**SMART PHONES - UPDATES & MALWARE**

[DavidR]

Well the Galaxy Note at 7" screen is possibly the max for something that can reasonably be used as a phone, but possibly not your computer. So I don't see smartphones doing that anytime soon.

Whilst for some years I have kept away from 'smart' phones as the protection wasn't really there. That has obviously changed somewhat with the introduction of the Avast! Mobile Security suite.

Whilst some tablets may have phone access built in and a 10" (ish) screen making them somewhat ungainly to be used as a phone whilst out and about. Without having something like a bluetooth headset, so you don't look like a dork talking to a tablet.

[bob3160]

>snip<

Whilst some tablets may have phone access built in and a 10" (ish) screen making them somewhat ungainly to be used as a phone whilst out and about. Without having something like a bluetooth headset, so you don't look like a dork talking to a tablet.

The bluetooth makes people think you've really gone off the deep end or, you've gotten senile and are
now talking to yourself. 

[CharleyO]

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Verizon-Cable Deal Poses Big Threat to Internet Access, Competition

Verizon and the group of cable companies from which it is planning to buy a chunk of AWS spectrum don't want you to know about a new Joint Operating Entity (JOE) that would control all aspects of how you get access to the Internet, what you can do online and how much it's going to cost.

Cloaked in a layer of secrecy behind a wall of redacted documents, filings to the Federal Communications Commission that can't be read and responses that are deliberately concealed, Verizon and its cable partners have agreed to stop competing directly with each other, to stop offering services that the others offer and to jointly develop technology that would control what you can do on their networks.

Sources familiar with Verizon's FCC filings said that the plan laid out by Verizon and its partners is "deeply troubling." Others familiar with the Verizon-Cable plan indicated that if it actually happens, it would effectively cancel the provisions of the Communications Act of 1996 that requires competition among carriers.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/VerizonCable-Deal-Poses-Big-Threat-to-Internet-Access-Competition-680412/?kc=EWKNLEDP05212012B


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[YoKenny]

We’ve acquired Motorola Mobility

The phones in our pockets have become supercomputers that are changing the way we live. It’s now possible to do things we used to think were magic, or only possible on Star Trek--like get directions right from where we are standing; watch a video on YouTube; or take a picture and share the moment instantly with friends.

It’s why I’m excited to announce today that our Motorola Mobility deal has closed. Motorola is a great American tech company that has driven the mobile revolution, with a track record of over 80 years of innovation, including the creation of the first cell phone. We all remember Motorola’s StarTAC, which at the time seemed tiny and showed the real potential of these devices. And as a company who made a big, early bet on Android, Motorola has become an incredibly valuable partner to Google.

http://googleblog.blogspot.ca/2012/05/weve-acquired-motorola-mobility.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+blogspot/MKuf+(Official+Google+Blog)#!/2012/05/weve-acquired-motorola-mobility.html

[CharleyO]

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Android Malware Growing Exponentially

In its “Mobile Threat Report, Q1 2012,” the company credits the popularity of the Android platform as a key magnet for malware authors. In first-quarter 2011, the report discovered 10 new families and variants of malware. A year later, this number jumps to 37 new families and variants discovered in the first quarter of this year, quadrupling last year's figures. Meanwhile, the report claims the number of malicious Android application package files (APKs) has spiked from 139 to 3,063 counts, year-over-year. According to the authors, this sharp escalation is largely caused by malware authors “Trojanizing” applications in an effort to circumvent antivirus signature detection, and sometimes Trojanizing bootleg copies of popular applications.

http://www.crn.com/news/security/240000735/report-android-malware-growing-exponentially.htm?cid=nl_sec


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[CharleyO]

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Verizon-Cable Spectrum Proposal Draws Strong Resistance in Washington

A number of additional companies and consumer interest groups rose in opposition to the revelation that Verizon and several of the largest cable companies in the United States, including Comcast, Cox and Time Warner, were working together to create what looks like a non-competitive Internet market cartel.

...... a group of former adversaries has teamed up to fight Verizon’s proposed purchase of Advanced Wireless Services (ASW) spectrum owned by several cable companies. But there is more to it than that. The group called The Alliance for Broadband Competition includes such diverse players as Public Knowledge, T-Mobile, Sprint, the Competitive Carriers Association and the Rural Telecommunications Group.

“Verizon and the cable companies are truly creating an axis of broadband power that threatens competition and consumer choice to their very core,” said Carri Bennet, Rural Telecommunications Group’s [RTG] general counsel, in a prepared statement.

“Very quietly, this axis has entered into complex transactions that will forever change how consumers access voice, Internet and video service, which companies these consumers will purchase those services from and, at the end of the day, what those services will cost. Tens of millions of Americans, including those in rural America, are now in the cross-hairs and the Alliance is ringing the warning bell calling for a stop to the onslaught before it is too late.”

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/VerizonCable-Spectrum-Proposal-Draws-Strong-Resistance-in-Washington-241816/?kc=EWKNLEDP05222012D


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[CharleyO]

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The Daily App: Phone Control

Today's Daily App borders on creepy, but can be useful for keeping tabs on employees or offspring. Phone Control is an aptly named remote control app for Android smartphones and other devices that tracks all incoming and outgoing voice and text communications on the host device and can send notifications of such activities via SMS or e-mail, including GPS locations.

 Phone Control can forward incoming SMS messages or phone call notifications to another SMS destination or e-mail account, including location of the call origin. It can also record phone calls to an audio file and forward that file as well as forward (via email only) videos and pictures taken with the host device's camera. Functions can be started and stopped using SMS keywords.

http://www.crn.com/blogs-op-ed/the-daily-app/240001003/the-daily-app-phone-control.htm?cid=nl_sec


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[CharleyO]

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LinkedIn’s Leaky Mobile App Has Access to Your Meeting Notes

LinkedIn mobile app subscribers may be surprised to learn that the calendar entries on their iPhones or iPads— which may include details about meeting locations, participants, dial-in information, passwords and sensitive meeting notes — are transmitted back to LinkedIn’s servers without their knowledge.

That practice, which is not communicated to users, may violate Apple’s privacy guidelines, which expressly prohibit any app from transmitting users’ data without their permission.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/05/linkedins-leaky-mobile-app-has-access-to-your-meeting-notes/


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[CharleyO]

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TomTom for Android to launch 'fairly soon' according to company co-founder

TomTom for iOS has been out for a long old time now, but there's never really been any traction behind an Android version appearing. There is now hope though, as co-founder of TomTom, Peter-Frans Pauwels, has told ​Pocket-lint​ that the app will be released "fairly soon."

He couldn't put an exact date on the launch, but went on to say "I can confirm it is real" and that the "summer season is important for us." He also confirmed that the Android version would contain the same feature set as is iOS compatriot. There was no indication of price, but make no mistake. TomTom is a premium application that will come with a premium price.

http://www.androidcentral.com/tomtom-android-launch-fairly-soon-according-company-co-founder


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[CharleyO]

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Instagram for Android updated with improved search, advanced camera fixes

The latest Instagram for Android update has now appeared in the Google Play Store and is ready for download. This release looks to solve a number of issues users were having with the app, and the folks from Instagram has ever so nicely laid out the full change log for everyone.

http://www.androidcentral.com/instagram-android-updated-improved-search-functionality-bugfixes-devices-using-instagram-advanced-ca


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[CharleyO]

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10 iPhone Apps to Keep You Office-Ready During Summer Vacation

The applications, along with the iPhone or iPad, won’t necessarily be able to replace all your office desktop tools, but they might come close. And when on vacation, coming close is usually good enough. Take a look at what’s available in this eWEEK slide show.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/10-iPhone-Apps-to-Keep-You-Office-Ready-During-Summer-Vacation-279490/?kc=EWKNLEDP06202012A


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[CharleyO]

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Fake Android Security Software Is Mobile Version of Zeus Trojan

The malware is linked to the infamous Zeus Trojan, a common tool used in the theft of banking credentials. The phony security applications were first observed earlier this month, and newer versions have continued to appear ...

All totaled, there are at least six files that pretend to be “Android Security Suite Premium,” but in actuality steal incoming SMS messages, the researcher said. The point of stealing incoming SMS messages is to swipe the victim's mobile transaction authentication number (mTAN), which is used by banks to authenticate online bank transactions. When a device is infected, the SMS messages are uploaded to a remote server.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Fake-Android-Security-Software-Is-Mobile-Verzion-of-Zeus-Trojan-Kaspersky-703944/?kc=EWKNLEDP06202012D


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[CharleyO]

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Verizon, T-Mobile Sign Spectrum Deal, Partly Pending FCC Approval

T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless have entered into an agreement in which T-Mobile will purchase some Advanced Wireless Services spectrum from Verizon, and the pair will also exchange some AWS spectrum licenses, helping each to attain “more contiguous blocks of spectrum and realign spectrum in adjacent markets,” T-Mobile said in a June 25 statement ......

In exchange for cash and spectrum covering 22 million people, T-Mobile will receive spectrum covering 60 million people, most notably in Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Detroit; Minneapolis; Seattle; Cleveland; Columbus, Ohio; Milwaukee; Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Memphis, Tenn; and Rochester, N.Y.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Verizon-TMobile-Sign-Spectrum-Deal-Partly-Pending-FCC-Approval-828052/?kc=EWKNLEDP06262012E


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[CharleyO]

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Researchers Beat Up Google's Bouncer

Bouncer, the gatekeeper for the Android app store, looks ready for a rough adolescence. Two groups of security researchers have probed the security service for weaknesses and have had few problems bypassing it. Nicholas Percoco and Sean Schulte, both of security firm Trustwave, submitted increasingly malicious versions of an Android application to Google Play. Each variant of the application was scanned by Bouncer, Google's security-checking application, and it failed to flag them as malicious......

"We came up with a technique to hide the malicious activity from Bouncer," Percoco says. "We would upload some code (using the technique) and that would get past Bouncer, and then we upload some more, and we finally got to the point where we had a botnet."

Read more at:  http://www.darkreading.com/security-services/167801101/security/vulnerabilities/240002673/researchers-beat-up-google-s-bouncer.html


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[CharleyO]

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10 Coolest Smartphones Of 2012 (So Far)

Remember when it was considered a major feat just to be able to check email on your phone? Well, things have changed, technology has advanced, and now smartphones can seemingly do everything short of walk or drive a car ... at least not yet, that is.

 The smartphone market in the first half of 2012 alone has seen a number of newcomers that are raising the bar even higher, delivering new features like pocket-sized projectors or coming in new ultra-thin form factors that take the concept of portability to whole new heights.

 From handset makers ranging from Samsung to Nokia to HTC, here’s a look at the 10 coolest smartphones to launch so far this year.

Read & see more at :
http://www.crn.com/slide-shows/mobility/240003689/the-10-coolest-smartphones-of-2012-so-far.htm?cid=nl_mobi


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