With the advent of smartphones, human lives have become a whole lot simpler. Nowadays, people carry their whole world in their smartphones — be it their pictures, music, or contacts, and with the adoption of applications, their bank accounts and money as well. Smartphones being portable have entered almost every walk of life and have also become a crucial part of any person’s life.

Android, being the open source and a completely free mobile operating system, gained a lot of popularity in a short time period and today it stands close to many of the established players in this arena. According to Gartner reports, smartphone sales globally will reach more than 450 million units in 2011 and Android seems to become the most popular operating system worldwide. It is expected to account for 49 percent of the smartphone market by 2012.

Android’s popularity has attracted many App developers along with non-social elements as well. This has LED to a long list of threats that have today cropped up for Android.

Although many new and old Android users are aware about some of these threats but there are still many other users who are unaware of these threats thereby keeping these threats and the people behind it in business.

According to the Panda labs’ Quarterly threat report 2011, “Android is becoming the dominant platform of mobile computing and is likely to win the tablet market shortly. Additionally, there is increasing concern about cell phone security, and research studies and proof-of concepts reporting security problems have multiplied over the last few months.

“Cyber-crooks are beginning to realize the existence of an emerging market they are willing to exploit, and are trying new techniques while continuing to use proven strategies, like using malware to get infected phones to send SMS text messages to premium rate numbers.”
With the ever changing technology the smartphone threat portfolio has also evolved affecting a large number of users everyday.
“People carry more and more personal information in these smartphones. No matter whether it is Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows Mobile or Symbian platform, you have to be aware that mobile/smartphone are prone to viruses, SMS Spam, Spyware or simply data loss if your device is lost, stolen or hacked,” said Pankaj Jain, spokesperson, ESET India, which makes mobile software.

He also added: “Security analysts predict there will be 17 billion smartphone apps downloaded by the end of 2011. It is an almost impossible task to track them. In case of Android which is an open source platform (i.e. almost anyone can create and modify application for the smartphones which can then be offered for download on the internet or the Android Marketplace), more than 840 apps out of 10,000 downloaded from the Android Market are leaking personal information.”

App stores

Third party applications are one of the major contributors towards the increase in the number of threats for the Android operating system.

“To some degree, the third party application stores are responsible for increase in the number of security threats as there is lack of accountability. A lot of these app-stores don’t require much information to sign up and publish an application. Secondly there is lack of testing; some of these app-stores don’t have testing processes to guarantee certain minimum level of acceptance has been met,” said Charles Yong, director – product management, Affle, a software manufacturer.

Along with the third party application, the Android application market threat reporting tool itself is one of the main reasons for the increase in the number of threats.
“The Android Market relies on the community to identify and flag applications that either malfunction or are malicious in nature. This would imply that there will always be a window where a number of consumers would need to use, test and determine if an application is malicious before it could be removed from the Market. This has already occurred in the instance of a bank phishing application that was published by an author by the name of Droid09,” said S Mobile Systems in an analysis.

Negligence

Not only due to vulnerabilities in the application but due to negligence have people become victim of such attacks. Due to a large number of application and most of them being free versions, people have deliberately stared ignoring what permissions applications ask for and they simply install the applications. And with the option of installing application of the external memory being added in all Android versions over 2.2, people have started installing multiple applications on the devices while many of them stay dormant in the device.
“What is happening in practice, you download an app, use it a few minutes and forget it. But it stays in the background potentially harvesting your personal information you have typed or touched. ESET researches reported about a malware proof-of-concept that listened to the touch-tones being typed on the keypad representing credit card information being entered, and reported it back to the malware’s mother ship,” Pankaj Jain of ESET pointed out.
Now, with the rise in banking transactions through mobile phones, we expect to discover more mobile banking malware. However, not many banks in India provide this option yet. And since online fraud makes sense only in case of big numbers, attacking mobile bankers is not yet an effective fraud operation. But it is going to change shortly,” Jain added.

According to the Malicious Mobile Threats Report 2011 of Juniper research, the single greatest distribution point for mobile malware is through application downloads, yet the vast majority of smartphone users are not employing an anti-virus solution on their mobile device to scan for malware.

There’s still hope

The Android smartphone users need to take some simple steps and be careful during their smartphone usage. Especially, they need to think before tapping on unknown links to ensure their devices remain safe all the time. And they need to make sure to read all the information and check the authenticity of the application to ensure the safety of his/her privacy and security.

“First of all there are simple things to know when using smartphone. If you’re installing an app, it shouldn’t be asking for permission to access the nooks of your Android. You should download apps directly from the native Market, and it’s always better to first check user-generated ratings there. It will give you the idea about the quality of the app and its troubles. So just simply think for two minutes, not one, before downloading and installing an app. Also be careful about allowing escalated privileges to the app, read the pop-ups instead of just clicking along until it installs.” Suggests Pankaj

Besides, the Android users should also install a good quality anti-virus solution on their device. The anti-virus program should be carefully selected from hundreds of free and paid software’s out there in the Android market. The best software for your device is the one that protects you from various threats available today in the form of spam SMS, Trojan installers, viruses, spyware, adware, rootkit infections, worms and other unidentified malicious mobile software. It should also be able to scan all information coming via WiFi and Bluetooth to protect the user.

Application developers such as Affle also make sure from their side at least that there are no loose ends left which could result in security vulnerabilities. “Apart from just providing a secure application, they also make use of Encryption for the data that is generated by the application and for the servers as well which process that data. This in turn leaves no chance for the hackers to gain access to user’s information or the data being transmitted by the application to Affle’s data processing centers,” said Charles Yong of Affle.

Diwali is round the corner and shopping is the order of day, so search for deals is inevitable, here is our attempt to make this search easier at least for the mobile phone buyers.

Here are four phones that are available at amazing discounted prices or comes with freebies to lure consumers.

Motorola Milestone

This one phone brought Motorola back to the limelight. Though it is old now, it gets a hardware that is underclocked and runs at 600 MHz, and that shows in its performance. While 600 MHz sounds low, it runs so smooth that I had to do a re-check for the specification. Some users have even gone ahead and over clocked the phone to run at 1.2 GHz processor speed. You can use apps like Universal Androot and then overclock the phone using the App Milestone Overclock, though it’s not advisable for lay users.

What’s more, you get Android 2.1 but that is upgradable to 2.3.The phone has a 3.7 inch capacitive touchscreen and a full slide out Qwerty keypad, along with that you get 5 megapixel camera with 24 FPS video recording and xenon flash.

The battery is a 14mAh unit which is good for a day of medium usage which is what any average Android phone gives. 3G, WiFi, GPS and all the other goodies generally associated with Android are available as well.

And now comes the best part, you get all this for just Rs 13,500 through Flipkart, and this is really an exclusive deal from them it seems as most other websites are offering this phone at close to Rs 17,000 price bracket.

Acer Ferrari Liquid E

If you are big fan of Ferrari, this offer is just for you. For Rs 18,500, you get a chance to buy a licensed Ferrari phone from Acer. It’s not just the name that’s fast, you get a 1 GHz processor, Android 2.1 that is upgradable to Android 2.2 (upgrade is already available). Other features like 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS that you normally associate with Android are there too.

You also get a 5.0 megapixel auto focus camera with 720P video capture capability,
Ferrari is about Italian design, and this phone is no different, it flaunts a bold yet elegant design: the glossy red casing with Chrome trim makes it a true pleasure for the eyes. The front is dominated by a spacious 3.5-inch, hi-resolution capacitive touchscreen, while the back sports the legendary “Scuderia Ferrari” shield with details in carbon fiber, while the redesigned microphone recalls the “air intake inlet”.

Apart from the attractive price of Rs 18,500, you also get a Ferrari bluetooth headset, and 8 GB Micro SD card free with this phone at Letsbuy.com. Futurebazaar.com is offering this phone with Android 2.2 upgarde at Rs 17,999, but is not clear whether the Ferrari Bluetooth handsfree is there or not. Call them up before you decide on which one to buy.

Samsung Wave S5253

This is one deal at Flipcart.com that will appeal to people looking for good value for money and looking for a feature phone. Samsung Wave is available for Rs 6,000, and that is the price at which high end feature phones are available whereas Wave is a smartphone.

It gets a 3.2 inch capacitive touchscreen, 3.2 megapixel camera, A-GPS, 3G, WiFi, expandable memory up to 16 GB (4 GB free), FM radio with recording. What’s more, you get to download apps from the Bada operating system’s (Wave is based on Bada, which is Samsung’s own smartphone OS) apps store.

Though upgrade to Bada 2.0 is not yet available for Wave, it is likley to be introduced sooner rather than later.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo V

This is no discount offering, but a new device that has just been launched at a very attractive price of Rs 17,500. The Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V is a well designed phone loaded with features. It has a 3.7-inch display with a Resolution of 854 x 480 pixels with Multi-touch and reality display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine (Sony’s image technology).

This phone runs on an Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread operating system and has a 1 GHz Scorpion processor. The phone also has 512 MB RAM. The Neo V from Sony Ericsson is home to a 5 megapixel camera with features such as touch focus, image stabilization, face detection, auto focus, and smile detection.

You can take 3D sweep panorama pictures on this smartphone that you can view on a 3D television on multi angle 3D display. The phone also supports a Geo-tagging feature and a send to web option. The Ericsson Xperia Neo V can record HD videos at 720p (30 fps).

A video stabiliser installed on this Sony phone will let you capture videos with a professional touch. This Ericsson mobile has front facing camera for video calling. Flipkart is also offering a Bluetooth kit free with this device at a Price of Rs 17,500.

Apart from these offers, most online sites are offering freebies on all most all models of higher end phones, for example Flipkart.com is offering Bluetooth handsfree kits with most mobile phones, though make of the kit varies depending on the model you are looking at and its price.

Similarly Letsbuy is offering a assured surprise Diwali gift with each purchase. Similarly other merchant sites like Homeshop18, Futurebazaar and Indiatimes are all offering freebies with most purchases made before Diwali.

Typically these gifts include free memory card, Bluetooth handsfree kits, screen guards and other mobile accessories. So it is worth checking for these deals across various sites before you zero in on any particular website.

Even for the phones that we have mentioned above, do a rechecking as offers change so fast that it is difficult to be sure that the best offer for today remains the best offer tomorrow.

ARM, the UK based chip designer, has displayed a new processor, Cortex A7, which the company claims will bring forth a new generation of cheaper smartphones, dramatically cutting the current costs.

The company hopes to bring forth a mobile computing revolution with the help of new Cortex A7 in the price sensitive developing countries.

“As smartphones and tablets continue to evolve into users’ primary compute device, consumers are demanding performance as well as the always on, always connected service they expect. The challenge for our industry and the ARM ecosystem is how to deliver on this,” said Mike Inglis, executive vice president, Processor division, ARM.

Currently, ARM processor designs are being used in about 95 percent smartphones across the world. ARM is expecting support on this technology from big companies like Samsung, LG, Texas Instruments and Nvidia.

Apple also uses the processor technology from ARM. The Cortex A7 processor will likely be used as the sole processor in future smartphones which will use less battery.

ARM expects the future smartphones would be priced around $100 (Rs 4,500). In countries where cheaper devices are not that much of an issue, the same processor Cortex A7 may be combined with other high end mobile processors to provide both energy efficiency and powerful features to the smarpthone users.

Nokia World 2011 event is hardly five days away to start off in London from and the image of upcoming Windows Phone handset dubbed as Nokia Sabre got leaked online.

PocketNow produced the image of Nokia Sabre handset features a 3.5-inch touchscreen display and single 1.4 GHz Processor under the chassis. Anticipation rises on the Nokia World 2011 event next week where Nokia is expected to announce the new Windows Phone 7.5 Mango based devices.

Nokia Sabre will feature 480×800 Pixel Resolution which will make the icons and text appear crisp. Besides that, it will house a 1.4Ghz processor which most likely will be the Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 CPU.

The image is blurry and hence the three buttons &#151 Home, Back and Search buttons are not visible. It is the same Nokia Sabre device that was reported earlier this month.

Nokia is also expected to show the Nokia 800 previously dubbed as SeaRay handset which resembles the Nokia N9 design aesthetics.

With several better hardware packing smartphones out in market, the key point Nokia devices are expected to address is the pricing. If priced appropriately, Nokia can gain the love from consumers as well as the mobile loving geeks.