by Scott Judson
Owner of Judson Steel, an iOS development studio based in Auckland
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Wifi-blocking wallpaper makes networks more secure
The rising number of smartphone users has increased the demand for wifi capability for all, and we’ve recently covered new ideas providing internet access in parks — via dog owners — and even embedding the technology into sidewalk paving. However, those with private networks concerned about a secure connection may benefit from new wallpaper technology developed by Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble (INP), which can block wifi signals being broadcast outside of the user’s vicinity. READ MORE…
Burn Note
Burn Note lets you send messages that are deleted after they are read.
You can even set notes to self-destruct after a certain time after opening, Mission Impossible-style, and opt to use ‘spyglass mode’ which prevents a recipient taking screenshots of a message.
The site’s FAQ and technical information pages make for interesting reading.
See also
AppleInsider: Serious security flaws discovered in Android phones, Samsung and HTC ignore issuex
From the paper (PDF link) AppleInsider found:
By exploiting these leaked capabilities, an untrusted app on these affected phones can manage to wipe out the user data on the phones, send out SMS messages (e.g., to premium numbers), record user conversation, or obtain user geolocations all without asking for any permission.
In other words: Android OEMs are playing fast and loose with customer privacy and security when tinkering with Android’s underpinnings, adding features, or making modifications to suit their priorities.
(Source: chartier)
TaintDroid ‘aint exactly your normal run-of-the-mill Android app: It’s a sneaky bit of software designed to monitor other Android apps, and detect what data they’re sending off to remote servers. The results imply that a lot of personal stuff may be leaking without your consent.
Developed by programmers at Penn State University, TaintDroid was used to snoop on the data that other Android apps were sending (behind the scenes and not necessarily with a phone owner’s consent or even knowledge) to remote servers for the purposes of advertising.
Thirty popular apps were surveyed, and a phenomenal 50% sent data on geographic location to remote ad servers. Seven of the apps even used a unique identifier number that could be used to ID your phone, and sometimes the phone number and SIM card serial number (bet you don’t even know that yourself) were fired over the airwaves. All told the team found 20 apps were misusing personal data in 68 clearly identified infringements. (via TaintDroid Tracks Leaks of Personal Data to Ad Firms | Fast Company)
