Tag Archives: Mobile

Breaking Boundaries in the Connected World

Breaking Boundaries in the Connected World - Mobile World Congress 2017

Scouting for technology trends, I attended the Mobile World Congress (MWC) exhibition 2017. Even though Barcelona, Spain is itself an amazing place to visit, this event, with over 2,000 exhibitors, really pulls you in. Whilst the media usually focuses on latest smartphone presentations and a bit about connected driving, I wanted to see how consumers will live in tomorrow’s […]

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A Fresh Start for Google’s Pixel: Tips for Your New Android Phone

As the anticipated release of the Google Pixel nears, it may be time to check those old storage habits to ensure your new Android phone performs at its maximum capacity.

 

We’re all waiting with bated breath for Google to release the new Pixel phone tomorrow—it’s rumored to have twelve megapixels in the rear camera and Full HD display to view your photos.

While Android enthusiasts are bubbling with excitement about the new features, better images typically also mean heavier files. And you can bet that one platform agnostic behavior will remain: extraordinary laziness in clearing out bad and/or duplicate photos.

AVG Technologies recently collected data from 1.5 million users of AVG Cleaner for Android—which creates more space, speed, and battery life for your phone or tablet—and found that the app helped users quickly delete 26 million bad photos and 30 million similar photos. The bad photo overload phenomenon is global, and life is too short to spend even a minute manually scrolling through thousands of pictures to identify and remove the trash.

AVG Cleaner is free, and you can install as soon as you get your shiny new Pixel to make sure your old habits don’t mar your new phone. And it isn’t just a one-time solution: Cleaner can also quickly remove hidden clutter, unused apps, call history, your largest files, and more to free up space for the apps, photos, and music you love most. Just turn on Auto Clean Reminders and AVG Cleaner will automatically find the clutter for you and let you clean it with a simple reminder in the notification panel of your phone or tablet. It’s that easy.

Regardless of how you keep your phone running, it’s always fun to start with a clean slate. We can’t wait to see what other features Google unveils at tomorrow’s event!

Finding too much in your Pokémon app?

Are you addicted to the augmented reality of Pokémon Go yet? If so, then you are not alone and if not, beware of playing the game because you might be.

 

But be careful, whether you are an existing or new player as with any craze as popular as this then cyber-criminals see an opportunity to make some cash.

In the last week several security researchers have released details of threats ranging from fraudulent social media accounts to malware infected apps available in the Google Play store.

The malware infected app found by security researchers this week was available in the Google Play Store and is reported to have been downloaded over 500,000 times. The apps malicious payload is capable of taking root access rights on a user’s phone. The app masqueraded as a ‘Guide for Pokémon Go’, leveraging the huge success of the game to dupe people into downloading an app that could then uninstall/install apps or display unwanted adverts.

The research on social media accounts found 543 accounts related to Pokémon Go across Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr with over 30% (167) of them delivering fraudulent content to their visitors. With a mix of downloadable game guides, imposter accounts and free giveaways affecting both desktop platforms and mobile devices delivering adware, malware or software not related to the content advertised.

With cyber-criminals motivated to cash in on the phenomena we strongly recommend that vigilance is needed when downloading or researching details about the game and the best way to play.

If you think you may have clicked a bad link or downloaded a rogue app then download AVG AntiVirus for Android, it’s free and detects malicious app downloads in real-time. AVG detects the threat from the malicious app mentioned above and our researchers work 24×7 to ensure that we bring you protection to threats as they happen.

Over 900 million Android devices at risk from QuadRooter vulnerabilities

What is QuadRooter?

Researchers at Check Point® Software Technologies have released details of four vulnerabilities, which they have dubbed ‘QuadRooter’, that affect Android™ smartphones and tablets built with Qualcomm® chipsets.

Any one of these vulnerabilities could be exploited by a malicious app downloaded onto the user’s device which, without their knowledge, would allow the attacker to gain full access to the phone. Considering the significant amount of personal and business data we store on our connected devices, this has major security implications.

According to Check Point, some of the Android devices that contain this chipset and which are therefore at risk include:

  • BlackBerry Priv
  • Blackphone 1 and Blackphone 2
  • Google Nexus 5X, Nexus 6 and Nexus 6P
  • HTC One, HTC M9 and HTC 10
  • LG G4, LG G5, and LG V10
  • New Moto X by Motorola
  • OnePlus One, OnePlus 2 and OnePlus 3
  • Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung S7 Edge
  • Sony Xperia Z Ultra

 

How to protect your Android device from QuadRooter

If you own one of these handsets, it does not mean that you have been the subject of an attack that gains control over your device. For the attack to be successful, it must download the malicious app that takes advantage of one of these four vulnerabilities to your device.

Ensure you update your handset with any security patches available for the issue. For example, Qualcomm has already released a fix for all four vulnerabilities while Google has released patches for three of the four, with the final fix expected in the very near future.

In addition, there are four steps you can take to make sure your device is as secure as possible:

 

  1. Your device should automatically prompt you to download and install the latest available updates. Tip: make sure you have a wi-fi or broadband connected before downloading as some updates can be large.
  1. Only download apps from official apps stores such as Google Play. Avoid sideloading apps, such as when you are offered an app on a web site. To ensure you get the authentic app, go to the Google Play store directly and download it from there. This reduces the risk of getting a malicious app by accident.
  1. Switch on the “verify apps” function in your Android settings. This means that even if you do download an app from somewhere else, this feature will check with the official app store to make sure it’s compliant.
  1. Protect your device with antivirus software such as AVG AntiVirus for Android and make sure you keep it updated. Should an attacker use the vulnerability to plant the malware on your phone or tablet, an up-to-date antivirus program will detect and prevent its execution.

 

The best advice I can give is not to panic and not to be complacent. Vulnerabilities like this are actually relatively common and taking preventative action quickly will help protect your devices and your data from unnecessary risk.