Questions tagged [smartphone]

A smartphone is a mobile device which combines many of the basic features of personal computing such as email, media playback and web browsing, with the traditional features of a telephone.

A smartphone is a mobile device which combines many of the basic features of personal computing such as email, media playback and web browsing, with the traditional features of a telephone.

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Is Telegram secure?

There is a new WhatsApp-killer application called Telegram . They said that it's open source and that it has a more secure encryption . But they store all the messages in their servers and WhatsApp doesn't store any messages in any server, only a…
ilazgo
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What security features are important when buying a smartphone?

I'm looking at replacing my very old android smartphone. Information security is increasingly a feature that I'm looking for. As well as being slow, I don't think I can upgrade my current handset to the latest android versions or even the latest…
James Bradbury
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How to securely dispose of a smartphone?

How to dispose of a smartphone (it's an iPhone 5) at home? I was reading through this SE site questions and found this one which hardly applies here. Besides, I'd want to do it so that: It's not damaging the ecology (at least not too much) I don't…
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Is a 'dumbphone' mobile more secure for basic phone calls than a smartphone?

By dumbphone I mean: no internet connection, very limited features, etc. By more secure I mean: secure from malicious and direct hacking. I don't mean as in protected from government tapping/snooping; I don't mean from authorities who could be…
infinite-etcetera
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Can a stolen Android phone with USB debugging enabled have screen lock bypassed?

My Android (8.0) phone was pickpocketed from me yesterday. It was immediately turned off by the thief and when I tried to locate it using Find My Device it shows as offline. As a programmer and a security enthusiast, I started to worry about what…
gtbono
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Does the saying "physical access = game over" apply to smartphones, too?

I was surprised to read in the responses to this popular question that it's considered nigh impossible to secure a computer system if intruders have physical access. Does this apply to smartphones as well? Let's suppose I have done the most I can to…
Max
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Does rebooting a phone daily increase your phone's security?

Recently, the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gave some advice to regularly reboot your phone to boost its security. Apparently this advice is somewhat commonly given to legislators. This article from 2021 cites Angus King (independent…
Cold Fish
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Blocking people from taking pictures of me with smartphone

This question might be better suited for Skeptics , but I guess that those who can really answer this might hang around here. In the second episode of the fourth season of the french spy series The Bureau (see around 0:36 in this clip ), one hacker…
bangnab
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Password manager: safer on laptop or on smartphone?

I want to recommend a password manager to my non-tech friends and family and help them set it up and use it. One of the decisions I have to make is whether I recommend one that works on laptops or one that works on smartphones. Smartphones: Have…
Luc
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Can malware be transmitted via a USB charger plugged into a wall socket?

I have a smart phone that I often plug into a wall socket for charging via a small adapter that rectifies the AC to DC power and transforms the voltage from line (120V or 240V) to 5 V DC, probably using a switching power supply. Standard stuff. I am…
Stone True
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What is a good way to authenticate a user to a smart phone?

What would be a good way to authenticate a user to a smart phone? By good, I mean that it is both secure, and user-friendly. Passwords don't seem to be the best fit because a password needs to be long to be secure, but it is hard to type a long…
Jonathan
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Can I get malware on my phone, if my phone is tethered to my laptop downloading torrents?

I used a dongle before getting a phone, but now use my phone as a hotspot. I don't want my phone to get malware or viruses. Can my phone get viruses if I use it as a hotspot while downloading torrents?
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Could my bank's two-factor authentication be hacked?

When I attempt to log in to my bank, an SMS code is sent to my phone. I then type this nine-character code into the bank's Web site, to login to my account. Is this vulnerable to attack, without hacking the bank's software or server, or without…
user13779
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Listening to phone calls as user profiling for marketing

I had a landline phone call about xyz with an xyz -expert (also on landline) for about an hour, for the first time. After couple of days I started getting suggested links on websites as an ad exactly about xyz 's services. Question: In theory,…
zx8754
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How secure is Android's facial recognition?

Android supports using facial recognition for unlocking your phone. How secure is that mechanism? For instance, if someone has a good quality picture of your face, can they defeat the facial recognition scheme by holding up the picture to the phone?…
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