How to hack whatsapp on same wifi network
9 Ways Your WhatsApp Messages Can Be Hacked
WhatsApp is a popular and easy to use messaging app. It has some security features, like the use of end-to-end encryption, which tries to keep your messages private. However, as good as these security measures are, WhatsApp still isn't immune to hacks, which can end up compromising the privacy of your messages and contacts.
Don't take our word for it: just go and see how many "How to hack WhatsApp" guides you'll find on the internet if you're persistent enough.
As knowing is half the battle, if we are simply aware of vulnerabilities, we can then take concrete steps to avoid comprising ourselves. To that end, here are a few ways that WhatsApp can be hacked.
1. Remote Code Execution via GIF
In October 2019, security researcher Awakened revealed a vulnerability in WhatsApp that let hackers take control of the app using a GIF image. The hack works by taking advantage of the way WhatsApp processes images when the user opens the Gallery view to send a media file.
When this happens, the app parses the GIF to show a preview of the file. GIF files are special because they have multiple encoded frames. This means that code can be hidden within the image.
If a hacker were to send a malicious GIF to a user, they could compromise the user's entire chat history. The hackers would be able to see who the user had been messaging and what they had been saying. They could also see users' files, photos, and videos sent through WhatsApp.
The vulnerability affected versions of WhatsApp up to 2.19.230 on Android 8.1 and 9. Fortunately, Awakened disclosed the vulnerability responsibly and Facebook, which owns WhatsApp, patched the issue. To keep yourself safe from this problem and similar, you should always keep WhatsApp updated.
2. The Pegasus Voice Call Attack
Another WhatsApp vulnerability discovered in early 2019 was the Pegasus voice call hack.
This scary attack allowed hackers to access a device simply by placing a WhatsApp voice call to their target.
Even if the target didn't answer the call, the attack could still be effective. And the target may not even be aware that malware has been installed on their device.
This worked through a method known as buffer overflow. This is where an attack deliberately puts in so much code into a small buffer that it "overflows" and writes code into a location it shouldn't be able to access. When the hacker can run code in a location that should be secure, they can take malicious steps.
This attack installed an older and well-known piece of spyware called Pegasus. This allowed hackers to collect data on phone calls, messages, photos, and video. It even let them activate devices' cameras and microphones to take recordings.
This vulnerability is applicable on Android, iOS, Windows 10 Mobile, and Tizen devices. It was used by the Israeli firm, NSO Group, for example, which has been accused of spying on Amnesty International staff and other human rights activists. After news of the hack broke, WhatsApp was updated to protect it from this attack.
If you are running WhatsApp version 2.19.134 or earlier on Android or version 2.19.51 or earlier on iOS, then you need to update your app immediately.
Another way you're vulnerable to getting your WhatsApp hacked is through socially engineered attacks, which exploit human psychology to steal information or spread misinformation.
Security firm, Check Point Research, revealed one example of this attack, which they named FakesApp. This allowed people to misuse the quote feature in group chat and to alter the text of another person's reply. Essentially, hackers could plant fake statements that appear to be from other legitimate users.
The researchers could do this by decrypting WhatsApp communications. This allowed them to see data sent between the mobile and the web versions of WhatsApp.
And from here, they could change values in group chats. Then they could impersonate other people, sending messages which appeared to be from them. They could also change the text of replies.
This could be used in worrying ways to spread scams or fake news. Even though the vulnerability was disclosed in 2018, it had still not been patched by the time the researchers spoke at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas in 2019, according to ZNet. It therefore becomes critical that you learn how to recognize WhatsApp scams and keep reminding yourself of these red flags periodically.
4. Media File Jacking
Media File Jacking affects both WhatsApp and Telegram. This attack takes advantage of the way apps receive media files like photos or videos and write those files to a device's external storage.
The attack starts by installing malware hidden inside an apparently harmless app. This can then monitor incoming files for Telegram or WhatsApp. When a new file comes in, the malware may swap out the real file for a fake one.
Symantec, the company that discovered the issue, suggested it could be used to scam people or to spread fake news.
There is a quick fix for this issue, though.
Using WhatsApp, you should look in Settings and go to Chat Settings. Then find the Save to Gallery option and make sure it is set to Off. This will protect you from this vulnerability. However, a true fix for the issue will require app developers to entirely change the way that apps handle media files in the future.
5. Facebook Could Spy on WhatsApp Chats
In an official blog post, WhatsApp asserted that due to its end-to-end encryption, it is impossible for Facebook to read WhatsApp content:
"When you and the people you message are using the latest version of WhatsApp, your messages are encrypted by default, which means you're the only people who can read them. Even as we coordinate more with Facebook in the months ahead, your encrypted messages stay private and no one else can read them. Not WhatsApp, not Facebook, nor anyone else."
However, according to developer Gregorio Zanon, this is not strictly true.
The fact that WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption does not mean all messages are private. On an operating system like iOS 8 and above, apps can access files in a "shared container."
Both the Facebook and WhatsApp apps use the same shared container on devices. And while chats are encrypted when they are sent, they are not necessarily encrypted on the originating device. This means the Facebook app could potentially copy information from WhatsApp.
There is no evidence that Facebook has used shared containers to view private WhatsApp messages. But the potential is there. Even with end-to-end encryption, your messages may not be private from the all-capturing net of Facebook.
6. Paid Third-Party Apps
You'd be surprised how many paid legal apps have sprung up in the market, which solely exist for hacking into secure systems. It's super easy to carry out covert WhatsApp hacks through this method.
In fact, it isn't unheard of for big corporations to work hand-in-hand with oppressive regimes to target activists and journalists; or by cybercriminals, intent on getting your personal information.
Apps like Spyzie and mSPY can easily hack into your WhatsApp account for stealing your private data. All you need to do is purchase the app, install it, and activate it on the target phone. You can then simply sit back and connect to your app dashboard from the web browser, and snoop in on private WhatsApp data like messages, contacts, status, etc. But obviously, we advise against anyone actually doing this!
7. Fake WhatsApp Clones
Using fake website clones to install malware is an old hacking strategy still implemented by cyber criminals all over the world. These clone sites are known as malicious websites.
The hacking tactic has now also been adopted for breaking into Android systems. To carry out a WhatsApp hack on your account, an attacker will first try to install a clone of WhatsApp, which might look strikingly similar to the original app.
Take the case of the WhatsApp Pink scam, for instance. A clone of the original WhatsApp, it claims to change the standard green WhatsApp background to pink.
Here's how it works: an unsuspecting user receives a link to download the WhatsApp Pink app for changing the background color of their app. And even though it really does change the background color of your app to pink, as soon as you install the app, it will start collecting data not just from your WhatsApp but also from everything else stored on your phone.
8. WhatsApp Web
WhatsApp Web is a neat tool for someone who spends most of their day on a PC. It provides the ease of accessibility to WhatsApp users, so they won't have to pick up their phone again and again for messaging. The big screen and keyboard provides an overall better user experience too.
Here's the caveat though. As handy as the web version is, it can be easily used to hack into your WhatsApp chats. This danger arises when you're using the WhatsApp Web on someone else's computer.
So if the owner of the computer has selected the "keep me signed in" box during login, then your WhatsApp account will stay signed-in even after you've closed the browser.
The computer owner can then access your information without much difficulty.
You can avoid this by making sure that you log out from WhatsApp Web before you leave.
But as they say, prevention is better than cure. The best approach is to avoid using anything other than your personal computer for the web version of WhatsApp altogether.
9. Exporting Your Chats
This isn't the traditional method you'd find on the "how to hack someone's WhatsApp" guides. While some of the other methods are really elaborate, and some just capitalize on blank spots in the human psyche, this one simply requires physical access to your smartphone.
And no, the hacker doesn't need a lot of time with your phone, either; just a few seconds is enough. This gives them enough time to export your messages to a location they can later access. It could be anything: an email account, cloud storage, or even a messaging app.
Once a hacker has access to your phone, all they have to do is move to a specific chat, click on the Export chat option and select the location they'd like to move your message history to.
The solution? The ironclad way to protect yourself is to keep your phone away from unfamiliar hands at all times. Furthermore, you have the option to enable fingerprint lock for your WhatsApp. Here's how:
- Head to Accounts > Privacy > Fingerprint lock.
- Toggle the Unlock with fingerprint option on, and set the lock activation to Immediately.
Now, every time your WhatsApp is picked up after inactivity, your fingerprints will be required to launch the app.
Stay Aware of Security Issues in WhatsApp
These are just a few examples of how your WhatsApp can be hacked. While WhatsApp has patched some of these issues since their disclosure, some weak spots persist, so it's important to stay vigilant. To learn more about whether WhatsApp is safe, you need to brush up your knowledge of WhatsApp security threats. Always keep yourself updated!
Update Your App to Stay Safe
Messaging service WhatsApp recently confirmed that a major vulnerability allowed hackers to install remote surveillance software on phones and other devices.
The hackers used the vulnerability to target several users and was almost certainly the work of "an advanced cyber-actor."
WhatsApp carries a strong reputation as a secure messaging app. But now the Facebook-owned messenger is under scrutiny. How did the hackers breach WhatsApp? And is WhatsApp still safe to use?
WhatsApp Security Breach Allows Malware Installation
The vulnerability exploits WhatsApp's voice calling to ring the target's device. Once the call starts, an advanced surveillance tool installs. The victim doesn't need to answer the call; the malware still installs. After the incoming call finishes, the surveillance tool wipes any notifications and call logs relating to the malware.
The spyware itself is capable of trawling through and collecting phone call data, messages, photos, and videos, as well as activating and recording the microphone and camera. It is an advanced, dangerous piece of malware that could cause significant damage. However, while the malware itself and the exploitation of WhatsApp is advanced, the attack leveraged a pretty old method of attack.
WhatsApp owner Facebook published a security advisory describing the hack as "A buffer overflow vulnerability in WhatsApp VOIP [voice over internet protocol] stack allowed remote code execution via specially crafted series of SRTCP [secure real-time transport protocol] packets sent to a target phone number."
A buffer overflow is where a program, or in this case, app, accesses system memory it should not have access too. If an attacker can figure out how to run code in the unauthorized memory area, they can execute something malicious, which is what has happened here.
Which Devices Does the WhatsApp Hack Affect?
All of them, simply put.
If your phone has WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business installed, the vulnerability could affect your device. That means Android, iOS, Windows 10 Mobile phones, and Tizen devices.
Who Is Behind the WhatsApp Hack?
There are strong suspicions that the Israeli cybersecurity company, NSO Group, is behind the hack.
The NSO Group has a strong history of producing such advanced malware, as well as having the expertise to execute something of this nature.
Facebook told the Financial Times that the "attack has all the hallmarks of a company known to work with governments to deliver spyware that reportedly takes over the functions of mobile phone operating systems."
The statement is referencing the Pegasus spyware the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab discovered in 2016. Citizen Lab uncovered Pegasus after the highly advanced malware was used to target prominent human rights activist, Ahmed Mansoor. Pegasus used three individual zero-day exploits to conduct a remote iPhone jailbreak. It forced Apple to release an unexpected iOS update to patch the vulnerabilities.
Aside from the alternative method of attack, the WhatsApp hack demonstrates another worrying development. The malware delivered by the WhatsApp exploit didn't require a click or tap to install. The malware is silent, installs itself, and then deletes the evidence.
The NSO Group released a statement attempting to distance themselves from the WhatsApp hack.
"NSO's technology is licensed to authorized government agencies for the sole purpose of fighting crime and terror. The company does not operate the system, and after a rigorous licensing and vetting process, intelligence and law enforcement determine how to use the technology to support their public safety missions.
"We investigate any credible allegations of misuse, and if necessary, we take action, including shutting down the system. Under no circumstances would NSO be involved in the operating or identifying of targets of its technology, which is solely operated by intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
"NSO would not or could not use its technology in its own right to target any person or organization, including this individual."
Am I At Risk of the WhatsApp Hack?
Honestly, it is highly unlikely that you will become a direct victim of the WhatsApp hack.
Attacks of this nature are rare, usually the work of a state-backed threat actor. (What is a nation-state threat actor, anyway?) The orchestrators only use such an attack to target specific individuals or organizations. Once security researchers discover and analyze the attack, it is usually as good as done. The vulnerable or exploited service, app, program, or otherwise will take action and patch the issue, ensuring no one can use it.
Therefore, you can safely assume that you are not a target.
The few targets identified confirm this theory: an Amnesty International researcher, a UK-based human rights lawyer, and others.
It's Time to Update WhatsApp
That said, it is time to update WhatsApp on your devices. WhatsApp rolled out an urgent update in the days immediately following the hack. The update patches the vulnerability.
How to Update WhatsApp on Android
- On your device, open the Google Play Store
- Tap the menu icon in the top-left corner
- Open My Apps & Games
- Check to see if WhatsApp has already updated; it will appear near the top of your apps list if so
- Otherwise, find WhatsApp on the list and select Update
How to Update WhatsApp on iOS
- On your device, open the App Store
- Tap Updates
- Check to see if WhatsApp has already updated; it will appear in the list of apps with an Open button
- If not, the button will say Update; tap the button to install the WhatsApp update
Is WhatsApp Still Safe to Use?
The big question.
Can you still use WhatsApp safely?
Yes.
Despite how certain publications attempt to frame the WhatsApp hack, the app is still safe to use (after you update!). As you see from the identified targets, unless you fit that bracket, you are not going to encounter an attack of this type.
The post-WhatsApp hack issue lies with poor reporting. WhatsApp carries a reputation for protecting privacy because it uses end-to-end encryption to secure your communication. The fact of the matter is that this attack didn't breach the encryption.
Publications that frame the attack in this manner only seek to capitalize on the misunderstandings and murkiness already present in a situation with such high-level threat actors.
The WhatsApp hack was a highly specialized and almost invisible attack that WhatsApp and Facebook did well to spot before more targets were compromised. Presenting it in any other manner, as if it is like a regular WhatsApp phishing attempt or a drive-by malware download, is irresponsible.
Thinking about leaving WhatsApp? Try these WhatsApp alternatives that guard your privacy.
How to read someone else's WhatsApp messages? A simple way to “hack” WhatsApp is a computer craftsman's blog
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WhatsApp (Vatsep) a popular instant messenger for free messaging between smartphone users. The program exists for various platforms: iOS, Android, Windows, Blackberry and even the now deceased Symbian. The program was created in 2009by Jan Koum and Brian Acton. Facebook bought it in 2014 for $19 billion. But this, so to speak, is a prehistory. I will teach you how to read someone else's correspondence on WhatsApp for free without downloading third-party programs, as well as registering and without SMS))) The method is based on social engineering and does not use any third-party and malicious software.
Find out how to check if someone is reading your WhatsApp conversation?
Contents:
- Hack WhatsApp
- My WhatsApp Hack Instructions
- How to start a WhatsApp Web session on your phone?
In March 2014, programmer Bas Bosschert published instructions for hacking WhatsApp messages. Its essence was that the program installed on the Android device stores a database with correspondence in clear text, later the creators encrypted this data, but they were also easily decrypted. Given the popularity of this program, there is no doubt that there will be many who want to gain access to an account and read someone else's correspondence.
Addendum regarding the inclusion of encryption in WhatsApp
In April 2016, Jan Koum announced that the messages of all WhatsApp users, as well as group chats, are now encrypted using the “ end-to-end encryption ” method, i.
e. . messages and voice calls of users cannot be intercepted by third parties (hackers, criminals, security forces, intelligence, etc.) This is of course all great, but WhatsApp went the way of Telegram. I think the catalyst for this decision was the precedent with Apple, which the FBI forced to hacked iPhone terrorists from San Bernardino.
The method of reading someone else's correspondence , which is indicated on this page, is based on the method of social engineering and it does not matter here whether encryption is enabled in WhatsApp or not. Encryption protects against interception of messages, but not when there is direct access to the telephone. Therefore, to protect your WhatsApp account from being hacked, always set a password for it (to unlock it or to launch a specific application).
You don't need to do anything special to enable WhatsApp encryption . Update your program to the latest version.
In order for a conversation between two subscribers to be encrypted, both interlocutors must have the latest version of WhatsApp installed.
Separately, I wrote about encryption here.
My instructions for hacking WhatsApp
This is not even a WhatsApp hack in its usual sense. Hacking involves the use of third-party programs, viruses, trojans, etc. I'll just teach you how to read someone else's correspondence. To do this, the developers themselves have released such a function as a web version. With certain settings, it can be used for your own selfish purposes. Access to the victim's phone is required, at least for 30-60 seconds.
1. The first thing we need is to open our personal PC and go to the page https://web.whatsapp.com/ There must be a “stay signed in” checkbox.
2. The second is the phone number from which you want to read the correspondence. Open WhatsApp, go to the menu and select WhatsApp Web. It is in this place that the very 30-60 seconds are needed, during which it is necessary to have time to scan the QR code on the computer screen with the camera of the smartphone.
The code changes every minute, so there is little time to think.
3 On the computer, the same chats with correspondence open in the browser as on the phone. You can also send messages and read them in real time.
The victim, whose correspondence is now available for you to read, will not even guess about it if you do not tell about it yourself. If you go back to the WhatsApp Web menu on your phone, you will see that the session is open on the computer. I can say with confidence that this information will not tell anything to 99% of users and no one will guess that someone else is reading his correspondence.
Important! Access to the WhatsApp account, and therefore reading the correspondence, is possible only when the smartphone itself is connected to the Internet. If it is offline, there is no synchronization between the phone and the computer.
In the future, you will be able to read whatsapp correspondence without having direct access to your opponent's phone.
This information was written by me purely for information. Take care of your phones or put a password on them, as I do.
To protect your Android smartphone from hacking, which is described above, I recommend installing a free antivirus. With it, you can set a password to launch any application, the same WhatsApp will not start until you enter the correct password.
How to start a WhatsApp Web session on the phone
Good news, comrades! Finally, it became possible to run a WhatsApp Web session on your phone. If earlier, when you try to open the code scanning page in a mobile browser, you were automatically thrown into the application, now it is possible to bypass this limitation. How?
Download an app called Whatscan for Whatsweb from PlayMarket or AppStore. Run it, you will see the usual window for scanning a QR code. The application takes on the role of a browser on the computer. By scanning this code from the “victim's” phone, you will be able to read her messages without being tied to a computer.
right from the screen of your smartphone.
How well the application works, write in the reviews. So far, this is the only way to read another person's WhatsApp correspondence from your phone.
How to find out passwords from mail and pages on social networks VK and OK.
If you want to go even further than and find out other people's passwords from accounts VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, mail, etc. see HERE. The method is 100% working and tested. We read carefully, strictly follow the instructions. Ask questions ONLY after reading.
Checking for changes using GetContact
The new GetContact application literally “blew up” social networks at the end of February. By installing a small program on your phone, you can search for information about unknown numbers from a common database, which is replenished by users like you. The original idea of the program is to fight spam. But if in analogues users themselves mark this or that number as spam, but GetContact without asking downloads the ENTIRE phone book into a common database that EVERYONE can see.
By punching the number you see how it is written in the phone books of different people. For example like this:
But what if a man is recorded under a woman's name? Or is a woman written under a man? Reason to think. Find out how to remove yourself from the GetContact database here.
Interception of messages how to read Whatsapp correspondence
Whatsapp for Android is a free chat app that's fast, simple, and so secure that even the NSA complains about the data being difficult to access and good security. Even if the hackers of such organizations do not always cope with the problem, then what can we say about ordinary users.
Many search the Internet for ways to read someone else's correspondence, based on various motives that we will miss in this article. In general, there are two news, good and bad. The bad news is that WhatsApp cannot be hacked. The good news is that messages can be accessed in other ways, and we'll talk about a few of them.
To do this, you need to have special spyware, or force a person to use an unsecured Internet Wi-Fi point.
But first things first.
How to read other people's correspondence?
More than 500 million people use this application and it is quite natural that many are interested in how to find out the correspondence of other users, whether it is possible to find out with whom they correspond and what they are talking about. Now there are two ways, and we will talk about them in more detail.
There is a special spy app called WhatsApp Sniffer. It will help to realize the plan in the following way:
The program shows the message of all users who are connected to the same Internet network;
- This only works if there is open and free Wi-Fi. Those. all users who have connected to such a network will be "caught";
- It is not possible to hide individual photos or messages - the program controls all data in this grid. That's why it's best to avoid public hotspots if you're planning a private or intimate conversation through the app.
The second way is to read someone else's correspondence at a distance.
