Corona: Is it safe to use the House Party app during a lockdown?

The video conferencing app 'Zoom' has become one of the most popular during the Corona virus epidemic, and lockdowns around the world have forced people at home to use it to spend time with friends and loved ones.

There's been a lot of talk about increasing the use of zoom, but the House Party, which sees itself as a more trendy and entertaining version of video chatting, is just as big and faster.

The House Party has been around since 2016 and was bought by technology company Epic Game last year, while the well-known company Fortnight Game also owns it.

The company says it never expected its reputation to grow so much.

The US firm's app used to be downloaded by 100,000 people a week, but during the epidemic, it was downloaded by 2 million people a week worldwide.

This app can connect up to eight people at a time for video and audio calls. It also features trivia and dyeing games.

It is very popular among young people who miss their friends during the lockdown.

Was the app hacked?

Rumors were circulating about the app that it was being led by hackers.

At the end of March, people on social media were complaining that other online services they had been using, such as Netflix, PayPal and Spotify, had been affected since they downloaded House Party.

Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook and SnapChat have asked their users to delete the app to protect themselves.

The rumors spread so much that the House party itself had to say that it was falling victim to a negative paid campaign.

Million dollar prize

The House Party has learned that the app has been deleted by a large number of its users, but they say there is no evidence that the app has anything to do with hacking.

The House party has even offered a reward of up to 1 million for information leading to the capture of Malcolm.

Image copyrightPA MEDIA

Image captionHouse party has been downloaded a lot on Android and iOS worldwide in recent days.

In the world of information security, there is a consensus that this app is less likely to be hacking other people's accounts.

Paul Dicklin, a researcher at cybersecurity company Sophos, says the posts clearly indicate that House Party is an unscrupulous app that is targeting every part of your digital life and corrupting it with criminal intent. Has been

But it's a mainstream app that has been added to Apple and Google's online stores by a well-known software company.

He does not suggest that the hacking of the House party is a big one, but the nature of the incident is not the same as the usual cybercrime.

Database black market

Elliott Thompson, a consultant at a software company called Shaver Cloud, says that usually cybercrime groups that steal a company's data or a user's account data are then sold at a higher price and used very carefully. Is done.

If a group buys tens of thousands of dollars worth of data, there is no financial reason to think that they will lose the data to steal accounts for the streaming service.

Similarly, if such violations were committed on a large scale, it would be visible to all and we certainly did not see it happening.

Experts say the breaches are likely to be related to hacking, and that it is a coincidence that people are being informed that they are suffering shortly after downloading the app.

What are House Party Safety Risks?

Image copyrightJTN IMAGES

Image caption TheHouse Party app is especially popular among young people

The American company Epic Games insists that its users' data is safe, but there are still risks, and children's charities specifically highlight this issue.

The real problem with this feature is what the company calls 'Stranger Danger'. The company writes on its website about it when a friend of yours joins a party or a friend of yours who doesn't know everyone in the chat room. It's time to dump her and move on. "

Cyber ​​billing

Child charities say this could lead to concerns about child safety or harassment on the internet.

The charity Internet Meters says that although the app is relatively secure and that they will create a 'room' here, the names you want to talk to will be selected.

But if a child does not lock the chat room and selects a private setting, then other people may be interested in becoming part of this video chat.

The charity is advising parents to sit with their children and set privacy filters when they are video chatting.