Hackers now executing low-profile attacks to steal money: Trend Micro

Cybercriminals are moving away from attention-grabbing ransomware attacks to more covert methods intended to steal money and valuable computing resources globally including in India, cyber security leader Trend Micro said on Thursday.

Crypto-jacking -- where a hacker steals cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin from digital wallets -- attempts are making the biggest impact so far this year, said the report titled "Midyear Security Roundup 2018."

Trend Micro recorded a 96 per cent increase in cryptocurrency mining detections in the first half of 2018 compared to all of 2017, and a massive 956 per cent increase in detections versus the first half of 2017.

This indicates that cybercriminals are shifting away from the quick payout of ransomware in favour of the slower, behind-the-scenes approach of stealing computing power to mine digital currency.

"In the wake of several breaches over the last few years, the country is reeling under the spate of attacks that have compromised databases belonging to banking institutions, government email servers, and Indian enterprises at large," said Nilesh Jain, Vice President-South East Asia and India, Trend Micro.

"We have also seen few Public Cloud providers getting compromised this year. Next year, the customers who don't take adequate measures to their applications or data which are hosted in Public Cloud, might even get compromised," he added.

Another shift in the first half of the year is toward unusual malware types, such as fileless, macro and small file malware.

Trend Micro recorded a 250 per cent increase in detections of one particular small file malware "TinyPOS" compared to the second half of 2017.

"The recent change in the threat landscape mirrors what we've seen for years that cybercriminals will constantly shift their tools, tactics and procedures (TTPs) to improve their infection rates," said Jon Clay, Director of Global Threat Communications for Trend Micro.

-GoITWay

AMD says India has become its biggest PC chip market

Chip maker Advanced Micro Devices is seeing a resurgence in the semiconductor market and India is playing a major role in its turnaround.

“India has become the No. 1market for AMD in the commercial PC segment,” Mark Papermaster, chief technology officer of AMD, told ETin an interview. “This is because of a combination of two things-—winning government tenders and working with large corporations in India.”

AMD is targeting the commercial PC market with its Ryzen Pro chipsets where customers can buy commercial PCs from vendors such as HP, Dell and Lenovo. Papermaster said the company has been successful in government tenders in India.

While vendors like Dell or HP bid for government projects, AMD offers solutions for the compute power they get with the PC and helps manage their IT facility.

Analysts say AMD has a historical record of focusing on government business. “We can’t see them reporting the types of wins they are gaining. Historically, however, they have focussed on winning government deals and working with vendors bidding on government contracts,” said Alan Priestley, research director in semiconductors and electronics research team at Gartner.

-GoITWay

TCS to open up AI platform Ignio to third-party players

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is running controlled experiments on how to open up Ignio, its artificial intelligence platform, to third party developers including rivals to build applications on, as India’s largest IT services firm attempts to establish a software brand.

The plan for Ignio, launched commercially three years ago, looks a lot like General Electric’s strategy around its internet-of-things platform Predix. Companies can use applications built by other IT services firms on the Predix platform. But TCS is working on Ignio’s business model, sales and branding strategy to differentiate it from its traditional services model.

“Right now, it is a stage where we are doing controlled experiments on how to open it up to everybody. Who can build on it? It is friends and family right now. We will open it up, but we have to learn how to crawl before we start running,” said Harrick Vin, global head of Digitate. Digitate is the unit that houses Ignio.

Ignio helps clients cut operational costs by automating repetitive tasks — IT operations, batch processing and running business software systems such as SAP. Ignio is sold as a standalone product with additional services through a separate unit called Digitate

-GoITWay

When we build for India, we build for the world: Google

NEW DELHI: Google unveiled a host of ‘Made-for-India’ products including a bulked-up payments app as it steps up focus on building technology for users in one of its largest markets that it can also take to other geographies. 

The US internet giant introduced a facility for customers to access loans from banks through its Google Tez app, now rebranded Google Pay; a stripped down version of its latest operating system Andriod Pie; and a platform called Navlekha that will enable regional languages content firms to publish online quickly. 

It also launched a bilingual version of Google Assistant that can seamlessly switch between Hindi and English, as well as a Marathi version of its artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistant. 

Caesar Sengupta, vice-president, Next Billion Users initiative and Payments, at Google, said when Google builds for India, it builds for the world. “Many governments across the world are asking us to bring digital payments in their country. So rebranding Tez as Google Pay will act as a unifying experience,” he said at the company’s flagship ‘Google for India’ event in New Delhi on Tuesday. 

Google, which in January 2016 launched its ambitious project to offer free Wi-Fi in 400 railway stations in India, announced the next leg of the Google Station project for around 10 million people in over 12,000 villages in Andhra Pradesh. The Google Station project since has been launched in Mexico, Nigeria, Thailand and Indonesia. 

The company also said Samsung has joined phonemakers including Micromax, Lava and Nokia that are building devices compatible with Google’s Andriod Go operating system meant for low-end handsets. 

As for Google Pay, the company said it would focus on onboarding more online and offline merchants to drive use of the UPI-linked platform. About 22 million users have conducted 750 million transactions worth about $30 billion on Tez since it was launched in India in Sept last year, according to the company. 

Google is working on integrating companies such as Uber, Redbus and Bookmyshow on its payments platform. It is also partnering with Pine Labs, which deploys credit and debit card readers at stores, to have a presence at big retail chains such as Big Bazaar and FBB. The company said it is targeting 15,000 retail touch points by Diwali in November. 

Advertisers on various Google platforms as well as consumers using its Play Store will be able to transact using Google Pay. 

Calling out “voice, video and vernacular” as the next big trends, Rajan Anandan, vice president, India and Southeast Asia, at Google, said India has witnessed a 270% yearon-year increase in voice searches. “There will be over 500 million Indian language users over the next two years,” he said. 

Google’s Navlekha project will provide a handy online publishing tool for local language newspapers and content companies—90% of which do not have a website, the company said. Among its other new initiatives for driving internet use in local languages, Google will start offering its feed bilingually. Its audio page feature will be available in Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu, while Google Assistant will be available in seven more Indian languages apart from Hindi and Marathi. 

-GoITWay

Google releases AI-packed Android 9 Pie

Google has released its latest version of Android Operating System -- Android 9 Pie, which harnesses the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to predict how users would like to experience their devices while offering a smoother navigation system and an easier way to track and limit usage of apps.It comes with features like Adaptive Battery, which learns the apps you use most and prioritises battery for them.

A new system navigation feature

Android 9 features a new system navigation featuring a single, clean home button. Users can swipe up to see a newly designed "Overview", the place where you have at-a-glance full-screen previews of your last used apps.The "Smart Text Selection" feature is designed to make switching between apps easier.Google said Android P also brings a redesigned Quick Settings that offers among other things a better way to take and edit screenshots, simplified volume controls, and an easier way to manage notifications."With Android 9 we have made software more secure from Code-reuse attacks, and installed features which add a layer of security to biometrics," Google said.

-GoITWay

WhatsApp to train users on dangers of fake news

After being asked by the central government to take steps to stop the spread of disinformation on its platform, WhatsApp on Wednesday roped in New Delhi-based non-profit Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) to create awareness among its users about the need to verify information. 

"Our goal is to help keep people safe by creating greater awareness about fake news and empowering users to help limit its spread," Ben Supple, Public Policy Manager at WhatsApp, said in a statement. 

In a meeting with WhatsApp CEO Chris Daniels on August 21, Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad instructed the Facebook-owned platform to comply with the law of the land and take "suitable" steps to prevent its misuse. 

The meeting took place after several lynching incidents were linked to the spread of misinformation on the instant messaging platform which has over 200 million monthly active users in India. 

As part of the new partnership with WhatsApp, DEF has committed to holding 40 training sessions for community leaders in 10 states across the country where there have been worrisome cases of violence and where there will be state polls before the end of the year. 

DEF said it would help educate government officials, administration representatives, civil society organisations and students to spread the word about this challenge. 

The training is expected to enable WhatsApp users to differentiate between opinions and facts, and to inculcate a habit of verifying information through simple checks before forwarding it to their friends and family. 

In addition, DEF said it would incorporate this new training as part of their network of over 30,000 grassroots community members in seven states. 

"We at WhatsApp and DEF hope these training workshops will help build an empathetic and conscious community of WhatsApp users who learn to respond rather than react to every message they receive," said Osama Manzar, Founder-Director of DEF. 

WhatsApp has already taken several technological measures to curb the problem of disinformation, including the introduction of the "forwarded" tag and limiting forwarding to five chats at once. 

"In addition to the steps we are taking within WhatsApp, we believe impacting lives through the power of education is critical to helping achieve the vision of a 'Digital India Supple added. 

-GoITWay

Fresh scheme via merchants to help BHIM gain currency again

On the birth anniversary of Bhimrao Ambedkar on April 14 this year, the government had rolled out a slew of cashback incentives for consumers and merchants to popularise its marque United Payments Interface (UPI)- based app BHIM.

The scheme was, however, rolled back within months. Some media reports said that was because people were gaming the system to earn cashback by just transferring money among themselves. It turns out that the real reason was different. The ministry of electronics and IT had no money to keep giving out the cashback, a top government official said.

When it announced the scheme, the ministry had approval of Rs 500 crore for it, but it was only on paper, the official told ET on the condition of anonymity. “The ministry managed around Rs 100 crore to give out incentive which was already promised by adjusting the money through the merchant discount rate incentive scheme.”

Incentives offered in the scheme included Rs 51 cashback on a minimum transaction value of just Rs 1 for first-time users, and Rs 25 cashback per transaction for 20 unique transactions in a month, for consumers, while merchants could receive cashback of up to 10% of a transaction and up to Rs 1,000 per month.

The ministry is now working on a revised scheme, which would be targeted at merchants, the official said. “It’s not that the first scheme did not meet its purpose; it did introduce many new people to the BHIM UPI even though some of them may be doing it only for the cashback. But this time the incentives will be more focused on merchants.”

The government feels that incentives through the merchants could drive the usage higher rather than just peer-to-peer payments, the official said.

The government is still working on the details of the merchant cashback scheme. Having learnt its lesson, it plans to first seek funding of Rs 130-140 crore and then roll out the scheme over the next few weeks, the official said.

: GoITWay

Indian firms lead IT transformation in Asia: Dell EMC

NEW DELHI: When it comes to IT transformation, 17 per cent of organisations in India have achieved the fully Transformed status -- a much higher percentage than was observed in other Asian countries researched (4 per cent), a Dell EMC study said on Tuesday.

Respondents at the transformed companies in India were 8.5 times more likely than legacy or emerging firms to say their company almost always makes better and faster data-driven decisions, the findings showed.

A whopping 90 per cent of Indian respondents agreed that failing to embrace IT Transformation will hurt their company's competitiveness.

"Today, Indian organisations not only realise the importance of transforming their IT infrastructure to ensure they have a competitive edge to reduce costs, but they also now know that it is crucial to turn data into business intelligence," said Rajesh Janey, MD and President, Enterprise India, Dell EMC.

: GoITWay

How often Google, Apple track you even if your 'location history' is off

Earlier this month, an investigation uncovered that Google stores the location of Android and iPhone users even if the users’ privacy settings say otherwise.
A new study now reveals just how often both Google and Apple mobile devices actually send data back to home base. The results are bound to shock you.

Both companies keep tapping into mobile devices for data when they are idle and in use. When not used, Android phones send information to Google around 40 times per hour and the total rises to 90 information requests per hour for Android phones when they are being used.

Apple fares a tad better. When your iPhone is idle it sends info to Apple’s servers 4 times an hour. During normal use, the number goes up to 18 for iPhones.
According to the study, Google even collects more data from iPhone users than Apple itself. But it only works when the phone is used. In idle mode iPhones very rarely communicate with Google’s servers. The study, however, has been challenged by Google.

: GoITWay

Panel Discussion at Food and hospitality expo2018

Companies incentivised to employ Goans: Parrikar

Porvorim: Chief minister Manohar Parrikar stated on the floor of the House on Tuesday that companies employing Goan youth are incentivised as the government can’t compel industries to employ only Goans.

Replying to a query tabled by Santa Cruz MLA Antonio Fernandes during question hour, Parrikar said it is not possible to find Goan candidates to work in all kinds of industries operating in the state.

“Some 30-40 years ago, all employees at trawlers were Goans. Today, that is not the case. While trawlers are owned by Goans, labourers come from Odisha and Jharkhand,” said the CM, who also holds the industries portfolio. “As much as 99% labourers working aboard Goan trawlers are non-Goans,” he added.

“There are industries for which local manpower is not available. We can’t shut those down,” Parrikar said in response to Fernandes’ question wherein the latter sought to know the number of Goans employed in various industries operational in the state.

-GoITWay

Startup Policy Rundown: Goa Launches IT Policy, Andhra Tops Ease Of Doing Business Ranking, And More

A Rundown Of The Important Developments In Startup Policy Frameworks: July Edition.

Ever since the Centre launched the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) with a corpus of $1.5 Bn (INR 10K Cr) in January 2016, the DIPP (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion) has been aiming to disburse the amount to startups latest by 2025. However, the funding disbursal has actually been coming down with every passing year.

So far, overall 128 startups have received a total funding of around $87.8 Mn (INR 600.5 Cr). However, instead of accelerating the fund disbursal, the DIPP’s allocation to SIDBI from the Funds of Funds for Startups came down to $14.6 Mn (INR 100 Cr) in FY17 from $73.1 Mn (INR 500 Cr) in the previous fiscal.

The number of startup beneficiaries under the Fund of Funds Scheme also came down to 58 in 2017-18 from 62 in the previous fiscal, said minister of state for commerce and industry C R Chaudhary in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

But where central schemes have slowed down in certain areas, Indian states have been furthering the Centre’s Startup India mission. They have been working hard to grow and promote their respective startup ecosystems with a view to climbing up the ladder of the state startup ranking framework defined by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

Even as the country eagerly awaits the startup ranking results, the DIPP, along with the World Bank, recently released the Ease of Doing Business Index. Andhra Pradesh emerged as the winner, Gujarat, which once scored the top rank in 2015, has gone down to the 5th position.

-GoITWay

Goa IT Policy 2018 Aims To Create 10K Jobs For Locals

Chief minister Manohar Parrikar said Goa will achieve 100% online transactions by the end of this year.
The Goa IT policy 2018 focuses on infrastructure development, fiscal incentives, governance, and human resource development.
The IT Policy also promises time-bound approvals of investments and incentives within a 90-day period.

With the aim of boosting the development of Goa using innovation and technology, chief minister Manohar Parrikar along with Union minister for electronics and IT and law and justice Ravi Shankar Prasad launched Goa IT Policy 2018 with the aim of creating 10K jobs.

In a Twitter post, Parrikar said: “Launched the Goa IT Policy along with Union Minister of IT Sh. @rsprasad. Shri @rsprasad also inaugurated the @stpiindia Goa centre. A beginning of a new chapter in Goa’s IT revolution in achieving our goal of making Goa a digital state which will propel #DigitalIndia mission.”

Manohar Parrikar said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a vision of Digital India and has said that Goa can lead the IT sector in India. He also said that Goa would achieve 100% online transactions by the end of this year.

Ravi Shankar Prasad called the Goa IT policy well-thought of and extraordinary. He also announced that Goa would soon have a National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology centre.

-GoITWay

Google may rename Tez as Pay & bring UPI to store

After making a big bang entry into the Indian payments space with Tez, Google is close to renaming the service as Pay and consolidating it under the global payment umbrella of Google Pay, two people in the know of the matter said.

This could potentially open the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as a mode of payment for app purchases on Google Play Store, which experts say is a huge use case waiting to be tapped.

When contacted, a Google spokesperson said there was nothing new to announce at this point in time. “We have always maintained that we will bring payments across different platforms,” the spokesperson said in an emailed response.

Google has been consolidating payments across Asia, so probably would want to use a global name to avoid confusion, one of the people mentioned above said.

- GoITWay

Expert view: Indian banks need to wake up to harsh cyber realities

In August 2018, Cosmos Bank was faced with a cyber attack, resulting in nearly Rs 100 crore being siphoned off. In most developed countries similar attacks are rare. Such incidents require a large number of accounts to transfer the stolen money. With stringent KYCnorms, anti-money laundering measures, multi-level transaction authentication requirements and AIbased real-time ‘unusual’ transaction tracking, carrying out such operations is difficult barring gross negligence by the bank/ related parties.

In most countries, direct money siphoning from banks through cyber-attacks are small-scale frauds through phishing attacks and cloning/stealing of payment cards/net banking identities/information. These are high-frequency but low impact events. RBI data and our estimates show that during 2008-17, banks in India faced 1,30,000 reported cases of cyber fraud involving an estimated Rs 700 crore. This is equivalent to just 0.006% of the outstanding deposits of Indian banks. By contrast, a severe cyber attack can result in bank failure even when no money is lost directly.

- GoITWay

Cognizant to acquire SaaSfocus, expanding salesforce cloud consulting capabilities

Cognizant today announced it has agreed to acquire SaaSfocus, a privately-held consulting firm specializing in digital transformation, leveraging the Salesforce Platform. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018, subject to certain closing conditions. Financial details were not disclosed.

SaaSfocus is one of the largest independent Salesforce Platinum consulting partners in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region with operations across Australia and India. The acquisition will expand Cognizant’s end-to-end digital transformation services and Salesforce cloud capabilities in these growing markets.

- GoITWay

Goa, the next Information Technology hub in the country

The government of Goa has been trying to turn Goa into an Information Technology hub for years. Land was even earmarked in Dona Paula for development of the same some time ago. Now the state cabinet has approved the Goa Information Technology Policy, 2018. This will firmly establish the state as a premier IT destination.

Information technology: The next big thing in Goa

The decision was announced at a press conference on Wednesday after the cabinet meeting. Goa’s Information Technology minister said, “the policy will be one of the best in the country” offering specific incentives to different segments of the industry. Its aim is “to create a vibrant ecosystem for IT and electronics industries.”

The plan is to attract more Goans to set up business in their own home state. They aim to create jobs for at least 10,000 Information Technology professionals right here in Goa along with developing state-of-the-art infrastructure for them at the same time.

In an effort to attract Goans, the policy offers 100% reimbursement of the lease rentals provided for a period of first six months of operation. Also, they will be eligible for a reimbursement of Rs 35 per sqm or 80% of the total rentals, whichever is lower, which will be provided up to a maximum period of two years.

IT Minister Rohan Khaunte said the creation of at least 8000 – 10,000 jobs would be spread over a period of 5 years. Objectives of the policy include:

• making Goa the first choice for new IT companies to set up shop in the state or for expansion in the case of established companies.
• Providing economic support in the early stages of development.
• To build up students’ skills and give them a strong foundation in the IT world at an educational level.
• To ensure that more female professionals are hired.
• To provide hassle-free and proactive governance and regulatory user experience for IT investors.

-GoITWay

Eid-al-Adha, also known as Bakra Eid, is among the two Muslim holidays celebrated worldwide. It is believed that Prophet Ibrahim, father of prophets was challenged by the god to prove his faith in him. God asked him to sacrifice something he is very fond of. He decided to sacrifice his 13-year-old son Ismail. Later, God intervened by sending his angel Jibrail (Gabriel), who then replaced his son with a sheep. Since then people celebrate the festival by sacrificing an animal. The festival pays tribute to one of the greatest demonstrations of faith with Islam. As per the Islamic lunar calendar, Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah and falls approximately 11 days prior to the previous year’s Eid. In 2018, Eid al-Adha is on August 22. As we celebrate Eid al-Adha May the divine blessings of Allah fill your home and heart with the spirit of joy,

and open up newer opportunities for success.

Eid Mubarak to all from GoITWay team

All 8,000 Candidates Failed In This Examination Held By Goa Government

The candidates, all graduates, needed to secure a minimum of 50 marks out of the total 100 to qualify but none qualified it.

GOA: 

As many as 8,000 candidates appeared for an examination conducted for 80 posts of accountant in the Goa government, but all failed the test.

The candidates, all graduates, needed to secure a minimum of 50 marks out of the total 100 to qualify but none got it, a senior official said on condition of anonymity.

Goa's director of accounts, in a notification issued on Tuesday, said none of the candidates, who appeared for the initial recruitment examination held on January 7 this year, secured the minimum qualifying marks required to get through.

The directorate of accounts had advertised 80 posts of accountant in the common account cadre in October last year.

The five-hour examination included a 100 marks paper on English, general knowledge and accounts-related questions, the official said.

The successful candidates were supposed to go through a round of oral interview before the final selection.

Aam Aadmi Party's Goa general secretary Pradeep Padgaonkar criticised the delay in announcement of results and said the failing of all 8,000 candidates is a sad commentary on the "collapse" of the state's education system.

It is a "big shame" on the Goa University and the commerce colleges that produce these graduates, he added.

Kerala floods: Churlish of Indian government to decline UAE's offer of Rs 700 crore for ravaged state

The Government of India has taken the stand that it will meet the financial demands emanating out of the damages inflicted by the heavy rains in Kerala from domestic sources. This is in context of the reported telephone call from Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi making the offer of assistance worth $100 million (Rs 700 crore).

It would be churlish to decline the UAE's offer given the symbiotic ties between it and Kerala, which has the distinction of having sent around 80 percent of the three-million-strong Indian diaspora to the Emirates. It has been a win-win relationship between UAE and Kerala with its enterprising youngsters going there in search of greener pastures mainly in its booming construction industry which has been in decline, of late.

People being rescued from the floods in Kochi. PTI

Certainly, there have been stray reports of exploitation of laborers from India but that does not detract from the mutually-beneficial relationship.  UAE perhaps felt impelled to help Kerala in its hour of crisis may be partially to atone for such exploitation.  Whatever the motives, it would be wrong to stand on false prestige in an hour of crisis.  Had the help come from Pakistan, we could have with reason bristled with indignation at the feigned act of magnanimity.

Former prime minister Indira Gandhi was hailed for her boldness and her faith in self-dependency when she ended the US PL–480 program under which India got free wheat. She followed it up with the green revolution that transformed the agrarian landscape in a largely fecund part of the country. Farmers got their livelihood. To become inured to foreign help for essentials can be devastating for a country when hostilities break out, besides rendering its own workers jobless and hence, worthless. But the UAE offer of help comes without any condescension or strings-attached. Would we say no to the Swiss or a Red Cross offer of help when a natural calamity breaks out? It may be recalled that Switzerland has a formidable reputation for its disaster readiness and infrastructure.

Qatar has offered almost Rs 35 crore (~$5 million) while the Maldives too has offered to pitch in with a modest $50,000. It is one thing to seek UN help — reports have emerged of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor arrogating to himself that role, but quite another to accept the help that is being offered without condescension or strings-attached.

If foreign aid is coming to non-profit organisations (NGOs) that are registered under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), then they will not be taxed. But if donations are received by NGOs that are not registered, then it is counted as the income of the NGO and that will be taxed, a senior Indian government official has said. But the UAE's offer is government-to-government and there is no need to be defensive or cautious about it in this hour of need to rehabilitate the ravaged state. The initial assessment of losses is pegged at Rs 20,000 crore. The Central government itself has pitched in with help of just Rs 600 crore, while other states are offering tiny slivers of this amount for which they cannot be blamed. Of course, the Centre has promised more after making a final analysis.

Autarky is denounced as a pigheaded economic policy that superficially sounds noble in the name of self-dependency. And self-dependency sounds even more adamant and unreasonable in the face of a natural calamity.

That the UPA too spurned foreign help during the Uttarakhand calamity is no grounds for the NDA to follow suit. The UAE might even have the agenda of keeping its Keralite labour in good humor while offering to help, but one should not look a gift horse in its mouth.

The author is a senior columnist. He tweets @SMurlidharan

                                                                                                                -GoITWay

WhatsApp will automatically delete your data from Google Drive if you don't do this

If you are someone who hasn't backed up multimedia files along with WhatsApp chats on Google Drive for over an year then take note. Facebook-owned messaging giant WhatsApp has announced that it will automatically delete personal data of users if the same hasn't been backed up on Google Drive.

So, if you are WhatsApp on one particular smartphone for some time and if you haven't backed up data for over an year, then all data that hasn't been downloaded on your mobile could get automatically deleted. Also, those you have already signed in with Google Drive account on WhatsApp to backup files and haven't updated the backup for over year an year then WhatsApp will automatically delete the last Google Drive backup file. The deadline to manually backup on Google Drive is November 12.

"WhatsApp backups that haven’t been updated in more than one year will be automatically removed from Google Drive storage. To avoid the loss of any backups, we recommend you manually back up your WhatsApp data before November 1, 2018,” said WhatsApp in its blog post.

With WhatsApp becoming the primary multimedia chat platform for everyone, the app tends to claim its fair share of storage. Also, most people backup multimedia files like picture, video sent over WhatsApp on their Google Drive for future references. However, with the limit 15GB of free Google Drive storage space, WhatsApp backups of multimedia files tend to occupy a considerable amount of storage over the period of time. In order to make life easier for WhatsApp users, the Facebook-owned chat platform has partnered with Google to offer to free storage for WhatsApp backup files on Google Drive. This partnership will come to effect from November 12. To get the free Google Drive WhatsApp storage it is recommended that you manually backup your WhatsApp data before November 12.

-GoITWay

Rupee Registers Strongest Single-Day Recovery In 7 Weeks

INR Vs USD: The rupee crashed to a historic low of 70.40 against the US dollar in the wake of Turkey's currency crisis last week.

The rupee on Monday gained 33 paise from its life-time closing low of 79.15 to close at 69.82 against the US dollar. The rupee traded in the range of 69.86-69.60 against the greenback, before finishing the session 33 paise higher. The gains for the rupee came amid easing trade tensions between the US and China boosting most Asian currencies. At 33 paise, Monday's gain marked the biggest one-day jump registered by the rupee against the American currency in seven weeks. The rupee had, on June 29, gained by 32 paise to settle at 68.47 against the US dollar.

Here are five things to know about the movement of the rupee against the US dollar today:

1. The strong recovery for the rupee came on the back of heavy dollar unwinding and a robust rally in domestic equities, news agency Press Trust of India reported. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell 0.01 per cent.
   "The rupee has appreciated today as the US dollar index has witnessed profit booking," Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers' Research Analyst Rushabh Maru told news agency Indo-Asian News Service (IANS).
2. "There is an optimism in the market that US and China would find a solution for ongoing trade conflict. So that has also supported the rupee," he said. Market sentiment globally showed signs of improvement against the backdrop of the upcoming visit of Chinese delegates to the US in order to re-engage in trade talks.
3. The recovery in the rupee against the greenback came after easing of inflation and widening of trade deficit. Trade deficit widened to a more than five-year high of $18.02 billion in July, driven largely by a surge in oil imports, data from the trade ministry showed last week. On the same day, separate data from the ministry showed that wholesale inflation came in at 5.09 per cent in July, easing from an over four-year high of 5.77 per cent logged in the previous month.
4. The rupee had crashed to a historic low of 70.40 before closing at a life-time low of 70.15 against the dollar in the wake of Turkey's currency crisis last week. On Monday, Turkey's lira fell 3.16 per cent to a session low of 6.2 against the dollar.
5. The stock markets scaled fresh record closing highs, with the BSE Sensex gaining 330 points to close at 38,278, and the NSE Nifty settling 81 points higher at 11,551. Advances in metal, infrastructure and auto stocks pushed the markets higher amid gains in other Asian peers.

-GoITWay

India successfully test fires HeliNa anti-tank guided missile

NEW DELHI: India on Sunday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed HeliNa anti-tank missile at the Pokhran Range in Rajasthan. The HeliNa stands for Helicopter-launched Nag, and is a variant of the land-launched Nag anti-tank guided missile.

"The weapon system has been tested for its full range. The 'HELINA' weapon system released smoothly from the launch platform has tracked the target all through its course and hit the target with high precision. All the parameters have been monitored by the telemetry stations, tracking systems and the Helicopters," read a statement from the Ministry of Defence on the tests.

The HeliNa is designed to be launched from the helicopters operated by the Indian Army Aviation Corps. It has been designed to be launched from the HAL Light Combat Helicopter, the HAL Dhruv and its armed variant, HAL Rudra.

The Nag missile, and subsequently HeliNa, are 'fire-and-forget' missiles. That means once locked on to a target before their launch, they have onboard systems that would help track the target's movements and make changes to their trajectory to ensure a hit.

While Sunday's tests of the HeliNa were for the 'lock-before-launch' function, the Nag is also capable of being programmed for a different target after it has been launched towards a previously locked-on target.

Nag and HeliNa are top-attack missiles, meaning they will fly over the target and make contact from above. This is an especially key functionality for anti-tank weapons, considering most tanks and armoured vehicles are heavily armoured on all sides, and feature relatively shielding on their tops.

Anti-tank guided missiles are designed to destroy or debilitate tanks and armoured vehicles. The Nag, the land-operated system from which HeliNa is derived, is also undergoing trials, and is yet to be inducted into the Indian Army. The weapon system has been in development since the 1980s.

-GoITWay

India in total command after Pandya's five-for-28

India 329 (Kohli 97, Rahane 81, Anderson 3-64) and 124 for 2 (Pujara 33*, Kohli 8*) lead England 161 (Buttler 39, Pandya 5-28) by 292 runs

"Is he a batsman who bowls?" "Is he a bowler who bats?" "What is Hardik Pandya?"

In the lead-up to the third Test, it seemed Pandya was the man responsible for the 0-2 scoreline for India. Pandya seemed to be paying the price for ill-conceived comparisons with Kapil Dev early on in his career. What is Hardik Pandya, they all asked?

Pandya to Virat Kohli is the bowler he wants to go to when the lead bowlers are losing intensity in Tests. He is the batsman who will sell his wicket dearly. Pandya had done each of those in the series so far, yet he came into the Trent Bridge Test under pressure. His moment to justify his selection came when Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah had bowled long spells to drag India back into the contest after a horrible start with the new ball. R Ashwin was injured, and India needed a bowler to hold one end up. Pandya did way more, taking five wickets in 29 balls, making sure the hard work of Ishant and Bumrah didn't go to waste.

Pandya, Ishant and Bumrah combined to bowl England out in a session, the third time they have crashed to this ignominy in their last 24 Tests. Despite a start of 46 for 0 before lunch, having taken India's four standing wickets for 22 before that, England crashed to a 168-run deficit thanks to that disastrous session. In the final session, with the mind free and under no pressure, against a demoralised bowling attack, India went on to unleash their range of stroke-play to score at four an over and take their lead to 292.

The real hard work had been done before Pandya came on to bowl, but not even his harshest critic will begrudge him that moment of glory. The comeback for India began when they finally went to Ishant after lunch. Until then, Mohammed Shami and Bumrah had sprayed the ball around. Post lunch, Ishant settled into a Test-match length just outside off. The ball was at a stage where it has started swinging this series. Alastair Cook drove loosely in the first over. Got four. Did that again two overs later. Was dropped. Then pushed at the best of the lot, and the faint edge went for the first of five catches for debutant Rishabh Pant.

The next ball produced the worst shot of the innings. Keaton Jennings had been given a largely untested start for the third time this series. Bumrah was going wide on the crease and angling short balls across him from over the wicket. India were only looking for some control on that run rate, but he managed to poke at one he could have left well alone. Two wickets in two balls.

Now began an unusual form of attack. Unless it is reversing, a lot of Test cricket between right-arm quicks and right-hand batsmen is about the threat of the outside edge. Bowlers keep bowling good length outside off to test the batsmen's technique, every now and then slipping an inswinger or a straight ball to chance an lbw or a bowled dismissal. The pair of Ishant and Bumrah, though, bowl predominantly inswing, looking for bowled and lbw dismissals. One of the pitfalls of this is runs to leg, but when they get it right, it becomes mentally taxing in that you have to play at every ball.

And Ishant and Bumrah got it right this time. They got the field from their captain, and they were at the batsmen throughout their spells of seven and eight overs. What made it more mentally challenging for the batsmen was that both the bowlers displayed they had the ability to threaten the outside edge, which had the batsmen unsure of whether to play or not. Amid all this, when Ollie Pope saw a ball too straight, he failed to keep up with the movement and tickled one down to Pant down the leg side.

The duo had brought India back with 14 overs for 40 runs and three wickets, but it had come at the cost of long spells from each of them. While all this was happening, Ashwin was off the field, nursing a hip injury. Shami had been off colour. India needed someone to keep the intensity going. England's middle order was capable of a fast break. India went to Pandya. Now was his chance to earn his keep.

With the first ball he bowled, Pandya began to do so. Short of a length, wide on the crease, holding its line against the angle, taking the edge of Joe Root's bat for a low catch to second slip. KL Rahul claimed the catch, the umpires referred it upstairs with a soft signal of out. At the first replay, the crowd booed Rahul because it seemed the ball might have bounced, but this was not evidence enough to overturn the soft signal. There wasn't any more. Having marked a fresh guard, Root was asked to walk back. He did so shaking his head in dissent.

At 86 for 4, England began to play too many attacking shots. Instead of trying to wave over the period, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow began playing with hard hands. Both fell soon, Stokes to Shami and Bairstow to Pandya. With Chris Woakes, Pandya changed the plan and bounced him for a tickle through to Pant. The rhythm Pandya had hit was too good for Adil Rashid and Stuart Broad.

Some late hitting from Jos Buttler cut down the lead a little, but it was still too big for England to be able to attack in the second innings the way they have been doing all series long. India batted with swagger. A couple of edges went into gaps. Even before you blinked, the lead swelled to 200. Even Cheteshwar Pujara raced away to 22 off 18 before slowing down. Just to tease England further, the sun came out in the final session, telling them what could have been if they had shown the technique to last that middle session.
                                                                                                                           -GoITWay

England vs India 2018: Gautam Gambhir Feels India Can Still Beat Hosts

Out of favour Team India opener, Gautam Gambhir feels that India still has a chance of winning or levelling the five-match Test series against England. He said as India is facing a do or die situation as they're set to take the field for the third Test at Trent Bridge on Saturday (August 18). It will be a big occasion for India as they try to save the series.

Despite India's mediocre performance in the series so far, Gambhir has backed them to make a comeback. During an interview with the Times of India, he also revealed that he would give wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik another one of two matches rather than bringing in Rishabh Pant straightaway.

He stated that Karthik might be struggling to score runs, but if someone is on the brink of his career, he should be given another chance.

The southpaw said that Pant has a long future in front of him and can wait. However, it will be on the team management and the captain and the coach to take the final call.

Gambhir felt that making too many changes would give a signal to the opposition that they are completely shattered. He also felt that the return of Jasprit Bumrah will undoubtedly bolster the team.

In case he is unfit Umesh Yadav should be the bowler they should go for.

-GoITWay

Airtel Expands Unlimited Broadband Data Plans to More Cities as Jio GigaFiber Registrations Open

Just days after Reliance Jio started taking registrations for the highly anticipated Jio GigaFiber broadband service, Bharti Airtel has started expanding its truly unlimited broadband data offerings in more cities. The latest move, which is certainly aimed at taking on Jio GigaFiber, comes days after Airtel was spotted offering unlimited broadband plans in Hyderabad - without any explicit FUP limits. With the expansion, the same treatment has now been given by the New Delhi-based telco to its broadband subscribers in circles such as Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Delhi-NCR, Indore, Jamnagar, Kolkata, and Mumbai, among others. Airtel is also offerings benefits such as Amazon Prime subscription and data rollover to take on the GigaFiber service that is touted to deliver up to 1Gbps download speeds.

Initially, Airtel was offering unlimited broadband data to its subscribers in Hyderabad. The service provider notably brought unlimited data for all the existing plans in the city, even with the lowest, Rs. 349 plan that offers 8Mbps of Internet speed along with unlimited local and STD calls. However, as the Jio GigaFiber service is about to hit certain circles in India, Airtel has expanded its unlimited broadband data offering and removed the existing FUP limits to other circles as well.

-GoITWay

PM Surveys Kerala Floods, Grants Rs. 500-Crore Emergency Aid: 10 Points

Kerala Floods: "It is an extremely grave situation," the Kerala government said last evening. North and central Kerala have been worst-hit by the floods with at least 310,000 people displaced. They are taking shelter in more than 2,000 relief camps.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:  324 people have died and several hundred others injured, as Kerala is battered by the worst floods in a century. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took an aerial survey in Kerala's Kochi this morning, after a short delay due to unfavourable weather conditions. He was accompanied by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Hundreds of thousands have been shifted to relief camps as nearly 100 dams, reservoirs and rivers have overflowed. Roads have caved in, sections of highways collapsed, and homes swept away amid warnings of worse weather to come. With thousands still trapped, power and communication lines down, and fresh alerts of further torrential rain, authorities warned of more trouble ahead and further deaths to come. More than 30 military helicopters and 320 boats are attempting rescues across Kerala. Heavy rain, accompanied with strong winds have also been predicted for today and tomorrow. "It is an extremely grave situation," the Kerala government said last evening. North and central Kerala have been worst-hit by the floods, with at least 310,000 people displaced. They are taking shelter in more than 2,000 relief camps.

-GoITWay

Google admits to tracking users even after they turn off location tracking

After facing criticism over reports that certain Google apps track users' whereabouts even when they turn off location data, the tech giant has revised its Help Page, clarifying that it does track location data in order to "improve Google experience".

Previously, the Help Page stated: "You can turn off Location History at any time. With Location History off, the places you go are no longer stored."

The page now says: "This setting does not affect other location services on your device, like Google Location Services and Find My Device.

"Some location data may be saved as part of your activity on other services, like Search and Maps".The new language confirms that location data is, indeed, being tracked by some Google apps.

"We have been updating the explanatory language about Location History to make it more consistent and clear across our platforms and help centres," CNET reported on 17 August, quoting a Google spokesperson.

- GoITWay

Asian Games 2018: India rely heavily on PV Sindhu for medal; Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy have mountain to climb

All eyes will be on the strong Indian badminton contingent as they take on Asia’s best bets inside Jakarta’s noisy Gelora Bung Karno Sports Palace at the 18th edition of the Asian Games, starting from 18 August.

Despite boasting the likes of Prakash Padukone, Syed Modi, Pullela Gopichand, and, in more recent times, Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu and doubles veteran Ashwini Ponnappa, it is surprising that India has never won a silver medal at the Asian Games, let alone a gold.

In the previous editions, Indian shuttlers have managed to win eight bronze medals, with the richest haul coming in the 1982 Asiad in New Delhi with five medals — three in individual categories and two in team events.

The 18th edition of the Asian Games, however, presents Indian shuttlers with the best opportunity of breaking this long-standing hoodoo. However, their recent performances state the otherwise. The current crop of Indian shuttlers is under scrutiny for their recent performances at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour events.

- GoITWay

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Atal Bihari Vajpayee, ex-PM and BJP stalwart, dies at 93; Narendra Modi calls his demise 'personal and irreplaceable'

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, one of India's most charismatic leaders who led the nation through several crises while holding together a tenuous coalition with his inclusive politics and superlative oratory, died in New Delhi on Thursday. He was 93.

Vajpayee, a bachelor, is survived by his adopted daughter Namita Kaul Bhattacharya. He will be cremated on Friday in New Delhi.

"It was Atalji's exemplary leadership that set the foundations for prosperous and inclusive India in the 21st century," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, leading the nation in mourning the demise of the nationalist stalwart whose popularity cut across party lines.

Vajpayee's death was announced by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) hospital where he was admitted on 11 June with a variety of ailments.

"It is with profound grief that we inform about the sad demise of Former Prime Minister of India, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, at 5.05 pm," the AIIMS said in a statement.

- GoITWay

Happy Independence day

Wishing you all Happy Independence day. Jai Hind
_ GoITWay team

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