The billion-dollar acquisition brings one of the cheapest ways to use T-Mobile&#x27;s network into the T-Mobile corporate family. (And earns Mint pitchman Ryan Reynolds a few bucks.)

T-Mobile Completes Mint Mobile Deal, Promises New Perks for Mint Users | PCMag

Ryan Reynolds, the face of Mint Mobile, became owner of 25% of the company in 2019

T-Mobile just bought Mint Mobile for $1.3 billion — and Ryan Reynolds could clear a cool $300 million

US Mobile offers generous amounts of high-speed data at great prices with the distinctive option to choose between Verizon&#x27;s and T-Mobile&#x27;s networks.

US Mobile review: Exceptional budget phone plans with unique flexibility

Mint spokesman and co-owner Ryan Reynolds is expected to take home about $300 million.

T-Mobile Officially Acquires Mint Mobile in $1.35 Billion Deal

In the world of tech news, we’ve always got time for teases from Samsung when it involves new premium Galaxy Watch devices. Our eyebrows will also never stop raising whenever a carrier talks about older plans and how they might optimize pricing on them. Last, we can’t... #GalaxyWatch7 #Google

New "Premium" Galaxy Watch Models, T-Mobile Old Plan Price Hikes, New Mobvoi Watch

Over a year after announcing it would acquire Mint Mobile for up to $1.35 billion, T-Mobile has closed the deal.

T-Mobile finally owns Ryan Reynolds-backed Mint Mobile

T-Mobile now owns Mint Mobile, but that doesn&#x27;t mean things are changing right away.

T-Mobile completes purchase of Mint and Ultra — what it means for subscribers | Tom's Guide

Get the most recent info and news about T-Mobile US on HackerNoon, where 10k+ technologists publish stories for 4M+ monthly readers.

T-Mobile US, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides mobile communications services in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. The company offers voice, messaging, and data services to 108.7 million customers in the postpaid, prepaid, and wholesale markets. It also provides wireless devices, including smartphones, wearables, and tablets and other mobile communication devices, as well as wireless devices and accessories. In addition, the company offers services, devices, and accessories under the T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile brands through its owned and operated retail stores, T-Mobile app and customer care channels, and its websites. It also sells its devices to dealers and other third-party distributors for resale through independent third-party retail outlets and various third-party websites. As of December 31, 2021, it operated approximately 102,000 macro cell and 41,000 small cell/distributed antenna system sites. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington.

T-Mobile US

A majority of America's small business owners aren't worried about being the victim of a cyberattack, ( at least according to a from CNBC and Momentive). new survey Therefore, they invest in cybersecurity per year (but interestingly, 43% of ). less than $500 cyber attacks target small businesses When they finally realize they need a robust security program, it is usually because they have just experienced a breach, lost an important client contract, or had an angry customer threaten to sue them for a data violation. As Stephane Nappo, Global Chief Information Security Officer, once said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and few minutes of cyber-incident to ruin it.” Cybersecurity adds a layer of comfort to your operations, so you do not want to wait until it is too late to have an efficient structure in place. Keep in mind that the real value of cybersecurity does not only lie in preventing malicious attacks. There are more subtle ways it can be leveraged to take your business to the next level and show your customers that you care and take their data seriously. Here's how cybersecurity can be your next big competitive advantage. Let's jump in. Check Off the Legal Compliance Box Since data-driven customer experience became critical, millions of companies have turned to personal information to provide better experiences. Inevitably, regulatory watchdogs across the globe have stepped in to control the kind of data collected and why, as well as how the information will be processed. With fast advances in the field, organizations that do not keep a close eye on the new rules and regulations might be quite surprised. In the US, there's no single federal data protection legislation – several states have their own cybersecurity and Utah, for instance, is the fourth US state to enact a consumer privacy law in recent years, following in the footsteps of , , and . data breach notification laws. California Virginia Colorado The (UCPA) will take effect in under two years on December 31, 2023. The provisions will apply to organizations with annual revenue of $25m or more that conduct business in Utah – and this also affects businesses run remotely, not just physically. Utah Consumer Privacy Act You might think, "Well, I am based in a different state, so the UCPA will not affect me." But remember that not only can the state departments pursue legal action against companies, but individuals living in that state could file a civil lawsuit against an organization if you have compromised their data, or they feel that you have misused it in some manner. Last year, T-Mobile USA Inc. was hit with a pair of in Washington federal court accusing the telecommunications company of violating the California Consumer Privacy Act. We all know lawsuits are NEVER fun, and even the smallest suits can be financially draining. class-action lawsuits Build a Better Brand Image to Stand Out From the Crowd If you are not investing in cybersecurity, the message you are sending out is that you do not care about your customers and their privacy – and that can turn into a PR business killer. A found that 46% of organizations had suffered reputational damage as a result of a data breach, and 19% of organizations suffered reputation and brand damage as a result of a third-party security breach. Forbes Insights report On average, it takes two years for a business's reputation to recover after a is revealed, according to research by HSBC. data breach To use cybersecurity as a competitive advantage when it comes to PR, let your clients know how seriously you take the protection of their data. Whether you have a dedicated security page on your website or you create marketing collateral that describes your program and values in detail, show the whole world proudly their data is safe and not misused. Customers are more likely to gravitate towards businesses that and can protect their privacy. That is one of the reasons why organizations are – 69% are increasing their cybersecurity budgets in 2022. demonstrate they are serious about data security making security a priority More than 80% of consumers are even willing to and take their business elsewhere if, or when, a data breach occurs. walk away And if your competitors' clients start leaving because of that, you will be ready to welcome them with open arms. This way, you will keep on reaping the benefits of cybersecurity. Climb the Ladder of Success and Growth Organizations operating on a business-to-business (B2B) model or some industries such as healthcare and fintech are prone to more intensive and frequent cyber attacks than others. It is because these sectors could offer to the attackers. more valuable pieces of information Although security needs to be in the DNA of every business, these companies particularly should adopt the latest tools and technologies to proofread their operations. Cybersecurity is not only a weapon against hackers – it is also the key to thriving in today's digital world. Without robust cybersecurity strategies, businesses can also face real challenges finding new clients or investors. Keep in mind that your future partners will not even consider you are not investing in cybersecurity. Your organization's data security state will be an important decision-maker for potential customers in the coming year. Do you know that of companies affected by cyberattacks tend to underperform by 15.6% in the following three years? Adoption of an effective cybersecurity approach can mitigate the risk of losing the value of your stocks, which is highly important considering that a company's stock price reflects investor perception of its ability to earn and grow its profits in the future. the share prices I always say that cybersecurity is a loop and not a line. This means that it is not something you simply adopt once and then never touch again – it is a continuous effort and investment in order to uphold your commitment to your customers and get closer to achieving your business goals.

Cybersecurity is a Big Competitive Advantage. Secure Your Win.

Those of us in the business of selling secondhand mobile phones have been closely following the new cell phone trends and developments in 2020. However, one piece of news that has gotten a bit buried amid it all is the T-Mobile/Sprint merger. T-Mobile successfully acquired Sprint on April 1. As you may have noticed, it’s been somewhat of a quiet summer as far as the merger goes—but that’s about to change. Quick Takes: Where Things Stand with the Merger Today T-Mobile officially folded the Sprint brand under its flagship banner on August 2. We may be seeing some ripples finally take form in the industry once some key “separation dates” get here. The big, obvious development impacting both resellers and customers is that we’re down to just three major cell carriers in the United States (Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile). What should we expect down the pipeline as a merger that’s mostly been on paper up until now takes shape in real life? Let's explore some key speculation points related to the T-Mobile/Sprint merger with a focus on the impact the newly formed conglomerate could have on secondhand mobile phones. There are some interesting things to look at, specifically in terms of pre-2020 5G devices being traded in prematurely in some markets. Why Are T-Mobile and Sprint Merging? While there are many peripheral advantages to merging for both carriers, resellers should make no mistake about the fact that there is one main objective behind the T-Mobile/Sprint merger: This conglomerate will be highly focused on bringing 5G to more places. In fact, the partnership’s ability to dominate in the 5G market hinges specifically on a strategy of bringing 5G to rural markets faster than anyone else can. T-Mobile needed Sprint under its tent due to Sprint’s well-known, long-standing relationships with the nation’s rural carriers. We’re potentially looking at a future where T-Mobile will be pushing for every customer to be a 5G customer. An expanded 5G network across rural parts of the country means that more cell customers may be eager to trade in existing devices for 5G devices. This could increase the supply of newer, non-5G devices on the resale market as T-Mobile advances its plans. Popular Opinion: It Will Be a While Before Customers Feel the Merger Deeply It looks like T-Mobile is taking every measure necessary to make sure current Sprint customers can enjoy a changeover that’s as non-abrupt as possible. For now, both Sprint and T-Mobile customers can keep doing exactly what they’re doing, including visiting the same brick-and-mortar stores that have served them as their cellphone homebase thus far. In addition, all online account management for Sprint customers will be exactly the same for the time being. The long-term goal is to transition all Sprint customers over to the T-Mobile network before creating a combined, supercharged network. T-Mobile has also promised to preserve pricing for three years. While customers will see branding updates across their accounts in the upcoming months, they won’t see any bill increases or changes until 2023. In addition to folding millions of Sprint customers into its brand, T-Mobile is also aggressively trying to court “switchers” from the nation’s two major carriers using an aggressive trade-in offer. T-Mobile will pay off the remaining device payments or service contracts for all customers who make the switch from Verizon or AT&T. The carrier will be handing out up to $650 per line via trade-in credits and virtual prepaid cards whenever a customer trades in an existing phone for a new one. This will have an obvious impact on the trade-in market if customers bite. This is Where It Gets Interesting for the Resale Market One of the more complicated aspects of the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint is that they use different technologies to power their 2G networks. While T-Mobile uses GSM, Sprint uses CDMA. As you may know, the big difference is that CDMA phones generally don’t use SIM cards like GSM phones do unless they’re LTE-enabled devices. The speculation now is that T-Mobile will choose GSM as it makes the pivot to unify the entire conglomerate to a single form of technology. This means that current Sprint customers going along for the ride with T-Mobile will find themselves with devices that are not compatible with their networks in the not-so-distant future. As a result, these customers will need to upgrade to new devices to be able to get network coverage. Yes, T-Mobile is making a big show of saying that nothing is changing for Sprint customers; however, it seems inevitable that the merger will cause a large portion of current Sprint customers to outgrow their devices prematurely. We’ll also see something of a device limbo for millions of existing Sprint customers with 5G-compatible devices from now until the three-year merger process is completed in 2023. We expect that any Sprint 5G phone that came out before the Galaxy S20 will be rendered outdated because Sprint 5G phones released in 2019 to enable access to T-Mobile’s 5G network. The affected devices include the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, and the LG V50 ThinQ 5G. Those devices will still be capable of tapping into Sprint’s 4G network, but only where it’s still available. will not be getting updates T-Mobile has tried to smooth the rough patch by offering discounted 18-month leases on Galaxy S20 5G phones to replace the soon-to-be outdated devices. This is interesting for resellers because even fairly new 5G phones from before the February 2020 release date of the S20 may be appearing in the resale market much earlier than would be expected without the Sprint/T-Mobile merger. We can also look ahead to potentially seeing post-lease S20 5G phones hitting the market 18 months from now (potentially February 2022). Speculating on How the Merged Companies Will Handle Resale of Used Devices T-Mobile isn’t giving any behind-the-scenes looks at how it’s handling the resale of traded Sprint devices. That means we don’t yet know if they will continue to sell their used devices separately or consolidate used phone supply. However, it’s pretty clear that the two brands will have a consolidated used phone supply by at least the 2023 deadline for the merger being fully complete. The one thing that does seem certain is that whatever channel T-Mobile decides to use to deposit Sprint devices that are will see more CDMA and pre-2020 5G devices. traded in Final Takeaways on the T-Mobile/Sprint Merger The T-Mobile/Sprint merger will affect 5G device traffic for resellers. Existing Sprint customers who would have held onto their devices may create an influx of pre-2020 devices much sooner than expected. In addition, we may see more CDMA than GSM devices traded in than usual as Sprint customers adjust to T-Mobile’s network. Sources Used: https://www.cnet.com/news/t-mobile-to-redeploy-sprints-midband-5g-spectrum-in-new-york-in-may/ https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/07/03/t-mobile-confirms-its-going-to-brick-5g-on-most-sprint-5g-phones-post-merger/ https://secure.sprintbuyback.com/bbt/ https://www.twice.com/blog/potential-effects-of-the-t-mobile-and-sprint-merger-on-the-wireless-industry https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/30/how-would-a-t-mobile-sprint-merger-affect-your-cellphone-bill.html https://www.cnet.com/news/t-mobile-and-sprint-are-one-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-mobile-mega-merger/#:~:text=After%20nearly%20two%20years%20of,fourth%2Dlargest%20national%20wireless%20carriers. https://www.t-mobile.com/news/press/t-mobile-guarantees-industrys-best-trade-in https://www.wired.com/story/t-mobile-sprint-merger-guide/ https://www.pcmag.com/news/what-the-sprintt-mobile-merger-means-for-sprint-customers

What We’ll Likely See From the Sprint and T-Mobile Merger Through 2023

These instructions are only intended for the purpose of being able to install legally licensed firmware on routers you own. Do not use this guide as instructions for violating any patents or copyright laws There is a router out there known as T-Mobile (AC-1900) which is a rebranded ASUS AC1900/68u. The tmobile router sells for $70 and the asus router sells for $130–$170. Whats the difference between these two? Nothing other than firmwares. Modding firmwares can be a bit scary and intimidating at first. But after that first brick and then that first time bringing it back from the dead, one can gain confidence. Take your time read through the instructions a few times and don’t forget to breathe. Fundamentals: routers usually run a very basic set of software. This is usually booted up the same way every time a router starts. Most cases we are going to interrupt the router boot and drop it into a bootloader or recovery mode. This is running a separate start option that is usually stored on a separate memory chip or a special set of memory addresses. This allows us to modify the system firmware from outside the usual run process. Various routers have different ways of entering this mode, but at the end of the day its all the same. It’s separate environment and generally just the absolute barebones the work with. Lets begin, the first pass of the firmware mod. Give this a read and then we can come back here. Pretty striaght forward drop router into recovery mode load an older TM firmware. Then modify the cfe/MTD… . wait whats the mtd and cfe? “MTD subsystem (stands for Memory Technology Devices) it provides an abstraction layer for raw flash devices. It makes it possible to use the same API when working with different flash types and technologies… provide I/O access to the raw flash. They support a number of calls for erasing eraseblocks, marking them as bad or checking if an eraseblock is bad, getting information about MTD devices, etc.” CFE: common firmware environment. “It is intended to be a flexible toolkit of CPU initialization and bootstrap code for use on embedded processors (typically running on MIPS32/64 instruction set CPUs found in Broadcom SoCs). It is roughly analogous to the ’ “ . Next we are modifying the CFE so that the proper mac address range is used instead of the TM version. This allows the vanilla asus firmware to get installed because there are restrictions on the firmware only running on a specific range of mac addresses. https://www.bayareatechpros.com/ac1900-to-ac68u/ http://www.linux-mtd.infradead.org/doc/general.html ioctl https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Firmware_Environment BIOS The modded firmware is up and running, bam done great. OOPS we upgraded the router and it reverted back to TM locked down firmware. This is often done by accident, such as not paying attention and thinking “hey I should upgrade”. Nuts, they also disabled telnet and ssh in the firmware itself. Not just hiding it in the UI via hidden and disable tags. Looks like they are starting to try pretty hard to stop us from changing the firmware. Not sure why exactly they are trying so hard to lock us out, but alright. How do we get at a terminal for the router now? Well, there is a network tools page, that is essentially an open terminal. I guess they assume if you are logged in to the router they should allow anything to happen. Another situation where, “well if they get past my firewall than my internal network is pwned situation.” (sigh) Sadly this is often repeated all throughout the tech industry. After a bit of searching I came across this google doc, that is going to help explain how we will actually hack our router. I am not going to go through and repeat everything that was laid out there but I will skip to some interesting bits. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NsZMONmJ70zMmoAKKQJXbTVKytaPJptWTpqih1TD5n8/edit?usp=sharing First we will need to get the needed files onto a usb. once we have them all zipped up we will plug in the usb drive in to the back of the router and leverage the usb support built in. Then using the network tools windows that we talked about earlier we are going to exploit a code flaw of the form. Thus actually hacking our router by closing the network command and then running our commands. If we open the console part of the developer tools on say chrome once we are on the page. we can do something like this. validForm = function(){document.form.SystemCmd.value = “ping\nmount -t tmpfs tmpfs userRpm”;return true;} Here we had the network tools run the ping command and then just drop to a new line and since we had a web shell we can run a mount command and get that usb mounted. Then there are a few more commands that need to be run which takes us to restarting a service on the router. This is done much the same way we would do it on a linux box. validForm = function(){document.form.SystemCmd.value = “ping\nservice restart_httpd”;return true;} Again we are using the ping command then then restarting the httpd service that we slightly tweaked to do our bidding. Then once the service is restarted we do a few more mount commands and a find in order to snag a couple more files from the mounted usb. Finally we run the big scary command that should most definitely not be allowed to be run form a webshell but hey they left the ability there so we are going to take advantage of it . ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ validForm = function(){document.form.SystemCmd.value = “ping\nmtd-write2 FW_RT_AC68U_30043763626.trx linux”;return true;} Here we are rewriting the firmware to one that we seeded. oops/awesome!Well then there are a few more cleanup steps involved in finishing up the mod and getting things setup to maintain the firmware. The real interesting thought is that perhaps a router manufacturer should spend less time and effort trying to stop modders from messing with the hardware on site, and a little bit more effort securing the software itself, because if you can do this from the gui, you better believe that there are underlying security vulnerabilities in there that would let worse things happen. It would be a somewhat simple fix of elevated run levels for specific actions and perhaps validating the inputs of the webform/shell to not allow extra commands to flow through… but hey let waste our time where the money is right? Sadly just another router manufacturer that jams out some hardware and leaves a squishy underbelly of software. But hey if no one looks then no one will find the problem right? I hope everyone enjoyed a whirlwind tour of router hacking 101–103, until next time. Same hack time same hack channel. Footnotes:modding tutorial for older firmware tmobile: https://www.bayareatechpros.com/ac1900-to-ac68u/ hardware: https://www.amazon.com/T-Mobile-Wireless-AC1900-Dual-Band-AiProtection-Complete/dp/B01MYTAURW google doc with in-depth breakdown https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NsZMONmJ70zMmoAKKQJXbTVKytaPJptWTpqih1TD5n8/edit?usp=sharing

Hacking your own router to become more

Google Fi is a versatile virtual system transporter (MVNO) that gives voice calling, SMS, and portable broadband administrations. It’s situated in the United States, and banded together fundamentally with U.S.- based cell bearers, yet you can utilize it for universal calling, and worldwide information is likewise accessible. Inclusion and administration are like significant bearers, while estimating is in accordance with lower cost MVNOs. Google Fi works with most present day telephones including Android gadgets from most producers, just as the iPhone. What is Google Fi? Google Fi initially propelled as Project Fi on a greeting just premise in 2015, and it opened to general society in 2016. At the point when it propelled, it was just good with the Nexus 6, and the open dispatch included the Nexus 5x and the Pixel line. Similarity has since been reached out to most Android gadgets notwithstanding iPhone, in spite of the fact that Google just offers customized client service and inconvenience going for a genuinely short rundown of gadgets. As a MVNO, Google Fi orchestrates to utilize cell systems worked out by different transporters as opposed to building their own. In the United States, Fi has cooperated with T-Mobile, Sprint, and U.S. Cell, permitting clients to flawlessly progress between systems as they travel. At the point when you pursue Google Fi, they are your versatile specialist organization. Your voice and information are moved over the T-Mobile, Sprint, or U.S. Cell organize, yet Google monitors your utilization and Google charges you. What Makes Google Fi Different? Google Fi is plainly not quite the same as significant transporters, since it’s a MVNO. In any case, that is not what truly separates it from most versatile bearers. The enormous contrast you’ll see with Fi is smoothed out charging. You pay one fundamental expense for boundless talk and content, and afterward you pay a level rate for every gigabyte of information. The Google Fi application makes it simple to monitor use and perceive how your bill includes in a completely straightforward way. They used to pre-charge for information and afterward discount any sum you didn’t utilize, yet that training is a distant memory. They have likewise established a second arrangement for substantial information use, however it’s still very basic contrasted with most different transporters. How Does Google Fi Work? Google Fi works a ton like a normal portable transporter, with the special case that they don’t claim their own system equipment. Rather than building cell towers and other framework, Google Fi leases time and information on different systems. In particular, Fi has manages T-Mobile, Sprint, and U.S. Cell in the United States. On the off chance that you have at least two of those systems where you live, your calls will consistently experience the most grounded association, and you will flawlessly move between various bearers as you drive around town. In the event that you just have one of those systems in your general vicinity, your general experience will be equivalent to somebody who utilizes only that organize. For instance, on the off chance that you have T-Mobile in your general vicinity, however there is no U.S. Cell or Sprint inclusion, at that point you can expect Google Fi to work simply like T-Mobile, with a similar inclusion and dead spots. A few telephones intended for Fi likewise have extra usefulness, similar to the capacity to flawlessly change among versatile and Wi-Fi for the two information and calling. Allude to this rundown of telephones intended for Fi to check whether yours possesses all the necessary qualities. Google Fi Coverage: The inclusion offered by Google Fi is equivalent to the aggregate of the inclusion offered by the transporters that it has joined forces with. That implies you basically have the inclusion of T-Mobile, Sprint, and U.S. Cell wrapped into one. There is a ton of cover, and there are some dead zones where you could get inclusion from a bigger supplier like Verizon or AT&T, yet the inclusion is genuinely complete. The general guideline is that on the off chance that you live in a region adjusted by T-Mobile, Sprint, or U.S. Cell, at that point you can get Google Fi. In the event that you’ve at any point utilized one of those suppliers, at that point you’ll even have a general thought of how well Fi functions in your general vicinity. Google Fi Plans: Google Fi has just two plans: Flexible and Unlimited. Their adaptable arrangement is the present manifestation of the arrangement they’ve offered since the start, which incorporates boundless talk and content and charges a level for every gigabyte energize to six gigabytes. In the event that you utilize in excess of six gigabytes, extra information is free for the remainder of the month. The Google Fi Unlimited arrangement incorporates boundless talk, content, and information, with rapid information accessible for the initial 22 GB of move, per individual, every month. The two plans additionally accompany the standard variety of duties and government expenses seen on all wireless bills. You can see your use and charging data whenever through the Google Fi application, and you can likewise change your arrangement whenever through the application. At the point when you change your arrangement, the change becomes effective toward the beginning of your next charging cycle. Each arrangement depends on only one client, however you can have up to six clients on one help account. Each extra client adds to the base expense of the arrangement and gets their own allocation of fast information on the Unlimited arrangement. You can likewise include information just SIMs for tablets, hotspots, and different gadgets for no extra charge. Accomplishes Google Fi Work With International Calling and Data? Google Fi works with universal calling and information in each feeling of the word, yet the charges differ contingent upon your arrangement. You can call globally from the United States, and you can utilize your Google Fi plan to call and use information when voyaging universally. Supporters of Google Fi’s Flexible arrangement pay a set for every moment rate for calls to different nations. A ton of nations cost just $0.01 every moment, except some cost essentially more. The Unlimited arrangement offers free bringing to more than 50 nations. When voyaging universally, Fi clients can make voice calls, send messages, and access information in more than 200 nations and areas. Supporters of the Flexible arrangement pay $0.20 every moment when putting calls from outside the United States, writings are free, and information is charged at a similar rate as information in the United States. Supporters of the Unlimited arrangement are likewise ready to put calls from outside the United States for $0.20 every moment. Writings and information are thoroughly free, much the same as in the United States. Sometimes, you can likewise put universal calls by means of Wi-Fi to stay away from the per-minute expense. The most effective method to Get Google Fi: In the event that you have a perfect telephone, getting Google Fi is as basic as joining on the Fi site, porting in your old telephone number on the off chance that you need to, at that point trusting that Google will send you a SIM card. When you have the SIM card, you should simply pop it in, and you’re all set. In the event that you have a Pixel telephone, you can begin even sooner utilizing the implicit Fi-perfect eSIM incorporated with each Pixel gadget. Google Fi likewise sells various Fi-perfect telephones on the off chance that you don’t as of now have one, or you can buy a good telephone somewhere else and simply introduce your SIM. Simply ensure it’s good with Google Fi and the cell phone it opened to evade any cerebral pains. Previously published at http://kbwebdeveloper.in/what-is-google-fi-and-how-does-it-work/

What Is Google Fi And How Does It Work?

10DLC stands for Ten Digit Long Code. Those who are familiar with United States phone numbers know that they’re made up of ten digits: a three-digit area code followed by a seven-digit number that identifies a person or business. A 10DLC is, essentially, a phone number in the United States. But more accurately, it is a phone number specifically sanctioned by telecom carriers for use in business messaging. In this post, we’ll look at the benefits of 10DLC for your business and the necessary steps to get started with 10DLC. Along the way, we’ll consider options for leveraging existing services to simplify the process of starting your 10DLC journey. 10DLC: Numbers for Customer Communication The use of 10DLC for business messaging is championed by the major telecoms to help protect their customers from spam and the misuse of traditional phone numbers and toll-free text numbers. 10DLC is designed for businesses that want to communicate directly with their customers for low-volume use cases like notifications, reminders, or multi-factor authentications. Sometimes, 10DLC is used interchangeably with A2P, which stands for application-to-person. Other times, you’ll see A2P and 10DLC used together. They all refer to the same thing. What Benefits Do You Get With 10DLC? The major benefit you get with 10DLC is . You’re contacting your customer base because you need to provide information or get them to take action in some way. Examples include the following: consistency Provide a login code for two-factor authentication Remind a patient of a scheduled appointment Notify meet-up attendees of a change in location Send an updated home value for a recently completed appraisal On these occasions, it would certainly be a poor user experience for your text to be flagged as spam and prevented from arriving. To use 10DLC for this communication, however, businesses go through an application process (that we’ll discuss in more detail below) to verify their identity and document their use case. By going through this verification process, you get the support and assurance from major carriers that your communication over 10DLC won’t be throttled or flagged as spam. In addition to stability and support from your provider, you also get another key aspect of customer communication: . Especially with the uptick in spam calls and texts ( ), ensuring your business communication won’t get blocked is critical to a successful customer-business interaction. You even have the option to pick a local number so your customers know that it’s coming from a legitimate place. recognition By the way, your extended car warranty is expiring soon, so press 2 to speak with a representative A 10DLC also brings to your business communication. Because 10DLC is text voice enabled, you can make calls and send texts from the same number. This is a great benefit to your customers; they can text your 10DLC if they’re unable to talk or call if they’re unable to text. centralization and You do, however, have the option to limit the communication channels if you’d like. For example, if you have two 10DLCs, then it’d be reasonable to reserve one for texting and another for calls, with voicemail enabled. This approach provides continuity on both communication paths for your business, providing a better experience for your customers. The last notable benefit of 10DLC is . 10DLCs generally cost around the same as a traditional long code or a toll-free number: around $1 per month. This is in sharp contrast to a short code, which can range from $500 to $1000 per month! cost savings How Do You Get Started With 10DLC? If you plan to use a provider like T-Mobile or AT&T, your first step for using 10DLC will be to . A status is a designation recognized by telecom providers that acts as a verification for your business or use case. After you apply, your status will be either unverified or verified. apply for a 10DLC status An unverified status generally indicates that there was a problem with your application causing your business to not be registered with (TCR), which is the reputation authority for business messaging. A verified status indicates that your application went through successfully. Having successfully registered with TCR, you can purchase 10DLC numbers and submit applications for messaging use cases (which are called “campaigns”). The Campaign Registry Above, we mentioned that this application for status applies if you want to use T-Mobile or AT&T. At the time of writing, Verizon is a bit of a special case, in that they don’t require you to apply for a status. Instead, Verizon uses its own filtering mechanism to determine what communication is spam and what isn’t. Each provider has different message throughput limits, and the throughput given to your business also depends on its size. For example, small- to medium-sized businesses using AT&T have a throughput of 75-240 messages per minute. With T-Mobile, throughput for small-ish businesses might be around 2000-10000 messages per day. While applying for a 10DLC status is straightforward, where you go from there can quickly become complicated. You also need to: Purchase (and manage) your 10DLC numbers Send campaign applications to providers to let them know what kinds of messages you plan on sending Connect your 10DLC numbers to your messaging application Go it alone, or leverage a service? The adventurous types might try to do all of the above on their own, cobbling all the pieces together themselves. In my opinion, it’s probably a better use of your time to leverage existing services that can help you manage these low-level concerns. That way, you can focus on building business value—developing your messaging application and fine-tuning your customer experience. There are different services out there that can help bootstrap your 10DLC initiative. Some offerings assist you through the application process with TCR, ensuring you get the best possible messaging throughput for your type of business. You can also get campaign management and a REST API for managing 10DLC numbers and messages. One of the tools I found out there is called , which comes from OpenMarket (Infobip). It’s an all-encompassing tool, starting with the first step of brand registration all the way through messaging application integrations and APIs. Numbers The lets you handle all of your number management (purchasing, setting up, configuring), while the lets you programmatically handle sending, receiving, and scheduling messages, along with coordinating two-factor authentication. Overall, these third-party APIs free up developers from having to roll their own solutions so they can keep their attention on core business needs. Numbers API from Infobip SMS API Wrapping it up We started with this question: Ultimately, 10DLC provides some key benefits to help your business succeed. A 10DLC gives you: Why should you care about 10DLC? A supported path to communicate with your customers. Using a 10DLC helps you avoid getting flagged as spam which will negatively impact your customer communication. You also get the support of the major telecom providers. Savings. 10DLCs cost less to operate than other options like an SMS shortcode or a toll-free number. Not only is a 10DLC the right tool for communicating with your customers, but it also helps your bottom line! Improved reach and recognition. 10DLCs can be local numbers that are recognizable to your customers, and they can be voice text-enabled. This gives you multiple options for communicating with your customers and also ensures a higher probability of reaching them. and With advantages ranging from reputable pathways to cost savings and even improved reach, it’s no wonder so many businesses rely on 10DLCs. Perhaps your company will now join the many others who are already dialing and texting their customers! Also Published Here

An Intro to 10DLC, and Why Should You Care About It

Let's learn about via these 68 free stories. They are ordered by most time reading created on HackerNoon. Visit the to find the most read stories about any technology. Smartphones /Learn Repo 1. The Joy of Using Single-Purpose Tech What is it about smartphones that make them the most useful technology ever created? 2. The Rise of Refurbished Phones — Except in the U.S. Refurbished phones are becoming more and more popular, but the U.S. is lagging behind in sales. Here's a look at why. 3. Freedom, Kant, and Why You Should Flush Your Smartphone Down the Toilet Photo by Jens Johnsson 4. Statistics of Damaged Mobile Phones in the UK According to the latest research, the British People have spent more than £680m each year just to have their phones’ screens fixed. From a poll of 2,000 users of mobile phones, the study showed that 53% have paid around £30 or more just to have their phones fixed last year alone. With around 42.7 million mobile phone users in the UK alone, the numbers can add up to a huge amount. 5. How to Track a Smartphone: Android and iOS Devices There are many popular tracker apps that help you to track your phone or your kid's or family member's phones, for security purposes. 6. How to Develop Mobile Apps Using ARKit The creation and development of mobile applications is a large and rapidly developing industry. In the past few years, it has been modified significantly due to the introduction of novel futuristic technologies. 7. Catalyst Total Protection Case for iPhone 12 Review The Total Protection Cases for iPhone 12 Series are fully sealed protection cases that are waterproof, drop-proof and compatible with the MagSafe Charger. 8. The Retail CIO’s Guide to Mobile Device Management Strategy Are you in retail and planning to make mobile part of your strategy? Do you follow a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy and need to separate business and personal data on the same devices? If so, mobile device management (MDM) will become an important strategic consideration for your executive team. 9. 5 Simple Ways to Make Your Old iPhone Faster One of the major concerns with older iPhones is the drop in performance and speed. Here are some ways to increase the speed of your older iPhone. 10. The Future of Battery Technology: What’s Next? Lithium-ion batteries are the standard for electronics, electric vehicles and are also growing in popularity for military and aerospace applications. A prototype Li-ion battery was developed by Akira Yoshino in 1985, then a commercial Li-ion battery was developed by a Sony and Asahi Kasei team in 1991. Since then, there haven't really been any breakthroughs in rechargeable batteries, however, because Lithium is finite and not renewable, we will need to find different methods of making these batteries that almost all our electronic devices rely on. 11. Mobile Devices Will Never Replace Desktops The future of technology makes a lot of people very curious. There are hundreds of new devices developed every day, each of them improving upon former models. 12. What We’ll Likely See From the Sprint and T-Mobile Merger Through 2023 Those of us in the business of selling secondhand mobile phones have been closely following the new cell phone trends and developments in 2020. However, one piece of news that has gotten a bit buried amid it all is the T-Mobile/Sprint merger. T-Mobile successfully acquired Sprint on April 1. As you may have noticed, it’s been somewhat of a quiet summer as far as the merger goes—but that’s about to change. 13. The “Brain Drain” Hypothesis Explains That Smartphones Distract Us, Even When Not In Use The mere presence of your phone or apps like Gmail, Slack, and iMessage can decrease your ability to focus even when they don't actually distract you. 14. The Ultimate Ways to Increase Android Phone Battery life The conversation about mobile phones is never ending until a smaller and smarter device takes over the scene and performs all of our daily tasks more quickly and more efficiently. However, until such time comes, smartphones are, and will remain, the most important devices in our daily personal and professional lives. 15. Why Foldable Phones are NOT the Next Big Thing I was convinced that folding phones were going to be the next big thing. Now, a bit over a month into using one myself, I’m not so sure anymore. 16. The 10 Technologies that Completely Changed How we See the World Remember great technological advances that changed the lives of thousands of people and the new bets of the future through information technology. 17. How Should the Smartphone Evolve? This Slack discussion by David, Mario, Dane, and I occurred in Hacker Noon's official #slogging-beta channel, and has been edited for readability. 18. Smartphones Are Now Control Hubs for Personal Service Robots The next decade will see huge strides in artificial intelligence and connectivity, supported by the internet of things. All this creates the technological foundation for the growing smart home market, especially in the domestic robot segment. In its global forecast, MarketAndMarkets predicts that the global value of domestic robot market will hit $9.1 billion by 2024 with a CAGR of 22.4%. 19. What to Expect in the New iPhone 12 Design Despite the COVID-19 pandemic sending the world into a frenzy, the new iPhone 12 might just bring some good news for the Apple loyalists and the company in general. Although a lot has been speculated regarding the design and the innovations surrounding the design, let's discuss the technological relevance of Apple's new design. 20. Success Story + 1 = OnePlus OnePlus went from zero to hero in a matter of a year and became the fastest-growing Android device company. 21. Upcoming Mobile Phones: Future Smartphones in 2020 and 2021 With the pace of smartphone evolution, there is always something waiting for you behind the scenes. No sooner have you spotted the last handset, than there is anticipation for the next big thing. 22. My Personal Digital Transformation Story Smartphone Addiction, Burnout and Balance 23. Why smartphone hacking is a real threat & how to handle it Even if you aren't very tech-savvy, you may have heard about vulnerabilities in both Android and iOS platforms making the news. Despite these headlines, smartphone hacking is a real challenge many of us still don't take seriously. 24. Building a Free Music Site Using React Native So, you want to build a music site with React Native. That’s not an ordinary task because of certain technical limitations but it’s still possible. The chosen framework works best for mobile applications so you can get two or even three products instead of one: a music website and mobile apps for iOS and Android. Sounds good, huh? The question is how to develop such solutions, and we’re going to answer it in this guide. 25. Forget The Gig Economy, Join The Life Economy: Get Paid To Live Written by Chris Kalaboukis, Chief Philosopher, Engineer, and Futurist at hellofuture written for Nodle and Hackernoon. 26. The Metaverse’s Road to Mass Appeal Runs Through Smartphones The Metaverse’s Road to Mass Appeal Runs Through Smartphones. 27. 5 Best Free Android Personalization Apps in 2023 Here are 5 of the coolest and top-notch personalization apps for Android that you should look into this year.  Read the list and download the apps for free! 28. What is Wireless Charging and How Does Wireless Charging Work? This article explains wireless charging so consumers can make an educated decision on how to charge their devices. 29. Two Factor Authentication - The Deep State Tool That Supports Mass Technology Dysfunction 2FA is the initial, mandatory stage of ongoing privacy intrusions that are unwarranted and Orwellian. Alternatives now exist. 30. All Types of POST Requests With API Tester Post requests are the most common types of requests that we perform on the internet and it is very useful in our day-to-day work life. 31. Can Your Smartpones Actually Help in Early COVID-19 Detection? Our smartphones have already played an important role in this virus pandemic. Whether in defining your location’s degree of contagion or providing data on your movements to help assess the threat of infection - smartphones do come to the rescue. 32. Developing Cross-platform Mobile Applications with Xamarin Xamarin is a cross-platform development tool that allows building truly cross-platform mobile apps with power-packed functionality and native user experience. 33. How to Lock WhatsApp Using Your Face or Fingerprint on iOS or Android? Are you living in a house with kids? Do you often face a situation where you are using your phone and kids suddenly snatch it from your hands and start playing games? You are quite fine with it but when it comes to being compromised with your message’s security on WhatsApp, you do not want them to read your private messages. Thankfully, now you are no more required to keep phones away from your kids and worry about your privacy. How? 34. The Endless Quest of Finding Developers For Your Next Big App Businesses which hope to one day become scalable choose to go down the digital path because smartphone holders are their main demographic. 35. Adverse Effects of Smartphone Addiction Today, as the world progresses, the inevitable dominance of technology has taken over almost every aspect of our lives. Unfortunately, relationships are replaced by virtual ones, leisure time is spent while scrolling, and you no longer need drugs to escape from reality. Instead of shutting your eyes and empowering smartphones to rule our lives, it would be wiser to embrace this revolution, let it infuse in your daily routine, and exploit its power to enhance your life. 36. No, We Won't All Move To Mobile Eventually - And Here's Why With the development of mobile technologies, everything has become much easier. While people were forced to do everything by hand in the previous century, now very convenient and smart devices act as a source to conduct everything digitally. 37. The Gaming World is Changing For decades, Video Games have been entertaining adults and children. 38. Covert Google Voice Into Your Own Private Bouncer Or Receptionist In the event that you don’t have a Google Voice telephone number yet, you’re passing up a great opportunity. Google Voice has some extraordinary highlights that can help ensure your security. Also, you can keep your Google Voice telephone number forever, or for in any event insofar as Google is eager to have it. 39. The Reason Why the Best Smartphones Still Need Protection You know the familiar feeling of a smartphone slipping through your fingers and those few milliseconds when you realize it’s too late to catch it — it’s going to hit the ground. Oh no, you don’t want to pay it to get it repaired. Or worse, replaced. Your heart jolts and your stomach twists in anticipation as you watch it smack against the floor. 40. Three Strategies to Help Break an Internet Addiction In more ways than most people recognize, the internet has infiltrated every part of our lives. In some cases, that's been beneficial. For example, the internet puts the majority of the world's knowledge right at our fingertips, allowing individual learning on a previously unheard-of scale. It has also enabled free-flowing global communications, making the vast world a much more integrated community. 41. OnePlus Nord 2 5G Review OnePlus launches new mid-range Nord 2 5G Android smartphone. With 12GB RAM and 256 GB storage, it will compete with Google Pixel 4a 5G, and Samsung Galaxy A52. 42. What Is Google Fi And How Does It Work? Google Fi is a versatile virtual system transporter (MVNO) that gives voice calling, SMS, and portable broadband administrations. It’s situated in the United States, and banded together fundamentally with U.S.- based cell bearers, yet you can utilize it for universal calling, and worldwide information is likewise accessible. Inclusion and administration are like significant bearers, while estimating is in accordance with lower cost MVNOs. Google Fi works with most present day telephones including Android gadgets from most producers, just as the iPhone. 43. How Technology Is Revolutionizing the Dating Scene for Millennials and Gen Zers These days, it’s hard to imagine life without computers; the advances in technology leading to the development of smartphones and tablets have truly made the personal computer ubiquitous. Thirty-five years ago, when Microsoft was founded, computing stood on the threshold of a new era; it’s hard to imagine Bill Gates and Paul D. Allen knew what lay in store, and when, two years later, Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak made the first truly usable personal computer - the Apple II - the Age of Computing dawned on an unsuspecting world. 44. How Can Smartphone Tech Elevate Car Technology To Help Assess The Roads Better? Many cars nowadays have a navigation system with a display inside the car of where you are going. 45. Not-So-True Smartphone Hacks I'm sure a friend or family member has told you every do-it-yourself smartphone trick in the book. For example: don’t charge your phone using knock-off cables, bury your device in a bag of rice to reverse water damage, phone signals interfere with hospital, plane, and gas station technology, and more. Some of these are true, many of them are false. Who is to blame? General word of mouth. Let’s dig in. 46. AttachBack So Far: The Story of My Early-Stage Startup Can a brand new startup forever change the way we use our phones? I think I know the answer. In this post, I’ll share the story of my fledgling startup that aims to do just that. 47. The Technological Relevance of the iPhone X Design Despite the covid19-pandemic sending the world into frenzy, the new iPhone 12 might just bring some good news for the Apple loyalists and even the company in general. Although a lot has been speculated regarding the design and the innovations surrounding the same, we will take some time out to discuss the technological relevance of the inclusions. 48. How COVID-19 Showed Us We Don't Need New Smartphones Every Single Year The year 2020 has started off quite roughly: the new COVID-19 virus, already dubbed as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, spread across the world quite rapidly, already infecting hundreds of thousands and killing tens of thousands of people. 49. Android P Developer Preview Released Android is the most popular operating systems these days and especially when you are a mobile user, you tend to opt for the android. The reason behind the same is that android is easy to use and open source which makes it easier for each and everyone to operate. Another reason behind the increase in the number of android users is that the android based mobiles are cheaper when compared to the iOS based phones. 50. Research Shows That Smartphone Addiction Is As Dreadful As Drug Abuse Do you know that  62 percent of Americans check their smartphones more than 160 times per day? And a whopping 76.5 percent of people consider themselves addicted to their smartphones. 51. How Apps Can Steal Your Privacy Each day, the world makes 250 million terabytes of new data – every second 946 Instagram photos are taken, 8,690 tweets are posted, 77,783 things are searched on Google, and 2,845,459 emails are sent and received all over the world. With all of this new data, keeping your data private and away from prying eyes that will exploit any information about you is becoming more difficult by the day. Most people have no idea who owns their data, let alone what they are doing with it. 52. Hacking The Phone Repair Revolution: Current Phone Replacement Cycle Most people have been keeping their smartphones longer because of fewer new features and a high price. Today, repairing your phone is far more economical. 53. Swipe right for dopamine How smartphone navigation feeds our reward receptors 54. The Independent Phone :  More Privacy, Less Freedom? Freedom and privacy tend to go together, but there is a difference. With a more private phone, does it really mean you have more freedom? 55. Latest in Tech: Instagram Fined Millions Over Children's Data Privacy There's always something new in the world of technology, and it can be hard to keep up. 56. The Impact Of Blockchain Technology On Mobile Applications Blockchain technology has impacted and improved almost all sectors of modern technology, one of which is mobile application. 57. How To Find a Perfect Phone My teacher once told me in school, “Your shoe reflects a lot about your personality,” which seemed weird because our school forced us all to wear the same shoe. 58. Why You Should Repair Your Broken Smartphone Cell phones are a crutch in American culture and when our crutches are broken, we struggle to function as well. Since 1973, the rise of cellular phones have been the fastest growing technology phenomenon ever. 95% of Americans owned a cell phone in 2018, up 33% from 2002. 59. Cool Mobile Tech Stories 2021 I have some mobile tech stories to share with our slogging folks, hope you will like them. 60. Top Gadget Stories 2021 Looking for some cool gadget stories? Here are some interesting gadget stories from March 2021. Enjoy! 61. 7 Ways To Keep Your Mobile Phone Secure It is critical to change our outlook towards the security of smartphones and adopt as many precautions as possible for safeguarding ourselves. 62. Technologies That has Changed Our Lives Man-made technologies have now changed the lives of a Man to an extreme extent. We have made progress very quickly in the last 3-4 decades. It has taken us so far that many of us nowadays cannot imagine a single day without checking our smartphones now. 63. Proximity Events Specification: How To Receive Events From Device Proximity Sensors This is an experimental technology
Check the Browser compatibility table carefully before using this in production. 64. How To Save Your Child From Teen Sexting There are a lot of dangerous things your child might be getting into. Digitalization has been a boon for industries, but some teenagers use the same technology that can lead them to dire consequences. Your teen uses different social media platforms and messaging apps to stay connected with their  friends. They share photos on Instagram, message friends through WhatsApp, always share their current location on Facebook. But teens don’t always make the wisest decision. This is when parental control apps like FamiSafe comes into play. 65. Is iOS 16 Really Worth Getting? Apple has its own way of gaining eyeballs, and this time it's the beta release of iOS 16. While the recently launched iOS version is gaining all the attention, reactions are mixed, with some still wondering whether iOS 16 is worth getting or not. To address the same, I wanted to share an in-depth analysis of newly introduced features and usability. 66. Smartphones: The True Cost of Upgrades Photo by Daniel Romero on Unsplash 67. What You Should Know About iBeacon Technology Bluetooth beacons are a technology that sticks out when looking for ways to increase engagement and revenue for physical establishments. And once you get started, you'll be bombarded with terms like iBeacon, Eddystone, and BLE beacons, which might intimidate anovice. Let's go over each phrase, starting with iBeacon technology. 68. How Technology Can Help with Mental Health Diagnosis Imagine for a minute that it's morning and you’ve just woken up. Bleary-eyed still, you fumble for your smartphone. Because, well, what else would you do? We're in 2020, in the middle of a global pandemic, and for better or for worse, approximately 81% of the U.S. population owns a smartphone. Thank you for checking out the 68 most read stories about Smartphones on HackerNoon. to find the most read stories about any technology. Visit the /Learn Repo

68 Stories To Learn About Smartphones

If they can get Jack Dorsey they can get you… learn the simple ways to protect yourself against Sim Swapping Attacks. Just last August Twitter’s own , Jack Dorsey, had his handle @jack compromised by a group of hackers who took the opportunity to tweet antisemitic and racist remarks to his 4.2 million Twitter followers. After researching the issue, that he had fallen victim to a Sim Swapping Attack. CEO Twitter’s team confirmed This same attack has been used to hack other high profile names and to drain the cryptocurrency and traditional bank accounts of . Here’s an overview of how it all goes down and how to protect yourself from being next. like Jessica Alba normal people like you and me How Sim Swapping Works Many secure websites and services such as , email, and social media now connect our mobile phone numbers as a second form of authentication and to verify that you are a real person. It’s easy as basically all of us have a mobile number and it creates a barrier to entry for bad actors who try to create lots of fake accounts. banking While it does provide some benefits and an additional level of security, this method has some pretty gaping vulnerabilities. Sim Swapping is when a criminal contacts your phone company and , or tricks them, to change your mobile connection to a device they control. As an example, they may call your provider pretending to be you and say that your cell phone has been stolen and you need them to switch your service to a new cell phone you just bought. social engineers Alternatively, they may just have an employee of the cell phone provider in their pocket that can perform the sim swap without the need for social engineering. Once your sim has been swapped to a new device, the criminal will then receive all of your text messages and phone calls. The criminal then uses your cell phone number to reset your password and gain access to all of your secure accounts, often helping themselves to your cryptocurrency and bank account balances in the matter of minutes. They may also lock you out of your social media or cloud storage services and demand ransom in exchange for the safe return of your personal information. The only silver lining to this type of attack is that you’ll know right away when this happens because your device will lose service. Pretty scary right? Any service that uses your phone number is vulnerable to this type of attack and it can be performed by anybody in the world without any special technical knowledge. Think your carrier can keep you safe? found that major US carriers including ATT, T-Mobile, and Verizon, among others, are definitely susceptible to Sim Swapping. A study published this year by Princeton University Staying safe will require you to act proactively. Here are some strategies to protect yourself. First Things First — Enabling 2FA Despite the risks of Sim Swapping, you should always enable 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your accounts. This will keep your accounts safe by requiring a secondary pin sent to your mobile phone in addition to your username and password to gain access to your accounts. 2FA is now a standard feature with most secure services and can be enabled in your login and security settings. While I realize that I just spent several paragraphs describing the shortcomings of SMS-based authentication, the reality is that enabling it will stop most threats. Even if a criminal were to discover your password through malware or a data breach, they would still require access to your SMS messages to get into your accounts. Most attackers won’t bother to perform a sim swap and will simply move on to an easier target that doesn’t have 2FA enabled. That said, it’s important to remember that many services will allow you to reset your password with just your mobile number. For that reason, it is common for attackers to use the Sim Swap to gain access to accounts without having to know your password. Your First Line of Defense — Ditch SMS The simplest way we can protect ourselves is to choose app-based 2FA when available. While having 2FA enabled is always better than not, many services offer two flavors of it. The most common is SMS-based which sends an SMS to your cell phone and is vulnerable to Sim Swaps. The less common but more secure is app-based authentication. Rather than send you a text message, your authentication code is generated by an authenticator app on your mobile device, the most popular being Google Authenticator ( , ). iOS Android All you need to do is download an authenticator app and then choose app-based authentication when configuring your 2FA settings on each of your accounts. You’ll be prompted to scan a QR code with your authenticator app and then you’ll be set up! When asked for an authentication code just open the app on your phone and type in the 6 digit code it displays for the website you’re trying to access. Authenticator apps are not susceptible to Sim Swapping. These apps rely on details unique to your physical device that cannot be transferred to another device by your phone company. This means that even if an attacker manages to take over your messages they will not be able to duplicate your unique authentication codes or get into your accounts. The Best Solution — Private Phone Number Although in a perfect world an Authenticator app would solve all of our problems, the challenge is that many websites do not support app-based authentication. Anecdotally, So how are we to protect ourselves? all of my bank accounts and credit cards offer SMS-based identification as their only option. Since we know any and all carriers can be exploited to perform this attack, our only solution is to use a phone number nobody knows about. An attacker can’t perform a Sim Swap if they don’t know which number to use. The nice thing is that secure services don’t reveal our phone numbers to attackers — they typically have to find them through other means like when we publicize them ourselves on social media or via public record. A phone number nobody knows about defeats the point of a phone, so it makes sense to get a second phone just for this purpose. Head over to your nearest big box retailer like Walmart or Best Buy to purchase the cheapest prepaid phone and plan they have. You’ll only need to use this phone once. Since in this case we don’t plan to use this phone as a tool for anonymity, it’s okay to order online as well. Mint Mobile tends to offer the most affordable plan for our purposes . You can use a spare cell phone that is compatible with their service or purchase a cheap, unlocked flip phone to go with it for about $30. offering a 7-day trial for just $5 Once you have your prepaid device go ahead and activate it by following the instructions and note down your new, private mobile number. This is the number you’ll use exclusively for 2FA across all of your services. Before we move on, we’ll want to switch to a free mobile plan so that you don’t have to keep paying for Mint’s wireless service every month. That’s where Google Voice comes in. Navigate to and log into your existing Google account or create a new one. This is a good time to . Once you’ve registered you’ll need to port your private prepaid phone number to Google Voice using Google Voice ensure you have app-based 2FA enabled for your Google account these instructions. You’ll incur a small fee to complete this transaction, usually $20, but in exchange you’ll be able to receive calls and texts at this number absolutely free, forever! That beats buying a monthly plan from Mint in my book. While you can accept calls and texts from your browser using Google Voice, that’s a pain in my opinion. I suggest downloading the Google Voice app ( , ) to receive texts on your mobile device. It goes without saying that you shouldn’t use Google Voice’s forwarding service to forward your texts to your primary number as that would defeat the purpose of this exercise. iOS Android At this stage you can put away your prepaid flip phone or spare device as you won’t need it anymore. You can now set this up as your 2FA phone number on all of your accounts knowing you’re fully protected. Nobody knows your new phone number and even if they discovered it, they wouldn’t be able to get into your Google Account to access it since you’ve enabled app-based 2FA. What About Free VoIP Phone Numbers? Google Voice and many other services actually allow you to register a phone number for free, so why aren’t we using those? You can try it — but most services don’t accept VoIP numbers. The reason why is simple: they are easy and cheap to obtain anonymously so they’re commonly used by criminals and other bad actors. We circumvent this restriction by first registering the number with a prepaid carrier and then porting it over to a VoIP service, Google Voice in our case. The services you use have no way to know how you’re receiving your messages, they simply know which numbers are reserved for VoIP services and block those numbers from registering. You’ll be in the clear as you’re using a number originally reserved for prepaid carriers. Conclusion While there is a minor cost and time commitment to implementing this safety measure, it pales in comparison to the financial and emotional complications of a breach. This solution will effectively protect you from the large majority of cyber threats without that much effort on your part. Cybersecurity is certainly one area where it pays to be proactive! data This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute financial, legal, or cybersecurity advice. The information is presented as-is and you are encouraged to do your own research before taking any action. If your life, safety, or livelihood is at risk you should consult a security professional.

How to Protect Yourself From Sim Swap Attacks

As I recently, the Internet of Things (IoT) has been experiencing, at a minimum, some serious growing pains. This is particularly true for consumer IoT where a lot of old issues (interoperability) remain, while others (security) are becoming more concerning. With a few bright exceptions, many consumer IoT products solve first-world problems, often representing a marginal improvement over existing solutions. wrote But the IoT was always meant to be more ambitious and exciting than just the smart home, the factory or other discreet “single-player mode” use cases. , where connected objects could be tracked and activated across wide geographic areas, supply chains, health systems and other contexts representing trillions of dollars of economic value. The internet of things was always about networks Rather than IoT, perhaps we should start using the expression “ ” more frequently to describe those networks. With the parallel progress of machine learning at the edge, intelligent infrastructure will enable software-based intelligence to permeate the physical world, enabling real-time optimization and orchestration of connected “things” (objects, vehicles, machines, buildings), at a system level. Uber, Lyft and others give us perhaps the closest approximation what such networks could look like at scale, except that, in an intelligent infrastructure paradigm, such communications would be machine-to-machine, with no human in the loop. intelligent infrastructure Building blocks: the connectivity issue The problem is that, for all the noise about the Internet of Things over the last few years, we are just starting to deploy the first building blocks necessary for such intelligent infrastructure to become a reality. As often in such circumstances, there is a chicken and egg problem. Infrastructure is necessary for applications to thrive, but developers of infrastructure want to see momentum in application development before doubling down on their investment. Connectivity, in particular, is . Certainly, technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, Zigbee and Z-wave are adequate for short-range connectivity. But for the kind of network scale required for intelligent infrastructure, it is very much early days. a surprisingly unsolved problem Connecting things over a long distance is an arduous task that has very specific requirements: connectivity needs to be (as you won’t go around changing batteries in millions of connected objects) and (many of those things will very small amounts of data, often quite infrequently). Traditional long-range solutions such as cellular or satellite are way too expensive for this scenario. long-range, low-bandwidth, battery-efficient cheap Solutions have started appearing. Some are startup efforts, such as Sigfox (a dedicated cellular IoT network) and LoRaWAN (a standard promoted through the LoRa alliance). Those are Low-Power WAN (LPWAN) wireless technologies, designed specifically to interconnect low-bandwidth, battery-powered devices with low bit rates over long ranges. In addition, over the last year or two, big carriers have jumped into the action, with two types of offering: Narrow-Band IoT (or NB-IoT, used by Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile and Dish Networks) and LTE Cat M1 (Verizon and AT&T). And there is a lot of hope (and hype) around 5G for the most intense IoT use cases (such as autonomous cars), but it is years away at best, at least in the US. All the above are encouraging solutions, but they are still a lot of trade-offs involved. Take cost for example — the cheapest NB-IoT offering will still cost $6 a year per connected device; the necessary hardware modules are still quite expensive, and building at the chip level requires tremendous firmware expertise as the cellular stack is very complex. The Helium network Is there a better way? I will speak about one example I am familiar with. Over the last couple of weeks, , a San Francisco based startup in which my firm FirstMark is a proud investor, alongside Khosla Ventures, GV and Munich Re, introduced a really interesting new network concept, which has the potential to be the best of all worlds and substantially accelerate the rise of intelligent infrastructure. Helium Helium is — it will enable the long-range connection of devices to the Internet in a way that is cheap, secure, open and battery-efficient. a connectivity network for machines You can think of the Helium network as , not entirely dissimilar to, say, Airbnb — with the important difference that Helium will not charge participants on each transaction (more on this later). On one side of the transaction, you have the network participants that need the connectivity, for example, enterprises that need to connect machines to the Internet (in the Airbnb analogy, they would be the people renting the apartment). On the other side of the transaction, you have participants that provide connectivity (in the Airbnb analogy, they would be the people owning the apartment). a two-sided marketplace How do they provide connectivity? They use physical devices called , which they can either buy from Helium or build themselves, as the specs are completely open. Gateways can be installed anywhere — in your company, store or home window. gateways Gateways help connect devices to the Internet using , called WHIP, which is developed by Helium, but completely open. WHIP is a remarkable protocol in that it is both low-power and highly efficient. With WHIP, devices can communicate over many square miles in dense urban environments or hundreds of square miles in rural settings. To do so, it doesn’t require any kind of special hardware (like GPUs), and it essentially consumes the same amount of power as an LED light bulb. a new wireless protocol A decentralized approach Now, why would anyone want to through the effort of becoming a connectivity provider in the Helium network? This is where the come in. Helium blockchain and Helium token I know… it is difficult at this stage of the crypto hype to not roll one’s eyes at the mention of another blockchain solution. Also, the intersection of two buzzy terms such as IoT and blockchain seem to be the type of things venture capitalist dreams are made of, but an otherwise very perilous place to be. Now, , due to scalability issues, as widely by Vitalik Buterin and other luminaries. However, Helium is not trying to run the IoT on the blockchain, but “merely” connect machines to the Internet, so that data-intensive computations can be processed in the cloud. processing a massive amount of IoT transactions on the blockchain itself is challenging acknowledged In Helium’s case, using a blockchain-based approach makes a lot of sense, and may in fact turn out over the next few months to be one of the most interesting use cases of blockchain technology out there. I was privileged to start working with Helium almost from inception (I literally wrote the first non-founder $250,000 check in the company back in 2013), and the concept at the time was very much what it is today: build a broad IoT network, where connectivity would be provided not by installing massive cell towers, but through a distributed approach involving people and companies deploying small gateways that would eventually add up to create network density. However, beyond concerns that new and cheap connectivity technologies would quickly appear given the size of the IoT market (this, interestingly, never happened), we could not convincingly figure out how we would , quickly and in large numbers, except through paying them sums of money that would would add up and ruin the entire capital efficiency of the model. So Helium took a detour for a few years building and selling IoT connectivity technology in “single player mode” for Fortune 1000 companies. incentivize people to join the network Fast forward to today, and the emergence of the blockchain now makes possible what was not at the time. The core idea of a token economy is precisely to enable the creation of networks and that plagues all new networks (nobody wants to join a network if there’s nobody relevant on it already). By enabling participants to earn tokens by undertaking certain activities desirable for that specific network, blockchains help incentivize people to join networks early in their existence (while it’s still easy to obtain tokens, and the value of tokens is at the beginning of the appreciation curve), and align economically the various participants long term without requiring a trusted relationship between them, or the blessing of a central authority granting permissions or incentives on the network. solve the “cold start” problem In Helium’s case, the that things are able to use to connect to the Internet. Therefore, participants that undertake that activity (“miners”, in crypto parlance) will be . Users (machines) that use this wireless network coverage pay tokens to the miners to send data to and from the Internet. desired activity is to provide wireless network coverage rewarded with tokens Providing network coverage in the Helium network is a physical activity involving specific hardware, making Helium almost , and this is arguably a new concept in the crypto world. For comparison, in the bitcoin world, miners earn tokens (bitcoins) by solving complicated math puzzles, providing computational power that secures the network (what’s known as “Proof of Work”). a “physical” blockchain In contrast, in the Helium network, miners prove that they are providing (or verifying that other miners provide) wireless network coverage through a brand new mechanism called “ ”. This mechanism establishes that miners are operating the right type of radio frequency hardware and firmware that’s compatible with WHIP. It also establishes that the miners are indeed established in the location they claim, therefore providing the coverage they claim to be providing. Proof-of-Coverage Helium joins a small club of companies that are truly leveraging blockchain technology for its ability to accelerate the creation and administration of a decentralized network, such as Protocol Labs (IPFS document sharing network) or Golem (computing resources sharing network). It is worth noting that the Helium network will truly be a “Decentralized Machine Network”. In particular, there will be for participants to generate and utilize network coverage, which is a radical concept, particularly compared to coverage provided by telecom companies. Helium will make money by providing additional services and products around edge orchestration, reporting and wallet management. no toll of any kind levied by the network Next steps The Helium Decentralized Machine Network will officially launch in Q4 2018. There will be no flashy, celebrity-sponsored ICO at Helium, which views the use of tokens as a long term way of building the network, and will issue tokens in a way it hopes will set a new standard in token issuance from a regulatory and compliance perspective. Beyond blockchain-based incentives, Helium will ensure initial network density through a number of partnerships with individuals, companies and municipalities. If you are interested in joining this effort, you are encouraged to reach out to them! You can learn about Helium in their , on , in the or on Vinod Khosla’s . white paper Telegram MIT Technology Review blog Helium offers the promise of a great building block to facilitate the emergence of intelligent infrastructure. I am hopeful there will be many others around key areas (security, scalability, data analysis, etc.) that will help the Internet of Things realize its true potential.

T-MOBILE US

t-mobile.com

10K+ employees

Since 1899

COMPANY RANKING

T-MOBILE US

EVERGREEN INDEX #402

Representing this company? Click here to claim and customize this page!

T-Mobile US WIKI

Apply to get your Tech Company News Page live on HackerNoon.com today!

T-MOBILE US

t-mobile.com

10K+ employees

Since 1899

COMPANY RANKING

T-MOBILE US

EVERGREEN INDEX #402

RELATED COMPANIESRANK

STORIES ABOUT T-MOBILE US

Representing this company? Click here to claim and customize this page!

T-Mobile US WIKI

Apply to get your Tech Company News Page live on HackerNoon.com today!