RapidKL is finally launching and selling its My50 and MyCity passes making it easier for users to purchase the pass instantly without going through the hassle. The passes can be purchased through The MyRapid Pulse app, which is available on the Apple App Store, the Google Play Store, and the Huawei AppGallery. It is also available for purchase through the online MyRapid Shop. With this system in place, it allows commuters to buy these passes online instead of at customer service counters in RapidKL train stations and bus hubs.
Source: RapidKL/Prasarana
However, like many of its other “advancements”, the transition to an online system seems like two steps forward and a step back. As mentioned in its own FAQs, while the passes are being sold online, they will not be able to be activated on the MyKad or Touch ‘n Go card after the purchase. Instead, users must activate the pass at customer service counters at public transport stations like KL Sentral.
There is, however, a good reason why users must activate it at customer service counters. As of current My50 and MyCity passes are only available to Malaysians. That said, it doesn’t look like RapidKL has implemented a KYC (Know Your Client) protocol in place. Hence, proving nationality through the Pulse app or MyRapid Shop will be difficult. According to them, this is also due to the Touch n’ Go system that needs the passes to be physically activated.
That said, the new implementation is a step forward. However, it would be a big benefit to users if these passes are available via platforms like ewallets, Samsung Wallet, Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. Users will then be able to simply tap in or out with their cellphones. It is worth noting though, that, recently, Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced that RapidKL’s parent firm, Prasarana, is working on an open payment system for 2024. We’ll have to wait and see if the process changes when that is launched.
Google just updated their policy just last week to ensure that users have more control over their own data on apps and account on their selected apps. This week, they are updating the app itself to add a little bit more automation on the app. While it may sound a little counter-intuitive especially with the whole initiative in giving users more control over their own smartphone and data, it is a good update for users.
Smartphones in the modern world allow you to have thousands of apps in your smartphone. In fact, you would install thousands of apps on your smartphone. All these takes up precious storage on your smartphone and when you find a new app you could use, you run out of storage space before you know it. To install the new app, you must clear up your storage by deleting things on your smartphone, uninstall apps. Thing is, you might want to keep those apps still because they could come in handy. You want to ensure that your app data is still in your smartphone in case you want to start running the app again. There is a way, thanks to Google’s latest update to Google Play.
You can now opt-in for Google Play’s new ‘auto-archive’ function. According to Google’s developer blog update, the function will help the user free up space on their smartphones without the need to manually uninstall apps from their smartphone. Google Play cleverly partially remove an app that you have not used for a long time on your smartphone to give way for newer and more functional apps. It is not really completely uninstalled though; the app’s data is still stored within the smartphone and you can re-download the app when you want to use it again as long as the app is still available on Google Play Store.
Of course, the function is not only an opt-in for the user, but also for developers. Their apps would have to have the function built into their app. They would also have to be using App Bundle to publish their apps on Google Play Store. Once their app enables the auto-archive function, the apps will be less likely to turn up on uninstall suggestions when users want to clear their smartphone’s storage.
Source: Google Blog
For users to opt-in, a prompt will trigger when a user tries to install an app on their smartphone with full storage. The prompt will appear and ask if the user would like to enable auto-archive. Once the user enables auto-archive, Google Play will cleverly do its thing to archive apps you hardly use or have not been using for a long time to free up some storage space for the new app. No, you do not have to do much, just make sure your Google Play Store is up to date to get the function.
Data privacy and security is a big topic. It is also something Apple and Google, the world’s largest tech firms, have been working on for a long time. Over time, Google and Apple have both separately introduce new measures and policies for their developers to improve on security and giving more privacy access to their users. In their latest policy update, Google might make things easier for you if you wish to opt out or finally delete an app you no longer want to use.
As of yesterday, Google has introduced a few key initiatives for their Google Play store for 2023 and beyond. In their latest blog update, they are looking to achieve a few things with their initiative an policy update. Ads is still a big thing for Google, but they are looking to soften ads served to users. You are not getting any less ads, but Google seems to limit the amount of data that you share with apps and therefore shared across ad algorithms.
Google is also introducing a new Play Integrity API that is supposed to better protect their developers and the IP that comes with the apps. Alongside the enhanced API, Google is also introducing Google Play SDK Index so that developers have better overview over their SDK uses. In all this, they also look to balance the experience for developers and users by ensuring that there are better policies in place to ensure that data collection is done as responsibly as possible. At the same time, they want to make Google Play even safer for children and families, all through the updated policy.
Source: Google
The biggest emphasis, at least according to another blog update, is allowing more data control for its users. It is not just about accessing and viewing more data than ever. While that is also a part of an improved transparency over users’ data, the policy update requires developers to allow their users to have even more control and deliberation with their own data on their selected platforms. It is also more than just allowing you to choose which data or hardware that the app gets access to.
Modern apps requires us to hold a virtual account with the provider’s platform to use. Even if you are using a Google account to sign into different apps, the platform technically creates another account for you just for their platform. If you wish to create a separate account, you can too via the apps. What most apps does not allow you to do though is to reverse that process. That is about to change.
In Google’s latest policy for developers, developers are going to be required to enable in-app account deletion or at least initiate the account deletion process via their apps. Google also requires the developer to allow the app deletion process and initiation to be done completely online too so that users do not have to reinstall an app just to delete their account. Since the account deletion process can be done completely via your app, you also do not have to access two different devices to delete your user data off their platforms.
Source: Google
With the policy as well, Google states that any account deletion must also be accompanied with a complete deletion of a user’s data from their database. In that case, users also get an option to either keep or delete their data from a developer’s database when their delete their accounts. There are going to be cases where developers might require data retention for security, fraud prevention, or regulatory compliance. In that case, the developer must clearly state that they will have hold your data for whatever reason they cite.
Google is looking to enforce their policy starting December 2023. They are allowing for extensions for developers up until May 2024. That also means that you can expect all your apps to include your account deletion feature from 2024 onward. Of course, this policy will not just affect Android users with access to Google Play. This most likely will also translate to users of other platforms since the policy does affect most developers that are on both Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Tower of Fantasy is getting more exciting, fresh content with the release of the major 2.1 update, dubbed Confounding Labyrinth.
The 2.1 update brings more characters, powers, bosses and the new simulacrum debut in Tower of Fantasy.
New terrains and challenges await in the 2.1 update
Publisher Level Infinite and developer Hotta Studio have released the 2.1 update on the 22nd of November. With it comes a brand-new map, Confounding abyss with new challenges, bosses and the new simulacrum, Lin. Players can find the new location just beneath Mirroria and explore the diverse, underground terrain in the ruins of the Third City.
Explore the Prism Pillar (top) and Deepsoul Industrial Zone (bottom) in the Confounding Abyss
While exploring, players will encounter new challenges with enemies that have mutated under the effects of the Confounding Abyss. One such encounter is with the new enemy Crystal Hoof, where a Culton’s body has fused with a mysterious crystal, resulting in a strong, rock-like body. Experience the unique terrain of the Confounding Abyss with the official 2.1 update trailer.
Face new enemies like the Crystal Hoof in the Confounding Abyss
Rise against the new challenges with the debuting simulacrum Lin, the successor to MIrroria. Lin thrives in the frontlines of battle and has a unique alteration ability. While other simulacrums are equipped with one element each such as flame or frost, Lin can use all elements and construct weapons of any element genre. Find out more on Lin with the simulacrum release trailer.
Experience this exciting free-to-play MMORPG
With such exciting content in the 2.1 update, it’s no surprise Tower of Fantasy has been nominated for Best Mobile Game at The Game Awards and the Google Play User’s Choice Game. Players can also show their support by voting at The Game Awards.
Tower of Fantasy nominated for Best Mobile Game at The Game Awards
PUBG Mobile has announced a collaboration with Lionel Messi, featuring 20 in-game items themed after the football star.
Get Messi-themed in game items in PUBG Mobile
Fans can outfit their characters to look like the Argentina star with Captain Messi outfits and themed accessories. Improve your in-game gear further with the Messi Football Icon range which includes a new themed set, cover, backpack, helmet, pan, PP-19 Bizon, Mini14, MK47, AKM, ornament and grenade. More themed gear is available with the Messi Super Legend items which includes a themed set, hat, mask and parachute. To complete the collection, fans can get the Messi Collaboration items which include a set, plane finish, hoverboard, dacia and ornament.
For a limited time only, fans can get the exclusive “PUBG MOBILE X Messi” Collaboration Jersey. To win one, simply participate in the invitation sharing event, and be quick as this is a limited time event.
Updating your apps is a hassle, so is finding the right app to do specific things you want for your Android or iOS machines. We live in an age where there is an app for everything, and it all started with the iPhone and then later expanded by Google’s Android ecosystem. To think that we almost do not get ecosystem with open-sourced apps is an odd one today.
Android’s foray into the app ecosystem game marks the start of a war between iOS and Android. The war of the app store, we call it. Who had better app support, who had better apps, and who had the biggest app store? We have reached a breaking point, however.
The world today, while still revolves around apps, cares more about the quality of contents each app delivers than how many apps you have on your smartphone. I, for one, want as little apps as possible on my smartphone but enough apps to perform everything I need from my smartphone. We do not need a million apps to do a million things. We want 10 apps that does 1,000 things well, and that is a problem for the app stores with millions upon millions of apps.
Source: Google
While choices are good, Google deems that not all choices may be suitable for users. Of course, apps need to comply to Google’s security guidelines that changes with every new iteration of Android. That also means that apps that are on the Play Store should be updated to match the new security standards set by Google.
The problem is, while that is something that should be, it is not how it is in the current app stores. There are millions of apps in the ecosystem that has gone silent for years. These apps do not get updated and yet they still sit in the App Store. Granted, there are plenty of apps like these that are still being used by users. Developers of the app could have either given up on the project or have closed shop for a while. They still pose security risks for Android though.
In that case, Google is taking a step up in preventing users from downloading or coming across apps that have not been updated for longer than at least one generation of Android. That also means that if the apps on Google Play Store have not been updated for Android 11 currently, they app will be taken down from the Play Store, even if the ratings for the apps are high. When we say take down, they are not completely removed from the app store, more like downranked. If the app has not been updated for more than two generations, Play Store will not allow the app to be installed on your device at all.
Source: Google
This system is completely dependent on the update cycle and age of your smartphone or tablet as well though. For example, if your device is still on Android 9, you will still be able to see apps that have been updated for Android 9, even if the said app has not been updated for Android 11 or Android 12. Once you update your device to Android 11 or 12 though, you may not see the app on the Play Store. However, if you already have the said app on your device, it will note affect your experience with the app at all. It will only affect new users to the said app.
The changes that are teased by Google is just that for now, a tease. It is expected that changes on the Play Store will start taking place on the 1st of November 2022 onward. It does give some time for developers who has not updated their apps for a year or two to prepare and update their apps before the implementation date. While it may seem odd that Google may be phasing out some of the higher rated apps just because they are old, it is also a good security measure for Android users with better compliance. It could also help new apps shine and get into the spotlight a little bit.
Malicious apps on smartphones are nothing new today. With rapid adoption of smartphones across the globe, malwares are not really an ‘if’ anymore, it is more of a when. Google and Apple, the two largest ecosystem holders in the world, have done everything they can to prevent malwares from hitting their devices, but once in a while some things slip through.
Very recently, Bleeping Computer has reported that researchers have found a malware on the Google Play Store. For the record, this is not the first time this has happened. These are not Android-only incidents too, before you start bashing Google for their lack of concern over our safety and privacy. This time round though, it is an Android isolated incident.
The app in question is called ‘Craftsart Cartoon Photo Tools’. It is, in effect, malware disguised as a form of photo editing tool. As an app, it sounds quite fun. It allows you to upload an image and convert it into a cartoon artwork rendering of some sorts for you to upload to your social media for the fun of it. What comes with the app is not so fun.
Pradeo, a security firm, discovered that the app comes with a Trojan malware called ‘FaceStealer’. It is what it sounds like, an identity theft malware. But it is not just any identity that it wants, it wants your Facebook ID and password. When you open the app for the first time, the Trojan fires up and opens a Facebook login screen for you to enter your Facebook credentials before you can use the account, which sounds completely normal. You can read more about what the trojan does via Bleeping Computer or Pradeo’s blog.
According to the research in Pradeo, the developers have injected a small piece of malicious code within the app. It is small enough to slip past Google play Store’s security filters, but enough also to work. To ensure that it stays in the Google Play Store, the app has also been automatically repackaged so that it behaves like a regular legitimate app.
This goes without saying, if you have the app installed in your Android smartphone, delete it immediately. There are no mentions if there is an iPhone equivalent on this. You can assume that currently it is only affecting Android devices, since ‘FaceStealer’ is made specifically for Android devices. The ‘Craftsart Cartoon Photo Tools’ has since been taken down from Google Play Store, but not without over 100,000 downloads first.
Popular doesn’t necessarily mean it’s safe. That’s what we’re seeing from a new report which has led to Google removing nine apps from the Google Play Store. The nine apps recently surfaced in a report by security firm, Dr. Web, these apps were providing fully functional service while stealing users’ Facebook login information.
The apps in question had different malware variants in their coding. Their developers incentivised surrendering user information by offering a “free upgrade to Pro” when a user opted to log in with their Facebook account. Once the unassuming user did this, the app would intercept and hijack the login credentials. The apps, identified as trojans, used an intermediary server to spoof and collect Facebook information and cookies.
A total of five malware variants were found in these apps. All of them were classified under the same trojan by Dr. Web. Three of these variants were apparently developed natively for Android while another two were done using Google’s Flutter framework. The latter of the types pose an increased risk to users as the framework allows apps to be developed across multiple platforms. All of these malware variants shared identical configuration file formats and identical JavaScript code to steal data.
According to the report from Dr. Web. The apps in question are:
If you have downloaded any of these apps in the past or still have them on your phone. You should thoroughly check your phone for malware. Apps such as Kaskpersky and Malwarebytes are good options to help remove any malware from your device. It goes without saying that you should uninstall these apps immediately.
Google has since removed the apps from the Play Store. Ars Technica states that a Google spokesperson noted that the offending app developers have been removed and banned from the Play Store.
So last Friday we started on a series to document how we will start living with a HUAWEI smartphone free from the clutches of the evil Google ecosystem. No, they are not really evil; I am just trying to be a bit dramatic here. You get the idea though. Modern HUAWEI smartphones today only come with HUAWEI’s very own Mobile Services and AppGallery; no Google Mobile Services and Play Store. Kind of sad, really.
Last week we managed to download Facebook and WhatsApp. We did not have Instagram, or Netflix, or Telegram. In short, there were plenty of apps we did not have. Did we miss them? Yes, very much, I had Instagram and Netflix, and Prime Video installed in other devices just to scroll through them.
I Still Miss Social Media
In truth though, I am not that big of a social media person.
While I do scroll through social media from time to time, I seldom spend more
than 15 minutes scrolling through Facebook, or Instagram, or Twitter, and even
Snapchat. I have never logged onto Tik Tok.
That does not mean that I can completely ignore all this social
media though. Of course, if I am being honest, I do miss the apps. The idea of
just seeing what other people are up to in their own life; that can still be
quite fun, and quite traumatising depending on the contents.
Facebook can be quite enough though, especially with
Facebook Watch and the countless videos on the platform. That is technically
all the entertainment I got from the HUAWEI Nova 7i. To keep in touch with my
friends, I have WhatsApp. Then again, I turn on my WhatsApp on desktop barely
looked at my smartphone when it comes to messages.
Exploring the AppGallery A Little Deeper
Still, things are not so bad after scrolling through the AppGallery
once more. There are apps in the smartphone after all. Social media apps
include Snapchat, Tik Tok (of course), and WeChat (of course). Nope, nothing
else that I use as far as I can tell. There is even TrueCaller on the AppGallery.
Things are looking a bit up now that I scroll through a little
bit more through the AppGallery. You can find Viu, iflix, and some cinema booking
apps within the AppGallery to start with. No, no Netflix or even Amazon Video
Prime. For now, iflix and Viu would do. I personally don’t have a viu account,
so I stick to iflix. We are currently under the Movement Control Order (MCO),
so I cannot go for movies.
If not though, I can do some window shopping via Zalora, Lazada,
and even Shopee. There are even some games that you might be familiar with. One
of them is Cut the Rope 2 within the AppGallery. You can even find Lords Mobile
and Fortnite on the device. So to be fair, you are not really getting
shorthanded in terms of entertainment here.
For productivity, they have WPS Office on the AppGallery. While
some say that WPS Office app is better than the original Microsoft apps, I
would respectfully disagree. The modern Microsoft apps are now so much better,
and so much more optimised. At the same time, it is easier to sync your Microsoft
apps to OneDrive than anything else. This is a problem on the device though;
there are almost no Microsoft apps here.
I say almost because there is a particularly useful Microsoft
app that we love. That app is Microsoft’s Translation app. In our opinion, this
is the best translation app that mankind has ever produced. It is accurate and
works with plenty of accents. Still, we are not here for the Microsoft Translate
app.
It is Still Android, Just Without Google
The apps that are downloaded are also very similar to the
Android apps you find on Google Play Store. The EMUI 10 is based on Android 10
after all. Still, we found these apps. Which are great. If you are worried
about bringing them out as your electronic wallet, you would be relieved to
find Touch n’ Go app in there and Boost app. Grab is making its way on
AppGallery. Still, the two largest e-wallets in Malaysia has a foothold in
HUAWEI’s AppGallery. That means the HUAWEI Mobile Services (HMS), and
AppGallery cannot be that bad, right? Too early to tell in my opinion.
Still, we are going to dive a little deeper than that. For
now, that is all we can walk away with. Stay tuned for the next part.
We wrap up the third week of #February 2020 in this #techENT#techENTDownload#techenttv! Boy, hasn’t it been a little quiet in tech this wee?. No matter though, we still bring you the latest things you need to know for the week starting with #Google banning over 600 apps in their #PlayStore to #Cadillac launching their brand new and first even electric vehicle for the world to see; Malaysia might not get it though. Still, at least we are definitely getting into the #Samsung#GalaxyZFlip!
We’ve started a new #Podcast#techntonic#techntonicpodcast and its available on Spotify, Anchor, Google Podcast, Apple Podcast, Breaker, and other podcasting host channels! If we are not yet on your favourite channel yet, let us know in the comments so that we can work our way there!
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