whatsapp for PC

[DEC-1982]

I have a cheap ($15) Kyocera phone that cannot download apps.

I have a Windows 7 PC.

Can anybody here recommend a Whatsapp for PC that works, and is reasonably safe from viruses, spyware, malaware etc

The one I tried late yesterday night from download.cnet.com had a version of Whatsapp that apparently expired in June or July 2015 and asked me to update Whatsapp. After I updated the app, the updated version of whatsapp wouldn't work in the Andy vm.

 

[rbmrtn]

I am not a "texter" but the way I have done it when needed is to use your standard email client. You can send a text to the phone number @ the providers text gateway

1234567890@txt.att.net

Here's more info How to Send Free Text Messages From Your PC | Digital Trends

You have to know the recipients carrier. There are also websites that you can use to provide texting service. I don't know of a stand alone PC app for texting ( although looks like W10 will have one )

 

[target2019]

WhatsApp is available for iPhone, Android, Nokia Symbian S60 & S40, BlackBerry and Windows Phone.*

Above is from the site. I believe you need a phone for it to work. At least for now.

I have it working on iPhone, and tracfone. Two different phone numbers. When I'm on wifi the phones use that to send data and voice.

 

[DEC-1982]

I am not a "texter" but the way I have done it when needed is to use your standard email client. You can send a text to the phone number @ the providers text gateway

1234567890@txt.att.net

Here's more info How to Send Free Text Messages From Your PC | Digital Trends

You have to know the recipients carrier. There are also websites that you can use to provide texting service. I don't know of a stand alone PC app for texting ( although looks like W10 will have one )

rbmrtn, thanks. Basic texting works on my Kyocera phone. I can text successfully within the US. But I need whatsapp, because I can text, send pictures, and even talk with other whatsapp users across the world free of charges. Regular texting doesn't seem to work for these folks outside the US, at least not the people I want to text to.

But I am going to see if I can find out an address for the target cell phone like the one you mentioned mobile@carrier.net for at least some test phone abroad. Thanks for mentioning that.

WhatsApp is available for iPhone, Android, Nokia Symbian S60 & S40, BlackBerry and Windows Phone.*

Above is from the site. I believe you need a phone for it to work. At least for now.

I have it working on iPhone, and tracfone. Two different phone numbers. When I'm on wifi the phones use that to send data and voice.

target2019, thanks for the reply.
So, when I Googled whatsapp for PC/Winows yesterday night, I saw a whole lot of possibilities pop up. However, I was hesitant to to try one randomly without some sense that they were "safe". I have used download.cnet.com in the past. I think the one application I tried yesterday, andy-whatsapp, the way it works is it creates a virtual machine in my Windows7 system, loads Android on it, and then starts whatsapp in that vm under Android.

I will continue working on this as a little project till I figure it out.

 

[easysurfer]

rbmrtn, thanks. Basic texting works on my Kyocera phone. I can text successfully within the US. But I need whatsapp, because I can text, send pictures, and even talk with other whatsapp users across the world free of charges. Regular texting doesn't seem to work for these folks outside the US, at least not the people I want to text to.

But I am going to see if I can find out an address for the target cell phone like the one you mentioned mobile@carrier.net for at least some test phone abroad. Thanks for mentioning that.




target2019, thanks for the reply.
So, when I Googled whatsapp for PC/Winows yesterday night, I saw a whole lot of possibilities pop up. However, I was hesitant to to try one randomly without some sense that they were "safe". I have used download.cnet.com in the past. I think the one application I tried yesterday, andy-whatsapp, the way it works is it creates a virtual machine in my Windows7 system, loads Android on it, and then starts whatsapp in that vm under Android.

I will continue working on this as a little project till I figure it out.

Did you try going directly to Whatapp's website for the download? I'm not a fan download.cnet.com. Their downloads seems sponsored by ads? Instead of just doing a simple download.

 

[rbmrtn]

But I am going to see if I can find out an address for the target cell phone like the one you mentioned mobile@carrier.net for at least some test phone abroad. Thanks for mentioning that.

Here's a link to a list of gateways, Email to SMS gateway list. How to send free text messages

The offical "whatsapp" only runs on phones ( per their website ). Anything else maybe just hijacking their name.

 

[target2019]

target2019, thanks for the reply.
So, when I Googled whatsapp for PC/Winows yesterday night, I saw a whole lot of possibilities pop up. However, I was hesitant to to try one randomly without some sense that they were "safe". I have used download.cnet.com in the past. I think the one application I tried yesterday, andy-whatsapp, the way it works is it creates a virtual machine in my Windows7 system, loads Android on it, and then starts whatsapp in that vm under Android.

I will continue working on this as a little project till I figure it out.

What you are seeing is adaptations of the legitimate whatsapp. I think installing an android emulator and then whatsapp will keep leading you to continual dissapointment. It is a project, I'll agree.

You can get a tracfone or similar plan that costs very little. That will let you install a boatload of android apps, including whatsapp. It will likely work more often than a 'project'.

Or you can upgrade your phone. I guess that means changing plans and all the associated pain.

BTW, whatsapp doesn't work on my android tablet, either. As rbmrtn said, you need a working phone number for this app. I am just wondering what "trickery" these windows/android/whatsthat are using?

For general info, whatsapp is pretty good. Here is how we use it. The parents and the kids (one across the world) have a group conversation going. Can paste pictures, say funny things, be serious, etc. In the past we've used Google+, Skype, AIM, etc. At least for now WhatsApp is WhatsCool.

Take care and hope you get it going.

 

[kcowan]

We keep getting invitations to join WhatsApp on our iPhones and we keep ignoring them because of fears of malware.

 

[target2019]

You do need to be careful. If you don't have the app, where does the spam come from?

Sometime after installing the app in my iphone, I did have one incident of spam. By changing app settings I was able to exclude that from happening again.

I suggest a throwaway or anonymous email address to sign up, just in case.

 

[DEC-1982]

Thanks a lot folks.

As target2019 mentioned and rbmrtn confirmed, the official site has whatsapp only for phones.

The 2 Tracfones that I looked at don't have service in my zip code. I will look at some more just in case.

whatsapp is free for 1 year, then has a charge of $0.99 per year, and no ads.

whatsapp is owned by Facebook. I know a few people in the US and a lot of people abroad using it so I am reasonably sure it is a decent (meaning clean) app.

I have seen other threads in the forum about cheap phones and services so I will do some searching through the forum to see what I can do.

 

[walkinwood]

It will not work in your case.

Whatsapp provides a solution to allow you to type/read your messages on a PC using the Chrome browser. But - and its a big but - you must have your app running on a mobile device at the same time. All it does it makes it easier to type messages.

Whatsapp is wonderful and very popular outside the US especially in India.