Canadian iPhone users are the guinea pigs for Facebook’s latest offering: open source VoIP calling — a service similar to Skype.
Canadians with devices running iOS can now use Facebook’s messenger
app to call a contact by tapping the “i” button in the upper right
corner and selecting “free call.”
Users must update the app to the latest version to use the new
feature. There is no extra charge to make the calls — it uses the
caller’s existing data plan.
The service, which is still in the testing phase, will be rolled out to Facebook users in other countries if deemed successful.
Facebook has also added a new service for all Facebook users on iOS
and Android platforms: voice mail. The service enables users to record
voicemail messages of 60 seconds or less to send to a friend.
To use the new feature, users must tap the “+” symbol next to the
message box, press record and hold the button down while speaking. To
send the message, the user simply releases the record button. To cancel
the message, the user must slide his finger off the button. Once again,
users must update to the latest version of the Facebook mobile
application.
So far, there is no indication Facebook will add either the
voice-messaging or calling service to the Web version of the social
network.
The calling and voice mail services are two more offerings in a recent string of changes to attract users.
Last month, Facebook made its messenger app available to all, not just account holders.
Non-Facebook users are now able to sign up for its messenger app using just their name and phone number.
The move is a bid to broaden the social network’s appeal for those
who are not Facebook users, Peter Deng, Facebook’s director of
communications product management, told CNet.
“It could lead to other parts of the Facebook product — post a status message or share an album,” Deng said.
It also makes Messenger more competitive with SMS and other
third-party messaging services such as WhatsApp, which only requires a
phone number to sign up.
Facebook is also testing a system that allows its members to send
messages to other users outside their social circle for a price: $1.
The “small experiment,” which began Dec. 20, will be evaluated to
determine its “usefulness” to the social network’s American users.
The test will give a small number of Facebook users the option to pay
to have a message routed to the Inbox rather than the Other folder of a
recipient they are not connected with.
For the time being, the new messaging feature is only for personal
messages between members in the U.S. and will be limited to a maximum of
one per week.
Facebook most recently released Poke, a mobile app that enables its
users to send photo or video messages that disappear seconds after being
sent. The app enables its users to send messages that “self destruct”
after one, three, five or 10 seconds.
Post from: SiteProNews
Facebook Tests Skype-Like Calling on Canadian iPhone Users
Showing posts with label Skype. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Skype. Show all posts
Hackers Find Vulnerability in Skype Password Reset System
Skype’s has updated its password reset system after hackers made public the ability to take control of users accounts.
A Nov. 14 blog post — Hack any Skype account in six easy steps — offers detailed directions on hacking Skype user accounts.
The main flaw with the previous password reset system? Users were able to reset a password without having access to the e-mail account in question.
A Nov. 14 blog post by Skype’s Leonas Sendrauskas indicated the company was notified early that morning of user concerns about password reset security.
“This issue affected some users where multiple Skype accounts were registered to the same e-mail address,” he wrote. “We suspended the password reset feature temporarily this morning as a precaution and have made updates to the password reset process today so that it is now working properly.”
Users who receive an e-mail asking if they wish to reset their Skype password should ensure their accounts have not been hacked. Users who are unable to change their passwords have likely been compromised. To keep users from regaining their accounts, hackers are changing the primary e-mails, effectively locking the account owner out.
Those who have been affected should contact Skype for assistance, Sendrauskas says.
“We are reaching out to a small number of users who may have been impacted to assist as necessary,” he says. “Skype is committed to providing a safe and secure communications experience to our users and we apologize for the inconvenience.”
Skype, now owned by software giant Microsoft, is replacing Windows Live Messenger next year.
Microsoft announced via its Skype blog that Windows Live Messenger (WLM) would be disabled globally, except in China, by March 2013.
Microsoft will offer a tool to ease the transition for WLM messenger users to Skype — WLM users can sign in to Skype and bring over their contacts.
According to the blog, by updating to Skype, users can expect:
• Broader device support for all platforms, including iPad and Android tablets.
• Instant messaging, video calling, and calling landlines and mobiles all in one place.
• Sharing screens.
• Video calling on mobile phones.
• Video calling with Facebook friends.
• Group video calling.
Post from: SiteProNews
A Nov. 14 blog post — Hack any Skype account in six easy steps — offers detailed directions on hacking Skype user accounts.
The main flaw with the previous password reset system? Users were able to reset a password without having access to the e-mail account in question.
A Nov. 14 blog post by Skype’s Leonas Sendrauskas indicated the company was notified early that morning of user concerns about password reset security.
“This issue affected some users where multiple Skype accounts were registered to the same e-mail address,” he wrote. “We suspended the password reset feature temporarily this morning as a precaution and have made updates to the password reset process today so that it is now working properly.”
Users who receive an e-mail asking if they wish to reset their Skype password should ensure their accounts have not been hacked. Users who are unable to change their passwords have likely been compromised. To keep users from regaining their accounts, hackers are changing the primary e-mails, effectively locking the account owner out.
Those who have been affected should contact Skype for assistance, Sendrauskas says.
“We are reaching out to a small number of users who may have been impacted to assist as necessary,” he says. “Skype is committed to providing a safe and secure communications experience to our users and we apologize for the inconvenience.”
Skype, now owned by software giant Microsoft, is replacing Windows Live Messenger next year.
Microsoft announced via its Skype blog that Windows Live Messenger (WLM) would be disabled globally, except in China, by March 2013.
Microsoft will offer a tool to ease the transition for WLM messenger users to Skype — WLM users can sign in to Skype and bring over their contacts.
According to the blog, by updating to Skype, users can expect:
• Broader device support for all platforms, including iPad and Android tablets.
• Instant messaging, video calling, and calling landlines and mobiles all in one place.
• Sharing screens.
• Video calling on mobile phones.
• Video calling with Facebook friends.
• Group video calling.
Post from: SiteProNews
Messenger Out, Skype In
Goodbye Windows Live Messenger. Hello Skype.
Microsoft is dumping its instant message chat tool and replacing it with Skype.
The software giant bought Skype for $8.5 billion last year.
Microsoft announced via its Skype blog that Windows Live Messenger (WLM) would be disabled globally, except in China, by March 2013.
“Our goal remains to deliver the best communications experience for everyone, everywhere,” writes Skype CEO Tony Bates. “We want to focus our efforts on making things simpler for our users while continuously improving the overall experience.”
Microsoft will offer a tool to ease the transition for WLM messenger users to Skype — WLM users can sign in to Skype and bring over their contacts.
“This effort started with the release of Skype 6.0 for Mac and Windows a few weeks ago, which allows you to sign into Skype using a Microsoft account,” writes Bates. “Now Messenger users just need to update to the latest version of Skype, sign in using a Microsoft account, and their Messenger contacts will be there.”
According to the blog, by updating to Skype, users can expect:
• Broader device support for all platforms, including iPad and Android tablets.
• Instant messaging, video calling, and calling landlines and mobiles all in one place.
• Sharing screens.
• Video calling on mobile phones.
• Video calling with Facebook friends.
• Group video calling.
Microsoft also announced a new Skype for Windows 8 late last month. The company billed the new version as “simpler, faster and easier to use” because it takes advantage of some of the new features offered by Windows 8.
People Hub, ability to pin favorite contacts as a tile for easy access and the Skype Live Tile that displays messages and notifications on the start screen are all new features.
Microsoft is dumping its instant message chat tool and replacing it with Skype.
The software giant bought Skype for $8.5 billion last year.
Microsoft announced via its Skype blog that Windows Live Messenger (WLM) would be disabled globally, except in China, by March 2013.
“Our goal remains to deliver the best communications experience for everyone, everywhere,” writes Skype CEO Tony Bates. “We want to focus our efforts on making things simpler for our users while continuously improving the overall experience.”
Microsoft will offer a tool to ease the transition for WLM messenger users to Skype — WLM users can sign in to Skype and bring over their contacts.
“This effort started with the release of Skype 6.0 for Mac and Windows a few weeks ago, which allows you to sign into Skype using a Microsoft account,” writes Bates. “Now Messenger users just need to update to the latest version of Skype, sign in using a Microsoft account, and their Messenger contacts will be there.”
According to the blog, by updating to Skype, users can expect:
• Broader device support for all platforms, including iPad and Android tablets.
• Instant messaging, video calling, and calling landlines and mobiles all in one place.
• Sharing screens.
• Video calling on mobile phones.
• Video calling with Facebook friends.
• Group video calling.
Microsoft also announced a new Skype for Windows 8 late last month. The company billed the new version as “simpler, faster and easier to use” because it takes advantage of some of the new features offered by Windows 8.
People Hub, ability to pin favorite contacts as a tile for easy access and the Skype Live Tile that displays messages and notifications on the start screen are all new features.
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