The maximum number of users of smartphones use the free mobile messaging app WhatsApp. But what frequent WhatsApp chatters might not know is that there is an app out there that is designed to specifically steal the private chat conversations of users and that it can be a serious security threat to mobile phones. Which could allow hackers to trick users into downloading malware on their PCs. More than 900 million people use WhatsApp on a regular basis.

• Security firm Comodo Labs discovered a new malware attack that targets businesses and consumers who use the application. The phishing scheme attempts to convince users to click on links that hit their email disguised as an official email from the company.
• Hackers are using various subject lines to convince you to click on the contents of the email, such as “You have obtained a voice notification xgod,” or “A brief audio recording has been delivered! Jsvk.” The body of the email contains imagery and text to convince you the email is from WhatsApp (see image below), but you shouldn’t click on it. Better yet, report the message as spam as soon as you see it.

You should remember that your smartphone number is what identifies you in the WhatsApp network, so the company would have no reason to send you emails about anything. Moreover, your friends and family will send you pictures and audio recordings directly inside WhatsApp, and notifications will appear directly on the screen. No email is involved whatsoever.
The second threat you should know about involves emojis. A teenage hacker discovered that by entering thousands of emojis into a message, the app can be crashed both on the web and on mobile.

How do I move my chat history over to my new Android phone?

Transferring via the local backup

Quick steps

1. Back up your chats on your old phone.
   • Go to WhatsApp > Menu Button > Settings > Chats and calls > Back up chats.
2. Transfer your external SD card to your new phone if your WhatsApp/Database folder is located in your external SD card.
   • Please see the detailed steps section below if your WhatsApp folder is located in your device’s internal memory.
3. Install WhatsApp on your new phone.
4. Verify the same phone number in WhatsApp that you had when you backed up your chats.
5. Click Restore when prompted to restore your message history.

Detailed steps

To transfer local backup from one Android phone to another, please follow these steps:

1. To start, manually back up your most recent chats.
   • Go to WhatsApp > Menu Button > Settings > Chats and calls > Back up chats.
2. Next, transfer this backup to your new Android phone.
   • If your phone has an external SD card, take the SD card out of your old phone, and put it into your new one.
   • For phones that have internal memory or an internal SD card (like most Samsung devices), you will need to transfer the /sdcard/WhatsApp/ folder from your old phone to the same folder on your new phone. There are a couple of ways you can do this. You can use a file explorer or even transfer the backup files to your computer.
   • Please note that it is possible to be missing some files during the transfer. Please double-check to make sure all the files you wish to transfer over to your new phone are included in the backup.
   • If you are unsure about what kind of SD card you have, we recommend checking your phone’s specifications on your phone manufacturer’s website.
3. Once you have safely transferred your backup, you can install WhatsApp on your new Android phone.
4. During the installation process, WhatsApp will automatically find your backup and ask you if you would like to restore it. Once restored, your old chats will appear on your new phone.

Transferring via Google Drive

1. Manually back up your chats to Google Drive on your old phone.
   • Go to WhatsApp > Menu Button > Settings > Chats and calls > Chat backup> Back Up.
2. Add the same Google account to the new phone that was used to perform the backup on your old phone. Also, make sure you are using the same phone number in the new phone.
3. Install WhatsApp on your new phone.
4. After verifying the same phone number used to perform the backup on the old phone, you will be prompted to restore your messages and media from Google Drive.
5. After the restoration process is complete, tap on Next and your chats will be displayed once initialization is complete.
6. After restoring your chats, WhatsApp will begin restoring your media files.

You can transfer your chat history over to your new Android phone by transferring your local backup or restoring your backup from Google Drive. Local backup refers to the automatic backup of your chat history to your phone’s WhatsApp folder that occurs daily every 2 AM. This folder is located in your device’s internal memory or external SD card. Google Drive backup, if activated, refers to the saving of your messages and media to your personal Google Drive account.
Why Are WhatsApp Artifacts Important to Your Mobile Forensics Investigations?
Much like other mobile chat applications, WhatsApp contacts, messages, and attachments can be valuable to examiners looking to recover evidence for a variety of different investigation types. Whether you’re analyzing the mobile device of a suspect or a victim, these chat artifacts can contain valuable information to help solve a case.

Andriller – Android Forensic Tools