Google Talk is down for “a majority of users” Are you affected by the outage?

Google’s popular messaging service Google Talk is having a really bad day. According to the official App Status page from Google, the app is currently malfunctioning for “a majority of users”. Google (and web companies in general) tend to downplay the extent of service disruptions, so when someone admits that most users are affected, you can bet that the problem is serious.
The app loads and connects to Google’s servers just fine, but when users try to use it they encounter various message errors and other abnormal behavior. I personally can see just one contact that appears to be online, my colleague Ankit, but when I try to chat with him, Google Talk graciously informs me that he’s actually offline.

The problem seems to have appeared at least three hours ago, as the first disruption notice appeared on Google’s App Status page at 6:40AM PST. Google initially promised a quick resolution of the issue, but has only offered some “we’re investigating” updates so far.
We’ll monitor the situation and update this post as soon as we notice anything new. How about you? Are you affected by the Google Talk outage?
TAGS GoogleGoogle TalkOutage


I'm here to report on the latest, most breaking developments in mobile technology, all the latest and greatest Android news, and to dig deeper on where Android is headed. I'll tell you one thing - we're in for a wild ride!

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Box partners with Qualcomm to preload app on Snapdragon devices, users to get free 50GB storage

The cloud storage competition on mobile devices is heating up, as Box goes on the offense against other established players in the market. The cloud storage company has struck a deal with Qualcomm, one of biggest SoC makers in the Android ecosystem, as well as with Microsoft for its Windows Phone devices. We figure you’ll be more interested in the former, so here are the deets.
The Qualcomm partnership means that select devices powered by Snapdragon processors will come preloaded with the Box Android app. The main perk for users is that they will get 50GB of free Box storage. The deal doesn’t necessarily mean that the Box service is mandatory, but phone manufacturers will be given the opportunity to opt in on the offer.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors are prominently featured in recent top offerings from major Android manufacturers. The North American variant of the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the HTC One X, for example, are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 chip. Both Samsung and HTC, interestingly, have already inked deals of their own with Box’s rival Dropbox. Sony Mobile, on the other hand, has taken Box’s side — the Xperia Ion LTE comes with a free 50GB Box storage.
According to the company, the Box Android application has been downloaded 2.2 million times since it was made available back in September 2010. With Qualcomm on its side, the annual number of downloads is expected to triple.
SOURCES Box
TAGS BoxCloud StorageHTC One XQualcommSamsung Galaxy S3Snapdragon S4


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FireLeaker malware puts Android users’ privacy in jeopardy

A new piece of malware, dubbed FireLeaker, has been found by NQ Mobile’s Security Research Center. Unlike other types of malware, which send premium rate SMS message or install a keylogger to try and steal password and banking information, FireLeaker wants your contacts and system information.
What FireLeaker does is collect your contacts and then uploads them to a remote server. The precise reason for this data stealing isn’t yet known, but most likely the information will either be sold on to e-mail spammers, who will bombard people in your address book with all kinds of unsavory and strange offers; or it will be used by SMS spammers who will send phishing and spam text messages directly to those in your contacts.
NQ Mobile team haven’t published which apps they saw infected with the malware, but they say it comes “disguised as a widget” that silently collects “information from your contacts and uploads them to a remote server.” FireLeaker also collects device information, such as your IMEI and service provider name.
Once all the data is collected, the malware starts to upload its harvest to a remote server. To avoid being spotted, FireLeaker uses a timer to connect to the server every four minutes. According to NQ Mobile, the server address starts with 91.230, an address range used almost exclusively in Russia.
Although the existence of such malware is disturbing, there are simple steps every Android user can take to decrease the chances of malware infection:
Most (like >99%) malware infected Android apps are distributed via untrusted third party app stores. Only download apps from trusted sources and well known stores like Google Play and the Amazon Appstore. Always check reviews and user comments before downloading anything.Closely watch which permissions are requested by any app. An app shouldn’t request permission to do more than it reasonably needs. For example, games hardly ever need to send SMS messages.Download a security solution for your device.
TAGS MalwareSecurity

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