Wear Gloves

January 11, 2015 — Leave a comment

When? Why? Well, it turns out that the Apple Touch ID is not as safe as we thought it was. Why? Some busy little cyber bees managed to trick the system itself. How? For what is worth, you can use pictures of someone’s fingerprints to clone the actual fingerprint and use it for a safe passage through the Touch ID system.

It sounds simple, but it is actually a tough rocket science. You need the top quality of photos, including the right angles. At the end of the day, if someone allows him or herself a luxury to expose the fingerprints for hacker’s cloning, then does he or she have the right to complain, in the first place?

This is not supposed to be our contribution to the android paranoid behavioral patterns. However, you should be fully aware that these things are the bitter reality. Do you really need to wear the gloves, all the time? Yes and no. At least you should know that even the Touch ID cannot offer you the absolute protection.

Maybe, the moral of this story is that we should not mess with the eye scanners at the next level. There has to be a way to provide a proper protection for your smartphone with no SF scenarios and gadgets. You do not need to impress anyone. All you have to do is to be efficient. Right?

You Can Or Cannot Touch This?

January 7, 2015 — Leave a comment

The season of bad news for iPhone 6 is far from over. The new trouble has a name, and it is called the fingerprint scan flaw. Although, it has not been fully confirmed, there is a high probability that someone can hack your iPhone by using the fingerprint feature. How? Well, you can make a fake fingerprint.

Again, how? To tell the truth, it is not the rocket science, but it is also not so simple. You need to make high quality pictures of your fingerprint from the different angles. The next thing you know your Touch ID has been hacked, and the silent uninvited guest is passing through your cyber door with no warning at all.

On the other side, you do not have to worry that much. In order for this hacking thing to be fully functional, you have to make those top quality pictures the way you want them. If a proud owner of his or her fingertips allows for this to happen, then we do not have any rights to complain. Right?

Can we really do something about it, when it comes to proper prevention? We cannot use the gloves all day long, can we? Or maybe, Apple should do something about it, in order to improve the Touch ID security features. Either way, we need to change so we can play safe, as it is supposed to be. Right?

Google vs Russia

December 27, 2014 — Leave a comment

Relax, for the time being, there is no conflict between Google and Russia. However, some more or less malicious comments pointed out some obvious facts and comparisons. Does it really matter, if it is because of the politics, or only economic and business related purposes? So, let us see what is happening here.

The estimated value of the entire Russian stock market is around $325 billions. On the other hand, the estimated worth of Google is more than $340 billions. It is worth mentioning that both Apple and Microsoft are already in this big boys club with the estimated worth of more than $350 billions.

So, what is that supposed to mean? Something, anything and everything. All of that at the same time. Maybe, someone wants to make a point that the USA has more than one company, which is worth more than an entire Russian stock market. This sounds and looks a little bit childish, isn’t it?

What is the next move? The Russians can brag around with their oil, gas and gold reserves. It is ridiculous, but for some people obviously necessary to cheer up the tense situation over the Ukraine crisis. Oh dear, has it really come down to this? This is so disappointing on so many levels, isn’t it?

Activation Lock Deactivating Crime

December 13, 2014 — Leave a comment

Here are some encouraging statistics. The rate of stolen smartphones has declined from 30 to 40%. We should thank Apple for this change in a crime tide. It turns out that the Activation Lock has been just the thing we needed the most. What is the use of stealing a smartphone, if you cannot use it in the first place?

As soon as someone tries to turn off Find My iPhone option on your lost or stolen iPhone, the Activation Lock will take care of it all for you. No one can hide your iPhone from you nor access the sensitive data. For all of you, who have some really important data, there is always an option to destroy your phone remotely.

It really comes as a surprise that you can do so many positive and beneficial things with a simple feature such as this one. On the other hand, the next generation of thieves would really have to be a smart one in order to deal with the smartphones and their top protection cyber measures. Right?

For the time being, we should relax and enjoy our safety. It is going to take a while before some ingenious hackers find a way to deal with this protection measure. As long as we have something simple and efficient such as the Activation Lock, we can forget about troubles of losing the most precious gadget.

Taiwan Rules

December 10, 2014 — Leave a comment

Our hats off to Taiwan. Why? Well, they have conducted a thorough check of the smartphones, which circulate in its market. As a result, we have a list of 12 models, which do not comply with the privacy protection requirements. Maybe, it is more advisable for us to be a little bit more precise about this one.

One of the latest privacy related controversies included the so-called Chinese Apple or Xiaomi. According to some security experts, Xiaomi smartphones have a firmware option to send all user data secretly and with no authorization back to China. What a nightmare for the Taiwan authorities, isn’t it?

Apple, Samsung, HTC and Xiaomi are the major smartphone brands in Taiwan. So far, Sasmung, HTC and even the Xiaomi itself have expressed the unconditional willingness to cooperate closely with the strict Taiwan privacy regulations. The funny thing, though, is that Apple keeps silent about this one.

No need to ask you about the moral of this story. Right? Can you imagine the USA or China of imposing similar privacy related requirements. Oh, what a lovely sight that would have been. We can only dream about it, or we can put some additional pressure on our governments follow Taiwan’s indicative example.

Samsung Galaxy vs Nokia 3310

November 29, 2014 — Leave a comment

It is a ridiculous thing to even try comparing these two mobile phones in the very first place. Who could have done such a thing and what could we possibly prove with that? Luckily for us, there are some busy little bees with some funny and original unorthodox ideas. This is what we got as a result.

The very purpose of some very painful experiments for our dearest shining gadgets was to prove how far we have gotten with our progress. Really, once a proud pioneer of the promising mobile revolution looks like a primitive toy compared to its younger smartphone relatives. Yet, this is notnthe whole story.

It turns out that our old little fellow is more resistant in both real and cyber worlds. How could that be? It is quite simple actually. If you try to break it, you will have to put some additional effort. On the other hand, if you want to hack it, you have to forget about it. Sometimes, being primitive has its advantages.

So, which one should you use? The modern one, of course. Why? So, you can enjoy all those shiny apps. Then why was it necessary to destroy two phones to make only one point? Believe it, it was totally worth it. This is a nice reminder that we have not achieved anything remarkable. We have merely improved it.

Here Comes FIDO

September 28, 2014 — Leave a comment

If you thought that FIDO is a new Hobbit’s name, then you should do some extra IT Security 101. Without any exaggeration we can say that the FIDO technology and standard is the next big thing in the world of smartphones. It stands for the Fast IDentification Online or simply FIDO.

So, what is this FIDO all about? Well, we are talking about the next generation of mobile payment solutions, which will definitely send to a retirement all password-based payment systems. This so-called biometric e-business is based on the fingerprint technology, eye scanners, and voice recognition systems.

It is supposed to be a win-win situation for us, the proud users of smartphones. On the one side, we will enjoy greater freedom with simplified and more efficient mobile payment technology. On the other side, we would certainly appreciate the significantly improved sense of cyber security.

So, what is still left to do? We need to remind our dearest major IT league players to invite FIDO on their devices as soon as possible. For what is worth Samsung is already there with its Galaxy S5 smartphone. On the other hand, Apple is determined to introduce its ApplePay. Do you feel protected already?

Collateral Nude Damage

September 16, 2014 — Leave a comment

Oh boy, just when you thought the trouble with the celebrity nude photos could not get any worse we heard about the new bad news. It seems that New Zealand had some serious issues with the Internet this weekend. The poor curious Kiwi guys just could not help themselves. They had to see them.

The nude photos of some of the most beautiful actresses in the world. The hackers were waiting for the thing like this one. What a nice opportunity to infiltrate malware and all kinds of trojans. And now you have it. The celebs are in tears, and the users covered with fears. This is a lose – lose situation.

You do not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out yourself. So, what can we do about it? Both parties, celebs and we the plebs? Well, we should hold our horses and do our best to avoid the nude photos temptation. On the other hand, do not make movies and nude photos at the same time.

For what is worth, the hackers themselves have nothing to lose with this one. For them it is a clear win – win situation. As you can see some of the most powerful malware and trojan solutions feed on our vanity and voyeurism. Our human code is the strongest programming code. Unfortunately.

The Hungry Nude Games

September 10, 2014 — Leave a comment

Nothing will be the same. We know. We will never be safe. We fear. Yet, there is always something good, which can be found more or less in something bad. It is a sad thing that we needed some nice looking nude bodies to raise our awareness about the ugly truth about IT security.

Do not you just love one of the most famous NSA sayings. It goes something like this. If you do not have nothing to hide, there is nothing to fear about. When we apply this one to our iCloud trouble we get something like this. If you do not take nude photos, you do not have to worry about the unwanted exposure.

Or, do not be a celebrity and make nude photos as much as you like. Our dear celebrities can invest some of their money in top security solutions. Of all people they can certainly afford it. Some cyber bodyguards will be more than welcomed in this situation. We live in the digital world. Right?

Yes, we already have an idea. Celebrity IT Security at your services. Protecting your nakedness with our top cyber watchdogs. We can even make a movie. Hollywood cyber detectives. For us it is funny. For our celebrities it is definitely tragic. Enjoy while it lasts. The photos. You got that one right. Right?

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