BSNL[1] is asking all its users to change the default passwords[2] on their company-supplied routers, which have come under attack by a new malware outbreak earlier this week. Default passwords are easily guessable and are often used to compromise security on networks remotely. Users who buy routers or have them installed by service providers are rarely aware that they can be accessed and configured, much less that they need to be secured. In this case, the default password is "admin".
Nearly 2,000 subscribers are said to be affected and have had their passwords changed remotely. BSNL[3] Chairman Anupam Shrivastava said only customer equipment is at risk, not any of BSNL's core infrastructure. BSNL is now using its call centres to reach out to affected customers, though guiding them through the process of resetting and reconfiguring a router over the phone will be a challenge.
WhatsApp Beta for Android gets homescreen shortcuts
A new feature discovered in a beta version of WhatsApp[4] for Android[5] lets users launch directly into different sections of the app[6] from their homescreens. The app shortcuts appear when long-pressing the WhatsApp icon, but users can also create dedicated icons that perform the same actions. The shortcuts that exist in the beta let users jump into the WhatsApp camera, see their starred conversations, and start a new blank conversation.
Users cannot pin specific conversations to their homescreens, which would seem like a more useful feature, although this capability already exists in the form of homescreen widgets. To see this feature, users need to be signed up for the WhatsApp beta program through Google Play[7] or sideload the APK manually.
...