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Abdel Rahman Ahmed – Cairo
In light of continued quarantine measures and the commitment of social divergence to confront the spread of the Corona virus, Egyptians miss one of the most important manifestations of the holy month of Ramadan, which are mutual visits and family festivals.
This has led many families and friends to seek innovative technology-based solutions for communicating and meeting at Ramadan tables despite the distance, so that the idea of a “virtual breakfast” can emerge as a safe alternative.
The idea, which started to spread around the world, is based on the agreement of several families to communicate over breakfast through a group video chat application by phone or computer, which allows them to exchange conversations, discussions and jokes, and It provides some of the intimacy of the gathering in this blessed month without leaving the house.
We review with you some free and distinctive apps that can be used to implement the idea of ”virtual breakfast”, and we offer some tips for the safe use of these apps.
Google Meet Hangouts
Google Hangouts Meet allows you to create secure, encrypted, high-quality video conferences of up to 25 people for the free version.
The application is easy to use, you can share the meeting link with your family members or friends so that they can easily join you, either through the browser on desktop devices or the application on mobile phones.
Google recently launched the Google Meet app, which is the new name for the “Dead Hangouts” service that is still available under the previous brand for mobile apps.
Google DUO
It is another application presented by the giant Google company, it allows communication between family and friends through high-quality group text messages and video calls, and it is available for smartphones, computers and even smart screens.
The free version of the application allows unlimited video calls with up to 12 participants and supports full encryption of voice, text and video communications on mobile and web devices.
| Many families use Skype to gather in Ramadan (Reuters) |
Skype
One of the most popular applications for communicating via text message, voice and video calls, it took the lead in previous years, but it has declined during the recent period, despite the advantages it offers.
Skype has very high quality audio and video calls, supports group video calls of up to 50 people and can be used by the browser or the application on mobile devices.
Microsoft teams
A distinguished video conferencing application from Microsoft, which received a large share recently after the Corona outbreak, and companies that turned to remote work, to increase the number of video calls made by 1000% last March, and the number of their users reached a new record, reaching 44 Two million a day.
According to Microsoft, the application’s video system uses two-factor authentication and encrypted data to provide a secure user experience.
Facebook Messenger
The application offers group video calls of up to 8 people, with high audio and video quality.
And Facebook announced on Friday the launch of its new video call service, “Messenger Rooms”, which is part of the “Facebook Messenger” service, and allows users to make video calls with the participation of up to 50 people.
WhatsApp
The popular WhatsApp application allows a group video chat for four people.
Although this number is considered small compared to other applications, the ease of dealing with the application and its availability on most phones and limited contact with it in registered user contacts, makes it a suitable option if the communication between two families and a maximum of four.
Technical reports indicate that the next WhatsApp update will include an increase in the number of participants in group video chats.
| Zoom is one of the most important video apps that spread after the outbreak of the Corona epidemic. (Communication sites) |
ZOOM Cloud Meetings
Although this application has come to the forefront since the outbreak of the Corona epidemic and has become the most important and widespread application of online meetings, we opted for its inclusion in the end due to its recent technical and security issues.
The application is characterized by high sound and image quality, and ease of use. Unlike many competing programs, the free version invites large numbers of people, up to a hundred, to join you by video.
However, the widespread application and the number of its users exceeded 200 million active users, attracted the attention of hackers and many security holes appeared in it that led countries and institutions to avoid its use, even after that developers announced the reform and fixed most of these vulnerabilities.
However, this app is still a different option for making a group video call, while adhering to the security tips provided by cyber security experts.
Security advice
Muhammad Abdul Basit Al-Noobi, Director of Cybersecurity of the Security Company specialized in Information Security, has published on his Facebook page a set of tips for users of the Zoom application in particular, in addition to putting a password on the chat room and do not share your link in any public place, especially in communication sites. Social.
Nubian, an Egyptian security researcher and moral hacker, also urged users to activate the waiting room feature to check participants, close the room after entering stakeholders, and remove uninvited participants who are discovering their presence, while making sure to disable some features, like screen sharing.
The security researcher warned against pressing any link within the group conversation or even in a single conversation.
In general, he asked the Nubians to avoid downloading unknown applications or using hacked operating systems and applications, taking care to download applications from official stores and sites, and update operating systems and applications quickly to avoid any discovered vulnerability.
