eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
Today’s topics include Microsoft’s release of the Skype Translator for Android and iOS, the availability of Android Pay for in-app purchases, Sprint’s offer to give away 32-inch Samsung TVs with some Galaxy smartphone models, and how MacKeeper leaks reveal the danger of misconfigured databases.
Skype Translator enables users to conduct online conversations between a handful of languages. Now, courtesy of the updated Microsoft Translator apps, it’s available on iOS and Android devices.
Microsoft first introduced the real-time translation application last year during a demonstration at the Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., which allows users to carry on cross-language conversations by simply speaking in their native tongue. Now, by linking an Apple Watch or Android Wear smartwatch, users can have a conversation without having to rely solely on their smartphone.
In other Android-related news, users of several Android applications will now be able to pay for in-app purchases using Google’s Android Pay mobile payment app.
There are currently about 20 apps that support the feature, including Lyft, OpenTable, Instacart, DoorDash and ParkWhiz. And now, users of these apps can pay for purchases and services by simply tapping the Android Pay button within the app. Google is promising that many more Android apps will soon support the mobile payment app.
Sprint is giving away free 32-inch Samsung LED televisions to new customers switching to Sprint, or to existing customers who purchase a new Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, or Note 5 smartphone as part of an upgrade or new line of service.
The promotion begins on Dec. 18 and runs through Dec. 24, or until supplies run out. For those customers making the switch to Sprint, they can combine the free TV deal with Sprint’s other recent offer of 50 percent off on the mobile plans they purchased from competitors AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.
A security researcher gained access to a database holding information on millions of users of Kromtech’s often-criticized MacKeeper Mac OS X utility program.
Kromtech revealed on Dec. 14 that the action came after a simple Internet search revealed that the MongoDB database server supporting MacKeeper was misconfigured.
The database stores customers’ names, purchased products, license information and user credentials, including hashed passwords, Kromtech stated in a blog post on its MacKeeper site. Researcher Chris Vickery notified the firm after using the Shodan port-scanning service to find MongoDB servers with unsecured ports.