Charly's Column – Outsmarting WhatsApp
Berry Service
Sys admin Charly likes to keep up with the state of his domestic strawberry plants, so he has outsmarted WhatsApp to allow status messages to be sent through the service from a PC or Raspberry Pi.
When it comes to domestic events, I use WhatsApp to keep on top: A motion detector in the bird and hedgehog house, the status of the garden irrigation system, doorbell, water level in the aquarium, and much more. The tool that sends me the message is Yowsup [1], and it's easy to install:
wget https://github.com/tgalal/yowsup/archive/master.zip unzip master.zip cd yowsup-master/ ./setup.py install
Yowsup makes the WhatsApp API believe it is running on cellphone. You need a SIM card that is not yet registered with WhatsApp for the login process. I used a free prepaid card for that purpose. "Free" here means that there is no monthly base charge or contract but only pay-per-call. Some mobile service providers have such SIM cards on offer.
I opted for a provider, put the SIM card in the phone, and activated the card; you need to determine the MCC/MNC pairing, which you can find online [2]: The mobile country code for Germany is 262, the mobile network code for my network provider, Vodafone, is 2. Nothing to stop me registering now:
yowsup-cli registration -d -E android -m 262 -n 2 -p 491521234567 -C 49 -r sms
After a few seconds, you get a text message with a registration code, say, 528-142. You need this now:
yowsup-cli registration -d -E android -p 491521234567 -C 49 -R 528-142
The output contains my login credentials in the style of Listing 1. The username is my telephone number including the country code, and the password appears in line 3. Now I can put the SIM card in a back drawer. From now on, I can send WhatsApp messages on my PC.
Listing 1
yowsup-cli Registration
./yowsup-cli demos -l "491521234567:VQOHbVldOAjd+5GKIrHVWRNZkV0=" -s 491721234567 "Howdy, Post"
and receive them on my mobile phone (Figure 1). I have to go – my message just reached me: Strawberry harvest!
Figure 1: A "Hello World!" sent by Charly to the phone.
Infos
- Yowsup: https://github.com/tgalal/yowsup
- List of MCCs and MNCs by country: http://mcclist.com/mobile-network-codes-country-codes.asp IE:
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux Kernel 6.13 Offers Improvements for AMD/Apple Users
The latest Linux kernel is now available, and it includes plenty of improvements, especially for those who use AMD or Apple-based systems.
-
Gnome 48 Debuts New Audio Player
To date, the audio player found within the Gnome desktop has been meh at best, but with the upcoming release that all changes.
-
Plasma 6.3 Ready for Public Beta Testing
Plasma 6.3 will ship with KDE Gear 24.12.1 and KDE Frameworks 6.10, along with some new and exciting features.
-
Budgie 10.10 Scheduled for Q1 2025 with a Surprising Desktop Update
If Budgie is your desktop environment of choice, 2025 is going to be a great year for you.
-
Firefox 134 Offers Improvements for Linux Version
Fans of Linux and Firefox rejoice, as there's a new version available that includes some handy updates.
-
Serpent OS Arrives with a New Alpha Release
After months of silence, Ikey Doherty has released a new alpha for his Serpent OS.
-
HashiCorp Cofounder Unveils Ghostty, a Linux Terminal App
Ghostty is a new Linux terminal app that's fast, feature-rich, and offers a platform-native GUI while remaining cross-platform.
-
Fedora Asahi Remix 41 Available for Apple Silicon
If you have an Apple Silicon Mac and you're hoping to install Fedora, you're in luck because the latest release supports the M1 and M2 chips.
-
Systemd Fixes Bug While Facing New Challenger in GNU Shepherd
The systemd developers have fixed a really nasty bug amid the release of the new GNU Shepherd init system.
-
AlmaLinux 10.0 Beta Released
The AlmaLinux OS Foundation has announced the availability of AlmaLinux 10.0 Beta ("Purple Lion") for all supported devices with significant changes.