The best adult apps for Android
In an ocean of apps done poorly, these rise to the top.
If you’re reading this, chances are you have an awesome pocket computer running Android at your disposal. Today’s Android phones and tablets can pretty much do anything, and that includes things of an adult nature. We want to help you find and see that content the best way possible.
Android After Dark
- Android After Dark: NSFW
- More: The best adult Android apps
It’s a big world out there, and it’s not all Rated G. Welcome to Android Central’s NSFW section — home to sex, booze and other stories of an adult nature. It’s not for everyone — especially if you’re underage —and that’s OK. Be adult. Be respectful. And be responsible.
We’re not here to condone or condemn anyone or anything — and by all means let’s keep things legal — but we feel that adults using their Androids to peruse adult content is just fine and dandy. We bet a good number of you guys and gals feel the same way.
If you don’t agree, that’s cool, too. We also are firm believers in the “live and let live” philosophy, and fully respect your opinion and support your right to have it. We also advise you to not click through the break if you think you might be offended. We love you regardless.
Don’t worry, we’re not trying to push any boundaries or limits (too terribly far), we just want to share a list of the best ways to find and browse adult content on Android. And do it in an adult way.
Namaste my friend. Namaste.
Article updated September 2016
There are countless ways to see adult content on your Android out there, covering a broad range of subject matter. This is our list of the best of the best, and ones we feel confident to recommend. Be sure to tell us in the comments if you know another we should have a look at. Sorting through apps is a tough job, and we always love hearing input about the great stuff we need to check out.
MiKandi
If you’re looking for a bit of everything sexy, kinky or naughty, MiKandi is where you’ll want to start. Simply put, it’s the best place to get curated adult theme applications for Android. Whether you want something silly that involves jiggling boobs, or want to see some gritty adult movie action, MiKandi has you covered.
MiKandi is its own app store and uses its own virtual currency system. You’ll find plenty of things that are free and every taste is covered. You will need to register with MiKandi to download and install apps, but there’s really no reason not to. Millions of others have, and they don’t spam you or share your details. It’s worth it to know that you’re installing apps that have been weeded through and the malware and garbage was thrown out.
To install the free MiKandi store, fire up the browser on your phone and here:
Download: MiKandi (free)
PlanetPron
Another porn service, PlanetPron brings high-quality adult pictures and videos in a professional and well-built app. Their new app has a great Material Design interface, plenty of options to view the content as well as settings for privacy and security, and works with no weird permissions or tracking of any sort.
The service is available in both free and premium versions ($7.99 monthly) and delivers high-quality content. If you’re looking for a way to watch adult videos without having to worry about malware or spying, PlanetPron is your best bet.
Download: PlanetPron (free)
Weed Maps
Cannabis is now legal for medical or recreational use in over half the United States, including Washington, D.C. An important part of cannabis legalization is to treat it properly and support legal vendors who aren’t selling a dime-bag to your kids. Google can help you here, so can word of mouth, but like most everything else there’s an app for that!
We do not endorse marijuana use where it is not legal. Know your laws and follow them accordingly.
That said, Weed Maps is wonderfully done, and will help you locate what you’re looking for in the places where it’s legal to sell it. You won’t find anything about Craigslist dealers or shady online operations here.
Weed Maps not only helps you find where to buy marijuana, it also tells you about discounts, exclusive offers, and daily deals. Add in a section for reviews and a social network, and you have the makings of a great app for patients and connoisseurs alike.
Download: Weed Maps Marijuana Strains (free)
Tumblr
Tumblr is a great place to find blogs abut every subject you can imagine. Some are pretty amateurish, some much more professional, but the beauty of it all is having everything in one place — and in one app. When it comes to adult content, nothing changes.
You’ll find everything at Tumblr. From the mostly tame to the extreme and graphic. From pros and amateurs alike. Whether you’re looking for boys, girls or folks who don’t identify with either (and no matter what you would like to see them doing) Tumblr will fix you up, for free.
Download: Tumblr (free)
Mixology
If you’re going to have a drink or two, remember a few important things. First of all, you need to be a responsible adult. We don’t condone or endorse underage drinking, nor do we want anyone to place themselves or anyone in danger after having a few drinks. The next important thing is to learn to make a good drink.
That’s where Mixology comes in. Thousands of recipes for just about any flavor of adult beverage are included, and sorting through them is dead simple. Browse by category, or tell the app what you have on hand and you’ll find just the right recipe for a perfect cocktail. Or get adventurous and click that random tab — you might find something new. You can also find your local liquor store and learn a bit about just how to use common bartending tools to make that perfect drink.
The app is free, and if you’re serious about mixing up those drinks a paid version is available.
Download: Mixology Drink Recipes (free)
Tinder
Find people online for dating or other fun adult stuff via Tinder.
Sign in with Facebook, and swipe right until you find the person you want to talk to. Swipe right and see if they feel the same about you. If so, it just might be the start of a love connection or a roll in the hay. We don’t judge.
Download: Tinder (free)
Literotica
If you’re a fan of erotic fiction, Literotica is for you. While you won’t find Hemingway here, you will find erotic stories to fit any and every taste. Even some tastes you might not have even known existed.
While the interface is dated and pretty bland, the app is quick and offers the right settings for reading. You have settings for fonts and screen brightness, as well as a dark mode for some after-hours reading. The app even has an immersive mode for phones with on-screen buttons. Literotica is free and filled to the brim with content.
Download: Literotica.com (free)
BaconReader
While Reddit is plenty popular with folks of all ages, there are parts that are absolutely NSFW and filled with content of an adult nature. We love an open and free Internet, so we’re glad they are there. And we want you to be able to browse them the best way possible. Of course, the best way to see the not-so-kid-friendly content is also the best way to see all of what Reddit has to offer.
That’s BaconReader. Subreddit grouping, filtering by domain and keywords, image uploading should you want to contribute and a great slideshow mode (if you just want to look) make BaconReader the best and most popular way to read Reddit — all of Reddit.
BaconReader is free and also looks great on your tablet!
Download: BaconReader (free)
Chanu
Maybe Reddit is a bit too tame for you, and you want to go to the darkest pit of the Internet. You’ll find that at 4chan. We won’t judge /b/ro. We just want you to see 4chan the best way you can.
Chanu is that best way. You can favorite the boards you frequently visit, post replies or new threads using images from the web, your photos or right from your camera and even create watchlists to keep track of those threads where you don’t want to miss a single post. Chanu even supports 4chan Pass for all the power users out there. The best part — it’s also great for the excellent “safe” content you’ll find at 4chan.
Chanu is free and is optimized for both phones and tablets. You won’t find this one in Google Play, but F-Droid is a safe application store that offers this one and more.
Download Chanu – 4chan for Android from F-Droid (free)
Google Cardboard
You know plenty of people are interested in Virtual Reality adult entertainment. A new way to interact with video or an app, VR lends itself to the adult world perfectly.
There are already plenty of websites that offer a bit of adult fun in the VR world, and to use them you’ll need to have your viewer setup. The Google Cardboard app will get you started.
Download: Google Cardboard (free)
More: Where to buy Google Cardboard headsets
PornHub
No top ten list of adult apps is complete without PornHub, so this time, we go to 11.
PornHub is a safe way to see adult videos and pictures from any device, and they have a pretty good app for Android. Looking at porn online can be a messy affair, with malicious trackers and ads littering just about every site. PornHub is different. Yes, they still make money from ads — and we don’t hold that against them at all — but you won’t find the truly dangerous stuff that can cause damage to your phone there. And with their app, there are no ads at all.
It’s also a community site, and everything works well in the app. You can browse categories, sign in with your username (either free or paid) and read and post comments with the rest of the PornHub community just like you can from the web, but faster and without tracking. There’s even a free VR category if you want to break in your Google Cardboard.
Fire up your browser and download PornHub from the link below.
Download: PornHub (free)
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission working with Samsung for proper Note 7 recall
We’re one step closer to quickly getting all of these Note 7s replaced.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced it’s working with Samsung for a complete and proper recall of the Note 7 in the U.S. Currently, Samsung’s Note 7 recall isn’t an official “recall” in the U.S. in terms of how the government is involved — it’s technically a voluntary replacement program, even though you should absolutely swap out your Note 7 for a new unit.
And the U.S. CPSC obviously agrees, even though a proper legal recall has yet to be put into effect. Its official statement makes no bones about it:
… the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging all consumers who own a Samsung Galaxy Note7 to power them down and stop charging or using the device.
Samsung’s replacement process in concert with carriers and retailers is already in full swing, and depending on where you bought your Note 7 and how early you initiated your replacement unit Samsung may have already gotten you a new model. But finally putting an official CPSC recall on the Note 7 would likely hurry the process — not only can fines be assessed for noncompliance, there are other factors like recalled products not being allowed on planes that can effectively force adoption of the recall.
Even though a majority of Note 7s will likely to have been swapped out in the coming couple of weeks, the official recall will likely get the few stragglers who were holding onto their Note 7 to finally give it up. If you were on the fence, don’t wait for the official recall — just return your Note 7 and get a replacement or refund.
Samsung Galaxy Note 7
- Galaxy Note 7 recall: Everything you need to know
- Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review
- The latest Galaxy Note 7 news!
- Here are all four Note 7 colors
- Complete Galaxy Note 7 specs
- Join the Note 7 discussion in the forums!
Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint
Super Mario Run for iPhone: How to play and when can you get it?
Forget about the water-resistant, headphone jack-less iPhone 7. One of the most exciting tidbits from Apple’s Special Event on 7 September was the announcement that Mario is finally coming to iPhone.
While on stage during Apple’s main keynote, CEO Tim Cook introduced Shigeru Miyamoto, the father of Donkey Kong, Super Mario, and Zelda, among many others, so he could demo an iPhone version of Super Mario Run and discuss how it works. Nintendo’s been reluctant to embrace iPhone and has resisted porting its franchise characters to mobile, simply because it’s hoped consumers would buy Nintendo hardware instead.
It appears as though Nintendo has given up on that idea. In an interview with The Verge, Miyamoto seemed to cite the success of Niantic Labs’ Pokemon Go as a reason for why Nintendo is ready to bring the joy of Mario to a larger, mobile audience. Here’s everything we know about the upcoming iPhone game, including how to play it and when you can get your hands on it.
- Apple will release iOS 10 update for iPhones and iPads on 13 September
- Apple made these wireless AirPods and Lightning EarPods for iPhone 7
- Apple Watch Nike Plus is designed to be your perfect running partner
- Finally! Apple shows off new Apple Watch Series 2 models
- Apple iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are official
- How to watch iPhone 7 and 7 Plus launch
- Mario coming to iOS with Super Mario Run
- Pokemon Go is coming to Apple Watch by end of 2016
- Pokemon Go for Apple Watch: How to play and when can you get it?
Super Mario Run for iPhone: Is the game called Mario?
No. It’s called Super Mario Run.
Super Mario Run for iPhone: Will it be iPhone-only?
No. Super Mario Run is coming to iPhone first, but Miyamoto has said there are plans for an Android version.
Super Mario Run for iPhone: How do you play it?
During the onstage demo, Miyamoto said the magic of a Mario game is that anyone can pick it up and start playing. While we don’t yet fully know how the new Super Mario Run game will work, Miyamoto did explain a few key features and functionality.
Apple
Super Mario Run is a side-scroller. As the title suggests, Mario runs automatically from left to right. And as he does, he will hurdle smoke at certain enemies, vault over low obstacles, and grab some surfaces on his own. You simply tap anywhere on the touchscreen to make him jump. The longer you tap, the higher he jumps. This is key to getting high scores. The idea here is that you should be able to play Super Mario with one hand.
In later levels, you will see blocks that will change Mario’s direction, and others that will start and stop him with precision timing. But the goal remains simple: collect as many coins as you can, and get to the flag pole at the end of the level before the time runs out.
Apple
In addition to the traditional Mario gameplay, Nintendo has come up with a new way to play. It’s a multiplayer battle mode called Toad Rally. The first thing you do in this mode is choose an opponent – like, one of your friends – from a list, and then you try to beat their high score. You aren’t directly competing with them in real-time, however. Again, you’re just trying to beat their high score.
Battle mode will have you compete not only against your friends, but also players from around the globe. Victory is based on the number of coins you collect as well as the number of toads you impress (the toad characters appear every time you do a daring move, so you’ll want to do a number of them as you make your way through the stage). Also, there’s no flag pole in battle mode.
You’re supposed to keep running, jumping, and collecting toys until time runs out. As you do, you may see a little sticker of Mario appear, and if you do, that’s showing what your opponent did during his/her run (where they collected toys, gathered toads, etc). It’s like a ghost. Anyway, in the matches you win, the toads that you gathered will become residents in your Mushroom Kingdom.
Apple
Another element in the game is being able to expand your Mushroom Kingdom using coins you collected during the game. We don’t know much more about Mushroom Kingdom. It would be cool if it lets you customise a little kingdom, sort of like Animal Crossing. But who knows.
At the end of the battle mode, Toadette appears to show you who won. That’s all we know for now about Super Mario Run, but keep checking back, as we plan to update this piece with more information when the game becomes available.
Super Mario Run for iPhone: When will it be available?
Soon. Super Mario Run will launch in December 2016.
Super Mario Run for iPhone: Will it cost anything?
Yes. Super Mario Run will have a one-time fee when it’s first downloaded. It’s unclear how much the game will cost at launch. There will be no subscription service fee, as well as no in-app purchases, so parents can feel comfortable handing off the game to their kids.
The iPhone 7 is the walled-off computer Apple has always wanted
So Apple killed the headphone jack with the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. But what does that really mean? Think back to Apple’s origin story and the tale of the two young Steves, Jobs and Wozniak, building their first computer in a garage. From the start, Jobs pushed for simpler technology, with fewer ports and expandable options than other PCs had at the time. And then there was the original Mac, which was criticized for requiring special tools to open up.
That philosophy has only evolved throughout Apple’s lifetime. Look at the iMac, the iPod and, of course, the iPhone, all of which were vastly simpler and more “user-friendly” (but less “tinker-friendly”) than their competition.
Now we have portable computers whose only I/O port is Apple’s very own Lightning standard. No matter what you think of the headphone jack, there’s no doubt that losing it gives Apple even more control over what you can actually do with its latest phone. There won’t be any room for surprising innovations like Square’s credit card reader, or the shutter mechanism used by most selfie sticks. (Yes, there’s a Lightning-to-3.5mm adapter included with the new iPhones, but that still gives Apple more control over how that port is used.)
To create devices for the Lightning port, accessory makers have to sign up for Apple’s MFi (Made for iPhone/iPod/iPad) program. As we say goodbye to the 3.5mm jack, we’re also saying goodbye to a port whose history goes back over 100 years, and whose development was open to just about anyone. That not only gives Apple control over what you can do with the iPhone you own, it’s also another way for it to charge developers licensing fees. (It’s possible to make counterfeit Lightning devices, but Apple doesn’t exactly encourage that.)
That Apple is pushing users toward wireless audio, which still can’t reach the quality levels of wired headphones, isn’t too surprising. Even though it revolutionized the portable music world with the iPod and iTunes, Apple historically hasn’t been concerned about how things actually sound. Early iTunes songs were highly compressed 128kbps files, and Apple pushed its awful white earbuds on consumers for years. The EarPod was a step up in quality, but it still paled in comparison with similarly inexpensive alternatives. (They’re also a terrible fit in my ears; a slight head shake is all it takes to make the EarPods fall out, which doesn’t bode well for the new wireless AirPods.)
Sure, buying Beats was a sign that Apple might finally be looking closely at audio quality, but that was also as much about brand recognition and software. At least the company was wise enough to debut a new wireless Beats lineup this week.
On the one hand, it makes sense for Apple to tighten its control over the iPhone’s hardware — it’s simply what the company has always done. The new MacBook was criticized for only having a single USB-C port, but at least that’s an industry standard. For anyone who’s used Apple products and felt trepidation over how it manages its ecosystem, the iPhone 7 is a red flag. It probably won’t be long before we see the company remove headphone jacks from the iPad, and perhaps even the MacBook. Those are also devices where internal space is scarce, after all.
In what will likely be the beginning of a tech industry meme, Apple’s marketing head, Phil Schiller, said the reason the company dumped the 3.5mm port was “courage.” But as we’ve argued endlessly, that’s not really the case. A better word for Apple’s reasoning? “Opportunistic.”
Judging from the responses on the web, the Apple faithful (unsurprisingly) is fully on board with the company’s decision to drop the 3.5mm jack. But as someone who’s invested in several pairs of great headphones, doesn’t want to have an annoying dongle sticking out of my phone all day, and enjoys the miraculous ability to listen to music and charge my phone at the same time, it’s a big problem. Most troubling to me: It limits what I can actually do with a device I own.
I won’t be upgrading to the iPhone 7, and I might even hold off on next year’s even more enticing redesign. For now, I’m planning to run my 6S into the ground. But I’m ready to give Android phones (with headphone jacks) an even harder look in the future.
Elon Musk seeks public footage for SpaceX investigation
Earlier this month, SpaceX lost a Falcon 9 rocket (and a Facebook satellite) on the launch pad in Cape Canaveral. Naturally, Elon Musk is not taking the explosion lightly, and the outspoken CEO has already turned to Twitter to help his company find the cause of the explosion.
Over a couple tweets from Friday morning, Musk noted that the company was “still working” on the investigation which was “turning out to be the most difficult and complex failure we have ever had in 14 years.” The biggest mystery, apparently, is how the explosion occurred during a routine filling operation, when there was “no apparent heat source.” According to Musk, SpaceX is trying to get to the bottom of a bang sound that can be heard a few seconds before the explosion and the company is seeking any third-party recordings of the event so they can get a better view, or at least a different angle, on the incident.
Support & advice from @NASA, @FAA, @AFPAA & others much appreciated. Please email any recordings of the event to report@spacex.com.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 9, 2016
If you have audio, photos or videos of our anomaly last week, please send to report@spacex.com. Material may be useful for investigation
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 9, 2016
As TechCrunch notes, the call for outside sources indicates SpaceX’s own data must not be very helpful in this case. The company is also exploring one theory from a Reddit user who was allegedly at the site that suggests the explosion was caused by another object striking the rocket.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Elon Musk/Twitter
Amazon’s Alexa can tell you what’s trending on Twitter
Twitter has announced a new “skill” for Echo devices called Twitter Reader. The company tweeted that you can now “use the Twitter Reader to hear trends, top Tweets, notifications & more!” A report yesterday revealed that Amazon might open up its Alexa ecosystem to allow push notifications, so that it could interrupt to warn you about a traffic jam, for instance.
However, Twitter also added “Just #AskAlexa” hashtag, so the new feature apparently doesn’t support push notifications just yet. It does give you a lot of options — you can ask Alexa to read back recent tweets, trending topics and even your own tweets. The device is surprisingly prudish and censors profanity, as PC Mag discovered, so if your feed is like mine, that could be a lot of beeping. However, it should be handy for Twitter addicts who want to stay on top of current events while cooking or doing other tasks.
New on Amazon Alexa! Use the Twitter Reader skill to hear trends, top Tweets, notifications & more! Just #AskAlexa. pic.twitter.com/BvXRS4NiQu
— Twitter (@twitter) September 9, 2016
Source: Twitter
The grandfather kings of nerdcore
In terms of popularity, nerdcore occupies a space somewhere between underground hip-hop and the end of the universe, according to rapper and educator Mega Ran. Nerdcore is a brand of hip-hop characterized by a focus on geeky things, which means its subject matter is as vast and varied as Tolkien’s Encircling Sea. It’s niche but limitless; visible but not known. It’s big enough to support the musical careers of artists like MC Lars, MC Frontalot, Beefy and MC Chris, yet it’s small enough that even the most fervent Star Wars fan may have never heard of it.
Even in an age where geek chic is hot and “nerd” is no longer a vicious insult, nerdcore remains underground — but its influence on popular culture is showing. More mainstream rappers like Childish Gambino, Danny Brown, Deltron 3030, RZA and Dr. Octagon regularly reference science fiction, astrophysics, video games and other traditionally geeky topics, at times while sampling the likes of Final Fantasy 7 and Pac-Man. Beyond the Billboard charts, Hamilton is a national phenomenon about American colonial history, and even Game of Thrones has its own mixtape.
“The nexus point of nerd culture and rap has definitely become more mainstream,” MC Lars says. “For me, there is something cool about meeting younger kids who are just getting into my music — the Vans Warped Tour has been super-helpful in that capacity. We are the grandfathers of the movement, but we’re all still here and we’re still making a living doing this.”
Mega Ran, 2013 (Credit: jeriaska/Flickr)
Nerdcore isn’t new. MC Frontalot accidentally coined the term in 2000 when he dropped the song “Nerdcore Hip-Hop.” He was a college DJ by trade, and the track was meant to poke fun at the way people labeled their music tastes with ever more specific terms.
“Oh, you’re still into Post-Shoegaze? That’s fine,” MC Frontalot imagines a late-’90s college student saying. “I’m way more interested in Speed Slowcore lately.”
It may have started as a joke, but the name stuck, and it’s served MC Frontalot well. He’s made a career out of performing and recording nerdcore albums, he’s played 25 consecutive PAX conventions and he even ended up as a judge on the TBS reality show King of the Nerds in 2013. A lot of this is thanks to “Nerdcore Hip-Hop.”
“As soon as I recorded that song, I realized why every band wants to have its own genre all to themselves,” he says. “It tricks journalists into thinking you’re some kind of visionary.”
Perhaps because the genre itself was labeled on a whim, nerdcore songs run the gamut in terms of topics. There are no rules dictating what makes a track “nerdcore,” so it essentially boils down to whatever the artist is passionate about at the moment. MC Lars has an entire album dedicated to Edgar Allan Poe, Beefy raps about massive conventions like Comic-Con and MC Frontalot is known for a song about first-world problems. Mega Ran (also known as Random) recently recorded a track about Pokémon Go that discusses the Black Lives Matter movement, terrorism and crime.
This is an important aspect of nerdcore: Its undefined, nebulous nature allows artists to rap about anything at all while still benefiting from an existing market with an excited audience. Passion is often miscategorized as “geeking out,” after all.
“Anytime that I can use my platform to make people aware of things they might not be familiar with, and I can do it in an artistic manner, that’s what I’m going to do,” Mega Ran says. “It’s great to have the kind of freedom we have to talk about whatever we want without having to fall into a format of genre or subject matter limitations.”
MC Lars, 2014 (Credit: Abby Gillardi/Flickr)
When MC Frontalot first uttered the word “nerdcore” in 2000, it described a genre obsessed with songs about Star Wars and role-playing games, MC Lars says. This was before the age of ubiquitous social media, when the nerdcore audience gathered in usenet forums and on sites like Rhyme Torrents.
MC Lars heard the term “nerdcore” for the first time in 2003, when he’d already been producing hip-hop for about 10 years. One of his first rap songs was an homage to Macbeth, while another divulged how he wanted to play Anakin Skywalker in Attack of the Clones.
“I grew up reading Mad magazine and listening to Weird Al Yankovic, and that influenced my writing more than 2Pac or Snoop ever could have,” MC Lars says.
Today, most nerdcore songs could easily be top-10 pop hits. They’re energetic and catchy, packed with clever turns of phrase and references that anyone who’s been to a midnight Avengers premiere can understand. In many ways, geek culture is pop culture, and that extra attention has ushered new talent into the nerdcore industry.
“I feel like now there’s an increase in guys doing what many of us have been doing, which some look at as threatening, but I see it as amazing,” Mega Ran says. “If I can play a part in people being comfortable enough with themselves to talk about the things they love, using the vehicle of rap music, it’s a good thing.”
MC Frontalot also revels in the joy that new artists get out of the genre he named. Nerdcore songs may have existed before he coined the term, but the label gives new rappers a handy reference point when describing their new obsession to friends or online. Newcomers are walking on the path that MC Frontalot helped pave.
“The thing that excited and continues to excite me is when super-talented younger artists see something in the nerdcore designation that they identify with and use the term to describe their music,” he says. “When that started happening 10 years ago, it blew my mind. And it keeps happening even now. Sort of post-facto legitimizes the whole endeavor.”
Nerdcore may be more prominent than ever, but MC Frontalot, MC Lars and Mega Ran aren’t in a rush to make it mainstream. Nerdcore is a special pocket of passion and rhyme that doesn’t need to prove itself to anyone or any genre.
“For all of us in nerdcore, it is way better to be the superstars of a tiny niche than a random collection of uncool rappers whose sales compare unfavorably to Macklemore’s,” MC Frontalot says. “Part of me hopes we stay niche.”
How inmates tried to coordinate a nationwide prison strike
Today is symbolic for an oft-forgotten group of Americans: Prisoners. 45 years ago, those locked away in the Attica Correctional Facility in western New York state went from protesting for more rights to a full-blown riot put down by force. In recognition, the incarcerated across America are rallying to protest the injustice of prison labor, which could become the largest mass-strike in US prison history. But how did they coordinate so many people using only written letters and telephones as restricted by law? Answer: they got around it and connected with each other — and the outside world — over Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
The main obstacle is obvious: Organizing protests from within is against every prison’s rules, as Wired reports. It’s also pretty difficult to sneak by any facility’s staff, since letters and phone calls can be read and reviewed. But communicating online is far more private, and try as they might to stop the flow, prisons can’t keep internet-connected cell phones from being smuggled in by visitors and guards. Despite policies preventing inmates at many facilities from having a social media presence or computer access entirely, some manage themselves or get their families to post for them.
This lets prisoners connect directly with folks, like members of the Free Alabama Movement are doing on Facebook and Twitter to rally support against prison labor exploitation, reports Wired. But that presence is also visible to prison staff, who can submit takedown requests to the social media titans. Sometimes, it’s the victims of crimes alerting correctional facilities of an inmate’s online activity. Whether prisoners’ pages are taken down is up to the social media companies, which, as private organizations, have the power to decide whether prisoners should be able to use their networks.
Source: Wired
Facebook’s trending algorithm promoted a 9/11 truther story
Facebook’s trending news algorithm has failed once again. Earlier today, Facebook users who clicked on the “9/11” trending topic on the social network were directed to a tabloid story by The Daily Star, which claimed that bombs destroy the World Trade Center towers. As The Washington Post reports, the story was quickly removed after they contacted Facebook.
This flub comes just a week after Facebook’s algorithm promoted a false story about Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, which followed the company’s decision to stop its human editors from writing descriptions about trending stories. Instead, Facebook’s remaining editors just choose potential topics. That move followed controversy around potential bias from its human editors, which a Facebook investigation refuted.
“We’re aware a hoax article showed up there,” a Facebook spokesperson told the Washington Post, “and as a temporary step to resolving this we’ve removed the topic.”
It’s makes sense that Facebook’s human editors chose to highlight 9/11 as a trending topic, since there are plenty of stories popping up as we approach the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attack. But it’s surprising they didn’t pay extra attention to what, exactly, the algorithm surfaced for such a touchy subject. (Or perhaps it’s in their best interest to prove that the algorithm isn’t smart enough on its own.)
Via: The Washington Post
Customer service matters when it comes to ransomware
This week we’re finding out that Cerber is 2016’s biggest name in ransomware.
Cerber didn’t get to the top just by being good at infecting computers, locking up people’s files, and blackmailing its victims for Bitcoin. The plucky ransomware is on the fast track to fame and fortune thanks to a hard-won reputation for top-notch customer service that wows its victims at every turn. At least, that was the conclusion in security company F-Secure’s summer report, Evaluating the Customer Journey of Crypto-Ransomware.
Cerber is infecting people through infected Word documents and malvertising, among other attack vectors. Unwitting victims are downloading it via ads that appear in popup windows, so make sure your ad- and popup-blockers are up to date. In August, Cerber was launching eight new campaigns every day, and successfully infected 150,000 users worldwide in that month alone.
Sounds pretty lucrative, right? Well, if you think raking in the dough as a ransomware writer sounds like the life for you, “being a people person” probably isn’t the skill you plan to develop. But, if you’re going to succeed in the hectic business of ransomware, great customer service skills are a must to avoid lost revenue and disappointed victims.
F-Secure was so intrigued by this phenomenon, that it decided “to see which crypto-ransomware family offers the best (or, more appropriately, least worst) customer journey from start to finish.” To find out who “wowed” their victims and which crypto-blackmailers were just embarrasing customer service train-wrecks, the researchers set up their own secret shopper experiment.
Ransomware spreads like wildfire from offices to homes, usually arriving in email attachments (or over infected networks) to aggressively encrypt all your files (including drives, Dropbox files, and all locally connected, network-attached, or cloud-based storage) while an ominous onscreen timer demands payment within 72 hours.
Mess with the files or decline to pay and forget about ever opening them again.
This would be a golden ticket for ransomware gangs if everyone paid up — not everyone does. Security company Bitdefender found in its recent white paper “Ransomware, a Victim’s Perspective” that only 50% of its victims pay up. Plus, because the malicious software typically goes after people who aren’t tech-savvy, the extortioners need to establish communication and trust in order to collect payment in the end.
Image credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Enter ransomware’s bizarre legacy for customer support. Out of necessity, many different exploit kits (or flavors of ransomware) and the authors behind them have turned their focus to improving the customer experience.
In 2013, ransomware strain CryptoLocker became famous for both its ‘bastard and fiendish’ pervasiveness, and its superb, patient, and attentive customer support. The malware’s authors frequently appeared on forums to help their victims work through technical issues. They’d also help them out with things like troubleshooting MoneyPak transaction codes. A year later, a strain called OphionLocker was noted for identifying each new infected computer so that the extortionists could avoid ransoming the same victim twice.
F-Secure found this intersection of malicious criminal activity and helpful customer service so intriguing, they created “Christine” to evaluate ransomware user support and service quality, including things like ‘hand-holding’ and try-before-you-buy options.
Christine wasn’t a real person, but boy did she get owned by ransomware. “Christine Walters is married, in her 40’s, with a full time job and children,” the study said. “She’s not into tech and knows next to nothing about ransomware, Bitcoin, or security issues in general. She’s inquisitive though, and now that she’s encountered ransomware for the first time she wants to know more about it.”
Under the cover of F-Secure’s study, our sympathetic and extremely unlucky heroine Christine got her computers infected by five different ransomware groups. “We then attempted to contact, as Christine, the gangs behind each of the malware samples using their support channels, the report said. What’s more, “a non-technically oriented person carried out the actual interactions.”
Christine made a lot of interesting discoveries in her customer journey. In 100% of the ransomware predicaments she found herself in, the deadline to pay for file decryption could be extended. And the gangs were willing to negotiate the price: “Three out of four variants were willing to negotiate, averaging a 29 percent discount from the original ransom fee.”
In the end, the hands-down winner for outstanding customer experience was Cerber. The ransomware ranked high in every category. F-Secure rated it highly for professionalism, noting that its web pages were clean and organized.
According to Christine’s experience with Cerber, its convenient support form got quick responses to her queries — “always the same day and sometimes within minutes.” Direct engagement being key to every forward-facing product’s success, it’s no wonder Cerber is coming out on top.
Critiques included the design of its ransom screen which needs improvement, and they fell slightly short with Christine’s handholding needs. At least in comparison to the Jigsaw ransomware support agent, who told Christine at the end of their conversations that they were glad her files were safe and advised her to get a good antivirus.
Erka Koivunen, Cyber Security Advisor for F-Secure nailed it when she concluded, “The customer care that the criminals provide appears to be effective and something that many legal web shops and more traditional businesses could take lessons from.”
AIVAnet 