuss, I always transition the communication to email, where I include relevant colleagues in the conversation. It is entirely acceptable to request that your counterpart switch communication to email instead of continuing the conversation via LinkedIn.
Telegram: Stay up-to-date with groups and channels
Telegram is the 10th most popular mobile messaging app in the US. It’s no wonder its popularity has soared in recent years. In fact, many WhatsApp users switched to Telegram to take advantage of its robust privacy features.
Telegram is my personal favorite. We use this platform for all our work-related communication regarding urgent matters and to communicate with our portfolio companies. I have more than 20 chats, each dedicated to a specific subject, with certain people from the company.
When we launched our Softlanding program last year, we were deciding how to keep in touch with participants, sending schedules, relevant info and more. We figured out that Telegram is the perfect tool for that because it supports group chats and channels with many participants. On top of everything, Telegram offers cloud-based storage, allowing users to access their messages and files from multiple devices. This feature enhances accessibility and data backup. In our case, it was the most convenient messenger for file sharing and communication.
We also have our open Telegram channel to share news and key insights about venture capital in the USA. Telegram supports various message types, including text, multimedia files, voice messages, and documents. This versatility allows for effective communication and file sharing (e.g.reports, analytics), which is very convenient when you need to transfer something that email storage doesn’t support.
While Telegram has numerous advantages for business communication, organizations need to assess their specific needs, consider security and privacy requirements, and choose communication tools that align with their objectives and industry regulations.
Each platform serves specific purposes, whether it’s the formality and professionalism of email, the networking power of LinkedIn, or the real-time communication of Telegram and WhatsApp. The key lies in strategically separating and using these channels to tailor your communication to the right audience and context. This approach will help businesses maintain professionalism and streamline internal discussions.
Should you check email on vacation or face a tsunami of messages once you’re back at the office?
For workers at war with their inboxes, neither is a great option.
That’s why many people choose something in the middle. But even monitoring email on holiday “is almost always a bad move,” said Zachary Weiner, CEO of the marketing company Emerging Insider Communications.
“Once that Pandora’s box is open, you usually find yourself having to respond, having to put out fires, unintentionally spending hours and hours of time,” he said.
Still, some 84% of white-collar workers do it, and more than 70% are triaging messages from three or more platforms — like Teams, Slack and WhatsApp — said work-life balance consultant Joe Robinson.
“Everyone is dog paddling out there in this tidal wave,” he said. “We’re doing everything wrong. That’s why everybody’s so frazzled.”
Robinson launched an “Email Intervention Campaign” earlier this month to deal with issues like “vacation email panic,” he told CNBC Travel.
According to a survey of workers he conducted in April:
25% have skipped a vacation to avoid email backlog when returning to the office
34% have shortened vacations for the same reason
87% favor a company policy to disconnect after work, except during emergencies
One company doing it right is the Mercedes-Benz Group, which lets employees auto-delete incoming email messages while they’re on vacation, he said. (Out-of-office messages alert senders that messages have been deleted, too.)
“I encounter tons of people who are burned out from email,” said work-life speaker and consultant Joe Robinson. Managers and “the people at the top are … worse off.”
Source: Joe Robinson
According to Robinson, 95% of respondents said they would support a similar policy at their companies.
Robinson advises companies to create defined email policies, ideally ones which give workers permission not to check email on vacation.
Gates Little, CEO of the U.S.-based lender altLine Sobanco, agreed, adding leadership should set the example.
“If your boss is always answering emails while away, don’t you think you’d be expected to do the same?” he said. “Whereas a boss who preaches work-life balance will set an example by not responding to emails until they return.”
1. Pad the dates on your “Out of Office” autoreply
Set an autoreply with your vacation timeline and a colleague’s contact details for urgent emails — but turn it on a few days before and after your leave dates.
“When you extend your OOO auto-response to encompass the days before and after vacation, you can enjoy your time feeling less stressed,” said Shawn Plummer, founder and CEO of financial and insurance agency The Annuity Expert.
2. Select an “email partner”
An “email partner” solves two problems, said Jack Underwood, CEO of the delivery software company Circuit. You can leave with peace of mind and avoid “an endless backlog of emails to dig through” upon your return.
Joe Robinson advises “partners” tackle emergency emails only, to avoid overburdening them. And Emerging Insider’s Weiner recommends instructing your “partner” to text — not email — to discuss urgent matters.
3. Set filters
Stanislav Khilobochenko, a vice president at the customer services company Clario, uses filters to distinguish urgent emails from irrelevant ones. He said, “I set up as many filters as possible so emails that arrive while I’m away are already sorted by priority.”
Kim Rohrer, principal people partner at human resources company Oyster, said she discovered her top email pro-tip during her 24-day honeymoon in 2011.
She sets up two filters:
Send all mail to the archive and mark as read
Send all mail with “README” in the subject to a special “README” folder
Via autoreply, she notifies senders she’s archiving all emails during her vacation dates. She refers urgent emails to a colleague, but asks that non-urgent emails “you’d like me to read … upon my return” be resent to her with “README” in the subject line.
“I once checked, and I had received over 3,000 emails after a two-week vacation, but only had four emails in my ‘read later’ folder,” she told CNBC Travel, which “just goes to show how much false urgency impacts our workloads.”
4. Mute notifications
To tune out work, mute email notifications and messenger systems, said Christy Pyrz, chief marketing officer of the supplement company Paradigm Peptides.
“Do yourself the favor,” she said. “Mute the apps.”
Mrigaa Sethi, pictured here with wife, Erin (left), in Sri Lanka, said both have a habit of working on vacations. “This time we deleted our email apps and turned off notifications and had the best time ever.”
Source: Mrigaa Sethi
But travel editor Mrigaa Sethi goes a step further. “Delete the apps! Email, Slack, Teams … be absolute. Don’t leave the door partway open.”
They said they understand the urge to check email daily to prevent email backlog, but “I know myself well enough that even the slightest bit of news will make my brain whir.”
If you can’t tear away from your inbox, follow these tips to minimize email time:
1. Set designated times
David Ly, the CEO of the Nasdaq-listed tech company Iveda, said he checks email daily on vacation.
“Whether I’m on vacation or not, I try to remain disciplined, setting specific time aside,” he said.
Jonathan Zacharias, founder of the digital marketing agency GR0, suggests doing “a quick check in just once a day.”
And Andrew Meyer, the founder and CEO of the digital energy advisor Arbor, recommends choosing either early mornings or late nights “so as not to miss any daytime activities.”
2. Don’t respond (if you don’t have to)
Emails proliferate like rabbits, said Joe Robinson. On average, every sent email triggers five more messages, and everyone takes three minutes of your time, he said.
“You save yourself 18 minutes with every email you don’t send,” he said.
And stop sending one-liner emails, like “thanks” and “got it,” he said. “People still have to open that up.”
For Brian Lee, founder and CEO of the tech sports card company Arena Club, not responding to emails while on vacation sets a clear boundary. “People will respect your time more,” he said.
Denise Hemke, the chief product officer at employee screening company Checkr, said her company blocks off time to catch up on email after vacations.
“We ask our employees to spend a few days focusing solely on their emails before getting back into the swing of things,” she said. “This helps them get caught up quickly and efficiently, without feeling overwhelmed with an overstuffed inbox when they return to work.”
Brian Binke, CEO of the recruiting company The Birmingham Group, said his company allocates time for employees to catch up on emails after trips, too.
“We want our people to relax as much as possible when they’re on vacation,” he said.
Eva Green said having her private messages exposed during a film-related trial has been “humiliating.”
The “Casino Royale” actor took the witness stand Tuesday in London’s High Court where several WhatsApp messages between Green and her agent, as well as with director Dan Pringle, were read aloud, per Variety.
Green described the production crew of science fiction thriller “A Patriot,” which collapsed in 2019 due to a lack of funding, as “shitty peasants.” She said the finance company, Sherborne, was full of “sad little people” and “arseholes” and called producer Jake Seal “the devil.”
Green is suing Sherborne and production company White Lantern for a $1 million “pay or play” fee due to their failure to secure financing. They allege she deliberately undermined the production to see it fail and acquire the script herself, however, and are countersuing.
Green, who was an executive producer on the film, testified Tuesday.
Green is being countersued for “conspiracy, deceit and unlawful interference.”
Yui Mok – PA Images via Getty Images
“I have a very direct way of saying things,” said Green on the witness stand, according to Page Six. “I was not expecting to have my WhatsApp messages exposed in court. It’s already very humiliating.”
Green reportedly added that “sometimes you say things you don’t mean” and likened her impassioned messages to a statement by Daniel Craig. Her former co-star famously told Time Out after reprising his role as 007 for the third time that he’d rather die than do so again.
“There’s a famous example of Daniel Craig saying he would rather ‘slash my wrists’ than do another Bond movie,” said Green. “He did honor his contract, he did another Bond movie, he didn’t slash his wrists. Sometimes you say things under extreme pressure, and it just comes out.”
Green allegedly called “A Patriot” a “fucking nightmare” and told an associate, “We had to get out,” however. Whether this indicates intentional sabotage of the production and a resultant breach of Green’s contract remains to be concluded in court.
“It doesn’t mean I wasn’t going to honor my contract,” said Green. “If called to set, I would have done this movie, even though it would have been a disaster. I have never broken a contract, I had to do it.”
Meta-owned instant messaging platform WhatsApp users’ personal information, such as mobile phone numbers, has allegedly been breached and is up for sale on a well-known hacking community forum.
According to a Cybernews report, some people posted an advertisement on the hacking community forum on November 16 and were selling a 2022 database of around 487 million WhatsApp users’ mobile numbers. The report, which has been confirmed by multiple sources, is likely to be true.
This database of WhatsApp users contains data from 84 countries (including India) and suggests that almost one-fourth of all WhatsApp’s estimated two billion active monthly users are at possible risk.
Reportedly, there are more than 6 million records of Indian WhatsApp users on sale. Apart from the Indian users, the report also claims that there are more than 32 million mobile numbers of US users, 45 million contacts from Egypt, 35 million from Italy, 29 million from Saudi Arabia, 20 million from France and nearly 20 million from Turkey.
According to the report, hackers were selling the US dataset for $7,000, the UK for $2,500, and Germany for $2,000.
This type of personal user information, such as leaked phone numbers, is mostly used for marketing and phishing, impersonation, and fraud attacks.
Meta Platforms Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg told employees on Thursday that WhatsApp and Messenger would drive the company’s next wave of sales growth, as he sought to assuage concerns about Meta’s finances after its first mass layoffs.
Zuckerberg, addressing pointed questions at a company-wide meeting a week after Meta said it would lay off 11,000 workers, described the pair of messaging apps as being “very early in monetizing” compared to its advertising juggernauts Facebook and Instagram, according to remarks heard by Reuters.
“We talk a lot about the very long-term opportunities like the metaverse, but the reality is that business messaging is probably going to be the next major pillar of our business as we work to monetize WhatsApp and Messenger more,” he said.
Meta enables some consumers to speak and transact with merchants through the chat apps, including a new feature announced Thursday in Brazil. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday’s internal forum.
Zuckerberg’s comments there reflect a shift in tone and emphasis after focusing heavily on extended reality hardware and software investments since announcing a long-term ambition to build out an immersive metaverse last year.
Investors have questioned the wisdom of that decision as Meta’s core advertising business has struggled this year, more than halving its stock price.
In his remarks to employees, Zuckerberg played down how much the company was spending in Reality Labs, the unit responsible for its metaverse investments.
People were Meta’s biggest expense, followed by capital expenditure, the vast majority of which went to infrastructure to support its suite of social media apps, he said. About 20% of Meta’s budget was going to Reality Labs.
Within Reality Labs, the unit was spending over half of its budget on augmented reality (AR), with smart glasses products continuing to emerge “over the next few years” and some “truly great” AR glasses later in the decade, Zuckerberg said.
“This is in some ways the most challenging work … but I also think it’s the most valuable potential part of the work over time,” he said.
About 40% of Reality Labs’ budget went toward virtual reality, while about 10% was spent on futuristic social platforms such as the virtual world it calls Horizon.
Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, who runs Reality Labs, said AR glasses need to be more useful than mobile phones to appeal to potential customers and meet a higher bar for attractiveness.
Bosworth said he was wary of developing “industrial applications” for the devices, describing that as “niche,” and wanted to stay focused on building for a broad audience.
Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta has appointed Sandhya Devanathan as the Vice President of its India vertical – Meta India. She will take over from January 1, 2023, and will report to Meta APAC Vice President Dan Neary. Devanathan will move back to India and lead the company’s organisation and strategy in the country. She will focus on bringing the organisation’s business and revenue priorities together to help partners and clients while supporting the long-term growth of Meta’s India business.
The incoming Meta India Vice President will also focus on strengthening strategic relationships with leading brands, advertisers, creators, and partners to drive the behemoth’s revenue growth in India. She has over two decades of experience and an international career in areas such as banking, payments, and technology.
The industry veteran joined Meta in 2016 and played a significant role in building out Meta’s Singapore and Vietnam businesses and the company’s e-commerce initiatives in Southeast Asia. Devanathan led the company’s gaming vertical for APAC, one of the largest Meta verticals globally.
She is also an executive sponsor for Women@APAC and the global lead for Meta’s global initiative aimed at diverse representation in the gaming industry Play Forward. Besides, she is also on the global board of Pepper Financial Services.
“Sandhya has a proven track record of scaling businesses, building exceptional and inclusive teams, driving product innovation, and building strong partnerships,” Meta Chief Business Officer Marne Levine said on Devanathan’s appointment.
Devanathan’s appointment comes as global tech giants are laying off thousands of employees given the uncertain economic situation. Meta fired around 11,000 employees earlier this week and several Indians have been impacted. Zuckerberg said in a blog post that the company will provide immigration support to foreign employees.
Fake videos are a menace. Circulated on social media platforms such as Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter, they often spread incorrect and false information, damaging reputation and even causing monetary losses for individuals, organisations, and governments. Detecting deepfake videos in real-time is cumbersome as it requires detection apps that upload videos for analysis, and there is a long wait of hours to access the results. But Intel, as a part of Responsible AI work, has productised ‘FakeCatcher’. It is a technology that can detect fake videos with 96% accuracy. The company claims its deepfake detection platform is the world’s first real-time deepfake detector that returns results in milliseconds.
“Deepfake videos are everywhere now. You have probably already seen them; videos of celebrities doing or saying things they never actually did,” says Ilke Demir, senior staff research scientist in Intel Labs. As Deepfake videos are a growing threat, companies will spend up to $188 billion in cybersecurity solutions in the future, according to Gartner.
How it Works:
Most deep learning-based detectors look at raw data to find signs of inauthenticity and identify what is wrong with a video. In contrast, FakeCatcher looks for authentic clues in real videos by assessing what makes us human— subtle “blood flow” in the pixels of a video, says the company. When hearts pump blood, veins change colour. These blood flow signals are collected from all over the face, and algorithms translate these signals into spatiotemporal maps. Then, using deep learning, Intel can instantly detect whether a video is real or fake.
Intel’s real-time platform uses FakeCatcher, a detector designed by Demir in collaboration with Umur Ciftci from the State University of New York at Binghamton. Using Intel hardware and software, it runs on a server and interfaces through a web-based platform.
Where can it be used?
Intel believes there are several potential use cases for FakeCatcher. It can be used by Social media platforms to prevent users from uploading harmful deepfake videos. Even Global news organisations, who are constantly doing fact checks, can use the detector to avoid inadvertently amplifying manipulated videos. And nonprofit organisations could employ the platform to democratise the detection of deepfakes for everyone.
Tech giant Meta says it’s resolved a WhatsApp outage that turned out to be brief. It had prevented many of the billions of users of the popular service from connecting or sending messages.
Meta issued a statement to CBS News saying, “We know people had trouble sending messages on WhatsApp today. We’ve fixed the issue and apologize for any inconvenience.”
Problems with the hugely popular service were reported by monitoring site Downdetector and by user complaints on social media on Tuesday morning.
Social media users said they were unable to connect to the app or send messages, although some reported a restoration of the service at around 0350 EDT.
The hashtag #whatsappdown was one of the most trending on Twitter across the world on Tuesday, while millions of messages on Meta-owned photo-sharing platform Instagram also flagged the outage.
Some Twitter users tried to find a funny side to the technical trouble, joking that Twitter would seek to exploit the situation and gain a flurry of new connections in the coming hours.
The origin of the outage was unclear.
WhatsApp’s parent company Meta, formerly known as Facebook, suffered an unprecedented outage last year affecting its leading social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger.
The duration and scale of the disruption to the four services used by billions of people led to a major incident that Downdetector described as one of the largest ever observed.
At the time, Facebook acknowledged that the incident was due to an error on their part and not a technical problem.
WhatsApp, a free messaging service, crossed the threshold of two billion users worldwide in February 2020 and is one of the most popular apps.
Meta India has reported gross advertising revenues of Rs 16,189 crore or around $2 billion for FY22, a rise of 74 per cent year-on-year (YoY), according to the company’s filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). In FY21, Facebook India Online Services — as the company is registered in India — had reported gross advertising revenues of Rs 9,326 crore, a jump of 41 per cent YoY.
Meta India reported total profit before tax in FY22 at Rs 440 crore, growing 116 per cent YoY, while its profit after tax grew 132 per cent YoY to Rs 297 crore, as per RoC data. Advertising is Meta’s principal source of revenue in India. The company operates on an ad reseller model in the country.
Meta’s three platforms — WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram — are immensely popular with Indians. According to the IT ministry, as of February 2021, WhatsApp had 530 million users in India, Facebook had 410 million users and Instagram had 210 million users. One of its most popular properties is Reels, its short video service on Instagram.
Meta India’s major source of income in the country is advertising on Facebook and Instagram. Recently, it launched a tie-up between WhatsApp and JioMart—which has more than 2 million merchant partners and is part of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL)—to deliver groceries.
In an exclusive interaction with Business Today recently, Nicola Mendelsohn, Vice President, Global Business Group, Meta, called the partnership a “lighthouse example” for the world. “You can go into the [JioMart] catalogue, you can choose the things you want delivered and pay for it… all within WhatsApp. It’s the first time we’ve done that globally,” Mendelsohn, head of Meta’s global advertising business, said.
