Google Play Store carrier billing for Verizon is live

If you’re a Verizon Wireless customer who has been waiting for Google Play Store carrier billing, the wait is over, as the feature is now live.
While other carriers have had this feature available for some time, Verizon was slower to catch up. We mentioned earlier this month that carrier billing for Play Store purchases was on the way for Verizon customers and, as of today, they can now use this payment method.
You don’t need to do anything special to start using this new payment option. Simply select the “Bill my Verizon Wireless account” option as your payment method for Play Store purchases.
Whether or not Verizon customers will actually want to use this feature depends on their own preferences. Some users prefer to pay for their Play Store purchases immediately, while others would rather receive one monthly bill that encompasses all their wireless-related expenses.
Those on family plans may want to set up a PIN on some phones. This can restrict purchases to keep family members from running up to large a bill. Those who would rather turn off the carrier billing feature can do so through their Verizon account.
This may not be necessary, as we’re hearing that there is a $25 limit on purchases within each billing cycle, but whether this is true and how it would apply to those on family plans remains to be seen. Apparently some Verizon customers aren’t seeing the new payment option in the Google Play Store, so don’t worry if you’re not seeing it yet; be assured that it is on the way.
Are you a Verizon customer who has been waiting for Google Play Store carrier billing? Are you a fan of carrier billing in general, or do you prefer another method for Play Store purchases?

Read More

23 of the top 500 Google Play Apps considered to be malware; malware up 580% this year (Infographic)

Getting a virus on one’s machine is always cause for concern. They can do some nasty stuff such as crashing computers, stealing personal info, and just being an all around nuisance. People often go to great strides to avoid getting one.
In the Android world, Malware has been on the increase in recent years as the platform has gotten more powerful and more apps have been released. How much has it increased exactly? According to TrustGo, 23 of the top 500 Google Play apps are considered high risk. Malware over all is up 580%.
The interesting statistic is the 23 apps in the top 500 over at the Google Play Store. What qualifies as high risk, exactly? An example of what TrustGo considers high risk is applications like Talking Tom Cat Free. In the Infographic below, you can see that Talking Tom Cat Free jacks your phone number and sends it to a third party. That’s a big no-no, Talking Tom Cat. That app alone has had 50 million downloads since its release.
These high risk apps aren’t dangerous on the face of them. For instance, your phone probably won’t get hacked, your storage won’t get wiped, or anything like that. Most malicious apps grab your phone number and sell it to third parties. Some will grab info from your contacts or start sending you ad-laden text messages.

Run for the hills, we are all doomed! Malware is everywhere!

If that’s been your reaction, you may be suffering from a term The Next Web refers to as FUD. FUD stands for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. It’s a popular and powerful marketing technique companies use to coerce people into buying things.
Things such as mobile anti-virus programs. While the numbers seem ridiculous and awful, they really aren’t. Who even uses Tom Talking Cat Lite anymore? Yes, Malware is up 580%. That sounds drastic. To put it in perspective, The Next Web reports that only 1.69% of all Android apps across all app markets are malicious in some way. Most of those aren’t even in the Google Play Store. What about that 23 of the top 500 statistic? That’s 4.6% of the top apps that are high risk. Is it really worth getting worked up over 4.6%?
Of course, phone security is important. Learning the tips and tricks to spotting Malware, being informed, and understanding application permissions can go a long way to keeping you safe. A lot more so than many anti-virus apps can. So who’s ready for a holiday inspired Infographic? You check out the one TrustGo released here.

Read More

Make missed calls obsolete with CritiCall

We’ve all been there, anxiously checking our phones, making sure we didn’t miss that important call we’ve been expecting. Maybe your wife is pregnant. Maybe you just interviewed for a new job.Regardless, you know something big is coming your way, and if you leave your silenced phone by itself for nary a minute, you stand a chance of missing it.
Fortunately, with CritiCall, those worries become a thing of the past.
At the core of it, CritiCall will override your phone’s volume settings if a particular person (or people) call you. It’s a simple premise, but one that works surprisingly well, especially in an app market filled to the brim with options.
Once you have CritiCall installed, you’ll probably notice how clean its user interface is. On the main screen, there’s only three options up-front: turning CritiCall on or off, and deciding how loud your phone’s ringer will be.
In the event you turn CritiCall off, you’ll be taken to a second screen where you can set a time to auto-resume using CritiCall. It’s a seamless, perfect way to make sure you only have the service turned on when you want it, without having to make you remember to turn it on when, say, you wake up the next morning.
Down at the bottom of the screen is where you make all the magic happen: the Contacts button. Hitting this button takes you to a list of every contact you have in your phone book. Tapping a name prompts you with a final confirmation that you want to make a contact critical, and if you, that person is added to your list.
Long-pressing a contact pulls up a custom settings menu for only that contact. Within this menu, you can add them to a group (or create a group if you have none), decide if this contact is always critical, and add custom settings (like critical hours for a specific person instead of the entire app).
If you want to remove someone as a critical contact, tap their name when you’re on the critical contacts menu. (It’s exactly the same as adding someone, just from a different list.)
In my experience, CritiCall works flawlessly. I first discovered it when I was expecting a call from a new employer over the summer, and it worked like a charm. Since then, I’ve always kept it installed on my phone, with important contacts added to my list.
If you yourself are interested in never missing a critical call ever again, CritiCall is only 99 cents in the Google Play Store.

 

Read More