Mobile Devices B&W 2
Since I don't like to pick on just one thing, I’ll take this opportunity to “rub you raw” over several mobile device issues. Here we go:
Samsung Galaxy Note 7
I could say something spontaneous (as in spontaneous combustion) about the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, like, “Doesn’t it just burn you up that you have to stop using this device and take it back to where you got it before it burns you up?”
But I won’t.
If you haven’t’ heard by now, all original and replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 devices sold or exchanged in the United States have been recalled under a cooperative arrangement with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. It was determined that the devices could overheat and produce a safety risk, even after being retrofit with the replacement battery or after the replacement device was received under Samsung’s earlier exchange rebate program.
The ultimate “killer” for the device came when the Federal Aviation Administration announced that the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 devices were banned (as of Oct. 15, 2016) from air travel on all U.S. carriers.
It’s pretty simple: You can’t even get on a plane if you’re carrying a Samsung Galaxy Note 7.
Samsung users loved their devices the same way Apple users love their iPhones. So, it only makes sense that they were rubbed raw when the latest and greatest Galaxy Note 7 was found to have the overheating defect.
One thing that shouldn’t rub you raw is that Samsung owned up to the problem. It immediately announced a voluntary recall and began making things right with their customers. That’s the sign of corporate responsibility and good corporate citizenship.
You May Wish You Never Heard of Pokémon Go
So, you like to play Pokémon Go? Now I’m really going to rub you raw.
Kaspersky labs recently released its 2016 third quarter threat assessment. And, get this – one of the biggest growth areas in cyber threats is focusing on the mobile market. Among those targets is the popular Pokémon Go.
With the game being so popular how could cyber-criminals not attempt to hone in on its success?
Kaspersky identified that hackers are able to add malicious codes to the original Pokémon Go App and spread malicious version via third-party stores. Such attacks included the use of Trojan-Banker.AndroidOS.Tordow, which is used to exploit vulnerabilities in your system to obtain root access to your mobile device.
Once root access is achieved, the Trojan can protect itself from being deleted or disabled. It then begins to steal saved passwords within your device’s browsers.
Did you happen to download a guide on “How to Play the Pokémon Go Game”?
If you did, chances are even if the guide was available from the official Google Play store it infected your mobile device, since it turned out to contain a Trojan capable of gaining root access to your device.
Overall, Kaspersky detected 1,520,931 malicious threat installation packages in the third quarter of 2016.
Trojan-Banker.AndroidOS.Tordow is part of a family of mobile banking Trojans configured to steal credit card data, and logins and passwords from online banking accounts, fraudsters. It then steals money via SMS services, including mobile banking using the Trojan disseminated information.
Many of these malware family members have been designed to bypass protection mechanisms built into Android. Initially, these Trojans request rights to overlay other apps, and then use those rights to trick Android users into authorizing privileges to work with text messages or make calls.
Overall, Kaspersky detected 1,520,931 malicious threat installation packages in the third quarter of 2016. Believe it or not, legitimate software applications that potentially are dangerous to users topped Kaspersky’s rating of malicious objects detected for all mobile devices during the quarter.
Mobiles May Soon Be Leading Cause of Death
That’s right. If things keep progressing, mobile devices maybe the No. 1 contributor to accident deaths. Despite enactments of laws to criminalize “texting while driving,” the use of mobile devices while operating a motor vehicle continues to climb.
In fact, frighteningly, more than 49 percent of adults admit to texting and driving, even though 98 percent of those acknowledge the practice is unsafe.
More than nine Americans are killed every day in motor vehicle accidents associated with distractions from mobile devices. The probability of being involved in an auto accident where a mobile device is somehow responsible (in part) is 25 percent.
The No. 1 killer of teenagers is mobile device-related auto accidents, but the trend now is extending upward in terms of age bracket. A growing number of accidents associated with mobile device distraction involve young adults ages 21 to 24. It seems those teens that were not killed in accidents now have grown into young adulthood, where they’re still involved in this risky behavior.
These statistics should rub everyone raw, especially if you thought the law your legislators voted for would reverse the trend. I mean, how many people speed now even though we have laws to protect from speeding?
Teens do what they have seen. So, if you have ever drove like the wind with your child in the car while checking your mobile device and sending emails…
We all have come to rely upon our mobile devices for everything from music to messaging to work and getting directions, but the reality is that even though these marvels of technology do so much for us, it is like playing Russian roulette while driving.
PS: It just rubs me raw that I even need to write an article like this. – Murph