Another reason why your mobile smartphone shouldn't be out of your sight:
FlexiSPY Pro is tracking software that can be installed on a "smart" mobile phone by anyone who has access to the phone for a few minutes. After installation, it copies the smartphone's SMS text messages, call history and other data to FlexiSPY's server four times a day to be accessed by the party who installed the spyware. The phone's microphone can even be activated remotely so the smartphone can be used remotely as a passive bug.
I haven't tried the product, but Airscanner for Windows
Mobile claims to detect threat spyware programs such as Mobile-spy and FlexiSPY.
So far, this software can only be installed if someone has physical access to the Windows Mobile (or other type) smartphone. Regular cell phones that can't run third-party programs are not vulnerable to this backdoor software.
Showing posts with label computer security. Show all posts
Showing posts with label computer security. Show all posts
October 8, 2007
March 25, 2007
Residential WiFi mapping database revealed
Skyhook Wireless has been scanning American neighborhoods for WiFi access points and putting them into a database. So far they've got 16 million detected wireless access points, covering the majority of the U.S. and Canadian population.
Remember again, if computer privacy and security are more important to you than convenience, don't network without wires. Information is out of your control once it hits the airwaves.
February 9, 2007
Laptop data searches at border checks
U.S. courts have approved border agents' search of traveler's laptops without articulable probable cause.
Indications are that U.S. and Candian customs officials are searching laptops for pornography and obscene material.
Some travelers report being asked if the laptop they were carrying was a personal or company unit. Presumably, corporate laptops are less likely to be checked for obscene material than personal units are.
Authorities also have the ability to conduct forensic computer searches at border crossings and have done so in the past.
Data transmitted across national borders via the Internet is more strongly protected than data hand-carried through Customs checkpoints, because wiretaps must comply with the requirements of Title III, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2522, or the Pen/Trap statute, 18 U.S.C. §§ 3121-3127. The few advantages of hand-carry are totally lost if one cannot be assured that the data hasn't been copied, or that software or hardware spying mechanisms haven't been implanted within it.
Travelers with sensitive or legally privileged data will want to Customs-proof their laptop before crossing a controlled border. Strong encryption is the best tool to protect data that must be hand-carried through Customs instead of residing on a remote server. Some organizational IT departments are investigating hardware hard-disk encryption, sometimes combined with hardware biometric readers.
It is unclear at this time whether a traveler can be forced to divulge a password. One privacy wonk has suggested wearable or concealable USB drives as a measure of protection.
Indications are that U.S. and Candian customs officials are searching laptops for pornography and obscene material.
Some travelers report being asked if the laptop they were carrying was a personal or company unit. Presumably, corporate laptops are less likely to be checked for obscene material than personal units are.
Authorities also have the ability to conduct forensic computer searches at border crossings and have done so in the past.
Data transmitted across national borders via the Internet is more strongly protected than data hand-carried through Customs checkpoints, because wiretaps must comply with the requirements of Title III, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2522, or the Pen/Trap statute, 18 U.S.C. §§ 3121-3127. The few advantages of hand-carry are totally lost if one cannot be assured that the data hasn't been copied, or that software or hardware spying mechanisms haven't been implanted within it.
Travelers with sensitive or legally privileged data will want to Customs-proof their laptop before crossing a controlled border. Strong encryption is the best tool to protect data that must be hand-carried through Customs instead of residing on a remote server. Some organizational IT departments are investigating hardware hard-disk encryption, sometimes combined with hardware biometric readers.
It is unclear at this time whether a traveler can be forced to divulge a password. One privacy wonk has suggested wearable or concealable USB drives as a measure of protection.
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