Smart Phone Class Security and Safety

Security and Safety

(GEN 9/6/2013)

If you are interested in security and safety whether it is yours personally or the nations I’ve listed below some excerpts I’ve come across.

If you have an Android phone some lock screen options are explained here http://www.droid-life.com/2013/03/27/an-overview-of-android-lock-screen-security-options-beginners-guide/. This is another site (pay attention to your OS version) http://www.howtogeek.com/165507/everything-you-need-to-know-about-customizing-androids-lock-screen/.  A Skype bug that enables an attacker to bypass the lock screen on several Android mobile devices demonstrates once again the need for additional security… http://www.csoonline.com/article/735866/android-lock-screen-bypass-highlights-mobile-risk. The most awesome thing about android is that the OS allows user to customize every corner of it. Lock screen is the first thing anyone would see as soon as they try to unlock the device. So, it is important to have a good… http://getandroidstuff.com/best-android-lock-screen-app-for-free/. If you’re using Jellybean OS you might try Settings => Lock screen =>…

You can find iPhone lock screen protection here http://kevinworthington.com/quick-tip-lock-screen-passcode-protect-iphone/. This https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lockscreen+/id437555991?mt=8 is an iTunes app. More http://lifehacker.com/four-ways-to-overhaul-your-iphones-lock-screen-1125588441 comments about the iPhone lock screen.

Pew Research Center recently conducted a survey with 792 web users, and found that the urge for privacy is more common than it seems. A full 86 percent of respondents had covered their digital tracks in some way… http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/5/4698652/86-percent-of-web-users-have-tried-covering-their-digital-tracks

86% of internet users have taken steps online to remove or mask their digital footprints—ranging from clearing cookies to encrypting their email, from avoiding using their name to using virtual networks that mask their internet protocol (IP) address.

When the Snowden leaks first revealed the depths of the NSA’s spying capabilities, most eyes were on Gmail and Outlook.com. But for lawyers, there was a bigger worry: Dropbox… http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/6/4699358/after-prism-lawyers-struggle-to-keep-attorney-client-privilege-safe

It's ironic that with all our technologies for keeping things secret our secrets have a way of coming out into the open. We now know so much about the super-secret NSA and its spying activities that it's as if Spy versus Spy had become a comic reality… http://www.zdnet.com/the-secret-society-that-cant-keep-a-secret-7000020304/?s_cid=e589&ttag=e589

It's weird. Linux, which is Android's foundation, has almost no malware to speak of. Trend Micro, however, predicts that there may be as many as a million Android malware threats by the end of the year. What's going on here? http://www.zdnet.com/five-simple-ways-to-avoid-android-malware-7000017463/

If the User clicks on the link, a file named mms.apk, containing Opfake.a, is automatically loaded onto the smartphone or tablet. Then again, the user has to be a bit of an idiot and users run the downloaded program… http://www.zdnet.com/first-case-of-android-trojan-spreading-via-mobile-botnets-discovered-7000020292/?s_cid=e589&ttag=e589

Harry Brignull is a London, UK-based independent user experience designer with a PhD in cognitive science. He is also the founder of Dark Patterns, which is dedicated to, in his words, "naming and shaming websites that use deceptive user interfaces." This article is based on a presentation he gave at the Search Marketing Expo in Munich this past April… http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/29/4640308/dark-patterns-inside-the-interfaces-designed-to-trick-you

…according to a new document obtained by Public Intelligence, the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are increasingly aware of the threats its law enforcement users and officials face at a federal, state, and local level in using older versions of the mobile platform… http://www.zdnet.com/millions-of-android-users-vulnerable-to-security-threats-say-feds-7000019845/?s_cid=e589&ttag=e589

If you think of your smartphone as just a phone, rather than a very powerful mini-computer that happens to make phone calls, you may be cruising for a world of pain. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/10-dumbest-risks-people-smartphones/story?id=18378994

Bitcoin wallets generated by Android devices are vulnerable to theft caused by a problem in the way Android generates random numbers… http://www.zdnet.com/security-flaw-leaves-android-bitcoin-wallets-vulnerable-to-theft-7000019259/?s_cid=e539&ttag=e539

The number of deaths has been mostly trending down since 1996, which is interesting because over this same period of time cell phone use has risen tremendously. There are various reasons for the decreased in fatalities – helmet laws, seatbelt laws, cracking down on drunk driving, increased car safety, and intermediate drivers licenses for new drivers to name a few. These trends have probably obscured any increase in car accidents from using portable communication devices while driving… http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/dont-text-and-drive/