sms

Mobile malware grows by 614 percent in last year

Mobile malware creators and smartphone makers seem to be in a neck-and-neck software race, but new data shows that the malware creators could be taking the lead.

Juniper Networks released its third annual Mobile Threat Report on Tuesday and the findings aren't pretty. Mobile malware grew at a rate of 614 percent from March 2012 to March 2013 -- that's equal to 276,259 malicious apps floating around out there. Last year, the increase was a mere 155 percent.

The report is based on an analysis of more than 1.85 million mobile apps and vulnerabilities across major … Read more

Review: Color SMS Text Message Friends adds highlights to your texts

Color SMS Text Message Friends lets you send texts in color, but your friends need to have the app installed, as well, in order to see the colorful messages. If you can convince your social circle to add it, then you might get a kick out of this application.

When you first start using Color SMS Text Message Friends, only a handful of its colors and about half of the available fonts are unlocked. If you want to use them all, you have to surrender a dollar. The app's layout is a little plain, but it does make inputting … Read more

Review: Secret Sms will hide your texts, but only if you pony up

Secret Sms hides your texts from prying eyes, but it comes with a nominal fee. Since the app is prone to lagging performance and comes with a few questionable design choices, that's a very tough sell.

The app hides from your app locker, so you have to use the secret code to access it. That's a better solution than the ones presented in some similar apps that hide in plain sight and raise suspicion. To open the app, you have to dial a fake phone number that you set and then enter your pass code. You can change … Read more

Review: Write SMS by Voice lives up to its name, but is infested with ads

Write SMS by Voice is designed to help you text without using your hands, but it comes with plenty of strings attached. First, you have to deal with dozens of ads before you even get to the app's menu. What's even worse is that this application makes you actually use your hands to finish the text.

Before you even get to the app's menu, you have to wade through four different ad agreements. Even if you don't agree, Write SMS by Voice still slams you with ads in your status bar before you can even start … Read more

Use Google Now to send text messages, e-mail

During Google I/O Google announced some improvements to its Google Now service. One of those improvements -- as we have already covered -- was the ability to create reminders within the app. One other feature we haven't discussed yet is the ability to send a text message or e-mail using Google Now.

Similar to the way Siri works, you're able to give a voice command to Google Now and have a message composed, complete with the recipient of your choosing (so long as they are in your contacts). After Now has filled in all of the required … Read more

Review: Send texts with Hi SMS, an iPhone-style app

Hi SMS offers a nice skin for your texts, but it doesn't have many of the features you probably need from iPhone's app. It's a decent way to transition from it, though.

As you might have guessed, this app is designed to look exactly like iPhone's text-messaging inbox. There is one thing keeping it from doing that exactly--the ads. They're nowhere near as bad as some apps, but they wouldn't appear in an iPhone app. They tend to get in the way if you have a smaller phone, too. Since Hi SMS is only … Read more

Review: Hide SMS, lock secret messages keeps plain texts a secret

If you're trying to keep your texts a secret, Hide SMS can help. It's a stylish lockbox for all of your text messages. Sadly, it only works with plain texts. Apps, contacts, and even picture messages aren't included.

This app shows up as different names on the Google Play store and in your apps locker. You may see it referred to as Hide SMS, Keep SMS, or KeepSafe depending on how you're looking at it. Once you load it, you have to set a four-digit password to get inside. You can lock any conversation in your … Read more

Getting started with Schemes for Android

Being able to schedule an SMS, tweet, Facebook post, or Gmail is extremely useful. An SMS can be used to wish a distant friend or relative a happy birthday. A tweet or Facebook post can help your small business, or remind friends about a local event. And lastly, scheduling a Gmail message is useful when the recipient lives in another time zone and you don't want to disturb them.

The Schemes app for Android lets you schedule all of these message types, at no cost. Furthermore, you can send these scheduled messages without needing to create any … Read more

SMS integration coming to Google+ Hangouts

This week at Google I/O, Google announced it's beefing up Google+ Hangouts by introducing a one-on-one chat feature, access to chat history, and a standalone app. But how about adding some real red meat, like say, SMS integration?

Never fear, hardcore messaging carnivores -- it's on the way.

So says Dori Storbeck, community manager for Google+ Hangouts & Chat, responding to a question on her Google+ page:… Read more

Are Americans getting tired of texting?

Text messaging in the U.S. is on the decline, according to a survey (PDF) released Thursday by CTIA-The Wireless Association. The numbers of SMS text messages sent and received nationally dropped from 2.3 trillion in 2011 to 2.19 trillion in 2012.

While 2.19 trillion may seem like a colossal number and not much less than 2.3 trillion, it is still nearly a 5 percent drop. According to a report released last week by research firm Informa, one of the reasons that texting may be declining is because several chat applications -- such as Apple's … Read more