Friday, January 31, 2014

How Does The Free Services And Softwares Can Cost High?

How Does The Free Services And Softwares  Can Cost High
Of course it is awesome to get something totally free of cost, isn�t it? But are you aware that the free thing can cost you much more in near future. How? Let us study. Many of the service and softwares are sold free of cost just to populate it in a large number of people. Some �business minded� individuals thought that it would be �cool� to add some advertisements to such applications to earn money. As �Excess of anything is bad�, too much of greed and rise in difficulty in advertising led to the birth of adware and spyware.
Adware is type of malware, which misleads, corrupts and harasses the users by popping out unwanted or irrelevant advertisements. They sometimes consist of viruses and Trojans. While the spywares, justifying its name, spies on the user�s activities and online behaviour and reports to the concerned person.

How bad they can be?

Adwares and spywares being malware can affect you and your website or system to a greater extent.
  • They can help intruders add viruses and Trojans into website and system.
  • They can help other malwares to be injected into your website and system.
  • Can slow down your website/system�s performance.
  • Clashes with other softwares and tools.
  • Help hackers gain access to your credentials.
  • Can result in to theft of your valuable data and sometimes even money.
  • If you are an adware-spyware victimized website, you may become the source of spreading the viruses and Trojans and hence can get blacklisted and ultimately can lose reputation.

How can you prevent being a victim?

Now, that you aware regarding the ill-effects of the adwares and spywares, you should be cautious while exploring the Internet.

Following points will help you keep a safe distance from adwares and spywares:

  • Avoid visiting on suspicious website: Don�t get into those websites which is not trustworthy or is famous or experienced as a spreader of malwares. Stay away from Piracy; often the pirated softwares contain viruses and Trojans (avoid sites like warez).
  • Don�t click on the pop-ups and other ads: Never get drifted away by the pop-ups and ads especially those asking �click here� or �Yes or No� even asked while installing the software.
  • Give a little test to pass: Softwares like Spychecker can help you out to find whether the software you are going to install is bugged with a spyware or not.
  • Secure your system: Install anti-virus softwares and keep them updated. They will help you around detecting the viruses and Trojans and will also help remove them.
  • Use Firewall: Firewall helps prevent entry of hackers and will always ask permission before allowing any traffic to enter. As in the case of Adware and spyware they definitely need to deliver their information collected and with Firewall on, you can successfully stop them doing so.
  • Scan your website/system: Get a malware/adware/spyware scanner installed. Scanning will not only help you detect the injected malicious substance but also removes them, if found any. Ad-Aware is one such program.
Security is very sensitive matter for both the IT service providers and users. One should proceed very carefully. As for the IT service providers like software publishers, website owners, e-commerce website owners, e-mails service providers and so on should install SSL certificate for better performance and uninterrupted growth.

For users, well, always look for two symbols �https� and a green padlock in the address bar. Download softwares from the real authors only and stop propagating piracy.

Abel Wike is a head of fraud prevention team at ClickSSL who enjoys the challenges of creativity and pay attention to different security aspect. She is always looking for evolving technology news especially on security and its prevention ideas which can help user to avoid prospect attacks. Follow her on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Hackers Outside Hollywood - How Hacking Really Began?

Hackers Outside Hollywood
Before Hollywood took the hacking phenomena under its wing, unless you were a clued-in techy, the world of hacking would be unfamiliar territory. In recent years, movies like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Matrix and The Italian Job have managed to glamourize the high-tech thrill of breaking into servers, cracking door codes and hijacking security networks.
But before television brought the hacker technology into our general knowing, hacking was still an occurring reality for some. So what is the history of hacking and where did today's sophisticated hacking begin?

Late 1950s � The MIT Start Off with a Bang

Hacking wasn�t always about computers. In fact, the first �hackers� were roof and tunnel hackers, which the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was instrumental in introducing. These were people who entered roof and utility tunnel spaces without authorization, in other words getting into a place they shouldn�t be in � which is where computer hacking got its name when people started using technology to get into data systems they shouldn�t have access to!
Roof and tunnel hacking was initially intended as practical jokes and saw the hanging of banners from tall places and the popular placing of a model car on the top of a university building. Unsecured entry points would be used to gain access and cause mischief as per the desire of the hacker.

Early 1970s � The Era of Phone Phreaking

phone phreaking
The telephone network was the first technological victim of hacking know as Phone Phreaking. It was ingeniously discovered that whistling down a phone in a specific tone could in fact force a switchboard to allow calls. The exploitation of telecommunications systems using audio frequencies was further enhanced by the use of tone-generating devices to permit even free long-distance calls.
Phone Phreaks� were committed to gaining unauthorized access to telephone systems, which quickly saw the evasion become a criminal offence.

Mid 1970s � A New Level of Virus Sophistication is Met

In 1975, several Motorola staff unearthed a way to crack the security system on the Xerox machine using a simple programming strategy. They reported the problems as a matter of urgency to Xerox but when no action was taken to resolve the loophole, Motorola staff mischievously installed programs named Robin Hood and Friar Tuck.
These programs were designed to cause mischief in the system such as printing insulting messages to each other or making huge old disk drives �walk� across the floor, and the programs prevented the system operator from aborting them by protecting each other and persistently reappearing after rebooting of the system.

2007 � The Return of Urban Exploration

The 1950s exploration of physical spaces returned with Parkour and free-running as a more creative mode of accessing abandoned and forbidden places. Parkour involves running, jumping, swinging and vaulting over obstacles in the hope of trespassing � all in the name of creativity and freedom, and all, technically, a form of �hacking�.

The Present Day � 'Information wants to be free'

free information hacking
Technology activists and the availability of free online schools has encouraged the illicit access of information. Online schools such as Udacity, Codecademy and Khan Academy have provided people with the tools required for coding and have led to an increase in the number of code-literate individuals. With a booming number of techies, breach of online security systems has also proportionally risen.

It seems that with the advancements in technology and the evolving of hacking with time, we can anticipate a nightmare future of computer hacking. Prevailing hackers are likely to turn their attention to governmental projects and entering mainstream security systems by clever impersonation. Computer coding has become child's play for many and it is anticipated for budding hackers to seek opportunities to enter the world of biohacking, where even the software of life and our DNA itself remains unsafe!

What do you think will be next in the world of hacking?

About Guest Author
Gregg Townsend is passionate about everything from gadgets to web-design and likes to keep up to date with the latest news regarding hacking. Connect with him here on Twitter.

Friday, January 17, 2014

How To Remove All Your Google Web History?

Remove entire Google Web History
As most of you already know, Google keeps a tab on pretty much everything you do on a Google site, provided that you signed in on any one of these websites. Everything you do is recorded, and can be used against you in the future. Search data can reveal particularly sensitive information about you, such as facts about your location, interests, age, religious views, and so on. You can, however, choose to not be so vulnerable, and can remove all of your Google web history to protect yourself from an unforeseen eventuality.

In this post, I'll show you how to remove your entire Google web history.

Before we begin, please note that any data you remove will be deleted permanently. Google keeps a lot of useful information that helps you find what you're looking for faster. It gives you quick access to webpages you've visited in the past, and even lets you know in search results which pages you've visited, and when. This information can be useful if you're a power user, and like to get things done quickly.

Google Web History

But if you still want, you can go ahead and erase your entire web history. You can also pick and choose individual items to remove, so that you won't lose everything.

Delete your Google Web History

Follow these steps to partially or completely.

  • Step 1: Visit your Google History page at https://www.google.com/history. Alternatively, you can click the gear icon  on the upper right corner of a search results page, and then go to Search history.
  • Step 2: Click on the gear  icon again, and then go to Settings.
Settings
  • Step 3: Click on the delete all link. You'll be prompted for a confirmation. Click on Delete all again, and your entire search history is gone!
  • Step 4 (optional): Click on the Turn off button on the Settings page to stop Google from storing your history again

If you don't want to delete your entire history, you can select individual items from the History main page, and delete them. This, by no means, implies that Google has nothing more to do with your data. They still keep some of your information on their servers for auditing and other such purposes. But at least your personal data is off the line now, and isn't susceptible to leaking out into the wrong hands.

Rest easy :)

Cool Services To Enhance Your Email Experience And Boost Productivity

Email applications to boost productivity
In today's world, the most common means of communication used over the internet has to be the E-Mail service because of its high usage in the corporate section. However, owing to the several subscriptions and spam mails, an email inbox is pretty much hard to read and finding a particular message in it may even take a day. Your inbox therefore seems like a trash can with the most important items at the bottom. But, you can effectively manipulate that trash can and get useful info out of it using some cool email application available. Instead of wasting your time trying to sort out your inbox, let's take a look at some services that can do the job for you.

What mostly fills up your inbox are the online websites you subscribed to and the spammer dudes. The former is easy to handle but the latter is just tasked with making your life worse. With 9999+ unread emails in your inbox, you can see how impossible will it be to look for a particular one especially where the search feature also doesn't work well. Today, we'll take a look at some cool email services that will not only sort out your inbox neatly but will also be helpful to you otherwise. The list isn't sorted.

1. NutshellMail

nutshellmail
NutshellMail from Constant Contact is a tool that lets you effectively deal with your social media networks updates. You can say goodbye to the thousands of email updates you receive from Facebook, Twitter, LinkesIn, etc. every day because NutshellMail can keep you informed about them using a simgle message only. NutshellMail summarizes the several updates and keeps you informed about the major occurring events. The In-A-Nutshell version not only tells you what you needed, but also saves a lot of your time.

2. Unroll.me

unroll.me
Unroll.me is an online tool that knows its way around the subscription emails. It would effectively scan your inbox and combine the several messages from your subscribers into one mail that you can read or ignore. The good thing is, you can also delete all the unwanted emails using a single click. Unroll.me also gives you the option to unsubscribe from the various online services you subscribed to. All in all, your inbox would just contain the important emails after having a session with Unroll.me. It only however supports Gmail and Yahoo Mail.

3. SaneBox

sanebox
SaneBox, the online paid tool would analyze each email and determine its importance based on your past interaction with the sender and then would sort out the unimportant ones and move them from the inbox to a new folder named the SaneLater and provide a digest of all those mails. It also helps you to managing your email attachments via cloud services. You can unsubscribe from any service you want by a single click. You get the service at a price of $2.04 per month while a free 14-day trial is also available. It supports all the major email platforms.

4. Mailstrom

mailstrom
Mailstrom works with all the major email platforms and helps you to get rid of the junk mail using artificial intelligence techniques that identify the spam and unwanted mails. It would then allow you to archive or delete the junk in bulk and clean your inbox in no time. Mailstrom also lets you unsubscribe from various online sources and helps you sort the incoming messages based upon several parameters. You can also add multiple email accounts and hence receive and manage all the junk from one place.

5. AwayFind

awayfind sms notifications
AwayFind doesn't really clear up your email inbox from the junk but helps you to grab the important mails out of it using notifications. You can add an email account and set certain notifications criteria and AwayFind will notify you whenever a enw mails arrives that satisfies that criteria. Thus, the need to regularly check your inbox for your important mail is gone since you'll be notified when its there. It can notify you via SMS, Twitter, IM tools or through its iOS/Android app. The service is free for one email account but you need to pay $15/month to add up more.

So instead of hesitating to take a look at your enormous inbox, you can actually sort it out and use it well to boost productivity through email. Try any one of the services mentioned and take your inbox from the 9999+ state to Inbox Zero and sure let us know about the big jump you took in the comments section.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Top 6 Websites To Learn Computer Programming Languages

Learn Computer Programming
Ever wanted to learn computer programming languages, but didn't know where to start? Well, those days are over. Today learning programming languages is not really a hard job. If you are a beginner and have aptitude to learn computer programming then you can accomplish this goal within a few months. Here are the top 6 websites, which are useful for learning programming.

1. W3schools.com

If you are a beginner or intermediate programmer, then w3schools is an excellent website for learning programming. W3schools offer tutorials for a variety of web programming and scripting languages such as html, html5, css, asp, Ajax, JavaScript, php, jQuery etc. So, if you are into web development then w3schools would be a great learning resource.

Learn Computer Programming

2. Codeavengers.com:

If you want learn coding for making games, apps or websites using html/html5, css3, JavaScript python, but want an entertaining teaching resource. Then codeavengers.com is ideal choice for you. Codeavengers.com was designed by keeping difficulty for beginners in mind. It provides a fun and interactive learning environment that is effective for all age groups. Even if you are an intermediate programmer, you might find some great learning stuff there.

Learn Computer Programming

3. Codecademy.com

Codeacademy is another great website, for learning languages like JavaScript, HTML/CSS, PHP, Python, and Ruby. You can even learn how to use some popular web APIs in your website or app.  Codeacademy has a great modern learning system, which is based on user interaction. It has full-fledged programming courses for beginners. Again, this website is great for beginners and intermediate learners. But advanced programmers can also find some pretty useful stuff there.

Learn Computer Programming

4. tutorialspoint.com

Tutorialspoint has tutorials for a lot of web, high level and scripting languages that are commonly used today. You can find tutorials for any computer language that you have ever heard of (those that are currently in used). Apart from that, it also features a variety of tutorials for other fields such as DIP, OS, SEO, Telecom, DBMS, and frameworks etc.  Some commonly used languages that you can learn there are: Java, C++, PHP, Python, Ruby, C#, Perl, VB.Net, ios.

Learn Computer Programming

5. msdn.microsoft.com

Although, beginner programmers might find MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) a tough learning resource, it is still the best resource you can get, if you want to master Microsoft oriented languages such as VB.Net, C# etc. MSDN has great tutorials for beginners, intermediate and advance programmers.

Learn Computer Programming

But as I stated earlier, beginners might not be initially comfortable with MDSN, as I has really a lot of resources that it would be a hard time for beginners to find what they are looking for. But if you get used to MSDN, then it is the ideal learning point for Microsoft oriented languages. You can get a lot of sample applications, tutorials and resources that are uploaded by Microsoft and MSDN community. Since it�s a developer�s network, you can even find development help from community members.

6. Lynda.com

You might already know about Lynda.com. Lynda offers easy to follow video tutorials. Lynda.com is an old and well established tutoring site, if you are looking for video tutorials to learn computer languages, then Lynda is your ideal choice. Apart from programming languages, Lynda also offers tutorials for a variety of other fields such as 3D modeling, CAD, Photography etc. Lynda.com is an old and well established tutoring site.

Learn Computer Programming

So the next time someone asks you about your computer skills, you know where to turn. I hope you will learn a lot from these websites. All the best :)

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Top 6 White Hat Hackers In The World

Top 6 white hat hackers
Let� begin with who is a white hacker? First of all, white hacker is good, conscientious and ethical hacker, who tries to save the balance of the universe by doing good works. White hats are very useful and it goes without saying they constantly compete with black hats. White hats hackers can be compared with cats, which catch mice, namely they look for defects of the systems. Besides, white hats are computer security guards, they test systems for the level of protection and moreover they improve their skills. Mainly, white hats don�t look for fame or money, they serve in society.
It is undeniable that sometimes black hat hackers became white hackers and prevent crimes, because they perfectly know what to do. So who are they main and most famous white hats of all times?

Before you move on further with this post you might like to read about Top 6 Black Hat Hackers.

1. Stephen Wozniak

Stephen Wozniak white hat hacker
Stephen Wozniak, The Great Woz, as many hackers call him, moreover,  he is �the second half� of Steve Jobs and Apple empire, became as an icon and inspiration for many people, who never lost interest in computer technology. What did he actually do? It is well-known today that he made free long-distance calls possible exploring so-called blue boxes, at the time, when high technology has made its first baby steps.  Nevertheless, one should accept that Woz is an independent developer and worked for the good of people. Currently, Stephen Wozniak is preaching charity and provides new technologies. One can truly say that Stephen Wozniak made a difference in this world and he deserves to be called as a white hat hacker.

2. Tim Berners-Lee 

Tim Berners-Lee white hat hacker
Tim Berners-Lee is well-known around the world as fonder of the web we use - World Wide Web. No wonder that this man invented his first computer using iron, as they say necessity is the mother of invention. Doubtless, his innovating had led him to becoming a president of the Open Data Institute in 2012.

3. Linus  Torvals 

Linus Torvals white hat hacker
Linus  Torvals created Linux operation system, which many of us use. At the beginning, this system was about to be called as Freax, using the combination of words � freak� and �free�. Luckily, nowadays we know it as Linux.  As Linus himself once said that all he wanted to have fun doing something he really enjoys. This seems to confirm the idea that it is the great result of having fun!

4. Tsutomu Shimomura 

Tsutomu Shimomura  white hat hacker
Tsutomu Shimomura is also a very good example of a white hat hacker. The bottom line is he tracked down another hacker � Kevin Mitnick, who actually was a black hat hacker. However, later on he has entered the ranks of white hats. Tsutomu Shimomura caught Mitnick with flying colors hacking Mitnick�s phone. Good job catching �black knight�. Currently Shimomura is CEO and CTO of Neofocal System.

5. Richard Matthew Stallman 

Richard Matthew Stallman white hat hacker
Richard Matthew Stallman is known also by his initials � RMS. His policy is to give users freedom of usage software as well as education, freedom of voice and choice. He has developed Free software foundation, GNU project, which allows use computer and its devices for free
What is more, RMS is a founder of copyright concept. Among the list if his merits are 14 doctorates and professorships.

6. Johanna Rutkowska.

Johanna Rutkowska white hat hacker
When it goes about technology and computers, most of the time we mentioned men. Women weren�t pathfinders in this area, however, they have done enough to be mentioned among outstanding white hats. Thus, this smart lady could hide root kits in software and hardware and to make them invisible to a naked eye. One must admit the talent of he woman. To draw the conclusion, one can say that enumerated people have brought its own contribution in foundation and innovation of computer technologies. Until the world has such brainy �white knights�, its save.


Paul Smith, as a talented writer and well-known blogger, is wonderful worker of bestresumewritingservice. This brilliant writer is very good at computer technology, computer history and innovations. To find out more about Paul and his works, you can reach him at Google+

Monday, January 6, 2014

How To Download APK Files Directly From Google Play?

Download APK Files
Usually, people get apps for their android device by downloading them from Google Play Store. The downloader gets the app installed for you, without bothering you with unnecessary details like the files required for installation etc. But what if you don�t have access to internet and you want an app installed on your phone? Surely you can�t do so without downloading stuff required for the installation. The solution to this problem is simple - just get the APK package of the desired app, and keep it beforehand for later when you need.
APK stands for Android Package. It�s actually a package which contains all the files necessary for installation. In other words, it�s a �standalone� installer for your app which doesn�t require internet connectivity. You can get APK package of an android application from Google Play Store by simply adding an extension called �APK Downloader� to your Google browser. Here we have a step by step procedure which will tell you how to add APK Downloader to your Google Chrome and subsequently, use it for getting APK packages
Once downloaded, the extension is to be added to your Google Chrome Extensions. To do so, follow these steps.
  • Go to the �Tools� menu of your Chrome and select �Extensions�.
  • Locate the file you just downloaded (with extension �.crx�)
  • Now drag the file to your Extensions page.
  • For confirmation look for a small Play Store icon on your address bar
To configure the APK Downloader extension for your android device
  • Select the �options� button on the menu
  • Enter the Gmail ID (the one required for Play Store)
  • Enter your password and device ID of your android device

For those of you who don�t know where to get device ID of your android device
  • Dial  �*#*#8255#*#*� from your android phone
If you are using an android tablet
  • Go to Google Play Store
  • Download �Device ID�
Device ID

Device ID will get your device ID for you.

Getting APK of an app is simple, just locate the app you want (on Play Store) and clicking on the APK icon on your address bar will get you your precious APK for that app. Another good thing about APK package is that it makes app sharing simple, now you can share an app with your friends by simply transferring the package to their device.

APK Icon

The APK and APK Downloader will make your life a lot easier if you face problems in installing your favorite apps due to connectivity issues or if you like to share your favorite apps with your friends.

Did you find this post useful? Did you have any problems? For any query, please ask in the comments section below. Cheers :)















Sunday, January 5, 2014

6 Most Common Password Cracking Methods And Their Countermeasures

6 method used to crack passwords
There are number of methods out their used by hackers to hack your account or get your personal information. Today in this post i will share with you guys 6 Most commonly used method to crack password and their countermeasures. You must check out this article to be safe and to prevent your online accounts from hacking.

1. BruteForce Attack

brute force attack
Any password can be cracked using Brute-force attack. Brute-force attacks try every possible combinations of numbers, letters and special characters until the right password is match. Brute-force attacks can take very long time depending upon the complexity of the password. The cracking time is determined by the speed of computer and complexity of the password.

Countermeasure: Use long and complex passwords. Try to use combination of upper and lowercase letters along with numbers. Brute-force attack will take hundreds or even thousands of years to crack such complex and long passwords.
Example: Passwords like "iloveu" or "password" can be cracked easily whereas computer will take years to crack passwords like "aN34lL00"


2. Social Engineering

Social engineering is process of manipulating someone to trust you and get information from them. For example, if the hacker was trying to get the password of a co-workers or friends computer, he could call him pretending to be from the IT department and simply ask for his login details. Sometime hackers call the victim pretending to be from bank and ask for their credit cards details. Social Engineering can be used to get someone password, to get bank credentials or any personal information.

Countermeasure: If someone tries to get your personal or bank details ask them few questions. Make sure the person calling you is legit. Never ever give your credit card details on phone.

3. Rats And Keyloggers

keylogger
In keylogging or RATing the hacker sends keylogger or rat to the victim. This allows hacker to monitor every thing victim do on his computer. Every keystroke is logged including passwords. Moreever hacker can even control the victims computer.

Countermeasure: Never login to your bank account from cyber cafe or someone else computer. If its important use on-screen or virtual keyboard while tying the login. Use latest anti-virus software and keep them updated. Check out below article to know more about Rats and Keyloggers.

4. Phishing

phishing hacking
Phishing is the most easiest and popular hacking method used by hackers to get someone account details. In Phishing attack hacker send fake page of real website like facebook, gmail to victim. When someone login through that fake page his details is send to the hacker. This fake pages can be easily created and hosted on free web-hosting sites.

Countermeasure: Phishing attacks are very easy to avoid. The url of this phishing pages are different from the real one. For example URL of phishing page of facebook might look like facbbook.com (As you can see There are two "b"). Always make sure that websites url is correct. Check out below article to know more about phishing.

5. Rainbow Table

A Rainbow table is a huge pre-computed list of hashes for every possible combination of characters. A password hash is a password that has gone through a mathematical algorithm such as md5 and is transformed into something which is not recognizable. A hash is a one way encryption so once a password is hashed there is no way to get the original string from the hashed string. A very commonly used hashing algorithm to store passwords in website databases is MD5. It is almost similar to dictionary attack, the only difference is, in rainbow tables attack hashed characters are used as passwords whereas in dictionary attack normal characters are used as passwords. 

Example: �hello� in md5 is 5d41402abc4b2a76b9719d911017c592 and zero length string ("") is d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e

Countermeasure: Make sure you choose password that is long and complex. Creating tables for long and complex password takes a very long time and a lot of resources

6. Guessing

password guessing
This seems silly but this can easily help you to get someones password within seconds. If hacker knows you, he can use information he knows about you to guess your password. Hacker can also use combination of Social Engineering and Guessing to acquire your password.

Countermeasure: Don't use your name, surname, phone number or birthdate as your password. Try to avoid creating password that relates to you. Create complex and long password with combination of letters and numbers.

Friday, January 3, 2014

How To Run WhatsApp On Your Desktop Computer?

Run WhatsApp on your desktop computer!

WhatsApp is a really cool messaging app that lets you send messages and chat with your buddies absolutely free of charge! It is the most popular messaging app for Android and iOS smartphones, and rightly so! It connects people from around the world. But the problem is, it's only made for smartphones. You can't use it well on older/feature phones. And even if you do own a smartphone, it drains away your precious battery time, since it needs internet connectivity to do its thing. Well if you're like me and don't want to let battery timing get in the way, there's a solution! You can install and use the app right from your desktop computer!

What is WhatsApp?

WhatsApp is a free messenger designed to be used on smartphones. It works over the internet and allows you to talk to any person living anywhere on planet Earth provided that you know their cellphone number. The app is designed for Nokia Symbian, iPhone, Android and Windows Phone devices and it�s completely free to use for the first year. Don�t let that last line bother you, since there are ways to get it for an unlimited time.

I did not mention PC or Mac in the supported platforms because this app is not officially available on them. But the title wasn�t misleading since we got it running on a PC and Mac.

What will I need?

The tools or rather software that you need is a simple Android emulator for PC/Mac. The one we�ll be using is the well-known Bluestacks App Player you can download from the link provided below.
And yes, WhatsApp will need your cell-number so you better make sure you have one.

Your system must have a 1GB+ RAM for running the emulator. Good graphics card and processor will obviously result in better rendering but a simple one would also do. Mac OS X or PC with XP SP3, Vista, 7 and 8 are supported.

Let�s Begin�

The steps shown below work for both PC and Mac. Just make sure you download the correct version of Bluestacks.
  • First up, download and install Bluestacks app player. It�s a straight forward installation. However it might want to download extra stuff so your internet connection better be working
  • Run the player from the desktop icon. You�ll get to a screen similar to the one shown below
BlueStacks
  • Click on the Search icon and enter WhatsApp
  • Select WhatsApp Messenger from the list and proceed to the installation. It might also ask you for a Google account, just provide that right away. Since it is an Android emulator, you�ll be navigated to Google Play. Click Install and it�ll start the download.
Download WhatsApp
  • And that�s it! WhatsApp will ask you to enter a valid phone number. The verification will also work through that number so you better enter it correctly.
  • Great! Now you can use WhatsApp the way you do it on a smartphone. You can customize your profile, contact all your friends regardless of which platform they are running the app on and also get live notifications of new messages from the emulator.
Use WhatsApp!

You can open up the app form the My Apps category in the main screen.

So why WhatsApp?

There are several other such messenger services available on the same platforms. You have Viber, Wechat, Kik and whatnot. Firstly, WhatsApp is the most popular app of the lot. Secondly, WhatsApp has got everything - you can communicate text, images or even high quality videos with friends. Plus, it�s simple and easy to use. And if your one-year free license expires, you can always reinstall the app to get it back.

WhatsApp is not officially released for PC/Mac but there are ways like the one mentioned above that make that happen. The methodology is simple but works quite well. WhatsApp is also the best of its kind which makes it a must-have. Just in case you were wondering throughout this tutorial, YES you can run any android app/game on the software mentioned. Guess your life just got better, much better!

Got any questions? Feel free to shoot 'em in the comments section below. Cheers :)