Use These Tools to Stop Apps Stealing Your Data!

If I glanced through your smartphone or tablet, I bet most of the apps you installed are free. We all love free apps.

Often, free apps have a privacy cost. When you install an app, you probably never read the app's terms and conditions. You merely click "Agree." In the terms and conditions, the app developer typically reveals what data you are voluntarily handing over to them such as your online activities, location, contact list, text messages, and more.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University recently analyzed the Google Play store's top 100 apps operations, terms and conditions. They found the following 10 requested the most access to your smartphone or tablet's hardware: Backgrounds HD Wallpaper, Brightest Flashlight, Dictionary.com, Google Maps, Horoscope, Mouse Trap, Pandora, Shazam, Talking Tom Virtual Pet.

It makes sense that Google Maps needs your location and song-identifying Shazam needs access to your microphone, but why does a virtual pet, dictionary or wallpaper app need anything like that? Both iOS and Android have built-in flashlights, so you don't even need an app.

While the researchers looked at Android apps, almost all of these apps have iOS versions. iOS lets you set permissions on a case-by-case basis. Go to Settings>>Privacy and choose the permission, such as camera or GPS. Slide the slider to "Off" to deny a permission.

Unlike iOS, Android doesn't have per-app permission controls. Google had it as a hidden feature in Android 4.4.2, but removed it. No one knows when or if it will be back.

Before you install any Android app, check the app's page in the Google Play store. Google requires that developers reveal permissions that the app requires.

On an app page, scroll down to the "Additional Information" section and under "Permissions" click "View details." Google users can turn off GPS and location services. Go to Settings>>Personal>>Location Services and uncheck any checked boxes.

As for apps that collect your contact data, make sure the app needs it for a legitimate reason. For example, communication apps Skype or Google Voice require it.

Many people were concerned because Facebook's Messenger app wanted access to features such as the camera, audio recording, phone number calling and more. Facebook detailed a list of reasons why each was required for Messenger to work correctly.

Here are some of my favorite apps that have reasonable permissions or are up front about why they need them.

CamScanner - Scan documents with your phone's camera

Evernote - A powerful note-taking and organization app

Google Translate - Translate 50+ languages

Instapaper - Save anything online to read later

JiWire - Find free Wi-Fi hotspots near you

Kindle - Browse and read Amazon e-books on your smartphone or tablet

Lumosity - Games to train your brain

Magnificent Magnifier HD - Get a close-up view of anything

OfferUp - A better way to buy and sell online than Craigslist

SleepBot - Figure out how to sleep better

If you're wondering about other apps, visit PrivacyGrade. Here, researchers from Carnegie Mellon University examine what permissions an app should need, what it actually requires, and then assign it a grade.

Every week, I publish a special free newsletter that covers apps, privacy, security and more for smartphones and tablets. Android users can sign up here. And for the Apple version of the newsletter, click here. It's an easy way to stay up-to-date.

(source USAToday)

Apple Watch store to open in Selfridges London on 10 April

Apple will be selling the Watch at the Selfridges department store on Oxford Street, west London, in an all-new, purpose-built boutique. The company already has several stores in London to sell the Watch, including on Regent Street and in Covent Garden, but the Selfridges shop will sell nothing but Apple's new wearable.

The store opens at 9am on 10 April to coincide with the Watch opening for pre-order; this is also the first day potential customers will be able to try on the watch, before it goes on sale two weeks later. Apart from its first day, the Selfridges Apple store will have regular hours of 9:30am to 9pm from Monday to Saturday, and is open from 11:30am to 6:15pm on Sundays - the same as Selfridges as a whole, which also means 11:30 until midday on Sunday is for browsing time only, due to UK retail laws.

When it announced pricing and a release date for the Watch, Apple said it would be selling the gold Edition model in limited numbers and only at select retailers. Given Selfridges is a luxury department store, it is safe to assume the gold version, which costs between £8,000 and £13,500, will be on sale there. Apple Watch store Selfridges Apple Watch will be sold from a store-within-a-store in Selfridges, London(Apple) Due to high demand, customers are encouraged to book a 15-minute time-slot to try out Apple Watch before deciding which model they want to buy. They can then return on 24 April to make the purchase.

Stock is expected to be very limited, with reports claiming there will be very few watches available on the 24 April launch date for anyone who hasn't made a reservation in advance. Prices for the entry-level Watch Sport start at £299, while the regular Watch costs from £479 to £949 depending on the size of the case and style of strap. Apple Watch will also be available to preview or try on at Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Isetan in Tokyo and Selfridges in London on April 10. Apple Watch will be for sale on April 24 at these select department store shop-in-shops, and at boutiques in major cities across the world including colette in Paris, Dover Street Market in London and Tokyo, Maxfield in Los Angeles and The Corner in Berlin.

By selling a gold watch for more than £10,000 in a luxury department store like Selfridges, Apple is clearly trying to enter the luxury goods market. But some members of the Swiss watch industry think this is a mistake. Mike France, co-founder of watchmaker Christopher Ward, told IBTimes UK he thinks Apple "is pretending to be luxury".

Ward added: "I actually think, seriously, it will rebound against [Apple]. I think by trying to pretend that this is luxury, they are forgetting what they are about and [Apple is] in danger of [ridicule]. These are not relative values...it begs questions about what luxury is, and how stupid you have to be to spend £8,000 on a piece of technology that is pretending to be luxury. I personally don't get it. I think they are making a huge mistake. I think it's funny."

(source IB Times)

Installer Hijacking affects almost half of Android devices

Android has a reputation for having a more open platform and ecosystem than, say, iOS, but, sadly, it is probably also notorious for sometimes being too open to malware as well. Of course, like any other software, it has its own fair share of vulnerabilities, but given its popularity and reach, sometimes those can be quite frightening. Take for example this "Android Installer Hijacking" technique that hails back from 2014, which could install malware on a user's Android device, naturally without the user being aware of it.

The vulnerability is what security firm Palo Alto Networks terms as "TOCTTOU", short for "Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use". In a nutshell, malware takes advantage of the gap of time during an app installation process to inject its evilness into the device. When an Android APK (an app package) gets installed, particularly from third-party stores or downloaded packages, the Android platform first verifies the content of the app (Time-to-Check) and then asks for the user's permission before it goes to actually install the app (Time-to-Use). During this period in between these two checkpoints, like while the user is reading the information, malicious software could either rewrite the app being installed or swap places with legitimate-looking app. The system would then proceed to install the wrong app and none would be the wiser.

As scary as it may sound, there are a few factors that mitigate this technique's use. First, it only affects apps that are installed via APKs, particularly those that install the app from an unprotected portion of the file system, which is the case for third party app stores. Installing from Google Play Store, which is always the recommended method, remains safe. Second, it only affects devices running Android versions older than Android 4.3. As of 2014, that amounted to 89.4 percent of the Android distribution charts. Although it has dwindled down to 49.5 percent by March this year, that is still almost half the number of devices in the wild.

More current versions of Android include a new hash security check that addresses this issue. The fix was introduced in Android 4.3_r0.9 but, sadly, not all devices running Android 4.3 actually incorporate that. The researchers have found, for example, the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Amazon Fire OS 13.3.2.5 to still be vulnerable to hijacking.

The good news is that Palo Alto Networks has already informed app vendors, who have released fixes for their stores. Google, of course, patched up Android already and recommends installing only from Google Play Store anyway. Amazon advises Fire device owners to update to the latest Fire OS version and those using the standalone Android app to likewise get the fixed package. Those installing from other sources, especially those running older versions of Android, are, unfortunately, pretty much left to their own, though with some help from tools like Palo Alto Networks'.

(source SlashGear)

Google Glass is a Long Term project - Eric Schmidt

Eric Schmidt has came to the defense of the now-discontinued Google Glass. Despite the Explorer Program being shut down earlier this year, there is clearly potential in the platform. And according to comments recently made by Google’s Eric Schmidt, Glass is just far too important to scrap.

“It is a big and very fundamental platform for Google,” Schmidt said (via The Wall Street Journal). “We ended the Explorer program and the press conflated this into us canceling the whole project, which isn't true. Google is about taking risks and there’s nothing about adjusting Glass that suggests we’re ending it.”

Schmidt then went on to make a direct comparison between Glass and the company's self-driving car project. “That’s like saying the self-driving car is a disappointment because it’s not driving me around now,” he said. “These things take time.”

This problem with the public’s perception of Glass being so very far from what Google intended is what Astro Teller pointed out at SXSW last week as the project’s main failure. “The thing that we did not do well, that was closer to a failure, was that we allowed and sometimes even encouraged too much attention for the program,” he said.

Rather than the project being scrapped (as much of the media reported in January), Google refocused Glass and gave it a “fresh strategy,” according to Google CFO Patrick Pichette. Previously a part of Google[x], Google Glass was moved into its own division overseen by iPod father Tony Fadell (while still keeping Ivy Ross as a more direct head of the project).

(source 9to5google)

Apple Watch Order Halved due to Production Problems

Apple has allegedly slashed its initial order of Apple Watches in half, cutting the number of units from around 3 million to just 1.5 million, a new report out of Taiwan claims. As has been the case with many Apple product launches in the past, this latest device is suffering from production troubles. However that may not be the only reason that Apple have cut the number ordered.

Limiting the number of devices available at launch will likely create a shortage, and it won't be long before news outlets begin printing that the Apple Watch was so popular it's sold out, when in fact it was down to limited supples rather than much larger than expected demand.

The problem seems to stem from Apple's decision to switch to a new type of display for the watch. The new Apple Watch will make use of AMOLED panels, something which Samsung is rather famours for, and they are being manufactured by LG, but the company is having trouble producing enough to keep up with demand. LG was originally expected to produce 5 million panels per month.

But maybe Apple isn’t cutting its supply. Maybe something else is afoot…

This report should be taken with a hefty (and potentially unhealthy) serving of salt. The original source of the story—the Economic Daily News—doesn’t have quite the shining track record that some other publications enjoy, and has previously made some pretty interesting (and dubious) claims about Apple’s manufacturing process.

Tim Cook is a supply chain guru. It makes sense that he would plan for contingencies like this, likely by ensuring other manufacturers could pick up the slack if necessary. While the initial order for LG parts may have been cut to account for low yield, Apple may be relying on another manufacturer to produce displays to meet that 3 million unit order.



(source 9to5mac)

iPhone 7 to use Intel Mobile Chip - Similar to the New Macbook

Apple seems to be expanding it's relationship with Intel into the mobile arena, with reports stating that the iPhone 7, not to be confused with the iPhone 6S, will be running on an Intel Mobile chip.

Intel will provide the fast wireless modem chip for a new Apple smartphone in 2016, VentureBeat has learned from two sources with knowledge of the companies’ plans.

Intel's new 7360 LTE modem will occupy a socket on the new iPhone's circuit board that’s long been reserved for the revered Qualcomm chips.

Intel has been gunning hard during the past year for a place in the iPhone and now appears to have succeeded, at least partly. The 7360 chip will ship inside a special version of the iPhone that will be marketed to emerging markets in Asia and Latin America, the sources have said. Intel's 7360 LTE modem chip is capable of up to 450 megabits per second (mbps) of download speed, and supports Category 9/10 LTE and 3X carrier aggregation.

Industry analysts have told VentureBeat that the chip has impressed phone makers for being well built, power efficient, and fast. For several months Apple engineers have been making trips to Munich, Germany to work with Intel engineers to ready the Intel LTE chip for the iPhone, one of our sources said.

(source VentureBeat).

WhatsApp Voice Calling for all Android Users

According to AndroidPolice, the voice calling option can be activated is by receiving a call from someone whose voice calling is already activated. Finding someone who already has it activated may be difficult though. When you receive the call, you need to close and then reopen WhatsApp. After that,you will get three tabs (Calls, Chats and Contacts). The call tab shows incoming, outgoing and missed calls,

This time WhatsApp has decided to keep the invite-window open for a much longer duration. Unlike in the past when the invite-window was only open for a couple of hours. WhatsApp has been beta-testing the voice-calling feature for quite a while now. WhatsApp have previously tested this feature, but limited the test to India, this new venture is world wide.

According to the images posted, users who receive the voice-calling feature will notice an icon for it, beside the Chats and Contacts tabs. The call interface seems to quite similar to a smartphone’s contact directory. The app keeps a record of recent WhatsApp calls as well.

(source FirstPost)

Next iPhone Chip Design Finalized

A report last week stated that the design of the new Apple chip, the A9 and it's sibling the A9X, has been almost finalized, and will begin pre-production soon. Which will not come as a surprise and it's almost a dead certainty that the next iPhone will be announced and released in September 2015.

The report stated:

We believe TSMC will earn most of the A9 orders thanks to its superior yield ramp and manufacturing excellence in mass-production. We expect TSMC to earn all of Apple’s A9X orders (for the next generation iPad) and most of the A9 (for the next generation of iPhone), aggregating to an allocation of over 70%.

 (source Barrons Asia)

Google Opens First Ever Google Shop

Google has opened its first-ever branded shop, which is located on London's Tottenham Court Road as the location.

The new store, which is to be called The Google shop, will sell the company's range of Android mobile phones, Google Chromebook laptops, and Chromecast TV devices. The shop will hold sessions that show consumers how to use the devices and hold demonstrations showing off key Google apps.

It is the first time that Google has opened a shop under its own name and highlights how online companies are increasingly exploring ways to open physical stores. Amazon is thought to be considering opening a shop in a standalone location in New York.

(source Telegraph)