It's been a while since we last looked at Android text messaging replacements. For dedicated SMS users, Handcent SMS takes the cake.

One of the surprising overhauls in iOS 8 is Messages. Apple changed a lot of stuff and added some new features to Messages that make it much more pleasant to use. Here's everything you need to know.

Pushbullet can't seem to stop rolling out useful updates. Users can now reply to SMS messages from the desktop, regardless of what app you use for texting.

Dear Lifehacker, I am quite security-conscious when it comes to online accounts and use strong passwords via LastPass and two-factor authentication wherever possible via SMS. However, I will be travelling overseas soon, and getting a new SIM card and number. How can I keep my accounts secure while travelling and not need to receive text messages?

Despite living in a wonderland of messaging apps, many of us still rely on boring old SMS, which is unfortunately tied to your phone. Pushbullet and EvolveSMS make it easy to text from your desktop.

Apple's iMessage is a great way to avoid text messaging charges and send messages to other Apple users for free, but it's not without its problems. Unfortunately, unlike traditional SMS, the problems don't seem to magically work themselves out on their own, so here's how to fix some of the more common issues you might come across.

Deleting a conversation on iOS is easy, but deleting an individual SMS message from a thread requires a bit more work. Here's how to do it.

You don't switch away from your PC to your smartphone to reply to an email or an instant message, so why should a simple SMS message be any different? Thankfully, if you have an Android device, you can continue using your PC (and its full-size spacious keyboard) to read and send text messages. Our choice for this task: MightyText.

Dear Lifehacker, I have an online savings account with an Australian bank that uses SMS codes for verification and login. However, it only allows Australian mobile numbers. I find this very restrictive: what if I travel overseas but don't want to activate global roaming? Is there any way I can work around this?

Android: While Whatsapp and other alternative texting apps are great for sharing links and pics, the humble SMS is lagging behind. Well, not if you have Invi, which makes text messages a multimedia-rich experience.

Dear Lifehacker, I've been hearing a lot about different messaging apps these days, but I don't understand why I should care. One search shows WhatsApp, Viber, iMessages, Snapchat, Kik, Facebook Messenger and dozens more. I already have text messaging. Why do I need these other apps?

Android: Facebook's Chat Heads is the surprisingly clever feature with the silly name. If you prefer to use SMS but still want to use a floating messenger, HoverChat offers the same functionality in a basic texting app.

Android: In KitKat, Google has replaced the old Messaging app with Hangouts. If you still want a dedicated app for SMS, or if you're on an older version of Android and want a better messaging app, Hello SMS is a strong contender as a beautiful replacement with a unique tabs-based interface.

Android: Not all messages are created equal. Unfortunately, notifications for those messages usually come in a one-vibration-fits-all style. Mumble! allows you to customise notifications based on the content of the messages you receive.

Technology can make your life convenient . . . too convenient. Comfort can get the best of you and embarrassing things can happen. You'll send emails to the wrong person or accidentally make a private post public. These simple little errors can have disastrous effects, but you can implement a safety net to try and avoid the horrible shame of a technological faux pas.

Android: When CyanogenMod announced that it would be rolling encrypted text messaging into its ROM, we were a bit disappointed that it would only work for CM users. TextSecure thankfully broadens the base, making encryption available to any Android user.

Dear Lifehacker, I have a Nexus 5 and I have started using the Google Hangouts app for SMS my friends. But I'm wondering: are the SMS messages also backed up into Google?

Like it or not, short text messages are here to stay, and they're going to affect our relationships. But how they do so is up to us. New research shows that texting can be great for keeping up with each other, but it's very bad if used to express negative emotions.

Android: Prey is a great tool to get back lost or stolen gear, and it really works. However, if a thief disables it, you're out of luck. That's where today's Prey updates come in. New SMS commands can return location data, lock or wipe your phone, and even hide Prey itself so the thief doesn't know it's there.