Topic: Phone - on January 10, 2012 at 1:29:00 PM CET
Punching through The Great Firewall of T-Mobile
T-Mobile UK are moving towards a mobile network which works (technically) in a very similar manner to the Great Firewall of China. I've been using them for mobile Internet access for over a year now, and recently received a second SIM card. When using this new SIM card for Internet access, I've experienced some very odd network traffic.
Both SIM cards are PAYG and both have had their default content block removed. I do not know why they behave differently, but it seems like T-Mobile may be in the middle of rolling out some related changes; There is a quote regarding this from a T-Mobile rep, that I will come to later.
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Topic: Phone - on December 26, 2011 at 7:22:00 PM CET
Android Approved By Pentagon
"The Pentagon has approved a version of Android running on Dell hardware to be used by DoD officials, along with the BlackBerry. The approval of Android by the DoD is a major setback for Apple's iPhone. This doesn't mean that DoD employees can use any Android phone. The Pentagon has approved only Dell's hardware running Android 2.2. Interestingly Dell recently discontinued its Streak phone which runs Android 2.2. Dell is now offering Dell Venue which runs on Android 2.2. So, this is the phone which DoD employees can use."
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Topic: Phone - on December 23, 2011 at 2:53:00 PM CET
EFF reverse engineers Carrier IQ
At this point we have a fairly good idea of what Carrier IQ is, and which manufacturers and carriers see fit to install it on their phones, but the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) — the preeminent protector of your digital rights — has taken it one step further and reverse engineered some of the program’s code to work out what’s actually going on.
There are three parts to a Carrier IQ installation on your phone: The program itself, which captures your keystrokes and other “metrics”; a configuration file, which varies from handset to handset and carrier to carrier; and a database that stores your actions until it can be transmitted to the carrier. Now, the Carrier IQ program is a binary application and fairly hard to reverse engineer, and the database sounds like it’s stored in RAM and thus hard to obtain — but the configuration profile… well, it turns out that that is very easy to crack.
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Topic: Phone - on December 19, 2011 at 1:04:00 PM CET
AT&T, Sprint: Carrier IQ Tracking Agreed To By Customers
More than two weeks ago, security researcher Trevor Eckhart posted a video about Carrier IQ, an obscure software installed on approximately 150 million smartphones. The 17-minute video sparked a firestorm not only because it alleged the software logged numerous details about users' activities, but also because it did so without their knowledge.
But this week, two wireless carriers that use Carrier IQ's software said customers should not have been surprised that some of their activities were being tracked. In letters to Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), who asked them to explain how they used the software, AT&T and Sprint said Carrier IQ's capabilities were clearly outlined in their privacy policies.
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Topic: Phone - on December 17, 2011 at 2:46:00 PM CET
How to Stop Your Smartphone from Constantly Tracking Your Location
Your smartphone tracks your location for all sorts of useful things—driving navigation, updating the weather forecast, and even live traffic updates. However, if you'd rather not have Google and Apple tracking that information—not to mention having it available on your phone for thieves to find—here's how you can turn off location tracking.
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Topic: Phone - on December 14, 2011 at 11:06:00 AM CET
FBI: Carrier IQ FOIA Denial Not Proof Software is Being Used
The FBI is downplaying speculation that its denial of a request for records regarding its possible use of Carrier IQ's software is proof-positive the agency is using the software’s data collection capabilities.
Carrier IQ has been at the center of controversy since it security researcher Trevor Eckhart published findings in November that accused the software of collecting location, keystroke and SMS data from mobile users.
Michael Morisy, co-founder of MuckRock.com, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requesting “manuals, documents or other written guidance used to access or analyze data gathered by programs developed or deployed by Carrier IQ.” The FBI responded to Morisy’s request in a letter stating: “…the records responsive to your request are law enforcement records; that there is a pending or prospective law enforcement proceeding relevant to these responsive records; and that the release of the information contained in these responsive records could reasonably be expected to interfere with the enforcement proceedings.”
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Topic: Phone - on December 13, 2011 at 10:55:00 AM CET
FBI: Carrier IQ files used for "law enforcement purposes"
A recent FOIA request to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for "manuals, documents or other written guidance used to access or analyze data gathered by programs developed or deployed by Carrier IQ" was met with a telling denial. In it, the FBI stated it did have responsive documents - but they were exempt under a provision that covers materials that, if disclosed, might reasonably interfere with an ongoing investigation.
Carrier IQ came under fire after a security researcher demonstrated that the previously little-known company had software installed on a variety of phones on a variety of networks that could track user locations, keystrokes, encrypted Internet traffic and more, some of which was or could be sent back to either the cell phone owner's service provider or Carrier IQ's own servers.
muckrock.com FBI Rejects Freedom of Information Act Request About Carrier IQ lifehacker.com Again On The Carrier IQ Saga forbes.com
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Topic: Phone - on December 2, 2011 at 4:38:00 PM CET
Voodoo Carrier IQ detector application released for Android
This app's goal is to let you find out as easily as possible if your Android device hosts CarrierIQ rootkit or not.
It's unfinished (only a few hours old) Look for updates soon. Results are not reliable yet.
Important note: Anti - Carrier IQ fixes are not detected yet and still generate false positives.
market.android.com Source Code Which phones are infected, and how to remove it
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Topic: Phone - on December 2, 2011 at 11:06:00 AM CET
In Video – Phone tracking
Technology now exists that can allow a government security agency to secretly and remotely install a small piece of software on your mobile phone. This will turn it into a device that can trace your location, listen in to your conversations, and even take pictures of you and the people around you using the built-in camera.
This video showcases technology offered by Italian software company Hacking Team.
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Topic: Phone - on December 2, 2011 at 11:04:00 AM CET
CarrierIQ: Spionage-Tool auch auf deutschen Geräten
CHIP Online hat auf einem deutschen Galaxy Tab P1000 Dateien gefunden, die zur Schnüffelsoftware „Carrier IQ“ gehören. Bislang schien die Carrier-IQ-Software vor allem ein Problem der US-amerikanischen Smartphone-Nutzer zu sein, doch offensichtlich gibt es nun auch in Deutschland Betroffene.
Das macht Carrier IQ Eigentlich klingt alles ganz harmlos: Die vom US-amerikanischen Unternehmen „Carrier IQ“ entwickelte Software soll den Netzbetreibern bei der Optimierung ihrer Mobilfunknetze helfen, indem sie für die Service-Qualität relevante Informationen sammelt und ans Rechenzentrum von Carrier IQ schickt. Laut dem Unternehmen ist die Software bereits auf über 140 Millionen Handys und Smartphones installiert. Vor kurzem hat der Android-Entwickler Trevor Eckhart allerdings Informationen veröffentlicht, die belegen, dass die Software wesentlich mehr Informationen sammelt: Das reicht von Textnachrichten über Ortsinformationen und angesurfte Webseiten bis hin zu jeder gedrückten Taste.
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Topic: Phone - on November 30, 2011 at 11:26:00 AM CET
BUSTED! Secret app on millions of phones logs key taps
An Android app developer has published what he says is conclusive proof that millions of smartphones are secretly monitoring the key presses, geographic locations, and received messages of its users.
In a YouTube video posted on Monday, Trevor Eckhart showed how software from a Silicon Valley company known as Carrier IQ recorded in real time the keys he pressed into a stock EVO handset, which he had reset to factory settings just prior to the demonstration. Using a packet sniffer while his device was in airplane mode, he demonstrated how each numeric tap and every received text message is logged by the software.
Could be possible it is only on US or some other countries pre-installed. As no one would even care to install those in EU countries where EU officials would rip off the phone company, operator and the software manufacturer so small pieces that they would never survive.
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Topic: Phone - on November 12, 2011 at 5:19:00 PM CET
Rumänische Nokia-Fabrik beschlagnahmt
Das rumänische Finanzamt hat am Freitag die Fertigungsanlage des finnischen Handy-Herstellers Nokia im Industriepark Jucu beschlagnahmt. Dies sei eine Vorsichtsmaßnahme, nachdem eine Prüfung ergeben habe, dass Nokia Zollgebühren von 10 Millionen US-Dollar nicht bezahlt habe, sagte Behördenchef Sorin Blejnar in Bukarest. Nokia will seine Fabrik in Rumänien bis Jahresende schließen.
.....Nokia hatte im Februar 2008 in Jucu nahe der siebenbürgischen Stadt Cluj mit der Produktion einfacher Handys begonnen und dazu dort eine Fabrik für 60 Millionen Euro gebaut – im gleichen Jahr wurde dafür das Nokia-Werk Bochum geschlossen.
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