Hacking Mobile Phones For Identity Theft

History indicates that we are at the Forefront of an era in which criminal hackers develop tools and techniques to steal your money using your own cell phone.

Fifteen years ago, cell phones were so bulky and Cumbersome, they had to be carried in bags or brief cases. Then they became chunky, heavy bricks. Dropped calls every other minute. Clearly, cell phones have evolved since then. Today's cell phone is a lot more than a phone. It's a computer, one that Rivals many desktops and laptops being manufactured today. A cell phone can pretty much do everything a PC can do, including online shopping, banking, and merchant credit card processing.

The personal computer started out slow and stodgy, and was mainly used for things like word processing and solitaire. Today, PCs are fast, multimedia machines, capable of performing amazing tasks.

There are consequences to the rapid evolution of these technologies.

A decade ago, during the slow, dial-up era, hackers (and in the beginning, phreaks) hacked for fun and fame. Many wreaked Havoc, causing major problems that Crippled networks. And they did it without today's sophisticated technology.

Meanwhile, the dot-com boom and bust occurred. Then, as e-commerce picked up speed, high speed and broadband connections made it easier to shop and bank online, quickly and efficiently. Around 2003, social networking was born, in the form of online dating services and Friendster. PCs became integral to our fiscal and social lives. We funneled all our personal and financial information onto our computers, and spent more and more of our time on the Internet. And the speed of technology began to drastically outpace the speed of security. Seeing an opportunity, hackers began hacking for profit, rather than fun and fame.

Now, iPhones and other smart phones have become revolutionary computers themselves. For the next generation, the phone is replacing the PC. AT & T recently announced that they'll be upping the speed of the latest version of their 3G network, doubling download speeds. It has been reported that the next iPhone will have 32 gigabytes. That's more hard drive than my three year old laptop.

So naturally, criminal hackers are considering the possibilities offered by cell phones today, just as they were looking at computers five years ago.

Two things have changed The Game: the speed and advancement of technology and spyware. Spyware was created as a legitimate technology for PCs. Spyware tracks and records social network activities, online searches, chats, instant messages, emails sent and received, websites visited, keystrokes typed and programs launched. It can be the equivalent of digital surveillance, revealing every stroke of the user's mouse and keyboard. Parents can use spyware to monitor their young children's surfing habits and employers can make sure their employees are working, as opposed to surfing for porn all day.

Criminal hackers created a cocktail of viruses and spyware, which allows for the duplication of infection and a virus that gives the total criminal, remote access to the user's data. This same technology is being introduced to cell phones as "snoopware." Legitimate uses for snoopware on phones do exist: silently recording caller information, seeing GPS positions, monitoring kids' and employees' mobile web and text messaging activities. Criminal hackers have taken the snoopware and spyware technology even further. Major technology companies agree that almost any cell phone can be hacked into and remotely controlled. Malicious software can be sent to the intended victim disguised as a picture or audio clip, and when the victim clicks on it, malware is installed.

One virus, called "Red Browser" was created specifically to infect mobile phones using Java. It can be installed directly on a phone, physical access should be obtained, or this can be malicious software disguised as a harmless download. Bluetooth infared is also a point of vulnerability. Once installed, the Red virus browser allows the hacker to remotely control the phone and its features, such as the camera and microphone.

The Kuykendall, of Tacoma, Washington, found that several of their phones had been hijacked in order to spy on them. They say the hacker was able to turn a compromised phone on and off, use the phone's camera to take pictures, and use the speakerphone as a bug.

If history is any indication of the future, mobile phones, just like computers, will soon be hacked regularly for financial gain. Prepare for mCrime in the form of credit card fraud, identity theft and data breaches.


Robert Siciliano http://IDTheftSecurity.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Siciliano

The Biggest FREE iPhone Giveaway!

Most of us, even today can not afford to buy a 3G iPhone, but we can always manage to get one for only few dollars or even free simply by trying and taking advantage of the offers that some of the great websites offer as freebies in exchange of a few customer referrals. This system really is mind blowing as you may manage to get your hands on some of the best free iPhone just by following simple steps of registration. Free iPhone can simply be the best freebie for most of those people who cannot really get their hands on one. So, simply try walking your way through a few initial processes step by step guide and help yourself towards the fact that you can also receive a free iPhone without any basic explanations of why it is given away free. The process may not be fool-proof as most of us may be wondering, but one can always try and read for all possible pitfalls. There certainly are a few marketing companies that do offer a iPhone for free giveaways as a giveaways.

They may be imposing a referral system for imposing and Attracting more number of customers towards the best of their client base. They may also ask you to sign up with some Program and some may also ask to fulfill a few simple offers in order to qualify, but then for free iPhone, nothing really sounds like a obstacle. Certain may also ask you for 10 to 14 more referrals and the process may simply go one with every one receiving a free iPhone.

The offers may also be simple services or even products that may require you to subscribe as a condition to fulfill the requirements. Most of them may even be having a certain trial period and some may only charge for the shipment and handling. But there is certainly a way that you can avoid paying the fee. So, what are you waiting for, try and simply click the link that could take you to the resource that offer free iPhone giveaways. There is certainly no harm in your tryout luck for such a great offer like iPhone.

Some may even ask you to create an email id specifically for a few programs in order to avoid spasms, but no harm in doing so after all it's a talk of a free iPhone. So try registering a free account select your gift and simply try entering your email ID as your information. You may simply be taken to the page where you only need to enter your shipping details. Just try to click a few terms and conditions that you may come across agreement box. So even if you have to complete one of the product or service offers you can always choose wisely from amazing stores on the web or even try to apply for a discover card.

Nothing is ever enough for a free giveaway iPhone, so not every offer is less. Completing requirements and you get a beautiful iPhone for free. Who knows that you really may be a few days away from receiving your free iPhone gift. Once you get your hands on it, you can always try the same for your family and friends.

This Article By: Free iPhone

Article Source: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1592342

5 WAYS - Return Your Wet Cell Phone To Its Active Form And Save Some Cash

I have come to discover that so many cell phone users find it difficult to restore back the working ability of their cell phones when it comes in contact with water, at times when this happens so many users discard the phone because they lack the basic skill to re-store the phone to it's normal form this articles explains five ways which anyone can adopt to put a soaked phone back to its most active form.

1. UNSCREW PARTS AND ACCESSORIES: The first thing you do when your phone is wet is to lose the parts and accessories in order to expose the whole parts to air, this can be done firstly by manually opening the battery casing, remove the battery and unscrewing Enclose the inner part to allow air into the motherboard. some users see it as a difficult task whereas it is not, with some small screwdriver you can be able to do this on your own.

2. EXPOS TO HEAT ALL PARTS: After unscrewing the phone parts, there is need to expose the parts to heat, the reason being that there could be some hidden moisture in some parts where air can not flow in, and if heat is not apply, this moisture could allow current flow to bridge any of the components and consequently damage them. so you can expose all the parts to heat by inserting an electric bulb in a box and putting all these parts inside the box, but make sure the parts are some distance away from the bulb, after which you can then put on the bulb and leave the parts for an hour or two. after this period, the parts and components must have been very dry thereby returning them back to their normal form.

3. ENSURE THAT ALL COMPONENTS ARE WELL SOLDERED: Some people ignorantly abandon their cell phone believing it can not work again without knowing that one or more of the components has lost contact with the circuit, when the cell phone comes into contact with water, this could break the contact of any of the components from the circuit, so to ensure that the circuit is complete, each of the component parts must be check properly, you can use a digital voltmeter to check this, and if any open circuit is detected, a soldering iron can be used to solder that part.

4. CLEAN THE earpiece: Some phonetic sound can lose their effect when there are tiny objects in the earpiece that can interfere with the magnetic field in that part, so to ensure that this part is free from unwanted elements and therefore free from rusting, then this part should be clean gently with a very small white Handkerchiefs, this would put the earpiece back in good shape.

5. SCREW BACK PARTS AND ACCESSORIES: After carrying out the above steps, there is need to properly screw back all the loose parts, this can be done by following the steps outlined in the phone manual, and fixing the accessories in the appropriate place, after doing this, you can switch on the phone and surprisingly your cell phone will definitely work well again. All the above steps are neither time consuming nor Stressful, you can be doing something else while the phone is being dried, I'm very optimistic that if the steps above are applied as explained, you need not go to a phone Repairer to repair your wet phone anymore. indirectly, you would have saved yourself some cash in your bank account. there is something you can do so to enjoy your cell phone, if you are keen to know that, kindly visit the Satellite PC Box


Article By: Jerry Ejieke

Article Source: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1626419