TimesToCome Mobile

This paper contains a detailed analysis of Androids security risks and recommendations for fixes. If you are writing software for Android or just using it, you might want to give it a read.

Google’s Android is a comprehensive software framework for mobile communication devices (i.e., smartphones, PDAs). The Android framework includes an operating system, middleware and a set of key applications. The incorporation of integrated access services to the Internet on such mobile devices, however, increases their exposure to damages inflicted by various types of malware. This paper provides a comprehensive security assessment of the Android framework and the security mechanisms incorporated into it. A methodological qualitative risk analysis that we conducted identifies the high-risk threats to the framework and any potential danger to information or to the system resulting from vulnerabilities that have been uncovered and exploited. Our review of current academic and commercial solutions in the area of smartphone security yields a list of applied and recommended defense mechanisms for hardening mobile devices in general and the Android in particular. Lastly, we present five major (high-risk) threats to the Android framework and propose security solutions to mitigate them. We conclude by proposing a set of security mechanisms that should be explored and introduced into Android-powered devices.

Download the paper ( pdf )

Engadget has a review of a demo model of the new Nexus One and it’s sweet looking
12/22/09 Rogue Android Smartphone App created that steals banking information( what are you doing banking on your phone anyhow? )

Accessing AT&T’s Wi-Fi hotspots is easy. You can use any Wi-Fi enabled laptop or other device to connect quickly and seamlessly.

iPhone users, get started with Wi-Fi

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Activate Wi-Fi from the settings icon on your iPhone
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Select “attwifi” from the list of available networks
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Enter your 10-digit mobile number and check the box to agree to the Acceptable Use Policy. Tap ‘continue’
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You will receive a text message from AT&T with a secure link to the AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot. You will not be charged for the text message.
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The SMS link will only be valid for 24 hours at the location it was requested. Another request must be submitted when using another hotspot location.
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Open the text message and tap on the link for 24-hour access to the AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot

This is probably the thing I miss most about my old Palm and the one thing that held me back so long from buying an iPhone.  There is no way to store / read pdfs on the iPhone.

If you have an internet connection you can store a bunch of pdfs in a mailbox and then download each one and read it while you have an internet connection.  That was useless under edge and is only  a slightly better option on 3G.  It forgets where you are in the document each time.

So it was with great anticipation I downloaded and installed FileMagnet.  FileMagnet does what it says it does, it allows you to transfer pdfs (and other documents) to your iPhone and access them while offline.

What it doesn’t tell you is there is no landscape mode, or text mode, so you have to scroll back and forth through each line you read.  It also doesn’t remember where you are in the document.

So you can either store a pdf on your iPhone or read a pdf on your iPhone but not both.  At least not yet.

I’m still hoping Adobe will step up and fix this problem.

I love it.

The new phone gets a signal in the house which the old one would not. That’s a huge plus.

We are at the edge of a 3G network. If I stand out back on one leg and face north I get 3G. Otherwise a short walk down the street puts me in 3G. What a difference it makes. In the city 3G is everywhere and that’s when I need it most, when I’m not home.

So far battery life is fine. It was rough the first day, but I was playing with the phone a lot. It was better the second day. Today it is fine. Remember it takes about a week to properly break in the cell phone batteries so that they will hold a full charge.

The screen is fine. It does not appear yellow to me. It is crisper and brighter. In a million folks I guess you just can’t please them all.

The form is nice, the old phone feels clunky in my hands now.

The apps will get better. It took Palm a while to get some good applications. Palm never did give us gps before they vanished. This phone has gps which opens a whole new world of cool application possibilities. Windows Mobile has some great applications for their phones. Ours will be coming.

I am synching the old phone and the new with the same computer. I did give the old one a different name ( click on the name when the phone is hooked into iTunes and it will let you edit the name ).

The calendars got a bit confused at first when I synced both phones. I deleted the events in the old phone and told iTunes to over write the old phone calendar with the computer copy. That straightened everything out.

If you put your old phone in airplane mode and turn on wifi it will quick whining about not being able to activate.

If you’ve gotten a new phone number don’t forget to add it to the ‘Do not call list’.

I’m still wishing for a pdf reader that will let me store several pdfs on the iPhone. Other’n that all is right and wonderful.

The anti-glare screen covers (Power Support anti-glare screens ) you can buy at the Apple store do a great job of masking fingerprints. It makes the phone much easier to read outdoors as well.

If your contact list is slow loading and slow responding to your taps, try removing the Google application and shutting off and restarting your phone. It worked for me.

Those idiots you saw waiting in line for a phone Friday? I was one of them. Who’d've thought it? I’ve never waited in life for anything in my life. But I thought it would be fun and it was. 5 hours of dancing cows, food brought to us by Apple store employees and the local Chick-Fil-A and Godiver stores, and lots of geeky conversation to pass the time. It was fun.

And we scored! Two shiny new white 16gb 3G iPhones.

Here’s some things you’ll want to know.

You can still use your old phone as an iPod touch. Leave the old sim card in place or it won’t sync. It work fine as an iPod and with the wireless network here at the house.

The new phone is lighter, brighter and feels much slicker. The old one feels clunky now.

3G fades in and out here at the house. I expect the ATT network will be hammered for a few weeks.

The app store is painless to use. Most of the apps are not yet impressive, that will come with time.

The phone calls are much clearer and louder.

You can now follow yourself on Google maps, be sure to look up and wave to the satellite.

Yahoo pushes mail to your phone, Google does not. ( I’m hoping Google fixes that soon ).

All your passwords get erased when you switch phones. Be sure you know what they are.

Zenbe makes a very nice free todo list.

Urbanspoon is lots of fun but doesn’t have a whole lot of restaurants listed yet.

Picture messaging is still missing. Perhaps that will come when Apple gets the app server up and running in August?

If you are still hunting for an iPhone check out Find your iPhone, you put in the model you desire, your zip code, and it returns the nearest location that has it in stock.

I’ve been hearing a lot about Twitter this year. I signed up for an account and there it sat while I tried to figure out what to do with it.

Recently I attended a blogging convention and learned all sorts of cool information on what you can do to make life easier with Twitter and your mobile phone.

First you sign up for a free Twitter account. Then go to settings->devices and follow the directions to add your cell phone.

Then you can:
1 ) Send appointments to your Google calendar. Add GCal as a friend (follow ) in your Twitter account and grant access to your Google calendar here. Then you can text from your phone to 40404 d gcal meeting Tom 7am tomorrow and your appointment will be added to your Google Calendar.

2 ) Write reminders for yourself, text ‘pick up milk’, ‘don’t forget to pick up children’, etc. You can look at your Twitter account anytime from your cell phone and see your list of things to do.

3 ) Leave notes for your family and friends. Text a twitter ‘running late’, ‘kidnapped by aliens’ etc to let everyone know what’s happening with you. It’s easier than texting everyone.

I’m still getting the hang of Twitter and finding uses for it. It’s far more useful than I thought it would be. Don’t be the last on your block to get a Twitter account because all the good user names will be gone soon.

You can also use Twitterfone to do all this by voice from your phone.

Shopping with a smart cell phone makes it much easier to see what you need and purchase something at a fair price. We’ve been able to check to verify the correct memory for computers while out shopping, check other car dealers prices while out car shopping and find alternate store locations.

Now you can be shopping at a big box store, especially those known to have several prices on things, text a product name, bar code or upc number to Amazon and receive back their product listing and price. From there you can purchase it from Amazon or continue your purchase at the local store.

“With today’s launch of TextBuyIt, any Amazon.com customer can now use any mobile device to shop and buy from Amazon.com, at anytime, anywhere they are,” said Howard Gefen, Director of Amazon Mobile Payments. “With TextBuyIt, if you’re walking out of a concert and want to buy a CD from the artist you just saw, or if you’re at dinner and a friend tells you about a great book you should read, all you have to do is get out your mobile device, send a text message to Amazon, reply to the response, confirm your order, and your item will be on its way. It’s incredibly simple and convenient.”

In less than a minute and using only text messages, Amazon.com customers can find the product they are looking for and complete a purchase using TextBuyIt. Simply send a text message to “AMAZON” (262966) with the name of the product, search term or a UPC or ISBN code, and, within seconds, Amazon replies with the product or products that match the search, along with prices. To buy an item, customers simply reply to the text message by entering the unique single digit number next to the item they want. Customers will then receive a short phone call from Amazon with the final details of their order and asking them to confirm or cancel the purchase.

When customers choose to purchase something for the first time using TextBuyIt, they will be asked for their e-mail address and shipping ZIP code they use for their Amazon.com account. With this information, Amazon uses customers’ default settings for payment method, shipping address and shipping speed, including 2-Day shipping for Amazon Prime members. [read more Amazon TextBuyIt ]

Just be careful not to announce such bargains to fellow shoppers or Best Buy might have you arrested.

Best Buy called the cops on Alex because he told another shopper that the Jawbone headset he was considering was poor quality and marked up $30 from the manufacturer’s price. [ read more Best Buy calls cops on your for telling fellow customer jawbone headset is overpriced ]

1 ) Remember dates. When you take a picture with your cell phone camera a date stamp is put on the photo.

2) Remember where you parked your car. Take a picture of the sign showing the section, row or floor where you parked your car. That way after a long day’s shopping or vacation you’ll be able to find your car when you get home.

3) Take a picture of a recipe then you won’t need to make up a shopping list for the grocery store.