Web Hosting Talk : Other Forums : Computers and Peripherals : Mobile and Handheld Devices : How secure is Android?

[SajanP]

I've got a Samsung Galaxy SII Skyrocket (2.3.6) and was wondering how secure the device itself is.

I've set a password on it, but if I lose the phone...what are the chances of someone breaking into it before I get a chance to remotely wipe the device?

Say for example on a 4 character, all lowercase alpha password.

[Mnchost]

Unlocking the andriod phone is not hard task .If your precious data secured in sd card ,then even a kid can extract information from it.

Make sure to put your precious data in phone memory .Because SD card can be unlock easily however unlocking andriod phone memory is somewhat hard .It may lead to format or reset .

Andriod allows mainly two possible reset of phone memory :

1.Soft Reset : Easiest way to format and reset normal settings
2.Hardware reset :Via Hardware Button .

[KMyers]

Android 4.x includes full disk encryption which even encrypts nandroid backups. Your phone should be getting it soon.

[xcervices]

now a days safety,technology does not apply because of hacking and spyware so you can't really say it is safe...

[KMyers]

Originally Posted by xcervices

now a days safety,technology does not apply because of hacking and spyware so you can't really say it is safe...

Hello,
The Operating System itself is safe, however most breaches fall under one of 2 things

1) The actions of the user. Either installing pirated android applications with trojans or by ignoring android permission prompts
2) Poor development skills of the developer. Many attacks exploit holes left by 3rd party applications installed by the end user.

I dont believe there has been a widespread exploit in the core Android System since Cupcake (1.5), where a patch was released after determining that all Keystrokes were passed to a root shell. In a sense, if you composed a text message with the word "reboot" followed by the enter key, your phone will reboot. This was fixed within days.

[ubservers]

Originally Posted by KMyers

2) Poor development skills of the developer. Many attacks exploit holes left by 3rd party applications installed by the end user.

This is the main problem as Android does not have enough (or too many) verification for apps.

[KMyers]

Originally Posted by ubservers

This is the main problem as Android does not have enough (or too many) verification for apps.

I actually like it this way, it is a 180 from Apple who puts heavy restrictions on the applications (specifically when it comes to Adult or Banned Content, External Payment Processors, and APIs).

Apps are not "Approved" in the Android Market unless all permissions are declared. It is up to the user to understand what the application can and cannot do.