WhatsApp for Android Now Lets You Add Group Description, Search Participants, Switch to Video Call

WhatsApp for Android has been updated with a couple of new group-focused features. There is the ability to let users add a description to a group. This was debuted on the beta versions for WhatsApp for Android and Windows Phone. The app also includes an option to enable searching of group participants directly from the Group Info screen. Users can now also switch from a voice call to a video call, by tapping a button.

Among other features, the option to add a description to a group is designed to give group members a way to know about an important information or the topic of the group. Group descriptions are available on the chat screen as a pinned box and are also visible when inviting someone via the group's invite link. The feature was initially a part of the WhatsApp beta version 2.18.54 on Android and WhatsApp beta version 2.18.28 on Windows Phone.

To add a description, go to Group Info screen and then tap Add group description option that is available below the group name. The description can notably be in as long as 512 characters.

In addition to the way to add a description to a group, the updated WhatsApp for Android has a search bar on the Group Info screen that allows users to search the list of group participants. WhatsApp for iPhone received the same search feature earlier this month.

The updated WhatsApp for Android lastly includes an easy switching experience between voice and video calls. There is a video button that appears during voice calls to let users switch from a voice call to a video call. This was first seen in the WhatsApp beta for Android in January, and came to the iPhone version in February.

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Microsoft Offering Up to $250,000 for Identifying Chip Bugs Like Spectre, Meltdown

Microsoft is offering up to $250,000 for identifying bugs that are similar to the Meltdown and Spectre CPU flaws.

The offering is part of Microsoft's new limited-time bug bounty programme for "speculative execution" side-channel vulnerabilities.

"This new class of vulnerabilities was disclosed in January 2018 and represented a major advancement in the research in this field," Microsoft said in a blog post on Wednesday.
"In recognition of that threat environment change, we are launching a bounty programme to encourage research into the new class of vulnerability and the mitigations Microsoft has put in place to help mitigate this class of issues," it added.

"Speculative execution is truly a new class of vulnerabilities, and we expect that research is already underway exploring new attack methods," said Phillip Misner, a security group manager at Microsoft.
The bug bounty programme is open till December 31.
Intel recently confirmed a report about a potential security flaw in its chips that is vulnerable to hacking.

According to security researchers, two CPU-level vulnerabilities Spectre and Meltdown have affected most chips made in the last two decades by Intel, as well as some by AMD and ARM Holdings.
Following the news of the bugs getting out, all major tech players such as Microsoft, Google, Apple, including Intel, released security patches to help protect users from potential data theft.

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