How To Stop Your Smartphone Sharing Personal Data With Evildoers?

Wireless technologies are becoming really widespread these days and now, you cannot just impress anyone with a new and the most up-to-date smartphone or a tablet. People use them every day for different purposes: web browsing, communication, games, etc. But there are smartphone owners who use those devices in their business affairs and in that case the safety of the platform they operate is of the highest importance. I’d bet you wouldn’t be really happy when someone will crack your smartphone and get your data, such as emails, browsing history, etc. So I’d like to review the main vulnerabilities of modern smartphones based on iOS 6 and Android OS.

The first point will be the results of popular Mobile Pwn2Own contest. Contestants have easily cracked the Samsung Galaxy SIII and iPhone 4S. The vulnerability of Apple’s smartphone was hidden in its browser, so hackers managed to upload malicious software to the device, while user browsed the web. The main part of the hack is to make the user to visit hacker’s website so malicious software can be uploaded. In a matter of fact guys from Pwn2Own Contest managed to get full access to contacts, emails, files, text messages and many other things. That hack was developed in two weeks. But iPhone is not the only device that can be exploited with that kind of a hack, it works with iPad and iPod as well.

And Samsung Galaxy SIII had its security gap hidden in NFC technology. Hackers managed to create an app that has granted full access to the smartphone, including browsing history, emails, contacts, calls and SMS. That app can be shared with other Android NFC compatible devices and it works in the background so the victim doesn’t even know that his or her mobile phone was hacked. That hack works not only with Galaxy S3, but with S2 and with some HTC devices too.

Details about how exactly those devices were hacked are kept in secret of course. But that’s not the only vulnerable spot of modern smartphones. If we’ll pay attention to US Navy NAVSEA’s department experiment we will see that modern gadgets are even more dangerous. The experiment was held by NAVSEA in cooperation with Indiana’s University. They have created a special app that takes pictures of everything your camera sees and send them to a server, all together with G-sensors data. Then they’ve managed to create 3D image compiled of those pictures. That 3D model appeared to be the easier way to steal your sensitive data than using just the taken pictures. You should keep in mind that that app is capable of running on Android 2.3 OS and higher, but there are possibilities to adapt it for iOS and Windows Mobile.

Why our smartphones are so vulnerable to exploits and hacks? The answer is in our way to use them. Statistics tells us that the biggest part of users always grant permissions to programs to manipulate with camera, GPS module and internet connection without any hesitation. So Jammer-Store Inc. can provide you some ways to protect your mobile device. You should always think how the app can use your permission to operate your camera or other things and does that app really need it. Also you should use antivirus software and turn the modules like Wi-Fi or NFC of, if you don’t need them right now. Sometimes the best way to provide full security to your smartphone for a short period is using various signal jammers. They will surely knock out all devices’ means for communication and will ensure a short period of safety. Keep in mind that if you will use a cell phone jammer you will not be able to make or receive calls so be careful with them!

Need For Speed Most Wanted Escapes To Google Play

EA games has been making quite a stir the last year or so with major titles on the android platform. Maybe someone over there heard the peoples cry and made something happen. The newest to drop a bomb on our gaming minded users is EA’s Need For Speed Most Wanted, the popular racing title that actually hit consoles today as well. Most of you might be familiar with some of EA’s racing games, I mean hell they have been around forever and there are so many of them you had to have played at least one. Need For Speed Most Wanted looks to be pretty promising not only in the graphics department but also in game play.

I just may have to check this game out immediately so I can see how the mechanics and controls play out. One thing is for sure, if you are going to run and pick this up, do yourself a favor and read through the reviews and descriptions about the compatibility of the game. You wouldn’t want to be stuck paying $7 for something that doesn’t play very well on your device now would you? Not to mention, you don’t want to be that person that didn’t read about the incompatibility of his or her device and then slams the game for it. No one likes those people. don’t be those people.

Download Free Need For Speed Most Wanted has a fairly impressive list of in game features that I’m sure will be popular with old fans and new comers alike. It highlights some of the world’s most exotic and exciting vehicles to drive and flee the scene with, over 35 to choose from and customize like the Porsche 911 carerra S, Hummer H1 Alpha, and SRT Viper GTS. Racing games from EA have always been synonymous with mods as well. Yep, this game will have that so not to worry modders. In addition to the top of the line graphics and sweet music tracks, high energy game play and cars some of us could only dream of driving in real life, you can log into origin for some cross platform features and see who is the most wanted among your friends and other platforms. That social feature gives this game a competitive factor that could really kick off its popularity. What do you guys think? Is this a game that is Must have? Any racing junkies out there or are you guys against EA?

How To Get Gesture Typing From Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

How To Get Gesture Typing From Android 4.2 Jelly

Android 4.2 Jelly Bean was announced yesterday and with all of the great new features, one such feature was with the keyboard. Typically, the stock keyboard hasn’t changed much over the years, but now users with 4.2 can use gestures when typing.

If you’re familiar with Swype, it’s basically the same thing. You swipe your finger from character to character instead of touching each one. Even though pre-installed gesture typing is supposed to only be available in 4.2, some awesome developer or developrs have managed to bring it over to devices running Ice Cream Sandwich and up.

The good news is your phone doesn’t have to be rooted (unless you have a Nexus). The potentially bad news is it won’t work on all stock Android custom ROMS, won’t work at all on stock Android builds distributed by Google, and works best on phones with a UI overlay with the stock keyboard disabled.

All you have to do is download an APK and simply install it. You can get the APK from either this mirror or this mirror. If you have a Nexus device, your phone will have to be rooted and you’ll have to flash a ZIP file via recovery. You can grab the flashable zip here or here.

If the APK doesn’t seem to work, well, you’ll know that it’s simply not meant to be. We’re not responsible for any potential issues caused by installing the APK. If you missed the new gesture feature in Android 4.2, below is a quick video showing it off:

Android OS Deemed Hotter than iOS

It’s a popularity contest, and Android is the cool kid in school. Sure, we’re biased (this is Android Headlines, after all), but we’re not the only ones who think so.

BIGinsight conducted a customer service in regard to mobile phone operating systems where consumers were asked if both Apple’s iOS and Android’s OS were “hot” or “not.” Not exactly the most scientific of all surveys, but it still came across with plenty of interesting data. (It’s important to note that consumers weren’t asked to directly compare the two OS systems but to evaluate whether both systems were “hot.” This little tidbit will help the results make more sense.)

Consumers voted Android “hot” at a slightly higher percentage in the overall category, but the numbers varied more when broken down by generation. Overall, 53% of a sample of 9,000 adults 18+ rated Android positively, and 51.4% of the same group rated Apple well.

Of the Millennials (a.k.a “Gen Y”), 64% recognized that Android was doing well, and 61.95% fell that Apple was also doing a great job. Gen X felt the strongest about Android, giving Android 58.6% approval and Apple 53.4% approval. Boomers were mostly split down the middle in regards to the OS systems, while the “Silent” generation (born before 1946) sided with Apple (46.8% compared to 41.4% for Android).

What does all of this mean? Only old people use iPhones? No, that’s not what one survey can tell us, but it does show interesting opinions by age group. Public perception places Android’s system at higher rate of popularity among younger crowds, while older generations prefer Apple.

Going forward, both sides of the OS division need to figure out why their audiences feel the way they do. If Android is more popular because of customization, then Google needs to integrate it even further. Apple may even have to make some adjustments themselves if the preference toward Android continues to grow.

The other aspect to keep in mind with this is to consider who has the most spending power. Generally, older generations have more income, and they purchase larger gifts for younger generations. But, college kids have lots of discretionary income (even if they don’t admit it), and they might be able to convince relatives to buy them Android devices instead.

Source: BIGinsight

Samsung Announce The Galaxy Premier; Finally

The Galaxy Premier

As with quite a lot of other devices, we’ve heard a lot about them before release and it seems like we all know what’s coming. This seems no more true than with the Galaxy Premier as we’ve had leaked benchmarks all the way to press images. Granted, it wasn’t as good as the leaks surrounding LG’s Nexus 4 but, we got more than enough. We’ve been hearing things surrounding the Galaxy Premier from as early as this past summer, rumors circled around the model number at first, being i9260 makes the device very close to the i9250 model number of the Galaxy Nexus, setting sparks alight of this being a successor to the Galaxy Nexus for a set of 5 phones. We didn’t see 5 phones and we didn’t see anything too similar to the Galaxy Nexus. It seems that Samsung has some stock left over from the Galaxy Nexus and can do something with it.

The Galaxy Premier is finally official and we can now confirm that it’s essentially a Galaxy Nexus dressed up as a Galaxy S III. Other than that, the device is confirmed to be packing the following specs:

• 4.65-inch screen, 720 x 1,280 Super AMOLED panel,
• Dual-core 1.5 GHz TI OMAP 4470 processor
• 8MP rear-facing camera with a 1.9MP front-facing camera
• 1GB of RAM
• Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, WiFi,
• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
• 2100 mAh Battery

Okay so, maybe this is a little more than a Galaxy Nexus in fancy dress but, the concept is essentially the same, this is parts from the Galaxy Nexus put together with some new parts to make this strange device in the Galaxy S III line-up. It’s going to be available in the Ukraine soon, for roughly $680 but, that’s a straight conversion so don’t take out word for it. When it comes to it, I wonder what Samsung is doing with this device and what sort of market they’re selling it to, it’s essentially a smaller Galaxy S III but as small as the Mini, making it some strange device that is closer to the S III than the S III Mini. Samsung, I realize that you have a lot of screen stock floating around but, that doesn’t mean you have to sell devices that don’t immediately show a purpose.

Source: Engadget

Featured: Android 4.1.2 – Jelly Bean Now Pushing to GSM Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S Devices

Last week became official Android 4.1.2 and Google began pushing the Nexus 7. Today, Google is pushing Android 4.1.2 on the GSM version of the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S. But for those of us with Verizon or Sprint Galaxy Nexus Nexus S 4G and Sprint, we wait much longer. It was confirmed that Android 4.1.2 deploys the "Yakju" Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S devices in the U.S. and Canada.

Featured Android App Review: Flipboard

Fortunately for applications that came along to play great online. While Google Reader is useful to collect the contents of a variety of online sources, experience is utilitarian. Of course, it works. It works very well, but this is not a design that immediately draws you in.

Top 10 Best Ringtone Apps for Android

Ringtones. First they started out life as the functional noise that served to tell us we had an incoming call and then text messaging started to take and so we needed a second tone