Mobile phone tops the list of the most used gadgets by us every day. Right from the mail which can close a million-dollar deal to making the long distant video call, we rely on mobile phones very much. It can turn out very bad if these devices are left unprotected. There are various security apps other than antivirus apps which can help us to keep our mobile phones and the data stored in it to be safe and secure.

Some of the top security apps for Android phones are listed below:

Applock

This app is life-saver for many people. It works like the vault in banks. You can keep your photos and videos locked under it. Also, users can lock other apps such as Gmail, mobile and online casino gaming apps, internet banking apps and so on using Applock. You can use a secret PIN to access the files and apps. By this way, your mobile phone will have two layers of security. This app is available in the Google Play Store for free.

DuckDuckGo Search and Stories

In the world of internet where major conglomerates make use of the personal data of people, DuckDuckGo is a gem. This is a search engine like Google and Bing, but it does not track what you search online. If you are concerned about private companies accessing the information you surf on the internet, then DuckDuckGo is the perfect solution.

Find My Device by Google

Find My Device was earlier named as Android Device Manager. This app will help you to find your mobile phone. It can show you the location of the phone and you can also make the phone ring using this app. You can also remotely lock and erase the information stored on the phone. It does not have any ads and in-app purchases which makes it clutter free.

Firefox Focus

Firefox Focus is one of the most secure browsers out there. The app can be used to remove the advertisements and trackers to some extent ensuring more private browsing. The best part is that this app is also free.

Glass Wire

Glass Wire is one of the new best apps to track the data consumption effectively. It has the options for the players to see the data usage in terms of days, weeks, months and by individual apps. This can help the users to find any irregular activity of the apps in the background.

Resilio Sync

Resilio Sync will help you to create a safe cloud storage of your own. You can turn your PC or desktop into a cloud storage. In simple terms, it is like Google Drive. It can help the users in keeping the data under their control rather than trusting private companies.

LastPass

LastPass helps the users to save multiple sensitive passwords and restore it to the respective sites. All the passwords will be locked with a master password. This really helps if you visit a lot of sites or handle multiple accounts.

Jackpot Fruity has come up with the list of the above-mentioned non-antivirus apps which provide top security for all Android phones. Since the rate of cybercrime is increasing, security in mobile phones should be taken seriously as they contain sensitive data.

Mobile users are the main driving force behind the growth of internet access across the world. Especially in developing countries, where fewer people have access to personal computers, increasingly affordable data plans and cheap mobile devices allow more and more people gain access to online services. Moreover, rapid growth of mobile connection speeds around the world is a major factor contributing to mobile use. Over two thirds of the global population now have a mobile phone. Mobile devices account for 52% of global internet traffic. The downside of the growing popularity of mobile connectivity is that mobile devices are likely to become increasingly targeted by all sorts of malware. To enhance personal mobile security, 22% of users install VPN on their mobile devices (15% - on their phone, and 7% - on the tablet).

What makes mobile devices a particularly lucrative target?

Portability and size. Mobile devices are so easy to lose. The best that can happen with a lost or stolen mobile phone is it will be wiped clean of all your personal data and sold at a flea market next to a snatched camera and a pair of worn socks. The worst thing that can happen to a stolen phone - if it has no passcode or other locking mechanism - is your personal data will be directly misused or sold separately from the hardware.

Rich personal data. We love smartphones because of their convenience and ability to provide us with technical assets for everyday task management. We collect geotagged photos from our lives (and often task our phone with uploading them directly to the cloud), we install apps to control personal health metrics, to travel (access city bikes, book tickets for domestic and international travel), not to mention gazillions of messages exchanged with our personal and business contacts on a daily basis.

Tons of metadata. Mobile device is something we carry on us almost at all times. It collects, whether we like it or not, vast amounts of metadata about our communications and movements. When you use a Maps app on your phone you allow it to detect your current location in order to calculate an optimal route to your destination, or find suitable cafés and bars in the area.

Personal data you store on your phone, along with ample metadata is what contributes to your digital profile. The place where you start your Google Maps journey most often is probably your home address, and the place where you travel on Christmas day is probably where your family lives. Your connection metadata (what public networks you connect to most often) can reveal a lot about your favourite cafés and bars. Cross-referencing the routes you've taken on public transit with your call metadata (when and who you call) or with your friends' addresses in the contact list can provide an insight into your social activities, identify your closest friends, and patterns of your interaction over a period of time. Not to mention that the articles you read, and videos you watch may reveal a lot about your political and religious affiliations.

Mobile security is a pressing issue both for businesses and for individual users - not least because the two are often connected. Some companies have a strict policy of banning personal mobile devices in the workplace, or connecting personal mobile devices to the office network. It is important to understand that vital component of any cyberattack is social engineering. Two most common ways for your device to be compromised is if you physically lose it, or if you inadvertently open it to ‘hackers' by clicking on a dodgy link in the messenger, or by installing an app whose design leaves a lot of space for exploitation of vulnerabilities.

What is the most common activity for mobile internet users?

Well, social media of course. Facebook still dominates the global social media landscape (over 95% of Facebook users access it on the phone), with YouTube being a close second.

Messaging services are a close second. WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger share and equal amount of global users, followed by Chinese WeChat and QQ (Facebook and WhatsApp are blocked in China).

E-commerce (goods and services) has experienced radical growth in recent years, and it is increasingly adapting to mobile users by creating mobile browser versions of the platform or apps with improved mobile user experience. Mobile purchases are projected to occupy almost 73% of total e-commerce share by 2021 - worldwide, and the growth is particularly steep in the Chinese market. Protecting your financial data is, of course, a number one priority for those who shop online on their mobile phones. But when it comes to online shopping, it is not just your credit card information you need to be careful about. Your purchase habits, your social circles, your shopping schedules are all metadata sought after by advertisers and potential hackers.

7 in 10 apps collect your personal data and share it with third parties, specifically ad services that subsequently bombard you with targeted advertising. Ever wondered why you start getting ads for magical hair loss treatment after you searched an online store for a 'toupee' for your Halloween costume? Even more creepy is data harvesting designed into phone and tablet apps for children - logging location and network metadata of each user.

Despite the evolving privacy laws in some jurisdictions (like the General Data Protection Regulation in the EU), protecting the mobile device and personal data you store on it is each individual's responsibility. Encrypting your mobile data, being careful about the apps you install on the smartphone, avoiding public WiFi - and using VPN when you have to connect to it - these are just the minimum of measures one can take to ensure personal mobile security.

More information about VPNs and how can they improve your mobile security: https://vpnpro.com/

Blackberry was the first company to try and tackle the mobile phone information security issue on a global scale. At the time they were pushing the issue, there was nothing more to back it than an overindulged conspiracy theory. When Mobile Internet was taking its baby steps very few individuals could see the how far it grow. The only need to protect your device was from the prying eyes of the government. 

As we said before, this is an idea that is being overindulged in Hollywood and other entertainment industries. Unless if you were involved in some Escobar kind of crime you had nothing to be afraid of. Because really who would be interested in wasting resources to see that you checking out child porn. The porn site would definitely be hunted down but not you.

Today the situation is different. Mobile Internet has literary taken over. Even in the most remote areas, there is now easy internet connectivity. Only the really outlandish areas are still without a proper reception. This is because of the amount of money that is being made online. The very same reason we now need to seriously consider mobile security. The money is causing ISP to go further in search of more users and also attracting scammers.

Policing the Phone

Without a doubt, there is now more potential of losing money online than ever before. However, rest assured, online casinos are 100% safe and secure. They do this by securing their websites with 128-bit SSL encryption. Visit https://www.casino-mate.com for safe online casino games. There is an unprecedented rise in cyber criminals. Not only in one area but in so many areas. Each and every day a new way is devised to take money away from even the most tech savvy individuals.

Therefore it has become essential to own a phone that at least knows more about cyber security. The phone should try to do more to stop intruders. One of the ways sure enough as Blackberry had predicted is data transfer encryption. This technology will even protect your transactions from prying eyes. It is the very same technology that is being used to protect player information at online casinos.

Android Kitkat brought many storage problems and headache to the App developers, users complained about this many times and the only solution is to Root your phone to be able to transfer files from the Internal storage to the external storage (microSD cards). Google finally solved this problem with Lollipop.

Now with the release of the final version of Android 5.0 Lollipop, new APIs were added to allow apps to request full access to directories owned by other providers. These APIs have been improved to offer more capabilities than before, and they do it in a very user-friendly and secure way. You'll no longer have to Root your phone to access/modify your microSD data.

Here's what Google Developers said about lollipop shared storage devices:

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HTC brought the One A9 to the world a month ago today and the company's America president, Jason Mackenzie, assured that the phone would get new Android update 15 days after Google's update is pushed to the Nexus devices.

After a few weeks from release, HTC has confirmed that this won't be applicable to only the new numbered versions of Android. They say that they're actually committed to get monthly security patches, just like Google's recent November update, pushed to U.S. unlocked A9s "within 15 business days of Google's first push to Nexus". Although it is a few days more than 15 days, the update to the latest Marshmallow can be considered timely.

A spokesperson from HTC gave the following official statement:


"We expect the software update with Google's November security patches to receive TA (Technical Acceptance) later today and roll out to customers immediately thereafter".

So if you own a U.S. unlocked HTC One A9, soon you'll get an OTA notification. Unfortunately, other versions of the A9 along with carrier-branded and unlocked European models won't enjoy the 15-day update as they are deployed on a different software track.

By the way, as per a tweet from HTC's Mo Versi, tonight the November security update and the updates for camera and battery will be rolled out.

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India is the first country to receive the latest security patches for the month of August on the Galaxy S6 Edge and other countries should follow soon. The 63MB download will change your current firmware version to G925IDVS3EPH2 and will a security vulnerability on the device, that Samsung has termed as "critical." If you are thinking that this patches up the QuadRooter vulnerability that we have been hearing so much about, you would be wrong. To the best of our knowledge, QuadRooter only affects Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets and the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is powered by the Exynos 7420 SoC. Even if there is a connection, it was not mentioned in the changelog.

There are of course other general improvements in performance and optimizations, and if you want to go into the details, just consult the changelog while installing the update or check the screenshot above. Hopefully, the regular S6 will also be getting the same update, but we are not sure if or when it is coming. In the meanwhile, be wary of shady apps and always check the permission list before allowing the software access to your device.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

Samsung's security update for the month of April has now been released and is available for most major flagships to download as part of Samsung's monthly Security Maintenance Release or SMR. As is always the case, the package contains security patches from both Samsung and of course, Google. The SMR includes all 41 fixes from Google with the 35 CVE items as follows:

CVE-2016-1503(C), CVE-2014-6060(C), CVE-2016-0835(C), CVE-2016-0836(C), CVE-2016-0837(C), CVE-2016-0838(C), CVE-2016-0839(C), CVE-2016-0840(C), CVE-2016-0841(C), CVE-2016-0842(C), CVE-2016-0846(H), CVE-2016-0847(H), CVE-2016-0848(H), CVE-2016-0849(H), CVE-2016-0850(H), CVE-2016-2412(H), CVE-2016-2413(H), CVE-2016-2414(H), CVE-2016-2415(H), CVE-2016-2416(H), CVE-2016-2417(H), CVE-2016-2418(H), CVE-2016-2419(H), CVE-2016-2420(M), CVE-2016-2421(M), CVE-2016-2422(M), CVE-2016-2423(M), CVE-2016-2424(M), CVE-2016-2425(M), CVE-2016-2426(M), CVE-2016-2427(M), CVE-2016-1621(C), CVE-2016-0832(M), CVE-2016-0805(C), and CVE-2016-0806(C).

Index: (C) - Critical severity (H) - High severity (M) - Moderate severity and (L) - Low severity.


The main Samsung Vulnerabilities and Exposures (SVE) addressed in the SMR for April are as follows:

SVE-2016-5393: ACIPC-MSOCKET driver local privilege escalation Vulnerability (Critical)

The vulnerability allowed the attacker to cause a stack overflow and in the process, get privilege escalation. It has been fixed by correcting the code and by restricting access to the file itself. The critical vulnerability affected Marvell chipsets with JBP (4.2) and KK (4.4).

SVE-2016-5534: Non-existent Notification Listener App Vulnerability (High)


The threat affected the Galaxy S6 Edge by permitting all apps with a certain component name to get notified, irrespective of whether the actual application was installed or not. The issue is fixed by removing the component thoroughly from enabled notification listeners.

SVE-2016-5544: Clipboard Vulnerability (Medium)

Any device which was using Samsung clipboard was susceptible to the threat. It permits making of a race condition that allows access to the clipboard user data of Secure World, right from Normal World. It has been fixed through introduction of certain synchronization points which eliminate any chances of creating a race condition.

There are a few others, but they are undisclosed at the moment for security reasons.

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The Galaxy J7 Prime had started to receive the security patch for the month of February just yesterday and today, the same update is rolling out to the J5 Prime. Both updates feature no major changes or improvements apart from filling in the security gaps in the base Android build.

The updates will bring build version G610FDDU1AQA2 for the Galaxy J7 Prime and G570MUBU1AQA3 for the Galaxy J5 Prime. Both packages will land on your devices via OTA within the next few days.

In other news, the next iterations of these two devices, aka the Galaxy J5 (2017) and the Galaxy J7 (2017) are speculated to be released this March with mid-range specs. If you are interested in the specs of the J7 (2017), check it out here. The J5 (2017) will also have similar specs as the J7 (2017), except for a weaker SD 617 chip and a smaller 5.2-inch 720p display.

If you have a Samsung smartphone that you want to update with the latest firmware versions, head over to our firmware section to find all the latest updates for your smartphone.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

It was only a few days ago that the Galaxy C7 Pro was launched in India and the device is already receiving the latest April security patch from Samsung in the region. This would be the first official update for the device from Samsung in India and it's a welcome one as it patches up the Android security gaps which pops up every month and subsequently needs to be patched in.

The SMALL package of 35.4 MB will reach all eligible smartphones in the region via OTA and the users whohave not been auto-notified to update their phones yet, should get the [prompt any time now. The build number of the firmware is MMB29M.C701FDDU1AQCA and doesn't seem to be bringing anything other than the SMR update to the Galaxy C7 Pro. We don't have any information about the Chinese variant receiving the same yet, but it is definitely a possibility. 

Via: SamMobile

Head over to our firmware section to find all the latest available updates for your Samsung smartphones.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

It has now been about a week since Samsung first started to roll out the Android security updates for some of its smartphones and now it's time for the Galaxy Note 8 to receive the same OTA package. One would think that being the company's latest flagship handset, it would get the update sooner than the other handsets, but they would be wrong. Although some carriers (including T-Mobile) did already start to ship the update out to the Note 8 in the US, this one is rolling out in China (SM-N9508) and Hong Kong (SM-N9500).

Check out the following to get an idea of what's to expect with the OTA security package of the month.

·         Patches for 61 Common Vulnerabilities in the Android OS

·         Patches for 6 of Samsung's own UI vulnerabilities

·         Security patch against the Krack Attack Wi-Fi vulnerability

If you own a Galaxy Note 8 in China, you should be prompted to download and install firmware version N9508ZMU2BQK1 any time now. If you are in Hong Kong with your Note 8, firmware version N9500ZHU2BQK1 should be making rounds any minute now.

Head over to our firmware section to find all the latest available updates for your Samsung smartphones and tablets.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

Samsung has just patented technology which is suggesting that the Korean giant might be on the verge of developing a revolutionary form of security measure. Title as ‘Real Time Authentication Based on Blood Flow Parameters,' the patent was filed way back in July, 2016 but it got approved just recently.

This technology will allow users to authenticate themselves on their smartphones and smartwatches on the basis of their blood flow pattern. On smartphones, it would be detected from the fingers, not unlike how it happens when we use fingerprint scanners, but on smartwatches, the wrist on which the smartwatch is worn will be enough.

Apparently, the arterial conduction paths of each human being are unique and therefore, safety is assured alongside the convenience of not having to use a fingerprint scanner on a smartwatch. To be honest, it sounds wonderful, but that doesn't necessarily mean that this technology will ever see the light of day. We will know soon enough I guess.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

Samsung is reportedly rolling out November's security patch and updates to the Samsung Galaxy devices including this year's Samsung Galaxy S20. The security patch is meant to overcome several serious security vulnerabilities in the Android OS. The Android security bulletin, published on Nov 2, 2020, contains details on security vulnerabilities affecting Android devices and not just the Galaxy devices.

If you own one of the Galaxy devices, you will be getting the new software update automatically which improves the stability of the camera app, Wi-Fi connectivity, and also includes several other security updates. We highly recommend you to install the new security update as it addresses all of the high or critical vulnerabilities known so far. If you leave it without updating, your phone could be exploited by a hacker to achieve remote code execution, privilege escalation, or denial of service. The new update patches several problems being discovered in the operating system's core framework, media framework, and system.

Two important bugs existed in the framework, two high-risk escalation bugs, a high severity information disclosure bug, and finally a high severity DoS bug. The security update also patches one critical and one high remote code execution bug in Android's media framework as well as one high severity escalation of privilege bug and one moderate one. The patch works on 4 bugs, one escalation of privilege bug, one DoS bug, and one critical remote code execution bug. For the owners of Galaxy S10 5G, the latest update is due in a few days.

Pixel 4 is the next smartphone by Google coming out this year. To save everything from curiosity, Google took the initiative and talks about some specs even before the time. A new video posted by Google shows off some of the new features packed in the Pixel 4: Motion control and face unlock.

According to Google, the new motion sensor is based on soli, a radar-based fine motion detection technology. It will detect waves of your hand and translate these into software. Soli can detect very fine movements, including fingers pinched together to mimic a watch-winding motion. It has already got approval from the FCC in January. Pixel 4 is the first device to have anything like soli and Google says, that it will available in selected countries.

Google has also add face unlock. This feature isn't new to Android smartphones but Google is doing it in a different way with the Pixel 4 than it was handled before in the past. Once again, Soli is part of the implementation, turning on the face unlock sensor in the device as it detects your hand reaching to pick up the phone. This mean by the time you take the device near to your face, the device is already ready to be use it, which fasten the whole unlock process.

Face unlock will be supported by other third party Android apps, as well, and all of the face unlock is going to happen at the phone which is similar to how iPhone handles the face unlock ID. This will make Pixel 4 as secure as iPhone when it comes to paying with your smartphone. Based on the leak, we can expect that Google may come up with some update on the device before its launch.

Google is bringing an updated list of features to Pixel 4 and 4 XL through an update, and it's not a part of a monthly security patch. Google refers to these updates as "feature drops" which will more content and apps to your device without waiting for an upgraded Pixel phone. The pixel devices already got the regular security patch to fix bugs and improve security. The first one will be rolled out soon and along with general enhancement in the performance area, it comes with a new image editor, enhanced call screening, and improved Duo calls.

The new photo editor tweak gives users more control over how they can edit their pictures stored in the Gallery app. Users can turn any photo into a portrait photo by imposing the blur effect on the background even on the old pictures. This will be similar to having an image editor like Adobe Photoshop in your cell phone that can apply the blur effect on any image you want.

Google's other update will be related to Duo- video chat app. Now, you can focus on the face in the video call, even if you move. Thanks to the Pixel 4's wide-angle selfie camera, Duo will adjust the camera to fit other people as they join the chat with you. Google released a call screening feature on the Pixel 3 series phones. Now, you can make your phone to automatically screen unknown callers with Pixel 4. It can also decline robocalls before your device even rings. If it's not a robocall, your Pixel 4 will share the caller identity and other information.

Google has also implemented a machine learning app into Pixel 4 devices to mitigate weak internet connections. This enables the app to predict upcoming sounds, so finicky audio connections don't interrupt the conversation. Duo now works with the Pixel 4's 90Hz display and deliver even smoother visual experience. Also, in an upcoming update, Google Pixel 4 users in the UK, Canada, Ireland, Singapore, and Australia will get an update to the new Google Assistant. Unfortunately, the new Assistant is still only available in English, and it won't work if you have a G Suite account on your phone.

Security is always something to be concerned about when installing new software, updating software or connecting to the internet. Android devices have a reputation for problems with security, but the truth is that iPhones have also been hit with infected apps across over 30% of the iTunes app store at one time. The important point is to be aware of with security issues is to take reasonable precautions to protect your devices, your online accounts, and your data.

The majority of problems with Android apps stems from allowing installs from third party app stores rather than only installing apps from the Google Play store and nowhere else. This is achieved with a setting modification within Android settings which should be set to not allow third party stores when the phone or tablet is first supplied to the user. Once this setting is correctly set, it is impossible to install apps from other app stores.

Beyond that, apps like Avast and AVG offer virus scanning of data centres and installed apps to verify that the integrity of your device hasn't already been compromised. These security apps are usually able to scan new apps before, during or right after they're been installed to check they've not done anything malicious.

Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

There have been recent concerns over the security issues in the rather outdated WebView mode in Android Jelly Bean (v4.1 - v4.2 - v4.3). Due to its outdated nature, it is facing security issues, which would otherwise be a non-issue on newer versions of Android.

Google has responded to these concerns by basically saying they won't be updating the WebView in Jelly Bean. But while that may not be what people have been expecting, Google does have a reasonable explanation for it.

Starting KitKat onwards, the WebView component, that is the browser that you see within apps that open links in their own built-in browser instead of sending you to your default browser, runs on the newer Chromium engine, which is the same as in the Google Chrome browser. However, Jelly Bean and older versions of Android use WebKit engine, which is pretty vast and being updated by hundreds of developers since it's open source. So, it is not easy or secure to update a part of that engine for Google.

Secondly, even if Google does release an update, it is entirely in the hands of the OEMs to deliver the update. For phones that are still running Jelly Bean when there have been two major updates of Android since, it's unlikely that OEMs are going to release any updates for them, meaning the security update may never reach the users.

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Dropbox has revamped its Pro plan with more storage, improved link sharing and remote wipe. The Dropbox Pro plan remains at $10 a month (or $100 per year) but you get 1TB of storage for that.

Having a Pro account lets you share password-protected links. Sharing links is arguably one of the best features of Dropbox and now you won't have to worry about the link getting in the wrong hands.

You can get some extra peace of mind by setting up an expiration date for shared links. You can pick 7 days, 30 days or a custom period. You can also adjust the expiration date later if you change your mind.

Another way to share files without giving up too much control over them is by using view-only shared folders. You can enable this for select members so that they always get the latest version of your files but will not be able to change them.

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Owners in India are reporting they are receiving a new update for their Nokia 3 smartphones. HMD Global has announced it has started rolling out the March Android security update to the smartphone. The over-the-air (OTA) rollout is starting in India and will reach other global regions in stages over the coming weeks.

As usual, pulling in a monthly Android patch OTA is a painless experience and the update should not take long. That means you can update in-between watching Netflix, using bet365, or communicating with friends and be back into the action quickly.

If you don't see the update immediately, even in India, don't worry as it is on its way. March's Android security update weighs in at 100MB, which suggests this is all about shoring up security and making general platform tweaks. Indeed, there are no new features included in this release, which is hardly a surprise.

Google says its monthly security patches are a vital component of the platform that allow Android to remain safe and protect devices. However, because Android is an open ecosystem, many of the monthly patches don't end up on smartphones fast enough.

OEMs are free to change Android as they wish and update the platform when they want, often including holding back updates. On a mass level, delayed updates have caused massive fragmentation across the ecosystem, while on a smaller scale many smartphones are not receiving the full range of Google's security patches.

HMD Global's Nokia 3 is different because it runs a stock Android experience. This is Google's own version of Android, free of the bloatware and added software tweaks OEMs make. Google says Stock Android is both secure and a smooth OS, but OEMs often make it insecure with their changes.

The Nokia 3 does run Stock Android, offering one of the purest Android environments in the smartphone market. Aside from performance benefits, owners of Nokia handsets are also treated to timely security patches. Google launches monthly security patches to its own Pixel smartphones and the Nokia 3 usually receives these updates just a few weeks later.

While that's hugely impressive, the fact the Nokia 3 is two years old and still receiving updates before most flagships is also notable. Highlighting the benefits of Stock Android, the Nokia 3 is a modestly spec'd and affordable device that still receives patches. That is a rarity in the smartphone world.

HMD Global is also allowing the device to stay up-to-date in terms of major Android versions. Back in December, the company rolled out Android Oreo 8.1 to the Nokia 3. Better still, Android 9 Pie is scheduled to be released for the smartphone before the close of the second quarter 2019. Of course, Android Q will launch at the end of the year and it will be interesting to see if the Nokia 3 gets the upgrade.

As for the smartphone itself, it is still a decent budget options two years after its 2017 launch. Costing around $100, the Nokia 3 offers a 5-inch HD screen and is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek 6737 CPU paired with 2GB of RAM. While that processor may seem lite, Stock Android and the HD resolution allow for solid performance.

Elsewhere, the Nokia 3 has 16GB of on-board storage that can be expended by 128GB via a MicroSD card. In terms of cameras, the smartphone has an 8-megapixel lens on the rear and another 8-megapixel shooter as its selfie camera on the front.

Google says the Android platform is more secure than ever, although there has been an increase in the number of potentially harmful applications (PHAs). In its latest Android Security & Privacy Year in Review report for 2018, Google says threats continue to be observed in apps that are pre-installed or are packaged in over-the-air (OTA) updates.

Android security has been a consistently hot topic through the history of the platform. Google's OS has often suffered from breaches in security, mostly delivered to smartphones through apps and browsers. Needless to say, security problems can cause problems when you are trying to enjoy bonuscode.my on your device browser or performance simple everyday tasks.

Image credit: pixabay.com

Google has often defended Android by saying the operating system is completely secure in its stock form. The problem is OEMs take the platform and add their own services and UI touches to it, often compromising Google's own security mitigations. This problem is made worse by many OEMs delaying security patches and system updates for months.

Over the last five years, Google has published its Android Security & Privacy Year in Review, which details the threats and vulnerabilities that have impacted the OS. In 2018, the company says a rise in PHAs caused the biggest cause for concern.

"Malicious actors increased their efforts to embed PHAs into the supply chain using two main entry points: new devices sold with pre-installed PHAs and over the air (OTA) updates that bundle legitimate system updates with PHAs," wrote Google in its Android Security and Privacy Year in Review 2018.

Despite a rise in PHAs, Google says the number of those threatening applications landing on Android devices actually declined by 20 percent last year. Indeed, just 0.08 percent of all Android devices were affected by PHAs during 2018.

While this is impressive, it is data that should be taken with a pinch of salt. The problem with Google's annual report is that it only charts applications that were downloaded from the Google Play Store. Sure, most apps end up on Android devices via the store, but there are other stores and places users can download apps from. Google does not keep data on PHAs from these less secure services.

It is also worth noting that Android is now on over 2 billion devices around the world. That means 0.08 percent of devices Google says were affected by PHAs in 2018 amounts to over 1.6 million smartphones affected, a pretty large number.

In terms of specific regions, Google says India has shown a security improvement on Android devices. In the platform's "biggest market", security threats and exploits are frequent, but improvements are being made in India.

For example, Indian Android devices became 35 percent cleaner throughout 2018 compared to 2017, with only 0.65 percent of handsets affected by PHAs at a single time. In fact, Google says Indonesia is now the leading nation in terms of PHA spread.

Despite steps in the right direction in India, the country remains the most likely to receive Android trojan attacks, with 22.4 percent of all global cases.

Technology has grown to occupy a central place in society and play a key part in all our lives. Of course, some technologies are more common in everyday life than others and have a significant impact on how we live. Mobile tech is a great example of this. Smartphones are something that we all rely on now. Whether it is making calls, catching up on emails or surfing the web, these devices are crucial to most people around the world.

The variety of things we do via mobile devices now means that the security features they contain are more crucial than ever. This includes examples such as facial recognition software, which ensures that only the right person can access a device, and mobile network security, which keeps hackers at bay.

This kind of security is essential for mobile devices, as they contain so much of our personal data, banking details, email messages and private photos. If these kinds of things were not available, people would not be as comfortable using them and they would not protect users in the best way.

The importance of secure coding practices for mobile apps

When it comes to making mobile phones safe for people to use, secure coding practices are also something that prove invaluable. This refers to mobile app developers using techniques when coding their applications that make them extra safe to use.

As apps are popular with all mobile phone users, producing those that are coded in an ultra-secure way makes sense. This not only makes it harder for online criminals to breach app security but also gives people full confidence that the apps they use are secure.

Cyber security specialists and secure coding practices for mobile

The seriousness of security for mobile devices is causing people to predict that the cyber security students of today will be at the forefront of the sector moving ahead. This is because these students learn not only what common online dangers pose most problems to mobile users, but also which security weaknesses hackers might target in an app or mobile phone.

They can then use this knowledge to design mobile devices that provide much stronger protection against hackers and apps that utilize the latest secure coding practices to deter online criminals. In terms of mobile apps in particular, techniques developed around secure coding within cyber security can be directly transferrable to creating safer applications. 

How do you become a cyber security specialist?

The above shows that training to become a specialist in cyber security could lead to decent employment opportunities in the mobile sector. As things such as secure coding practices become more important in mobile phone apps, people with specific skills in this area are in demand.

The online nature of modern society also means that people with in-depth knowledge of online security are in demand across a range of other industries. This can be businesses in any sector that have an online presence and need someone who can safeguard their network, protect their databases and help them work securely in the cloud.

Due to this, training to work in cyber security is a popular career choice.

If you are wondering how to become a cyber security specialist, the best place to start is getting the right qualifications. The Master of Science in Cybersecurity from St. Bonaventure University is a popular course in this field and perfect if you like the flexibility of online studies. This program teaches students all they need to know about helping businesses stay safe from online threats. This includes learning around secure coding practices, cloud security, machine learning and data mining.

What skills do you need to work in cyber security?

Cyber security is a field where academic qualifications are not the only driver of success. If you plan to move into this employment sector to build secure apps or make mobile phones such as the Apple 1Phone 14 Pro safer, you also need the right skills to call on.

The most important ones for specialists in this sector include:

• High-level IT/computer skills
• Problem-solving
• Communication
• Organizational skills
• Multi-tasking
• Leadership
• Programming
• Analytical skills
• People skills

Although the above list does not show every single skill that can help you succeed in cyber security, it gives a flavor of those that are used most regularly in roles across the industry. By working on these skills, you can not only succeed in your career post-graduation but also become more attractive to potential employers.

What type of person should move into cyber security as a career?

People who are interested in computers, technology and online/mobile tech are all ideal candidates for this sort of career. This sector can also be a good fit for anyone who loves to work independently at times and use their knowledge of IT to solve cyber security issues. This could involve building impenetrable digital fortresses to keep out hackers or enjoying the thrill of responding effectively to a sudden online threat.

Of course, if you already work in IT or other fields based in computer science, then you may also find working in cyber security interesting. It is key for all cyber security professionals to enjoy keeping up to date with the latest industry trends (such as secure coding practices) and emerging online dangers. This enables them to use this knowledge in their own role and fulfill their duties effectively.

What roles do specialists in cyber security typically move into?

Cyber security is actually a wide-ranging term. There is a great range of individual roles within the sector that people can move into. These include:

• Security architect
• Network engineer
• App developer
• Solutions architect
• Lead software security engineer
• Information security analyst
• Chief information security officer

When it comes to cyber security for mobile phones in particular, app developer is one specific role that stands out for graduates. If you like the thought of helping to design apps that are ultra-secure, then it could be the perfect job for you. Secure coding practices that cyber specialists develop are crucial to working in this position and creating robust apps.

But how do cyber security experts develop these types of coding practice?

Security testing

Although there are multiple ways that specialists in cyber security develop secure coding practices for mobile apps, a focus on security testing is one of the most important. This refers to mobile applications being thoroughly tested to ensure that they are safe to use and provide excellent security against hackers.

By doing this, the app developers are able to code products that have been properly tested for high-end user security and products they feel confident are secure to use on a global scale. Security testing also enables those involved with mobile app development to spot any glaring security errors in the product’s coding and across the application in general.

A good example of this would be performing periodic vulnerability scans on the app in order to identify code that might be vulnerable to attack. It is also possible to use automated source code analysis to spot any security flaws in an app’s coding.

Security patches to fix coding issues

It is crucial to point out that there may not have been any security issues with an app before it was rolled out. However, there are always new online threats emerging that see hackers finding fresh ways to get past previously secure app defenses. Once this happens, it is vital for app developers to work quickly to make security patches available to users and plug any vulnerabilities.

This is something that cyber experts have helped to popularize, and they continue to work with the mobile industry to help it respond to emerging threats from online criminals. It is common for these security patches for apps to rely on amendments to code and for extra layers of security to be added into the source code of an app to make it safer. It may also involve removing code that has been exposed by hackers or that has become a security weakness.

Authentication of certificates

Authentication is another valuable technique for secure coding and creating robust mobile apps. This refers to developers using specific software in their apps to validate the contents of an online certificate. These certificates are digital documents that confirm the true identity of a website or server. The certificate itself includes key data about who issues the document and which hostnames are connected to it.

By using software such as NSURLSession or HostnameVerifier, app developers can authenticate certificate contents from users and reduce the danger of certain attacks (such as so-called man-in-the-middle attacks). These sorts of attacks can be serious, as they amend the communication between the server and the app itself. This can then enable cybercriminals to access the app’s code and make changes to it or alter certain app features. By authenticating certificates, the app becomes safe for genuine mobile users to download and is kept safe from cybercriminals.

Biometric data storage

As we have already noted, biometrics is a major trend in mobile development and enables people to use unique personal data to access tablets, smartphone and apps. Good examples of this in action include facial recognition scanning on mobile devices and fingerprint scanning. Although this data may be unique, it still needs to be stored on mobile devices and apps for them to recognize who is trying to access them.

As with any kind of data storage for sensitive information, it is key for biometric data to be safely looked after for mobile users. Cyber specialists have been instrumental in developing techniques that enable this and allow biometric data to be used safely in the mobile sector.

A good example of this is how the technique of hashing was developed in the cyber security industry to help store this sort of information safely on apps and mobile devices. This involves turning biometric data into a string of code that is hard for unauthorized people to decipher. Hashing is also widely used in the mobile world to store unique personal data, as it stops this data from being matched with other sources online to authenticate it. Code obfuscation is another widely used technique in this area that was developed by cyber experts. This sees the code structure/syntax amended to make the data complex for hackers who do not know the rationale behind these changes.

Data encryption

Another useful secure coding practice for mobile apps developed by cyber experts is data encryption. This is useful for app developers, as it allows any sensitive data stored on an app to remain safe from hackers. This is because encrypting data takes the raw user information that an app might hold and jumbles it up via a high-end computer algorithm.

This encrypted data to be stored on the app is extra secure and almost impossible for anyone without the correct encryption protocol to decrypt. As you can imagine, this technique around app safety is much better than simply storing sensitive data without any kind of encryption to protect it. If this were to happen, any hacker who did breach an app’s security features would have access to a wealth of personal user information in its rawest form.

Avoiding hardcoding of things such as APIs in the source code of an app also means that hackers cannot steal key data if they manage to obtain the application source code. When combined with cryptography in app creation, this allows developers to create products that are able to resist common threats such as side-channel attacks. As a result of the above, the app’s code is kept much safer and the data on an app is kept more secure – even if online criminals were to breach the application’s initial security features.

Authorization

A key element of mobile app safety is that only authorized users should be able to access an application. This, of course, is also something that is key for mobile devices in general, where only the owner of a tablet or smartphone should have access to it. When you think of the wealth of sensitive data on our apps and phones, this makes perfect sense.

Good practice in terms of secure coding that cyber experts have developed is therefore key for app authorization. This sees apps created in such a way that people have to sign in first and confirm their identity before being able to access them. 

App authorization through secure coding on a more general scale is also interesting to note and something that cyber experts have helped to develop. This sees the code behind an app written in a way that only allows users to access certain parts of the app. As a result, it stops people getting to parts they shouldn’t have access to and unauthorized people from getting up to mischief (such as stealing data or changing the application’s code).

What’s next for cyber security within the mobile world?

There is no doubting how important online security is to the mobile sector and what a great job secure coding practices do at keeping mobile users safe. Due to this, it is almost certain that cyber security will continue to play an increasingly key role in the mobile phone industry. But how might this look as we move forward?

If we look at applications specifically, you expect that online security experts will continue to find new ways to secure the data that applications collect and store. This could involve higher levels of data encryption and new algorithms that help facilitate this.

For mobile devices in general, it would seem certain that cyber security specialists will continue to develop new techniques in areas such as secure coding to make them safer. This could involve the next generation of phones having ever more sophisticated biometric access protocols or the new wave of tablets running on network security processes that are almost impossible to breach.

Secure coding practices are key for mobile phones

People will only continue to use mobile phones if they feel that it is safe to do so and they are designed in a way that keeps online criminals at bay. One very effective method to achieve this is through the secure coding practices that cyber security specialists have developed for use with mobile devices. By developing and helping to implement these practices, cyber specialists are able to make mobile phones and apps a lot more secure to use.  

There is a new update released by Apple for iOS 9.2.1 to the users, which makes it the first update to iOS 9 after iOS 9.2's release in December of 2015. iOS 9.2.1 has been undergoing test since December 16th and till now there versions have been released to the developers and public beta testers.

Today's iOS 9.2.1 update is available as an over-the-air update for all iOS 9 users. A small update, iOS 9.2.1 is fifth when it comes to to iOS 9 in versions, after the releases of iOS 9.0.1, iOS 9.0.2, iOS 9.1, and iOS 9.2.

iOS 9.2.1, as a 9.x.x update, has small improvements, concentrating mainly on back-end performance and bug fixes instead of features that can be seen by users. As per Apple's release notes, this update will make your device more secure and get rid of some bugs. It also comes with a fix for a major Mobile Device Management issue that affected enterprise users.This particular issue had possibility of breaking the application installation process while using an MDM server. After iOS 9.2.1, iOS 9.3 will be pushed to the devices which is also going through testing by developers and beta users. Scheduled release is in the spring, iOS 9.3 is a major release that brings in a new Night Shift feature to decrease blue light exposure during the evening for better sleep and adds new educational features.

iOS 9.3 also features new Quick Actions for iPhone 6s users and it shows updates for apps and features like Apple News, Notes, Health, Siri, CarPlay, and More.

Source

Apple is planning to add additional security measures to its iCloud service in the wake of the celebrity nude pictures leak, chief executive Tim Cook has said.

Apple has stated that its iCloud servers were not compromised, but it has indicated that some accounts may have not been adequately protected, such as, weak passwords and easy security questions. CEO Tim Cook further widened the blame blanket that some account holders might have fallen for a phishing scam.

The Company will alert users through email and push notifications when someone tries to change an account password, restore iCloud data to a new device, or when a device logs into an account for the first time, Mr Cook told the Wall Street Journal. The newly announced measures will go into effect over the next two weeks.

Source

Since the very first appearance of slots, players have always been tempted to cheat at them. The reason is simple - slot machines offer the biggest jackpots, both at land-based and online casinos! And who wouldn't want to hit the jackpot? The only problem here is that breaking the bank at slots is not that simple as it may seem - because the chances are rather rare.

So that's why some players take the risk of cheating at the machines in order to get a chance to win big. But is it actually possible? Well, let's take a look at some techniques professionals have used to beat slots, and then see how you can do it today!

Slots: Outlook 

Slots, pokies or poker machines, or are casino games of chance with an inbuilt computer program to help generate random outcomes. Once you spin the reel (or press the button in online slots), the machine randomly picks one of the many possible results, and depending on the outcome, you either win or not.

The most important thing you should remember while playing slots at most secure online casino is that each spin on the machine is truly random, and there's actually no possible way of cheating them. However, we can still check how cheaters have tried to beat the slots and to combine their experience with today's reality to finally find out the best way to play and win at slots.


Monkey's Paw


Back in the early days of slot games, when they were mechanical instead of electronic, cheating was quite easy. The most popular method was the Monkey's Paw, which was invented by Tommy Glenn Carmichael, the famous American cheater. The device had a hook on end, so when the player slid it into the coin chute, it would hold the coin hole to release all the coins. However, this tool wasn't hard to create at all - any player could make one. But once the casinos noticed that the slots had been completely emptied out, they learned how to prevent any unwanted fraudulent actions.


Stringed and Shaved Coins


Attaching a coin on a string, also known as the ‘yo-yo trick,' was another way of cheating way back then. This technique required the player to attach a piece of the fishing gut to a coin and then pass it through the slots, making a credit registration. Once this had been made, the player had to "fish out" the coin and continue playing. This meant you could have potentially won a significant amount of money without even investing a single penny!


Foreign Coins



In the 1980s, a Nevada hardware manufacturer sold out a line of coins that, just by some curious chance, were exactly the same weight and size as American coins. That's when the slot cheaters took full advantage of the situation, eventually leading to these coins found in machines all over the state.

After that incident, fraudsters attempted to use coins from other nations to play slots. For instance, the Mexican peso issued in 1985 was worth about half an American cent but was accepted as a quarter in some American slot machines.


Cheating Undercover


When the Nevada Gaming Commission employed Ronald Dale Harris as an engineer to work on monitoring and auditing systems for gaming devices, he instantly used it to his advantage. He knew some slots' source codes and used them to win more than $100,000 on video keno!


Cheating at Online Casinos


While fraud is mostly common in land-based gambling venues, there are some techniques to beat online slots.

Software Programs


The power of the Internet offers you hundreds, if not thousands, of different software programs to help you cheat the slots. For instance, some hackers offer engines, similar to those in video games, that (in theory) are able to scan the whole game and trick the slots into delivering you bonuses. However, using them to cheat at slots will probably lead you to being fooled.


PRNG


All slot machines, as we mentioned before, use RNG to define the results of each spin. However, they are actually Pseudo-Random Number Generators (PRNG), as they pre-define the value and combine it with other inputs. There were several cases where players find out bugs in PRNG and make good money from it. Although some really profited, this only shows that the algorithms are somehow not secure at all.


Useful Tips


While there isn't any actual technique in existence that can help you cheat, we can provide you with some principles to profit from while playing
for real money pokies:

● Don't get too emotional
● Set budget limits
● Know when to quit

Plus, while choosing the slot to play at, remember to take the RTP and payout table into consideration. These numbers will show the probability of a payout and the winning combinations.

On top of all these tips, don't overthink the game. Always remember that slots experience should bring you only fun and relaxation, no matter how profitable it could be. Don't let worries about payouts distract you from the pleasure.

As always, Google has once again started to roll out OTA security updates for this month to its own brand of devices. In fact, the factory images and OTA zip files have also been made available for download since yesterday. You can always wait for the OTA update to arrive on your device, but if you are impatient and it has not arrived on your device yet, the factory images and the OTA zip files are there to be flashed, if you so wish. Carriers and OEM partners should also be in the process of preparing their own version of the October security update for their own respective devices, based on these files.

If you own a Nexus 6 or a Nexus 9 LTE, this security update will still be based on Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 instead of Android Nougat 7.0 unfortunately. It is unclear as to why Google isn't rolling out Nougat to the two aforementioned devices, in spite of them being eligible for the update, as per Google's own official declaration. Nevertheless, the update will bring all the necessary fixes and patches to all Google devices irrespective of the Android version that's running on the device.

We reported yesterday that the Galaxy S6 Edge + in Europe has started to receive the October patch and today we have even more good news for our readers in Europe as the S6 Edge has now also started to receive the same. The update will only be available on unlocked versions of the S6 Edge in Europe as you already know, so if you have a contract with a carrier, you will have to wait till a carrier specific version of the October patch arrives on your handset.

The update will fix 68 bugs/susceptibilities found on all Android 6.0.1 powered handsets, along with Samsung's own unique set of fixes for bugs exclusive to the range. The only thing we really know about the unique fixes which Samsung will bring with this update is the fact that it will solve an issue which causes the S6 Edge to hang at times while attempting to switch from one app to another. The rest of it is largely undisclosed in order to stop the hackers and cyber criminals from exploiting those gaps in security on the units that have not yet been updated.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge have finally started to receive the monthly security updates from Samsung for September. The update had hit this year's flagships, the S7 and S7 Edge earlier in the month. As far as we know, the security patch is currently only available for the unlocked versions in Europe and comes in at a size of 141MB. As expected, it will bring in both the Android and Samsung security patches for the month, but its availability will depend on where you are located and you carrier.

Samsung themselves have included fixes for nine issues into the patch, in addition to the 66 fixes that Google has incorporated into the update for the base Android 6.0.1 OS running on the two smartphones. If you have not seen the notification prompting you to update your device yet, you should see it soon. Post the upgrade, your smartphone's Base Band version should change to XXU4DPIL (unlocked European versions). If you are using a carrier-locked device though, it will take a bit longer as it usually does.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

If you are in Europe and you have an unlocked version of the Samsung Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge, you will be prompted to download a new OTA update soon, if you haven't been prompted already. Go to Settings > About device > Software update and search manually for the update to see if it has arrived on your smartphone yet. Even if it hasn't, don't worry, as it takes time for updates to reach all customers.

After you download and install firmware version XXU1BPHJ on to your device, it will become compatible with Samsung Cloud, which had so far been exclusive to the Galaxy Note 7 only. The new Gallery app from the phablet will also now become a part of your S7 or S7 Edge in addition to the SMR security patches for the month. While it is standard for Samsung to release monthly security patches for its flagship smartphones, the changelog for this particular patch was not detailed on their blog, like they usually are. Nevertheless, since it can only make your device more secure and brings some new features to the smartphone, we recommend downloading and installing it as soon as you can.

Just the last day, we heard about the September security updates from Samsung and Google are arriving on the S6 and S6 Edge and today we have similar good news for owners of the Galaxy A8. According to GSM Arena, A8 model number SM-A800F is now getting upgraded with the latest security patches by the September security update.

The 295MB patch includes fixes from Google against 66 bugs and security threats, along with a few of Samsung's own tweaks to further stabilize and secure the overlying TouchWiz UI. After downloading and installing the patch, your A8's Build Number should change to MMB29K.A800FXXU1BP12. Apart from bringing in multiple underlying improvements, the user should also be able to experience better voice calls, slightly improved battery life, efficient RAM management and an overall upgrade in terms of performance. If you have the same model as the one mentioned above, you should be prompted to update your Galaxy A8 soon, though it might take a while to arrive on each and every device.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

If you own a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus and were left a little disappointed that the S6 and S6 Edge got their September security updates while your device didn't, we have good news for you. The S6 Edge Plus international Exynos variant has started to receive its security update for the month of September, albeit on the last day of the month. The 160MB patch should arrive on your smartphone via OTA anytime now, if it hasn't already. Feel free to check for it from Settings > About phone > Software update anytime you wish. However, some devices will get it before others, but all eligible Edge+ smartphones should receive it sooner or slightly later.

Before you update, we feel that you should be warned about a few complains that we have seen on different sites and forums about the S6 Edge Plus' performance, post the upgrade. Some of the users are claiming that it has caused their device to heat up a lot more than usual and even interfere with basic phone functionalities like making calls. There are also others who claim that the update actually improved their battery life. Since it is not possible to discern what's the issue here as of now, it might be a good idea to do some research or have a back up before installing the patch.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

Samsung has lately been pretty much bang on time with updates for their latest smartphones, but this time they have gone a step even further. Users of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge smartphone in Spain have already started to receive their security updates for the month of June! Considering that it's still May, we think that's fantastic. Mind you though, as per reports, the update is only rolling out to the smartphones that are on Orange (a carrier in Spain) for the moment. Consult the screenshot above for more details.

In the recent past though, we did see Samsung do something similar when it rolled out this month's security update for the Galaxy Note 4 in April. If you are wondering if it includes any major bug fixes or adds anything new, we are at a loss here because not much else about the update is known yet. Nonetheless, it is only a matter of time before reports start to come in with more details. In fact, you will receive the update yourself before long, if you are using an S7 Edge that is. If you want, you can always check for the update from Settings> About Device> Check for updates.

Author: Saikat Kar (Tech-journalist and enthusiast)

Download all the latest firmware from here - https://forum.youmobile.org/downloads/

If you own a Galaxy S6 Edge+ or a Note 5 on the Verizon network, you will soon receive a notification prompting you to update your smartphone. There is a good chance that you have already been notified, but even if you hadn't, you will be very soon. Alternatively, one can always check manually by going into Settings >About device > Check for updates.

The post Marshmallow update includes both security patches and general bug fixes, in addition to overall improvements. Notably, the misleading "No SIM card detected" error often encountered on the Note 5 will be fixed. You can also expect improved audio routing for better experience in call quality during both voice and video calls on the two smartphones.

In other news, Verizon's version of the LG G5 is simultaneously receiving an update via OTA as well. Unfortunately though, the monthly security patches have not been included in that update. It was mentioned in the change-log that the package will bring "enhancements for Visual Voice Mail, Airplane Mode and reporting Microsoft Exchange Active Server data usage." Hopefully, another update will be rolled out with the necessary security patches soon enough.

Author: Saikat Kar (Tech-journalist and enthusiast)

Samsung recently started rolling out the February's security update to all of the unlocked devices of the Galaxy S5, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+, Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note 5 present across Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America.

This update is exactly like the firmware that Google released for its Nexus series at the very beginning of February. It primarily resolves the 10 security loopholes and 7 major vulnerabilities present in the Android operating system. It also packs a dedicated patch for the buggy Qualcomm Wi-Fi drivers and a solution for a major error that could have facilitated remote access to the smartphone by sending a simple text message.

Sadly, the South Korean tech giant was not able to publish the complete change log for this update as there are issues present in the software which might not have been exploited by hackers till now. They might try to attempt to exploit those security issues before the patch reaches the devices. If you are using one of the devices listed above and interested in finding out whether the update is available for your particular unit or not, then jump into Settings, go to About Device and finally tap Check for Updates.

Source

Ever since Stagefright came into public limelight in 2015, Samsung had taken up a policy to keep all its top-tier handsets updated with the latest security patches on a monthly basis. This was a step by the Korean smartphone manufacturer to ensure that this chink in Android's armor cannot affect its flagships. So far, Samsung has kept its promise and as a result, all the major smartphones under the company's banner usually get monthly security patches.

2015 is behind us now and the January, 2016 is coming to an end, but Samsung still makes good on its promise as January security patches for the S5, Note4, S6, S6 Active, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+ and Note 5 are now going live OTA. The update is designed to not only thwart present attacks by hackers, but also has elements programmed into the kernel to prevent attacks that have not yet been exposed.

In fact, the security update won't even have a fully disclosed changelog accompanying it as that would make it accessible to hackers, who can then use that data to penetrate the security system of Samsung smartphones. Nonetheless, Samsung has assured its users that this will fix prime susceptibilities that the aforementioned smartphones may have to remote code execution. Although this is good on Samsung's part, it leaves us with a question, what about the other, cheaper Samsung smartphones and their users?

Source: SamsungMobile.com

If you live in Europe and you have a Galaxy A5 (2016), you should be notified about a new update anytime now. As you can probably guess already, this is the package that contains the Android SMR package for the month of October, as well as custom fixes from Samsung. The update isn't a particularly large one at just about 20MB, but this is an important patch nevertheless. According to the changelog accompanying the update, this will address a particular critical security hole in the A5's software. Details about this particular vulnerability were not mentioned in the changelog to stop hackers from exploiting it.

If you have not been prompted for the update yet, feel free to check from Settings > About phone > Software update manually. Even if you do not see the update right away, don't worry as it will take a while before all the batches are rolled out and it arrives on every eligible Samsung Galaxy A5 smartphone. As always, the update is only out for unlocked versions of the A5 (2016).

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

Reports from the UK have confirmed that Samsung just released the June security updates for the country, along with other improvements within the package. This is good news particularly for our readers in the UK because the S7 and the S7 Edge did not get the security updates for May last month.

The most prevalent issue with the camera was observed when you tried to playback a video recorded by the device's own camera. It would initially flicker, but note that it happened ONLY when trying to play a video recorded by the device. Fortunately, it has been addressed successfully. Along with multiple improvements in the camera application, a rare but existing S View cover recognition problem has also been solved. This one was a tricky problem which prevented the user from activating the phone's camera from the lockscreen, if the S View cover was on.

The update has also been noticed in various other regions around the world apart from the UK, but Europe is the only region to get a 329MB package, whereas the rest of the world received much of the same in a much shorter 73MB update. We are not really sure about the differences in between the two updates, but they look to bring in more or less the same improvements.

Author: Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

Click the link below to get the latest updates on your Samsung smartphone NOW

https://forum.youmobile.org/downloads/

The older flagships from 2014 have just started to receive the January security update from Verizon. This list of the lucky handsets consists of the Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note Edge and the Galaxy S5. If you own a Galaxy S5 under Sprint, you will get the same January update as well from your carrier, but Sprint has not yet rolled it out for the Note 4 and the Note Edge yet.

The update comes in at roughly 30MB or less for all the three handsets and will address the 67 bugs and security issues just as all Android SMR updates for January do. However, this one will also fix 28 additional problems found only on the Samsung smartphones. You will find the firmware version numbers below, pertaining to the specific smartphone models.

Galaxy S5 (SM-G900V) - MMB29M.G900VVRS2DQA1
Galaxy Note 4 (SM-N910V) - MMB29M.N910VVRS2CQA1
Galaxy Note Edge (SM-N915V) - MMB29M.N915VVRS2CQA1