Category: Mobile


Smartphone scams: Owners warned over malware apps

Filed under: Android, Applications, Cybersecurity, Droid, Exploit, Hackers, Internet, Malware, Mobile, Trojan, WiFi by Ryan Boese — Leave a comment
November 6, 2011

Get Safe Online says that there has been an increase in smartphone malware as the market has grown.

Criminals are typically creating Trojan copies of reputable apps and tricking users into installing them.

Once on the phone, the app can secretly generate cash for criminals through premium rate text messages.

Get Safe Online, a joint initiative between the government, police and industry, said it was concerned that users of smartphones, such as Android devices, were not taking steps to protect their devices.

Get Safe Online said fraudsters are designing apps which generate cash secretly in the background without the owner realising until their monthly bill.

A typical scam involves an app designed to send texts to premium rate services without the user knowing.

Apps can appear to be bona fide software or sometimes masquerade as stripped down free versions of well-known games.

Rik Ferguson, a hacking researcher with internet security firm Trend Micro, said: “This type of malware is capable of sending a steady stream of text messages to premium rate numbers – in some instances we’ve seen one being sent every minute.

“With costs of up to £6 per message, this can be extremely lucrative. The user won’t know this is taking place, even if they happen to be using the device at the same time, as the activity takes place within the device’s back-end infrastructure.”

Online banking

Another major security firm, Symantec, recently warned in its annual threat assessment that Android phones were at risk and that it had found at least six varieties of malicious software.

Minister for Cyber Security Francis Maude said: “More and more people are using their smartphone to transmit personal and financial information over the internet, whether it’s for online banking, shopping or social networking.

“Research from Get Safe Online shows that 17% of smartphone users now use their phone for money matters and this doesn’t escape the notice of criminals.”

Tony Neate, head of Get Safe Online, urged people to check their phone’s security.

“Mobile phones are very personal. I have talked to people who are never more than a yard away from their mobile phone. Because of that attachment, they start to think that they are in a way invincible.

“It’s the end user that picks up the tab – it’s your phone that incurs the costs. Whether you have pay-as-you-go or a monthly account, that money is going to come from the account and go to the criminal.”

Source: BBC News

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Samsung joins forces with Intel and Microsoft

Filed under: Android, Applications, CPU, Google, Intel, Linux, Microsoft, Mobile, OpenSource, Samsung, Technology, Windows Phone 7, Wireless by Ryan Boese — Leave a comment
September 28, 2011

Samsung has quickly become one of the largest smartphone makers globally, helped by its strong offering of devices using Google’s Android platform.

Analysts said Wednesday’s deals signaled Samsung’s aim to lower its exposure to Android following Google’s $12.5 billion August acquisition of Motorola Mobility.

“The Google Motorola deal certainly gives Samsung some motivation to lessen the dependence on Android,” said Matthew Thornton, analyst at Avian Securities.

Microsoft and Samsung signed on Wednesday a new deal for development and marketing of Windows phones, while also agreeing on a wide patent cross-licensing deal. Samsung has also used Microsoft’s software in the past.

Earlier on Wednesday two Linux software groups, one backed by Samsung, another by Intel, said they have joined forces to develop a new operating system for cellphones and other devices.

Under the deal, the LiMo Foundation and Linux Foundation are effectively merging their LiMo and Meego mobile operating systems and hope to gain wider industry and consumer support, but analysts said the new Tizen platform is likely to struggle.

It would have to attract wide support from developers and manufacturers to compete with the dozen or so other mobile operating systems available in a smartphone market currently dominated by Apple’s in-house software and Google’s Linux-based Android.

“The best hope for them is that big operators get worried by Android … and decide to consciously switch their allegiances to rival platforms to restrict Google’s huge influence over the mobile market,” said analyst Neil Mawston from Strategy Analytics.

Earlier this year Nokia, the biggest phone maker by volume, ditched its own Symbian operating system in favor of Microsoft’s Windows Phone software.

Currently Windows Phone has a smartphone market share of 2-3 percent, according to industry analysts, and LiMo and Meego have less than 1 percent apiece, while Android’s share is almost 50 percent and still growing.

“This (Tizen) is driven by necessity. Linux rivals to Android have failed to gain traction and Samsung needs to reduce its dependence on Google,” said Geoff Blaber, an analyst at London-based telecoms industry consultancy CCS Insight.

The world’s second-biggest cellphone maker behind Nokia, Samsung is the leading user of the Android platform, which has been one of the reasons for its escalating court-room fight over patents with Apple.

Microsoft said the definitive agreement with Samsung to cross-license the patent portfolios of both companies, provides

broad coverage for each company’s products, and it will get royalties for Samsung’s devices running the Android platform.

“It’s probably a win-win. Microsoft is leveraging its patents to get customers while Samsung is looking for ways to lessen its dependence on Android,” said Avian’s Matthew Thornton.

2012 LINUX STORY

LiMo Foundation and the Linux Foundation said the new Tizen platform is an open-source, standards-based software platform that supports multiple devices including smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, netbooks and in-vehicle ‘infotainment’ systems.

A spokesman for Samsung said: “We’ve been a core Linux partner … and this is in line with our strategy of supporting many platforms.”

The initial release is planned for the first quarter of 2012, enabling the first devices using Tizen to come to market in mid-2012, the two groups said.

The world’s largest semiconductor firm Intel and Samsung Electronics, the second biggest maker of cell phones and one of the key contributors to LiMo, will head the technical steering committee developing Tizen.

Earlier this month Intel and Google launched a development partnership to adapt Android for Intel’s Atom processor chips, with a view to having the first Anroid phones featuring Intel chips in the first half of next year.

Linux is the most popular type of free, or open-source, computer operating system which allows the public to use, revise and share. Linux suppliers earn money selling improvements and technical services.

Source: Reuters

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Google buying Motorola: Nokia, Samsung, and other industry players react

Filed under: Android, Droid, Google, Mobile, Motorola, OpenSource, Technology, Telecom, Wireless by Ryan Boese — Leave a comment
August 15, 2011

Google said this morning that it dropped its “top five” Android partners a line yesterday to let them know that this Motorola acquisitionwas taking place — so naturally, many of them had prepared statements ready to go. The move will have ripple effects across several entire industries, though — not just the Android ecosystem alone — so we wanted to reach out and get reactions from a few companies that have a vested interest in Google’s successes and failures.

Overall, the theme across Android licensees’ initial statements is unwaveringly supportive at this point. Considering that Google’s primary goal is to shore up Android’s shaky patent situation, that comes as little surprise — though the striking similarity in some of the messaging suggests that Mountain View may have applied some pressure to show a unified front today. Regardless, the ball will be in Google’s court going forward to make sure that these guys aren’t put at a competitive disadvantage against Motorola — a move that could drive them away from Android altogether and into alternatives like Windows Phone, as Nokia’s statement seems to imply.

Follow the break for the full rundown from Nokia, HP, Samsung, HTC, Sony Ericsson, and LG.

 

Nokia

From Nokia, which had bypassed Android for its “commoditization risk” and is preparing to introduce a lineup dominated by Windows Phone devices in the coming years:

“This further reinforces our belief that opportunities for the growth of Nokia’s smartphone business will be greatest with Windows Phone. This could prove to be a massive catalyst for the Windows Phone ecosystem. Additionally, with our respective intellectual property portfolios, Nokia and Microsoft are working together to build and nurture an innovative ecosystem that benefits consumers, operators, developers and other device manufacturers.”

HP

HP hopes to go big with webOS through its own devices (and perhaps licensing deals at some point), which means it’s not directly affected by the Google-Motorola deal — but the seismic shift in the wireless ecosystem has the potential to affect the company’s fortunes nonetheless. Alas, they’ve issued a standard “no comment” today.

Samsung

Though Samsung Mobile US hasn’t specifically weighed in on the deal, JK Shin, President of Samsung Mobile’s global operations, had this to say:

“We welcome today’s news, which demonstrates Google’s deep commitment to defending Android, its partners, and the ecosystem.”

HTC

HTC — which splits its time between Android and Windows Phone — called on CEO Peter Chou for this quote:

“We welcome the news of today’s acquisition, which demonstrates that Google is deeply committed to defending Android, its partners, and the entire ecosystem.”

Additionally, the company insists that the deal won’t have an effect on its working relationship with Google:

“We are supportive of Google’s acquisition of  Motorola Mobility as this is a positive development to the Android ecosystem, which we believe is beneficial to HTC’s promotion of Android phones. The partnership between HTC and Google remains strong and will not be affected by this acquisition.”

Sony Ericsson

Bert Nordberg, CEO of the embattled company, released one of the briefest comments of the day — though it echoes the same sentiment that’s being conveyed by other Android manufacturers:

“I welcome Google‘s commitment to defending Android and its partners.”

LG

LG Mobile boss Jong-Seok Park seems to have cribbed off Nordberg’s notes (or vice versa):

“We welcome Google‘s commitment to defending Android and its partners.”

Source: Thisismynext

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Facebook Launches Standalone Mobile Messaging App

Filed under: Android, Apple, Applications, Facebook, IM, Mobile, Skype, VoIP by Ryan Boese — Leave a comment
August 9, 2011

Facebook has launched a standalone messaging app for iPhone or Android, showing the company’s larger ambitions as a service for communication between friends.

People no longer have to log-in to the Facebook app to get and send messages. Like with Facebook’s web interface, people can see SMS text messages, chat messages, emails and Facebook messages all in one place.

For friends who are not on Facebook, the app will send them a text message, so people do not have to decide which is the best way to reach someone. If users share their location with friends in a group chat, they can see a screen with their friends on a map.

Facebook previously acquired start-up Beluga, a group messaging app in March. That team has worked on building out this app for Facebook.

It’s an interesting move for Facebook, setting up a completely separate app just for messaging. It shows Facebook’s emphasis on mobile and the company’s increasing focus there. Facebook still doesn’t have an iPad app, but it’s widely expected.

One way to look at this is, is that people’s Facebook contacts–what Facebook calls the “social graph”–are extremely valuable in and of itself, outside of all the other features of Facebook. Group messaging apps such as GroupMe, Gogii’s TextPlus, Pinger’s TextFree, WhatsApp, and Zlango have grown quickly as a way for people to stay in touch with small or large groups of people on their mobile devices, with mostly free texting. To stay in the middle of all that communication, Facebook now has an app of its own.

Source: Forbes

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Android App Turns Smartphones Into Mobile Hacking Machines

Filed under: Android, Applications, Cybersecurity, Exploit, Hackers, Mobile, Security, WiFi by Ryan Boese — Leave a comment
August 6, 2011

Dangerous hacks come in small packages.

Or they will, perhaps, when an app called Anti, or Android Network Toolkit, hits the Android market next week. The program, which Israeli security firm Zimperium revealed at the Defcon hacker conference in Las Vegas Friday and plans to make available to Android users in coming days, is designed for penetration testing–in theory, searching out and demonstrating vulnerabilities in computer systems so that they can be patched. Anti aims to bring all the hacking tools available to penetration testers on PCs to smartphones, with an automated interface intended to make sniffing local networks and owning remote servers as simple as pushing a few buttons.

“We wanted to create a penetration testing tool for the masses, says Itzhak “Zuk” Avraham, founder of Tel-Aviv-based Zimperium. “It’s about being able to do what advanced hackers do with a really good implementation. In your pocket.”

Anti, a free app with a $10 corporate upgrade, will offer a wi-fi-scanning tool for finding open networks and showing all potential target devices on those networks, as well as traceroute software that can reveal the IP addresses of faraway servers. When a target is identified, the app offers up a simple menu with commands like “Man-In-The-Middle” to eavesdrop on local devices, or even “Attack”; The app is designed to run exploits collected in platforms like Metasploit or ExploitDB, using vulnerabilities in out-of-date software to compromise targets.

A screenshot from Anti displaying target machines on the local network.

For now, the demonstration app Avraham showed me was equipped with only a few exploits: One aimed at a bug in Windows–the same flaw exploited by the Conficker worm in 2009–another targeting default SSH passwords in jailbroken iPhones, and a third exploiting a vulnerable, older version of Android. Zimperium has also built a Windows trojan that allows Anti to perform automated commands on hijacked machines like taking a screenshot, ejecting a CD, or opening the calculator, a common penetration-testing demonstration.

Even in its current form, the app raises the possibility of dangerous, stealthy attacks. A hacker could, for instance, walk into a coffee shop or a corporate office with his phone and start sussing out machines for data theft or malware infection. But Avraham says Zimperium will ask users in its terms of service to limit their hacking to “white hat” penetration testing.

Another screenshot showing command options on a target machine, including “man-in-the-middle” and “attack.”

“Hacking is not for the chosen few,” reads one description in the app’s documentation, formatted in Star Wars-style scrolling text. “Anti is your perfect mobile companion, doing it all for you. Please remember, with great power comes great responsibility. Use it wisely.”

Penetration testers who saw the app at Defcon were impressed. “It’s just sick,” says Don Bailey, a researcher with security firm iSec Partners. “The way it populates the screen with vulnerable targets…it’s really elegant.”

Another professional penetration tester for a defense contractor firm who asked that his name not be used called the app a “quick and dirty Swiss army knife for mobile pen testing.” “It’s so polished it’s almost like playing a video game,” he says, comparing it to penetration testing suites that cost thousands of dollars.

With its sheer simplicity, Anti’s impact could be comparable to that of Firesheep, a proof-of-concept tool released in October of last year that allowed anyone to easily snoop on devices on unsecured wi-fi networks that connected to unencrypted web pages. That tool was downloaded more than 1.7 million times, and no doubt used in some instances to spy on web users unawares. But it also helped inspire both Twitter and Facebook to encrypt traffic to their site and prevent such eavesdropping.

“People might use it in dangerous ways,” Avraham says with a shrug. “I really hope not. But I know this might be the risk to help people increase their security, and that’s our goal.”

Ryan: Great, now every kid that owns an Android phone can play wannabe hacker. Just what this world needs.

Source: Forbes

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Vonage offering unlimited international calling via mobile phones

Filed under: Android, Internet, Mobile, Technology, Telecom, VoIP, WiFi, Wireless by Ryan Boese — Leave a comment
July 27, 2011

Vonage’s international calling plan is stepping up to be a more affordable and flexible option as the service extends to mobile.

The new Vonage World plan is as follows: Subscribers can call land-line numbers in over 60 countries from either their own land-line or mobile phone using the VoIP service for $25.99 per month. Users can also call mobile numbers in up to 10 countries on the same plan.

Vonage suggests that anyone who already conducts international phone calls for a little as an hour a week could save up to $250 with this option.

Mike Tempora, senior vice president of product management for Vonage, said that the mobile option was in high demand from its customers, citing that “70 percent said they make international calls while their away from home either by using a calling card or paying high carrier rates.”

Additionally, the revamped plan includes the new Extensions feature, which enables customers to add any U.S. phone number (mobile, home or office) as another number on the plan. (Note that fax numbers as well as 800/887 and virtual numbers are not supported). That number can then double as a virtual calling card to re-route calls over the Vonage’s network.

For example, this makes the most sense if a subscriber has Vonage World at home or work, and wants to add his or her cell phone number to the plan, or vice versa.

The process to take advantage of this might seem a bit complicated on paper, but it’s rather straightforward. Once the user registers the number on his or her online account page, the user will then have to select a PIN number for validating the subscriber and the phone line later on. From there, when the user wants to make an international call, he or she just dials an access number, the PIN number and then the international phone number he or she is calling.

Tempora added that customers who use virtual numbers and/or international calling cards will find the process to be quite similar and intuitive.

Although this service is supported by any mobile device, there will be apps for iOS and Android in the coming weeks with a one-touch solution to streamline this process.

Ryan: Good news for people looking for a cheaper alternative to call overseas. I will be definitely downloading the app once it hits the Android Market.

Source: ZDNet

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Firefox maker Mozilla aims at Google with new mobile OS

Filed under: Applications, FireFox, Google, Mobile, Mozilla, Telecom, Wireless by Ryan Boese — Leave a comment
July 26, 2011

Mozilla, maker of the popular Firefox browser, is developing a mobile operating system that will take the web-based functionality of Google’s Chrome operating system and combine it with the smartphone- and tablet-centric functionality of software like Android or iOS. The experimental software project is called Boot to Gecko (B2G), and has a specific focus on expanding the use of HTML 5-based applications.

“Mozilla believes that the web can displace proprietary, single-vendor stacks for application development,” writes Mozilla researcher Andreas Gal in an announcement of the B2G project to developers. “To make open web technologies a better basis for future applications on mobile and desktop alike, we need to keep pushing the envelope of the web to include — and in places exceed — the capabilities of the competing stacks in question.” This, says Gal, is the goal of B2G.

The B2G project is currently “in its infancy,” so very little details even exist. We do know that Mozilla developers will initially build B2G upon low-level Android code, and plans to develop a new custom user interface and application stack around the Firefox HTML rendering engine, Gecko. Once the build of B2G is further along, however, Mozilla says it plans to use “as little of Android as possible.”

Like Android, B2G will be open source, but Mozilla will take the code’s transparency one step further by releasing the code “in real time,” rather than waiting until full builds are available, as is the case with most open source software, including Android, Chrome and Firefox.

“We will do this work in the open, we will release the source in real-time, we will take all successful additions to an appropriate standards group, and we will track changes that come out of that process,” writes Gal. “We aren’t trying to have these native-grade apps just run on Firefox, we’re trying to have them run on the web.”

Ryan: Someone needs go give Google and Apple a run for their money, it certainly won’t be Research in Motion.

Source: Yahoo! News

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JailbreakMe.com back online, easy iOS jailbreaking for all!

Filed under: Apple, Applications, Cydia, Exploit, iPhone, Jailbreak, Mobile, Tablets by Ryan Boese — Leave a comment
July 5, 2011

JailbreakMe.com. the web-based jailbreak tool for (almost all) iOS devices, is back online once more after a long hiatus.

The process is simple and pain-free. Just visit the website in the Safari browser and click the FREE button to begin the process. It uses a PDF exploit to carry out the hack and it’s very fast – and there’s no need to connect your iOS device up to a PC or Mac to do it.

Because the hack relies on a know known PDF exploit, the developers of the hack recommend installing “PDF Patcher 2″ in Cydia once you’ve jailbroken the device.

The following devices are supported:

  • iPad1: 4.3 through 4.3.3
  • iPad2: 4.3.3
  • iPhone3GS: 4.3 through 4.3.3
  • iPhone4: 4.3 through 4.3.3
  • iPhone4-CDMA: 4.2.6 through 4.2.8
  • iPod touch 3g: 4.3, 4.3.2, 4.3.3
  • iPod touch 4g: 4.3 through 4.3.3

The only iOS devices that aren’t supported are the 1st and 2nd generation iPhones.

 

For more information check out the Q&A here.

Source: ZDNet

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WHO says cell phone use “possibly carcinogenic”

Filed under: Mobile, Technology, Telecom, Wireless by Ryan Boese — 1 Comment
May 31, 2011

Using a mobile phone may increase the risk of developing certain types of brain tumor and consumers should consider ways of reducing their exposure, World Health Organization (WHO) cancer experts said on Tuesday.

A working group of 31 scientists from 14 countries meeting at the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said a review of all the available scientific evidence suggested cell phone use should be classified as “possibly carcinogenic.”

The classification, which puts mobile phone use in the same broad IARC cancer risk category as lead, chloroform and coffee, could spur the United Nations health body to look again at its guidelines on mobile phones, the scientists said.

But more lengthy and detailed research is needed before a more definitive answer on any link can be given.

The WHO had previously said there was no established evidence for a link between cell phone use and cancer.

“After reviewing essentially all the evidence that is relevant… the working group classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans,” Jonathan Samet, chair of the IARC group, said in a telebriefing.

He said some evidence suggested a link between an increased risk for glioma, a type of brain cancer, and mobile phone use.

The WHO’s position has been keenly awaited by mobile phone companies and by campaign groups who have raised concerns about whether cell phones might be harmful to health.

Industry groups immediately sought to play down the decision, stressing that the “possibly carcinogenic” category also includes substances such as pickled vegetables and coffee.

“This IARC classification does not mean that cell phones cause cancer,” said John Walls, vice president of public affairs for the United States-based wireless association CTIA.

He noted that the IARC working group did not conduct any new research, but reviewed published studies, and said other regulatory bodies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have stated that “the weight of scientific evidence has not linked cell phones with any health problems.”

John Cooke, executive director of the British-based Mobile Operators Association, said IARC had only found the possibility of a hazard. “Whether or not this represents a risk requires further scientific investigation,” he said in a statement.

PREVIOUS STUDIES INCONCLUSIVE

The IARC remarks follow a study published last year which looked at almost 13,000 cell phone users over 10 years and found no clear answer on whether the mobile devices cause brain tumors.

Many previous studies have also failed to establish any clear cancer link, but a U.S. study in February found that using a mobile phone can change brain cell activity.

Use of mobile phones has increased hugely since their introduction in the early- to mid-1980s. About 5 billion mobile phones are currently in use worldwide.

Christopher Wild, IARC’s director, said it was important that more research should be conducted, particularly into long-term and heavy use of mobile phones.

“Pending the availability of such information, it is important to take pragmatic measures to reduce exposure such as hands-free devices or texting,” he said.

Malcolm Sperrin, director of medical physics and clinical engineering at Britain’s Royal Berkshire Hospital, said he thought the IARC move was appropriate because it reflected the “anecdotal evidence that cancers may be associated with phone usage.” But he added: “It is vitally important to fully understand that there is no definitive correlation.”

Source: Reuters

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What Android Phones Do that Apple Phones Don’t

Filed under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Droid, Gaming, iPhone, Mobile, Motorola, OpenSource, Sony, Technology, Wireless by Ryan Boese — 1 Comment
April 21, 2011

Does anyone remember this ad for the Motorola Droid? “Everything iDon’t,” it said, “Droid does!”

Of course, the iPhone can do half of those things now, like take 5-megapixel pictures in the dark. And the usefulness of some of the others is up for debate. (What exactly is “Open development?”) But even today, there are some pretty big things the iPhone can’t do, that Android phones can … and you may be surprised by some of them.

Come in all different shapes and sizes

Here’s one you probably won’t be surprised by, although you might be surprised by some of the weird Android phones out there. A slider phone with a second touch screen instead of a keyboard?

In all seriousness, though, the one-size-fits-all iPhone leaves out the people it doesn’t fit. Want a keyboard with actual keys? A gigantic screen, plus a kickstand for watching movies? There’s an Android phone out there for you. There’s even a phone with a slide-out game controller, a la the PSP Go. And speaking of portable PlayStations.

Run PlayStation games

And I don’t just mean games that were originally made for the Sony PlayStation (although like the Xperia Play.

These things are made for gaming, to Sony’s specs, and have access to tons of exclusive games. They can even connect to the PlayStation Network, using will be able to play Android games designed for the PlayStation Certified phones, which just shows how committed Sony is to gaming on Android devices.

Buy apps from Amazon

That’s right, Amazon has its own “Appstore for Android.” So why would you want to go through its 8-step signup process?

Well, first off is the “free app of the day.” These aren’t apps that are normally free, and are being promoted; they’re paid apps, costing as much as $4.99 sometimes, they’re put up for download for free. A new one goes up each day, like it says. You can also use Amazon.com to look for all discounted apps, or to read reviews and look for similar apps, just like you would for any other product you buy from Amazon.

 

 

A bunch of other stuff?

The iPhone doesn’t support text reflow, which is an Android feature that makes it so zoomed-in text on a website fits the screen width, so that you don’t have to swipe back and forth to read paragraphs. It also doesn’t support home screen “widgets,” which let you do things like check your bank balance or the latest news stories without opening an app. There’s even a widget to set your phone to silent mode. With all this stuff Android phones can do that the iPhone can’t, one might ask: Why does anyone buy an iPhone at all?

The answer’s as simple as it is obvious. The iPhone’s the best-designed smartphone there is, and it has more and better apps than every Android phone combined. Plus, Apple’s clout means that the wireless carriers can’t mess up its phones, with huge logos and non-uninstallable apps.

One size, though, doesn’t fit all. And thanks to Android’s open-source programming code, companies like Sony and Amazon are getting to try some interesting things, that they never would’ve been able to on the iPhone.

Source: Yahoo! / Video: IntoMobile

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