Mobile – PSafe Blog https://www.psafe.com/en/blog Articles and news about Mobile Security, Android, Apps, Social Media and Technology in general. Thu, 19 Jan 2023 14:49:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.3 https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/cropped-psafe_blog_purple-shield-32x32.png Mobile – PSafe Blog https://www.psafe.com/en/blog 32 32 <![CDATA[The Best Apps for Father’s Day]]> https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/the-best-apps-for-fathers-day/ Thu, 14 Jun 2018 12:00:07 +0000 https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/?p=18175 Father’s Day is on June 17 and it’s the perfect time to give back to your dad with mobile apps that will make his life easier. There’s an app for just about everything these days and the ones we recommend are geared towards appeasing your father’s musical taste, helping him find the perfect brisket recipe, or facilitating his search for the ideal home.

Read More: 5 Ways to Turbo Charge Your Smartphone’s Internet Speed

Read more to learn which 5 best apps your dad deserves on Father’s Day.

Get Dad to Download StubHub
One of the most popular apps of the last 5 years has been StubHub, which compares ticket prices from various websites in order to find your dad the best deal. Whatever his musical taste or favorite sport may be, StubHub can be tailored to find tickets for the right event on any given night. The app can be linked to your dad’s Spotify, plus it can connect to various e-payment platforms to ensure every transaction is hassle-free.

Help Dad Find His Dream Home
If your father is on the hunt for some new real estate, Zillow.com will help him find a more comfortable home for the entire family. The home search app has an intuitive and logical user interface to search for the ideal home based on your dad’s price range. It can also help him sell his current home by valuing properties in his neighborhood.

For the BBQ Hero of Your Life
If your dad loves to grill meats, check out hundreds of recipes on the Weber Grills app. Each recipe has step-by-step instructions, a built-in grill timer, and a grocery list feature to keep your father’s grilling days organized.

When Your Dad is Mad About Sports
Perhaps the hottest sports app at the moment is Bleacher Report, which offers timely scores and news in football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and just about any sport imaginable. The app can be programmed to fit your dad’s interests so he gets notified of the latest stats for his favorite teams.

Improve Your Dad’s Mobile Performance
The best app for optimizing your dad’s mobile device is dfndr performance, which has a quick cleanup feature that gets rid of old files that could be slowing down his phone. It also has an app manager function to remove unused apps he no longer needs. A memory booster feature can enhance his device’s RAM speed as well. After all, you have to help him make room for all these awesome apps. 🙂

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<![CDATA[How to Be a Good Employee and Reduce Security Risks to Your Company]]> https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/how-to-be-a-good-employee-and-reduce-security-risks-to-your-company/ Tue, 22 May 2018 12:00:20 +0000 https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/?p=18130 As more and more companies operate in a digital world, it’s imperative that employees understand how to handle sensitive corporate information appropriately. Recently, hackers were able to obtain five million credit and debit card numbers by breaching the security at both Saks, Inc. and Lord & Taylor. The result is a devastating hit for both organizations, but more tragic is how easily the situation could have been avoided.

The hackers were able to access the system of both retailers through an online phishing attempt in which an employee likely opened a malicious email or web link. With access to sensitive information, employees are one accidental click away from causing a detrimental disaster. Here are some tips on being the best employee at your organization and keeping company secrets safe.

Follow Best Practices to Avoid Phishing
Let’s begin by tackling the misstep that led to Saks, Inc. and Lord & Taylor taking such a hard hit. Phishing attempts happen when a malicious individual attempts to gain your trust to obtain sensitive information. Two conventional methods of phishing can include having you actively respond to what you believe is a safe email or merely manipulating you into clicking on a dangerous link.

Read More: 5 Things You Can Do to Prevent Phishing Scams at Work

When receiving an email, be sure to note where the message originated from. On a computer, use your mouse to hover over the email’s ‘From’ field to view the full email address of the sender. You can accomplish the same on your smartphone by tapping on the ‘From’ field with your finger. Carefully gauge if the name of the sender matches a known email address. Hackers will try to create fake, but eerily similar email addresses of your colleagues to fool you. If the name and known email address don’t match up, there’s a chance you could be the target of a phishing attack. Be sure to contact your company’s IT department for further instructions.

Securely Lock Your Mobile Device
The amount of information we carry around on our smartphones can be surprising. In addition to your personal information, there’s a good chance that you might have a corporate email account on your device. Or perhaps, you may have direct access to critical systems. For those reasons alone, it’s vital to protect your smartphone with a password or pin code. Avoid using memorable dates, repetitive patterns or other easily guessable information when securing your device.

Increase Your Device’s Security
It can be challenging to ensure your device remains wholly secure and unaffected by malicious malware – after all, we’re only human. Your best defense is using a third-party solution to keep an eye on your device at all times. An app such as dfndr security has an anti-hacking feature, which alerts you to malicious websites before you even click on a link. Helping yourself with some personal security can aid your professional life, and hopefully, your proactive steps will win you an “employee of the year” award.

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<![CDATA[How to Use WhatsApp Effectively]]> https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/how-to-use-whatsapp-effectively/ Thu, 17 May 2018 12:00:57 +0000 https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/?p=18052 Many people get overwhelmed by the plethora of messages received on WhatsApp, causing them to lose interest in using it. While the messaging platform can be difficult to navigate at times if you have too many unread messages, following a certain set of rules can make your WhatsApp experience more enjoyable.

Read More: Is WhatsApp Using too Much Space on Your Phone?

Using dfndr performance’s WhatsApp cleaner is one way to streamline your connections. The app can help you get rid old files such as videos, audio messages, GIFs, and images that no longer serve you. Besides considering a good cleaner app, there are many ways to use WhatsApp more effectively.

Focus On Why You’re Using the App
If your WhatsApp has plenty of messages that you haven’t touched, try to decide what’s priority and why you’re using the app. If you have business obligations and you’ve got personal messages, focus on your business needs before turning your mind to home-mode. Likewise, if you’re out with friends, don’t use WhatsApp to discuss business.

Get Rid of Automatic Downloads
While it may be tempting to check out every funny image, video, or GIF that comes your way, change your settings so you can filter them. With WhatsApp, you can choose to turn off automatic downloads, which helps block random messages that contain images from people you don’t know very well. Beware: a message that only has an image and no text could be malware.

Response Time On Replies
You don’t need to open every message that comes your way, but when you do open one, answer it right away because you might forget to later on. Plus, if the person on the other side sees the ‘read’ receipt, they may think you’re ignoring them rather than saving the conversation for later. Be proactive, but also be picky about what messages you open.

Last Tips and Tricks
Sending a message to multiple people is easy, all you have to do is click the ellipsis and choose to broadcast a message, and then decide who to broadcast to. You can also reduce data usage if you’re in another country or in a low-data zone by clicking ‘low data usage’ in your WhatsApp settings. Plus, you can mute chats and groups that are too noisy at any given point.

Heed these practical tips and you’ll be on the right path to communicating effectively with your friends and family on WhatsApp.

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<![CDATA[Facebook Knows Your SMS and Android Phone History]]> https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/facebook-knows-your-sms-and-android-phone-history/ Tue, 15 May 2018 22:19:59 +0000 https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/?p=18178 It was recently discovered that Facebook has been keeping tabs on all your Android SMS and phone usage history for years. The company recently announced that it would suspend the activity of third-party data brokers from the websites in order to reduce data collection for advertising parties. However, this announcement only came out after the company was called out for storing information from personal interactions.

Read More: How to Analyze Junk Files on Your Smartphone?

A good way to protect yourself from these situations is with dfndr performance’s Facebook Messenger cleaner feature, which allows you to delete old conversations and files. Here’s what you should know about Facebook’s recent debacle and the information they gathered while you weren’t paying attention.

Your Data Has Been Known for Years
New Zealand-based programmer Dylan McKay was among the first to discover that Facebook was all up in his business. He sent out a tweet that revealed a downloaded ZIP file from the social media site, containing complete logs of his outgoing calls, incoming calls, and SMS. Other users followed suit by reporting similar discoveries that raised hard questions on how much privacy you really have on Facebook.

Facebook Claims “We Keep You Connected”
A spokesperson for Facebook responded to McKay’s claims by saying that the company has been uploading the contact data of its users in order to make it easier for people to remain connected, much like other social media sites. This was especially true with old Android phones, which had looser permissions on what information Facebook could attain from your digital interactions.

Because these permissions weren’t as strict, the Facebook app removed restrictions at the time of installation that normally protects phone logs and SMS data. Google eventually made changes to ensure that users are notified of what type of information they’re willing to share with Facebook and what data they’d like to keep to themselves.

The Network Found a Way Around This Privacy
Even after Google changed the privacy permission settings, independent developers found a workaround and still collected SMS and phone data until the launch of Google 4.0 on the Android API last October. You can check your call and SMS logs on the Facebook app by clicking on Settings>Download. To grab a copy, go to Facebook data>Start My Archive. You can turn on the Facebook continuous upload setting on the Messenger app if you’d like to protect your privacy.

Protect Yourself With a Security App
With dfndr performance’s Facebook Messenger cleaner, you can delete old files in your chats, including videos, audio messages, GIFs and images shared on Messenger. You can choose a date range to decide how much data you’d like to get rid of — an easy fix to keep your personal information safe.

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<![CDATA[Avoid Overcharging That Precious Phone]]> https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/avoid-overcharging-that-precious-phone/ Fri, 11 May 2018 12:00:57 +0000 https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/?p=17745 One of the biggest mistakes many people make with their phone is overcharging it, which can have dire consequences on battery life. While modern mobile devices are equipped with the ability to not overcharge or overheat, there is a downside to leaving your phone connected to your charger for too long. A good way to protect your phone from losing battery capacity is with dfndr performance’s total charge feature, which helps protect your battery life with one tap.

Here’s why overcharging your phone is a no-no and could have lasting negative effects.

Read More: Why Does Your Phone Notify You When It’s Fully Charged

Avoid ‘Trickle Charges’
Most modern phones are equipped with lithium-ion batteries and charging capabilities that are more efficient than regular rechargeable batteries. This means that once they reach 100%, your charger will stop fueling your device. However, if you leave your phone charged overnight, it will lose bits of battery here and there, resulting in “trickle charges” that ensures your device stays at 100%.

Constantly charging your phone over the course of hours slowly reduces battery life capacity, so it’s wise to avoid this practice. Having a high voltage will stress the battery unnecessarily.

Other Smart Charging Practices
You also shouldn’t wait until your device reaches 0% to charge because that can harm the battery. To optimize battery life, wait until the battery is down to around 35% to 40% before charging. Also, consider replacing your phone every few years to avoid dealing with these issues. if you’re on a tight budget and can’t afford to buy a phone that frequently, the right charging practices can add mileage to your current phone.

Choose the Right Adapter and Charger
When shopping for a charger, you can learn a lot about how it will affect your phone based on the amp rating. The ideal rating is 5.0V->1A, which refers to how quickly your phone will charge; higher amp ratings charge faster, while lower ones charge slower. With a 1A charger, your phone will charge at the optimal speed to help keep your battery life strong in the long term.

Get Performance-Enhancing Software
Finally, the right app can ensure that your phone fires on all cylinders. With dfndr performance’s total charge feature, you’ll be notified when the charging process is complete and can unplug your phone. The feature also has a charger monitor screen that activates once you connect to a charger, letting you know how long a full charge will take.

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<![CDATA[Remove Old Files That Are Deadweight for Your Smartphone]]> https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/remove-old-files-that-are-deadweight-for-your-smartphone/ Tue, 08 May 2018 12:00:30 +0000 https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/?p=17772 We all enjoy the speed of a brand new smartphone, but over time that responsiveness could disappear into thin air. You may not know this — the speed of your device is still there, but merely buried under collections of old files and photos. If you’re a shutterbug or can’t bring yourself to part with old files, you might have to get used to a slower device.

But if you’ve had enough, whipping your smartphone back into shape is simple and that’s where dfndr performance can help. With a quick cleanup feature, your junk files can be removed with ease by scanning your SD card, trash, cache, and temporary files to free up space on your device.

Let us show you why those files are slowing your Android device down and how to take care of it quickly.

Why Your Phone Seems So Dang Slow
A vital question to first address is wasn’t your smartphone designed to store a high number of files and photos? In short, yes, your smartphone is indeed equipped to handle a specific number of files. Smartphone manufacturers release different models that vary in capacity, so it’s always important to make a selection based on how much data you plan to store. However, a bit of extra room should still be available for the phone system itself.

Read More: These 5 File Types Are Using up All of Your Phone’s Memory

When you choose a function on your phone, such as opening an app or shooting an HD video, your device needs extra space to process temporary information.The system needs to search for somewhere it can save data as it works, so if space is limited, the system might be fighting other apps that also need storage on your device.

When your smartphone saves a photograph or video, it must first be split up into different pieces. Your phone’s internal memory does not always have free areas right next to one another on the disc. As a result, your device may cut up data into smaller pieces and spread it around as it sees fit. This process can cause what is called “fragmentation”, which slows down your device as it attempts to find all the various pieces it needs.

Be Proactive About That Deadweight
If you’re worried about the state of your smartphone, start cleaning out any old, duplicate photos that you might have. Old applications that you no longer use might also be taking up quite a bit of space. Take the time to take care of your smartphone, and in return, it will provide a speedy and quick experience when you most need it.

 

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<![CDATA[Smart Devices Could be Connected to 5G, But is it Safe?]]> https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/smart-devices-could-be-connected-to-5g-but-is-it-safe/ Sat, 21 Apr 2018 12:00:54 +0000 https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/?p=17568 Most of us own smart devices that can connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi, but the technology is far from perfect as network shortages can shut down these devices. Tech companies are looking to fix these issues with 5G, which would allow Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices such as smart refrigerators, home security systems, and smart TVs to connect to a network that does not rely on WiFi.

Read More: What’s Going on with 5G and when Will It Be Available?

The idea is to allow these devices to stay online at all times via the connection to 5G data, similar to how smartphones remain online without Wi-Fi.

Design Company Is Changing the Game
A company called Arm is developing a new software stack called Kigen that would offer smart devices SIM cards for 5G connectivity. Arm believes that by 2035, there will be more than a trillion connected devices on SIM cards, as good as Wi-Fi connections in most areas of the U.S. There are still plenty of places that are susceptible to blackouts and poor connectivity that would benefit from such technology.

The initiative would also mean that IoT-device owners would not have to set up an individual Wi-Fi network — the SIM cards would connect your device quickly. Arm claims 5G technology adds more security to the home since hacking attacks typically take place through unsecured Wi-Fi networks.

Nevertheless, security experts believe this technology could create a slew of security issues that Arm needs to address before rolling out SIM cards for smart devices.

Do the Benefits Outweigh the Risks?
We’re moving towards a world that will soon see mainstream adoption of autonomous driving technology and healthcare solutions that operate on 5G in order to reduce accidents and save lives. However, if the technology were to misfire, the results could be catastrophic. These networks would operated in a different way than Wi-Fi is and rely on cloud systems and visualization, leaving them open to other vulnerabilities that Wi-Fi networks don’t currently deal with.

Networks running on 5G have low latency and high bandwidth capabilities that could be vulnerable to distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks on larger scale. Cryptocurrency miners aka, hackers could also take advantage the network resources of smart devices connected to 5G to increase processing power and reduce yours.

Cyber Attacks Could Grow Exponentially
Experts believe that hackers will have the opportunity to launch larger attacks than previously seen if they manage to infect IoT devices connected on 5G. One of the most impactful cyber attacks in recent memory was the 2016 Dyn IoT botnet attack, which shut down the East Coast of the U.S. preventing users from loading certain websites.

A threat of this scale targeting a 5G network would be faster and of lower latency, allowing hackers to potentially take down more than just a small geographical area.

Arm and other 5G developers will have to develop iron-clad security measures to prevent such attacks from happening before the technology is rolled out.

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<![CDATA[Hackers Are Taking Over Your SIM Card and Personal Phone Number]]> https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/hackers-are-taking-over-your-sim-card-and-personal-phone-number/ Fri, 20 Apr 2018 12:00:12 +0000 https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/?p=17583 Different services have started using your mobile phone number as a way to authenticate your identity. Whether you’re calling in to pay your bill or receiving a two-factor authorization code via text message, your number is shared frequently, which is a security weakness. Because of this new way to verify your accounts, you may not realize your SIM card is also at risk. You see, hackers have a little secret —  hijacking your SIM card is surprisingly easy and it doesn’t have to be in a hacker’s greedy hands for them to take it over.

It’s critical to ensure that not only does your SIM card remain protected, but also your data. One solution is dfndr security, which allows you to secure apps on your device and includes an advanced protection feature if your device is ever lost or stolen. With the advanced protection feature activated, hackers aren’t able to remove the dfndr security program without authentication, which means your personal information is kept safe.

Read More: What to Do After You’ve Lost Your SIM Card

How to Lock Down Your SIM
The most straightforward way to obtain someone’s SIM card would be to steal the actual card. Once the thief then places the card into their device, they would begin to receive all of your phone calls, text messages, and other associated data. If you once felt your Google account was protected by an SMS two-factor authentication code, bad news — your attacker now has access too. To defend against this type of cyberattack, you can opt to lock your SIM card with a pin number to prevent tampering.

Secure Your Cellular Account
However, we mentioned that someone could gain access to your phone number and efficiently take over your SIM card without being anywhere near your phone — how is this possible? One of the biggest scams currently circulating is for a hacker to call your phone provider, impersonate you, and have a new SIM card issued that they could utilize. However, cell carriers are identifying these scams and alerting their customers, such as TMobile recently did with a bulletin that was largely circulated.

The easiest way to protect your cellular account is to call your provider and tell them you wish to add a passcode to your account, which is separate from login details used for your provider’s website. This extra passcode prevents imposters from calling customer service and requesting a new SIM card because he or she would have to provide a password to access account details.

Have a Backup Solution
With these tips and tricks, your device should remain safe, but it also helps to have every layer of additional security in place. One precaution you could take advantage of is using dfndr security’s anti-theft feature, which allows you to prevent thieves from accessing your content. Once you notice your device is missing, you can use a computer to track, block, locate, or even erase all of your data remotely.

Try to take smart security steps. The best you can do is to set up a tight defense before you become a digital victim.

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<![CDATA[Grammarly Has a Vulnerability You Should Know About]]> https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/grammarly-has-a-vulnerability-you-should-know-about/ Wed, 18 Apr 2018 12:00:55 +0000 https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/?p=17459 If you’re a big user of Grammarly, your information may have been exposed to hackers. The writing enhancement platform appears to be missing the necessary security features to keep their users information intact, although the issue is believed to have been caused by a bug. Avoid this and other bugs with dfndr security’s full virus scan feature, which checks your device for any threats, in both your phone’s memory and SD card.

Read More: Why It’s a Bad Sign If Your Apps Keep Crashing

Here’s what you should know about the “Grammarly” bug that struck millions of people.

Weakness in Top Browsers
The issue was found due to a vulnerability in the Grammarly extension for Chrome and Firefox browsers. Information of about 22 million users accounts was exposed as a result, making it easy for remote hackers to access their personal documents and records. Tavis Ormandy, security researcher with Google’s Project Zero, said the it was a high severity bug.

Ormandy said that the authentication tokens to all Grammarly websites were there for the taking easily stolen by cybercriminals remotely with four lines of JavaScript code. The company said that the vulnerability only affected Grammarly Editor, but the issue could still have very severe consequences for some users if their documents were stolen.

The Issue Was Addressed in Time
Grammarly’s outside security IT team responded to the issue swiftly, fixing the bug only three days after the issue was revealed. A number of security updates were made available for Chrome and Firefox browser extensions, which the company is automatically updating without users having to actively find the update. Adding an extension on the Chrome Web Store seems to have done the trick for Chrome users.

A Grammarly spokesperson wrote an email to their security firm, noting that there is no evidence that users personal documents and information had been stolen, nor exposed by a hacker. Ormandy noted that the company’s response time was impressive. Grammarly added that the vulnerability may affect text saved on Grammarly Editor.

Any Further Threats?
While it is likely that the security threat is gone, the company says it is actively working to monitor any new issues in order to keep users information private and secure. Luckily the bug had no effect on Grammarly Keyboard, the Grammarly Microsoft Office add-in, or any documents created online while using the company’s browser extension.

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<![CDATA[Survival Guide to Making Coachella Awesome]]> https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/survival-guide-to-making-coachella-awesome/ Wed, 11 Apr 2018 19:50:22 +0000 https://www.psafe.com/en/blog/?p=17798 Coachella is about to drop on the festival scene and this event is by far my favorite to attend. Featuring some of the hottest artists in hip-hop, rock, rap, electronic music, and more, I have SO many fond memories of Coachella that I encourage any music-loving, adventurous soul to go.

Even though I had fun times, there were definitely things I would have liked to know before pitching my tent and digging into what the festival has to offer. To help all you newbies out there, here is my ultimate survival guide to making sure you have a Coachella to remember:  

#1 – Bring a hydration backpack! It’s hot in the desert and this will save time on trips to water refill stations and save money from needing to buy water bottles all weekend. Plus, you won’t add negative points to your ecological footprint.

#2 – Pack an EZ-UP for shade on your campsite. The sun is always shining at Coachella and nothing is worse than having your tent turn into an oven from baking in sunlight all day. Or if you’re staying at an Airbnb with a pool, make sure to bring your flamingo, unicorn, or pegasus floaties!

#3 – Take a portable phone charger. Everyone uses their phone at Coachella for videos, photos, and connecting with friends. The public charging stations are super packed and will take time away from you being able to enjoy the event. A portable charger can solve this problem, but in circumstances when your phone is not charging and you need the battery to last, use dfndr battery to combat battery drain. That way you won’t miss a single moment.

Coachella

#4 – Cover your face. A bandana or facemask is crucial to have for the dust in the air. You don’t want that dust in your lungs. Sunscreen is also important when you’re in the sun for 10 hours or more a day. And don’t forget extra sun coverage like a hat and sunglasses.

#5 – Spring for an air mattress if you’re camping. The campsites are all grass, but the ground is not that comfortable to sleep on all night long (dependent on when you do get to bed).  😎

#6 – Beat the crowds before hunger pains hit. Getting food earlier in the day is much better than later. Lines for food can get really long as the night goes on, not to mention popular menu items often sell out each day.  

Survival guide

#7 – Head to Do LaB. If you’re looking for a place to cool off while still enjoying some music, Do LaB is the place to be. Dance up a storm as water guns spray into the crowd to keep you refreshed. Like a sprinkler on a sweltering, summer day!

#8 – Make a plan. Check out the daily lineup ahead of time and talk to your group about which stage you’ll head to and at what time. Then forget about the plan and just live in the moment!

#9 – Capture the antics. After 2 full days of taking photos and videos of your favorites acts, it’s very likely that you might run out of storage on your phone. Use dfndr performance to clean duplicate photos and other junk files so you have more room for epic festival memories.

#10 – Hide the evidence. What happens at Coachella stays at Coachella! Feel free to virtually “lock” your #NSFW photos with a private gallery app, such as dfndr vault. Go ahead, we won’t judge.

Now that you know all the essentials for the most colossal Coachella experience, you should be ready to have the time of your life. The event runs over 2 weekends, April 13-15 and April 20-22. This year is gonna be the best one yet!

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