Huge security improvements to Facebook Messenger and Spotify are apart of their latest updates

This week both the popular messaging app Facebook Messenger and the music streaming app Spotify have released large updates that improve security. With cyber security becoming more of the norm in the media, especially after Yahoo’s massive data breach, we expect everyone should want to keep as secure as possible.

After Yahoo’s large data breach, who’s news extends to become more and more shocking now the world has been informed Yahoo and the FBI have been scanning their users emails for the last two years, ironically for security purposes. Computer users and businesses have gone more security mad then ever before, and so they should. Sky and BT have been rushing their customers to change their email passwords, simply because Yahoo run their email services, and within 2 weeks of Yahoo’s major news Facebook and Spotify have released large security updates to their applications. Question is, what do the updates bring to the users?

Spotify Pop-up add update

Spotify recently announced they had fixed a serious problem in their application that allowed third-party apps to automatically open virus-infected websites on users devices. Scary right! Imagine the the most popular music streaming app being the cause for millions of devices becoming infested with malware. It’s like Limewire all over again!

Spotify have been calling the dangerous third-party adverts “Malverts” and said that they had been appearing on subscription-free services across Windows, Mac and Linux machines. Spotify’s Subscription-free service allows users to stream music for free with the added interuptions of Spotify adverts and thrid-party adverts. Spotify have said that they have “Identified the source of the problem and shut it down.”, they also suggest that all users ensure they keep Spotify updated and have said that “Users should install antivirus software that will catch malvertising before it can do any harm.”.

Facebook Messenger Encryption Update

In 2014, the social media giant Facebook purchased the popular growing messaging app Whatsapp, despite already having their own messaging application Facebook Messenger. A few months ago Facebook released an update on Whatsapp that makes all messages encrypted and therefore more secure. This update was a big hit for security enthusiasts, such a big hit that Facebook have decided to release a similar update to their Messenger application.

The update doesn’t encrypt all messages, it does however if you make each individual conversation “Secret”. To do this you’ll first need to activate ‘Secret Conversations’. On the app go to ‘Me’ and turn on ‘Secret Conversations’, You will then need to select each conversation you’d like to make “Secret” and select ‘Secret’ in the top right of the message. After selecting ‘Secret’ you should see a clock in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, selecting the clock allows you to set a destruct time from between 5 seconds to a day. If you were to set the clock to a day, then the messages in the conversation would delete after a 24 hours of being opened.

One problem with Facebook Messengers “Secret Conversations” update is that making a conversation secret disables the fun parts of the application like it’s GIFs, videos and voice calling. Which will likely mean that the younger generations won’t be enabling this function.

So after a bad week of security panic we finally have some form of relief as we begin to see giant tech firms crackdown on protecting their users. The disappointing truth with cyber security is that we will never be fully secure, but it’s great to know that the apps are keeping active and fixing their vulnerabilities.