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  • In Pictures: 9 iPhone and iPad apps that invade your privacy, and 1 that doesn't

    Most iPhone and iPad apps appear harmless and fun, but don't fall for them. Some apps are virtual Trojan horses that swipe personal data when you're not looking. Appthority has put together a list of some of the worst offenders and you may be shocked to learn that a couple of the most popular apps made the list, such as Facebook and Angry Birds Star Wars. Be sure to check out the app at the end of the list for the one most honest.

    Tom Kaneshige | 30 Jan | Read more

  • Mac Gems: Little Snitch snitches on misbehaving apps

    Our Macs can be chatty even when we wish they weren't. Apps, and even the OS itself, regularly reach out to the rest of your local network and to the Internet to probe, query, and blab. Little Snitch 3 intercepts these requests and presents them to you for inspection and approval. The latest update to the software adds inbound-connection management, too. Little Snitch has graduated from being a sort of outbound-only firewall with notifications to being a full-fledged firewall product with a friendly interface that informs you about any network-related activities.

    Glenn Fleishman | 27 Nov | Read more

  • Study finds 25 per cent of Android apps to be a security risk

    According to a new report from Bit9 - a security vendor with a focus on defending against advanced persistent threats (APT) - there is a one in four chance that downloading an Android app from the official Google Play market could put you at risk. Bit9 analysed 400,000 or so apps in Google Play, and found over 100,000 it considers to be on the shady side.

    Tony Bradley | 05 Nov | Read more

  • Android Malware Has Surged 472 Percent Since July

    Android users take note: Researchers have found a whopping 472 percent increase in <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/243593/for_android_paid_mobile_security_is_better_study.html">Android malware</a> samples since this summer. The free-for-all Android Market has seen a striking increase in the volume of attacks since July, according to <a href="http://globalthreatcenter.com/?p=2492">research</a> from Juniper Networks, as attackers continue to become more sophisticated in the malware they write.

    Daniel Ionescu | 18 Nov | Read more

  • Skype iPhone, iPod Touch app has security hole

    Skype is working to fix a security hole in its iOS app for the iPhone and iPod Touch that allows a hacker to steal a person's entire address book. The vulnerability, located in the app's chat message window, can be exploited with JavaScript code. It was pointed out by security researcher Phil Purviance of AppSec.

    Eric Mack | 21 Sep | Read more

  • iPhone thief accidentally IDs himself via Photobucket

    Photobucket has a cool mobile application that allows users to automatically upload mobile pictures to the company's photo-sharing website. That's something that Korey Heess is unlikely to forget anytime soon, after allegedly snapping a picture of himself that was used by police to identify him as a smartphone thief.

    Robert McMillan | 24 Aug | Read more

  • Mobile Apps Fail Big Time at Security, Study Says

    A study from digital security company viaForensics paints a stark picture of the vulnerability of <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/237345/phone_data_caps_five_things_you_shouldnt_do_too_often.html">smartphone</a> user data. viaForensics evaluated 100 popular consumer apps running on Android and iOS, and found that 76 percent store usernames, while 10 percent store passwords as plain text. Those 10 percent included popular sites such as LinkedIn, Skype, and Hushmail.

    Ilie Mitaru | 12 Aug | Read more

  • Stop Android malware with AVG anti-virus free

    Android phones are extremely practical devices, properly wielded: You can use them to cut the time required to do many tasks, such as checking and responding to your e-mail. But your phone's power could become a devastating weapon used against you if your handset is lost, stolen, or compromised by malware. Although you can avoid many problems by following basic security precautions, it's also wise to install an app like AVG Anti-Virus Free (Pro version $5). The AVG app provides continual, automatically updated protection against rapidly evolving Android security threats. It also offers some useful tools, such as data backup, remote phone tracking, and remote wipe.

    Brent W. Hopkins | 09 May | Read more

  • Hacktivist Android Trojan designed to fight app piracy

    There's hacking, then there's hacktivism. There's malware, then there's Android Trojans like the latest "threat" discovered by Symantec. Android.Walkinwat is like the Batman of mobile malware -- a rogue vigilante seeking justice through means that also skirt legality, but for a good cause.

    Tony Bradley | 01 Apr | Read more