android security

Security bug found for Samsung Galaxy S3

Following closely on the heels of a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 security vulnerability, another Samsung user has found that the bug affects other models.

Unlike the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 flaw, the bug allows for full access to the Samsung Galaxy S3. The method is similar in that it requires a fleet-fingered user to hop through a number of screens.

As discovered by Sean McMillian, the smartphone can be manipulated by tapping through the emergency call, emergency contacts, home screen, and then the power button twice. McMillian admits that the bug isn't consistent -- sometimes, he said, it works … Read more

Report: Half of Android devices have unpatched holes

More than 50 percent of Android devices have serious vulnerabilities that are unpatched because carriers are often slow to update the software, a mobile security researcher says.

"Since we launched X-Ray [Android app used for scanning for vulnerabilities], we've already collected results from over 20,000 Android devices worldwide. Based on these initial results, we estimate that over half of Android devices worldwide have unpatched vulnerabilities that could be exploited by a malicious app or adversary," Jon Oberheide, chief technology officer at Duo Security, wrote in a blog post. The results are then extrapolated using Google's … Read more

Olympics-related malware goes on a global phishing trip

When the Summer Olympics roll around, you can count on some intense competition in key events like gymnastics. But for 2012, the action isn't just on the mat. It seems that distributing and battling malware and phishing efforts disguised as Olympics apps and info are practically an exhibition sport this summer.

An app called "London Olympics Widget" seems harmless enough, but according to Webroot's security blog, it actually rifles through your contacts, device info, and text messages. … Read more

Security firm: Android malware pandemic by year's end

Android malware levels are rising at an alarming rate, according to antivirus maker Trend Micro.

The security firm said at the start of the year, it had found more than 5,000 malicious applications designed to target Google's Android mobile operating system, but the figure has since risen to about 20,000 in recent months.

By the coming third-quarter, the firm estimates there will be around 38,000 malware samples, and close to 130,000 in the fourth-quarter.

If Trend Micro is forecasting the numbers correctly, it won't be a flu epidemic you'll be worried about come … Read more

5 ways to help find your lost Android device

Some of us are so dependent on our Android devices that our breathing gets weird just from thinking about losing them. Fortunately, there are some easy ways to track them down beyond just calling and hoping to hear the ring under a pile of laundry. Some require installation beforehand, but one doesn't. Here's how to help ensure your device comes back to you: 

Set up  Contact Owner so that the first thing someone sees when they pick up your device is a message telling them how to get in touch with you. It's easy … Read more

RIM's vaunted security a selling point no longer?

When it comes to mobile security, common perception is that RIM's Blackberry devices have the market locked up. But in this age of personal iPhones and Androids migrating to corporate networks, does it really matter?

We also inhabit an era of disclosing everything you do online, including sharing your live location, publicly announcing shopping preferences, not to mention making purchases with digital wallets. I argue that attitudes have shifted since the time of a RIM-dominated handset market.

Okay, let's be clear, smartphones today hold a frightening amount of personal data. From email, texts, to real-time position and Web … Read more

Android handsets secretly logging keystrokes, SMS messages?

Your Android-based smartphone could be watching just about everything you do, Android security researcher Trevor Eckhart argues in a video posted earlier this week.

In the nearly 20-minute video clip, Eckhart shows how software developed by mobile-device tracker Carrier IQ logs each keystroke and then sends them off to locations unknown. In addition, when Eckhart tried placing a call, Carrier IQ's software recorded each number before the call was even made.

Eckhart started making waves across the privacy community earlier this month after he dug into software developed by Carrier IQ that, he said, runs behind the scenes in … Read more

Dolphin HD browser snared in security breach

The makers of a popular mobile browser called Dolphin HD confirmed that their software leaks the addresses of all Web sites a user visits, a potential privacy and security breach.

MoboTap, a Pasadena, Calif.-based mobile developer, told CNET today that Dolphin HD for Android transmitted the Web addresses back to the company's servers but that they were not stored. The addresses were used to determine whether to format Web pages in "Webzine" format, MoboTap said.

The privacy and security implications arise when a user connects to a secure Web site (usually shown by "https://" … Read more

Lookout looks to tighten Apple's mobile security

Lookout Mobile Security revealed a free app for the iPhone and iPad today, porting some of its security tools from Android in its first moves to attract customers of Apple's mobile operating system.

Lookout for iOS (download) brings some mobile-specific security enhancements, such as a System Advisor, Contacts Backup, and Missing Device tools, but it lacks a scan for malicious apps and other traditional app or program-based local threats.

This is by design, Kevin Mahaffey, Lookout's chief technology officer, said last week in an interview at the CNET office in San Francisco. "How do we create a … Read more