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Methods of checking whether Android applications are safe to download

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Methods of checking whether Android applications are safe to download

The Google Play Store is the best place to download Android apps, but bad apps can sometimes disappear. Here’s are methods of checking whether Android applications are safe to download.

Methods of checking whether Android applications are safe to download

Methods of checking whether Android applications are safe to download

While most apps in the Google Play Store are security-tested and considered safe, there’s still a chance that some harmful apps will slip through — especially if you download apps from non-native sources.

If you accidentally install a malicious app, it can harm your device’s security and privacy. Cybercriminals may use these programs to infect your device, steal personal data, or bombard you with annoying pop-up ads.

Experiencing any of these can be frustrating. That’s why you need to know how to check if an Android app is safe to download.

Read more: How to increase the speed of Google Chrome on Android

1. Confirm that the application is valid

Methods of checking whether Android applications are safe to download

The easiest way for checking whether Android applications are safe to download is to use a link analyzer tool, such as VirusTotal . This program scans for malware by checking suspicious files, URLs, domains, and IP addresses. Just enter the application link and it will inform you if the download is safe.

Alternatively, you can take some safety precautions and watch out for potential problems on your own. Start by checking the app’s size — this is usually listed on the download page. If the file size is unusually large or small compared to similar programs, it could be a sign of malicious activity. It may come with adware or other unwanted programs that can be installed along with the program.

Next, read user reviews to see if anyone is complaining about malware or suspicious app behavior. If more than one or two people warn that the program is a scam or contains malicious elements, then pay attention to it. Even if the comments are vague, like “this broke my phone,” it’s better to be safe than sorry. Additionally, beware of fake reviews that may be posted by the illegitimate developers themselves.

Methods of checking whether Android applications are safe to download

If the app has a lot of good reviews, look to see how similar these reviews are. Usually, fake reviews are short and exciting comments with general phrases. For example, “The most wonderful program! I like it very much.” They usually do not highlight any special features. Be on the lookout for poor grammar, spelling mistakes, keyword stuffing, or strange language in app descriptions, as these can be signs of a suspicious or fake app.

2. Research app stores and download platforms

Google Play Store continuously scans 125 billion apps for security issues to increase safety. The next way for checking whether Android applications are safe to download is to research app stores and download platforms. It has a feature called Google Play Protect that scans apps for security issues before downloading them from the store. This makes it the safest place to get Android apps, but it’s not perfect.

Google Play Protect is better at detecting known attacks than new ones, which means some attackers can find ways around it. Therefore, even when using the Play Store, it is important to be cautious and consider more factors. For example, almost all apps have privacy policies to help users understand what data they collect. Sometimes, a link to a privacy policy may lead to irrelevant content instead of an actual privacy policy. Make sure you click on it and read the privacy statement if the link is legit.

However, installing apps from unknown sources , i.e. platforms other than the Google Play Store, is more dangerous. To stay safe, use Android’s built-in security feature that stops app installation from untrusted sources.

3. Check the program for certification

Google Play Store has security features to ensure its apps are genuine. One of these features is the Google Play Store signature, which helps you verify that Android apps are safe to download. Developers must use cryptographic keys to sign their applications and verify that the software has not been tampered with and is provided by a reputable developer.

Always check the app’s certifications, as it shows that the app meets certain security standards, has been audited, and is safe. Only download Google Play Protect certified apps because they’ve passed security checks and are free of malware. The “Top Developer” certificate is another reliable sign that the app was built by reliable and reputable developers.

In addition to the certificate, you should look at the number of downloads and the history of the app, such as release date, updates, or any reported security incidents. Malicious developers can also create fake app downloads by using bots or fake accounts to download their apps over and over again. This means that  even popular programs can be dangerous.

Android device users can also be affected by app update spoofing: Hackers create fake versions or “updates” of popular apps to trick people. These fake apps may contain malicious software that can secretly track your online activity and collect your personal information.

4. Review the list of permissions

Methods of checking whether Android applications are safe to download

The fourth way for checking whether Android applications are safe to download is browsing the list of permissions. Be extra careful if an app asks for device permissions that don’t make sense. You can check the permissions of an app in the Google Play Store.

Go to the app page,   tap  About this app , then  select  See more  under the  Permissions menu.  In this menu, see a summary of what each license allows the program to do .

If the app doesn’t list any required features, the license is suspect. For example, asking to listen to the microphone in a solitaire game app would be alarming. But in a video editor it makes perfect sense.

Be especially careful with apps that ask for dangerous permissions, meaning anything that allows the app to read, receive, or write sensitive data. For example, your location, saved files, phone calls, text messages or audio.

Malicious developers profit by selling or extorting this information. Once an app has your sensitive data, it can be difficult or impossible to restore your privacy. Better not to risk granting access in the first place.

5. Find out about the seller or developer

The fifth method for checking whether Android applications are safe to download is to obtain information about the seller or developer. Research who made this app. You can find the corresponding web page by clicking on the developer’s name in the Google Play Store. You can also google the following string: “mobile apps [DEV NAME]”. Be sure to check out Google’s News results. Has this developer been in the news lately for its scandals? What about the parent company?

A look at other developer apps can also give you some clues. If the developer only has a few apps, but the download numbers are ridiculous, that’s a red flag. If they have many apps, but the only obvious difference is the name or icon color, that’s also suspicious.

Honest developers will also not clone or remove other people’s apps. If the developer mimics more popular products or says their app is a discounted version, don’t click! A real developer simply issues a sale, not a separate download.

6. Pay attention to the installation process

Methods of checking whether Android applications are safe to download

The last way for checking whether Android applications are safe to download is to pay attention to the installation process. Some malware or spam steals things through terms and conditions. These developers secretly know that most people click “accept” without reading. So they make you agree to data mining, data sharing, pop-ups and all sorts of other things. The solution is to read everything carefully.

If the app presents you with terms and conditions when you open it, read them.  If it’s too hard to understand, use a plain language translator like  Rewordify . If it’s still too thick, it’s best to just close it and remove it.

Apps that ask you to agree to many additional things may be trying to steal your data. If they don’t seem interested in helping you understand why they need it, be wary.

Enjoy peace of mind while downloading

Your personal data is valuable, so it’s worth your time to protect it. Avoid installing from unverified sources, but don’t assume that everything on the Google Play Store is safe. Do more research by reading forum reviews, articles, or reviews to learn about the app’s credibility and security.

These steps can also avoid the hassle of spam ads. With just a moment or two of reading and a little common sense, you can feel confident downloading anything. But apps aren’t the only ways malicious developers can access your data. Make sure you do regular phone maintenance and use a good virus scanner!

Source: MAKEUSEOF.COM

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How to recognize the name of the font from its picture?

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Have you ever come across a font that looks great for your next project but can’t figure out what type it is?

How to recognize the name of the font from its picture?

For people who always deal with graphic images, photos or advertising banners, knowing how to recognize text fonts from photos is a useful and practical trick. Sometimes you are looking for a font that can attract the attention of viewers for an advertising banner or a special ad, and you prefer to use a font that you have seen before on a certain photo, so that your image looks just as attractive and spectacular; but you don’t know. How to find that particular font type.

If a particular font has caught your eye recently, you will see in this article that you can easily find the fonts on the images and use them for your purposes. If you need a specific font for personal use or if you need to identify it at the request of a customer, you will need the following methods.

Before starting, keep in mind that the software, websites and solutions that we introduce in this article do not have the ability to recognize Persian fonts and can only be used to recognize English fonts and so on.

Table of contents
  • Font recognition from photos online
  • FontSquirrel
  • Fontspring
  • MyFonts
  • The best artificial intelligence tool to find fonts from photos
  • Recognizing the text font from the photo on the computer and laptop
  • The best font recognition programs for photos
  • WhatTheFont
  • Find my Font
  • Is it possible to find the Persian font from the photo?

Font recognition from photos online

Online font detection sites are the best way to find a font from a photo, and almost all of them work the same way. To use these sites, it is enough to enter one of these sites using your phone and upload your photo so that it recognizes the font used in the image in a short time. In the following, we introduce some of the best online sites for recognizing fonts from photos:

FontSquirrel

Fontsquirrel website

FontSquirrel is one of the best online font recognition sites that, in addition to font recognition, allows you to download different fonts and chat with other people in the FontTalk section.

Working with the FontSquirrel website is easier than you might think. You just need to enter the site, upload the desired photo, and give the site a few seconds to display the photo font and other similar fonts for you. To upload a photo on this site, you can drag and drop the photo or tap on the Upload option and select the photo from your image gallery.

After uploading the photo on the FontSquirrel site, you will be asked to specify the part of the text that you want the font program to recognize, and finally, click on the Matcherate it button to provide you with the fonts that match the image.

The great thing about FontSquirrel is that it also allows you to purchase the provided fonts, and if you’re lucky, you might be able to download some of them for free.

Fontspring

Fontspring site

Fontspring works just like other free online font recognition tools; But with 900,000 different fonts, it can increase your chances of finding the font you’re looking for.

By entering the macerator section of this site, you will see a page similar to the image above. Tap on Upload Image and upload the image you have in mind. In the next step, if necessary, you can crop the photo or change its direction. Finally, select the text on the photo and click on Matcherate. After a few seconds, all matching fonts will appear.

MyFonts

My Font website

If the previous sites failed to help you find the font you want, you can visit MyFonts. This site offers many professional fonts for different projects and currently provides users with access to more than 230,000 fonts.

The great thing about the MyFonts website is that once you upload a photo, it automatically identifies the text on the photo; So you will spend less time compared to other tools. Tap on the highlighted text and then tap the Identify option. Finally, if you find the desired font, you can buy or download it directly from the site.

The best artificial intelligence tool to find fonts from photos

These days, when the fever of artificial intelligence is hot everywhere in the world, the use of artificial intelligence to recognize fonts from photos is one of the most important concerns of many people in the world. If you are one of these people, we recommend that you visit the WhatFontIs website. This website has two web versions, free and pro, and using artificial intelligence and 840,000 commercial and free fonts, it displays more than 60 types of similar fonts for every image you upload.

Whatfonts site

Try to have the photo you upload as high quality as possible; Because sometimes the low quality of the photo makes WhatFontIs unable to identify the corresponding font. Also, after uploading the image, the website tries to separate the letters automatically; However, if you want to identify broken fonts, you need to separate each letter with an advanced image editor.

Recognizing the text font from the photo on the computer and laptop

In addition to the online tools that you are not limited to using on your phone and computer, there is a lesser-known feature in Photoshop that can recognize fonts from photos for you. To use this font recognition tool, open the desired image in Adobe Photoshop and then select the text on the photo with the Rectangular marquee tool. Finally, click on Type in the toolbar and press Match Font.

Match Font tool

Photoshop will show you similar and alternative fonts that match the text in the selected image. If after trying different methods, you have not managed to find the font you want, this tool can help you to some extent.

The best font recognition programs for photos

A number of programs also allow you to recognize the font on your phone; Thus, even if you do not have access to the Internet, you will always have font recognition software with you to use when necessary. In the following, you will get to know some of the best programs for finding fonts from photos:

WhatTheFont

What The Font program environment

If you don’t want to use online tools, WhatTheFont will do the font recognition process for you. After specifying the font that you want WhatTheFont to recognize, this program will provide you with a list of similar fonts and you can find the option you want.

WhatTheFont is a popular app for designers, crafters, and typography enthusiasts to get ideas and inspiration for their projects. This program has a smooth and simple user interface and helps you identify fonts in an instant.

In addition to software, WhatTheFont has a free web version that you can use to recognize fonts from photos without occupying your phone’s memory.

Download WhatTheFont app for Android
Download WhatTheFont app for iPhone

Find my Font

Find My Font program environment

If you are looking for a program to recognize Latin fonts, Find My Font is a very good choice for you. This program is an ideal software for graphic designers, web designers, and all creative people who don’t want to waste time looking for fonts. You can take a photo of a particular font through the app’s camera or upload an image from your phone’s gallery and let the app find the font in just a few seconds.

Find My Font includes more than 150,000 different fonts; But besides the good features it offers, it is not possible to download fonts from it and you can only use it to identify fonts. Among other features of this program, we can mention the possibility of rotating images and identifying disconnected letters.

It should be noted that the desktop version of Find My Font, which is available for Windows and Mac operating systems, also has the ability to identify non-Latin fonts. This software detects fonts in a short time and in addition to finding the font from the photo, it also displays similar fonts.

Download the Find my Font program for Android
Download Find my Font program for iPhone

Is it possible to find the Persian font from the photo?

Most of the sites that we have introduced in this article are active in the field of selling and providing different fonts, and in addition to this work, they also provide users with an online tool for recognizing text fonts from photos.

Unfortunately, most Iranian sites do not have a font recognition tool from the photo and are only considered as a reference for buying all kinds of Iranian fonts; fortunately, the Font Yab website provides its users with the option of finding a font from a photo. If you are looking for a Persian font finder from a photo, be sure to visit this site.

The need to find a font from a photo is something that most of us have probably experienced at least once. Do you have experience using any of the methods introduced in this article? Do you think the best way to recognize a font from a photo is to use websites or programs designed for this purpose?

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How to reduce the use of chrome RAM?

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If you are tired of the high RAM consumption of Chrome, you can use some tricks to give your system RAM a breath of fresh air.

How to reduce the use of Chrome

Chrome browser has always been considered one of the most popular browsers and the main RAM killer of computers since its release until now. It doesn’t matter if the RAM capacity of your system is 4 GB or even 32 GB and more; In any case, by opening Chrome, you will dedicate most of the RAM capacity to Chrome.

Although Google has always been trying to optimize the use of Chrome and periodically improves the stability and consumption of hardware resources of this browser with frequent updates, RAM consumption is still one of the biggest problems for users when using Chrome.

This issue becomes more pronounced when you connect your Google account to Chrome to sync information, extensions, and history, and at this time you will see that at least half of the RAM capacity is easily allocated to this browser.

In general, it is inevitable that a large part of the system resources will be used to use this browser, but with solutions, this effect can be greatly reduced, especially in the case of RAM consumption.

Table of contents
  • Enable Memory Saver in Chrome
  • Prevent tabs from being disabled for a specific site in Chrome
  • Close unused and high-use tabs
  • Remove or disable unused plugins
  • Disable Preload Pages
  • Close Chrome completely and disable background activities

Enable Memory Saver in Chrome

Nearly two years ago, Google introduced the Memory Saver feature to reduce Chrome’s RAM consumption. This feature intelligently disables tabs, add-ons, and other processes that remain unused for a while and do not refer to them, deletes their data from the RAM, and has a significant impact on the RAM consumption of this browser. To enable this feature:

  • Enter Settings from the three-dot option at the top of the screen.
Chrome settings
  • Search for a Memory saver in the search bar above.
  • By activating the RAM saver, three levels, Moderate, Balanced, and Maximum, will be displayed, and by choosing each, you can determine the period of time for the tabs to be disabled. By selecting Balanced, the tabs will be disabled after a normal amount of time of inactivity. If you select Moderate, the tabs will be disabled for a longer time, and with Maximum, they will be disabled for a very short time after leaving.
Chrome RAM reduction settings

If your RAM fills up quickly and slows down the system, use the Maximum option; However, closing unused tabs is a more logical solution.

If your RAM is not affected much by Chrome, we recommend leaving the setting on Balanced so that when the tab returns and activates, less time is spent on reloading the page and refreshing the cache, thus reducing the processing load.

Prevent tabs from being disabled for a specific site in Chrome

If you have opened an important site that has certain information or is involved in a process that is lost if the tab is disabled, you can prevent it from being disabled by adding the address of this site to the list of exceptions and keeping it open all the time.

  • In Chrome settings, from the top search bar, search for inactive.
Chrome RAM reduction settings
  • Click on the Add option in the Always keep these sites active section.
  • You can choose your desired site from the open tabs or enter the desired website address manually from the Add Sites section.
Chrome RAM reduction settings

Close unused and high-use tabs

Perhaps Chrome is always accused of high RAM consumption, but the user himself can also be guilty in this case; Therefore, it is better to manage your open tabs and if you are one of those people like me who thinks you should keep tabs open to refer to them every hour or day, you will never see the empty half of the device’s RAM.

For more convenient RAM management, Chrome allows you to see the RAM consumption of each tab by hovering the mouse over the tabs, and thus you can make an easier decision by closing the tabs that are consuming the most RAM.

If you don’t see the RAM usage information by hovering over each tab:

  • Open Settings and enter Appearance from the left bar.
  • Activate the Show tab memory usage option from the Tab hover preview card section.
View the RAM consumption of the Chrome tab

Remove or disable unused plugins

Chrome is not just a browser and provides a platform for running various applications and extensions so that as a multi-purpose software, various tools and facilities can be used. This browser has a lot of codes and many complications, part of this complexity is due to the existence of many features and facilities, and most importantly, the infrastructure of the ChromeOS operating system is based on Chromium.

Chrome extensions are so wide and diverse, and among them, there are useful tools that there is rarely a situation where the user of this browser does not install an extension; But sometimes the number of installed add-ons becomes so large that the user loses track of the number and does not notice the increase of add-ons that may have been used only once.

Therefore, if you are one of the people who have many extensions in Chrome, it is better to fix this section and help increase the speed of Chrome and thus reduce its RAM consumption. For this:

  • First, through Chrome’s Task Manager, check which extensions occupy the most RAM; To do this, press Shift+Esc.
  • Click the Memory footprint tab a few times until an upside-down triangle icon appears next to it.
  • Tabs, processes, and add-ons will be shown in order of RAM consumption, and in this way, you can identify the most consuming add-ons.
  • Click on the three dots option from the top menu and click on manage extensions from the Extensions section.
Chrome extension settings
  • On the add-ons page, turn off frequently used or underused items or remove them completely from Chrome by clicking Remove.
Chrome RAM reduction settings

Disable Preload Pages

Chrome has a feature that preloads some sites and pages before the user requests to speed up the page-loading process when the user wants to enter a site.

This feature will be useful for people who have weak internet and it even reduces the processing load of the processor to a great extent, but it will lead to an increase in RAM consumption another way to prevent this is to turn off the mentioned feature:

  • In the Chrome settings, search for Preload from the top toolbar and turn off the Preload Pages option.
Chrome page loading settings
  • You can also balance the level of preloading pages by Chrome and enable Standard Preloading instead of Extended Preloading.

Read more: How to increase the speed of Google Chrome on Android

Close Chrome completely and disable background activities

Sometimes, by closing the Chrome window, the processes of this browser do not stop completely and Chrome remains open in the background so that it can be opened faster in the next execution of Chrome. Of course, some extensions and applications that do not deal with tabs and operate independently of Chrome can lead to Chrome’s activity in the background and, as a result, increase RAM consumption.

If you don’t want this app to keep running in the background when you’re not using Chrome:

  • Open the settings and enter System from the left menu.
  • Turn off the Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed option.
Settings to run Chrome in the background

In this article, we explained the most important tricks to reduce Chrome consumption; However, with some initiatives, it is possible to reduce Chrome’s RAM consumption even more. If you know or have tried a specific method or trick that has been fruitful and effective for you, share it with us in the comments section.

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How to hide a file or directory in Linux?

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How to hide a file or directory in Linux?
By following a few simple steps, you can hide your favorite files and directories in Linux.

How to hide a file or directory in Linux?

Most of us have files on our computer or laptop that we don’t want other people to see. If your system uses a Mac or Windows operating system, you can use various tools to hide different files and folders or even encrypt your favorite files to better protect your privacy. In this article, we will talk about how to hide a file or directory in Linux.

In Linux computers and laptops, like Windows and Mac, you can hide your favorite files and directories from the view of others both through the terminal of the operating system and by using some tools that are very easy to use. In the following, we will introduce some efficient methods to hide files and directories in Linux.

Hide files and directories through the terminal

The easiest way to hide various files and directories in Linux is to use the Linux terminal or the Linux graphical environment (GUI).

  • Open a Linux terminal window by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T.
  • In the terminal, type the following command:
 $ ls $ mv sync.ffs_db .sync.ffs_db $ ls

Note: instead of sync.ffs_db, you must enter the name of the file you want and then type the file name again with a dot (.) at the beginning.

Hide file and directory through terminal

To hide the file through the graphical environment (GUI) of Linux, proceed as follows:

  • First, right-click on the desired file and click on the Rename option.
Hiding the file and directory through the Linux graphical environment, the first step
  • Put a dot (.) at the beginning of the file name.
Hiding the file and directory through the Linux graphical environment, the second step
  • Open and close the file once to apply the changes and hide the file.

Hide files in an image

Although hiding the file and directory in Linux by changing the file name seems to be a simple and fast method, but equally, it becomes easy for people who are a little familiar with the Linux environment to access this file. Therefore, we suggest that you go for a better method.

Data encryption or steganography is a method of hiding information in a normal image file, which, like the first method, has almost simple steps, but unlike it, it really hides the files you want from anyone’s view, and you can even hide them after hiding them. Delete the original file in the image irretrievably. In the following, we will teach the steps to hide the file and directory in an image file using the Linux terminal.

  • Open the Linux terminal and create a new folder (directory) using the following command.
mkdir newdir

Note: instead of newdir, enter your desired name for the new directory.

  • Copy or move the image file (PNG or JPG) you want to use to hide your desired file into the new folder you created.

Important note: sometimes, depending on the size of the files or the number of files you want to hide in an image, you may need to use a large image so that you have enough space to store the files inside the image.

If you want to hide multiple files, it is better to compress them into one zip file. To compress files in Linux, you must first create a new folder.

  • To create a new folder inside the folder you have already created, enter the following command in the Linux terminal:
mkdir /tmp/newdir

Note: instead of tmp, you must type the name of the folder you created in the previous step and enter your desired name for the new folder instead of newdir.

In this tutorial, we created a main folder named Images, which contains an image named MainImage.png and a subfolder named FileToHide. This subfolder contains all the files we want to hide.

  • To compress your files into a zip file, run the following command in the Linux terminal:
/zip -r secret.zip FilesToHide

Note: The r- code in the above command includes all the subfolders in the specified folder in the compressed file. In this command, instead of secret.zip, replace the desired name; You should also enter the name of the folder where you have saved all the files you want to hide instead of FileToHide.

Hiding the file in the image using the terminal step one

To hide the zipped file in your desired image, run the following command in the Linux terminal:

 cat MainImage.png secret.zip > secret.png

Note: In this command, MainImage.png is our main image file and secret.zip is the name of the zip file that contains all the files we want to hide. In fact, we redirected these two files to a new image file called secret.png. Be careful that the names of MainImage and secret (in both files with PNG and zip extensions) should be replaced with the names you want.

  • After running this command, if you want to see a list of all the files in the folder, use the ls command. In this directory, you will see the file name of the new image you created.
Hide the file in the image using the terminal, step two
  • To access files hidden in an image file, use the following command to extract the zip file from within the image:
unzip secret.png

Note: replace secret.png with the name you chose for the image file containing the secret files .

  • When you run the ls command , the root folder containing the files you zipped will be displayed.
Hide the file in the image using the third step terminal
  • In this case, if you want to see the original files, enter the following command in the terminal:
cd FilesTOhide

Delete the original file after hiding it in the image

Sometimes you may want to delete the original version of the file after hiding the sample files you want in an image file. You can use the shred command to do this. This command replaces the file value with a specific value when the file is deleted. For example, we can set the file value to zero when deleting a file.

  • For this purpose, after opening the Linux window, run the following command:
shred -z –remove HideThisFile.txt ThisFileIsPrivate.txt

By default, these files are overwritten three times (meaning rewriting new information, without the ability to recover previous information). This amount is usually enough, but if you want to overwrite the file more often, you only need to enter the command as follows and replace N with the number of times you want the files to be overwritten.

iterations=N- shred -z –remove HideThisFile.txt ThisFileIsPrivate.txt

In this command, the z-code replaces the value of the file with the value zero. Also, the remove- code removes files; Of course, this is done through the shred command itself, but without entering remove- in the shred command, the file removal operation will not be done completely.

Hide the file in the image using the terminal Step 4

What method do you use to hide your files in Linux? We will be happy if you share your experiences in this field with us and other Zomit users.

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