sms

Dumb phones can be attacked too

Much of the discussion of security threats to mobile phones revolves around smartphones, but researchers have found that less advanced "feature phones," still used by the majority of people around the world, also are vulnerable to attack.

Feature phones have Web browsing, MP3 players, and other programs standard voice-only phones lack, but they have less computing power and feature integration than smartphones.

Because security research on feature phones has been eclipsed by research on popular smartphones like Android and iPhone, mobile researcher Collin Mulliner said he decided to turn his attention to the lower-end phones. After all, so … Read more

CES: VoxOx attempts communication unification, again

LAS VEGAS--VoxOx debuted several years ago as a high-powered multi-protocol chat alternative that incorporated some nifty VoIP features thanks to its parent company, a small telecom outfit called TelCentris.

Today at CES 2011, TelCentris announces a revamped VoxOx with an emphasis on simplicity and messaging unification.

The big improvement to the latest version of the program, available for Windows and Mac, is the unified messaging window. People will be able to interact via instant message, SMS, VoIP phone calls, and social networking all from the same communications stream. This includes voice mail transcriptions similar to Google Voice, although TelCentris … Read more

The 404 715: Where we really grind our gears (podcast)

Jill Schlesinger and Natali Morris join us on today's show as our Thanksgiving week without Justin Yu continues. Justin usually takes care of our daily blog post seen here but instead has opted to take off three days so he can read bedtime stories to his cat, Chairman Meow.

Today Jill and Natali help us make sense of the inherent dangers associated with allowing civilians to text, MMS, or even video stream to 911 rather than dialing in. Of course Wilson and I overlook the prime opportunities this would present hoodlums who will inevitably use the new technology for evil. While funny, we certainly wouldn't support pranking 911 with video of a fake incident. Not to worry though, Natali informs us that not only is there no funding for such a thing, it hasn't even been planned out at all, and it turns out it was just someone's idea that somehow made its way into mainstream news outlets.

Next up is Oprah Winfrey announcing that the iPad is her favorite thing ever. Though we're pretty sure Apple doesn't need the attention, it's hard for us to believe that Oprah even uses an iPad. We figure she'd just scream at it repeatedly and tell it that it's going on a 10-day trip to Europe over and over.

There are a tons of laughs on today's show, so be sure to tune in, plus some vital financial info that everyone shopping this holiday season needs to know! Jill tells us how much we should be spending on gifts this year, so make sure you've got a budget!

Episode 715 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Texting 911

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

The FCC is looking into letting people report emergencies over SMS and streaming video

Netflix launches a streaming-only plan, letting people ditch the DVDs

Amazon launches a Black Friday shopping page

Yelp introduces Check-In Offers, giving people discounts for location check-ins

Google TV serves up almost no TV now that Viacom joins the networks that block the service from playing their online content

Amazon allows you to give someone an MP3 as a gift

Google Docs has a Microsoft Office plug-in that lets you sync your desktop documents to Google Docs

Amazon launches … Read more

The Walrus on iTunes

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

The Beatles are finally coming to Apple's iTunes

Facebook unveils its hyped-up e-mail system

Wal-Mart's Black Friday deals are leaked

Borders launches its redesigned site with discounts, shipping deals, and social networking

The Asus EEE tablet is delayed and will possibly have a new name

The world's first 3D heart surgery is set for today

Pulled app Infinite SMS headed back to App Store

One of the positive effects of Apple's recently introduced App Store guidelines is that there have since been a handful of applications that have made their way back after initially having been pulled or removed. The latest of that bunch is Infinite SMS, which is currently in review with Apple.

The thing is, Apple never pulled Infinite SMS. You can blame Google for that.

Infinite SMS shot to popularity when it offered a free text-messaging tool that had been built off of Google's Talk service. Not intending Talk to be used that way, Google ended up shutting down access to that data path, … Read more

StartTalking lets you text with just your voice

Texting while driving is a serious safety problem, so much so that the activity is now banned in 30 states in the United States.

How dangerous is it? The U.S. Department of Transportation says that drivers who do anything with a handheld device increase the risk of getting in an injury crash by four times--a concept that can be easy to ignore if you've gotten away with this unscathed.

AdelaVoice is based in East Falmouth, Mass.--a state where, beginning tomorrow, texting while driving will become an offense with a penalty of up to a $500. The company … Read more

Zeus banking Trojan targets mobile phones too

The Zeus banking Trojan, which targets Windows-based computers, is now being used to target victims' mobile phones too, according to several researchers.

Fortinet said today that it had uncovered new mobile malware dubbed SymbOS/Zitmo, which stands for Zeus in the Mobile, that is most likely designed to intercept confirmation text messages that banks send to customers for online banking. This could allow criminals to thwart banks' two-factor SMS authentication and approve transactions without the victim knowing it.

Zeus typically compromises a computer, either by luring the victim to click on a malicious link in an e-mail or luring the … Read more

State Farm Android app texts while you drive, so you don't have to

In an effort to curb the temptation to text while behind the wheel, State Farm Insurance Company is updating its Pocket Agent application for Android with a widget that will do your texting for you, sort of. The On the Move widget is essentially an SMS auto-responder that will intercept incoming text messages and automatically reply with a canned response.

After loading the app, users are able to compose and save their automated responses. Although the widget is primarily designed for use while in a moving vehicle, multiple responses can be saved and used for different situations or moods. For … Read more