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Security contractors recently discovered preinstalled software in some Android phones that monitors where users go, whom they talk to and what they write in text messages. WASHINGTON — For about $50, you can get a smartphone with a high-definition display, fast data service and, according to security contractors, a secret feature: a backdoor that sends all your text messages to China every 72 hours. Security contractors recently discovered preinstalled software in some Android phones that monitors where users go, whom they talk to and what they write in text messages. The American authorities say it is not clear whether this...

Google is defending itself against anti-competition charges in the EU over three accusations over Android. Link only due to copyright issues: Google Defends Android in European Antitrust Case (link only).

I know it's voting day and I won't watch this post as well as I usually do, but I have a Samsung Tablet 10.1 gt p7510 that I want to update the OS to at least 4.1. it has 4.01 on it now. I cannot download the Directv app to watch programs on it because you must have at least 4.1 to make it work. I've watched a dozen "rooting" video's on Youtube, some multiple times, but I don't speak Linux or Android. If someone could write a specific tutorial on what apps are needed and what they do and...

Ive got a Samsung Galaxy SM-T550 Tab A and I cannot find out how to disable the secure boot so I can root it. Can someone help me out? Thanks.

Long before Google announced the Pixel phones, and even before we knew they would be called "Pixel," we heard about the Nexus Launcher. That mysterious new home screen from Google eventually became the Pixel Launcher, and now it's official as part of the Pixel and Pixel XL. However, Google has confirmed that the Pixel Launcher will be exclusive to its namesake phone, at least for a while. The Pixel Launcher includes a new Google search "pill" widget and a display for the date/weather. The app drawer has been revamped as well. You swipe up to open it from the favorite tray at...

Hiroshi Lockheimer promises that the event on October 4 will be just as unforgettable as the one almost eight years ago, when Android 1.0 was presented. Meanwhile, every blog is talking about the Andromeda scene, the supposed successor to Android. We will give you an idea of what that could mean. Google Pixel C reviewNexus Pixel price and release date

Google’s new OS is expected to bring some of the desktop-like capabilities of Chrome into Android to form a super OS that will be able to compete directly with Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. Veteran fans of thriller author Michael Crichton may recall that his career kicked into high gear with the 1969 release of a novel entitled “The Andromeda Strain.” The book described the impact of a deadly microbe strain delivered to earth from space via a military satellite.Tomorrow in San Francisco, Google is expected to announce the release of a new strain of operating system code-named “Andromeda.”...

Just as we were beginning to think that the worst was behind Samsung regarding the Galaxy Note 7 battery fiasco, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV has lambasted Samsung for discriminating against Chinese consumers when it comes to the terms of the recall. A commentary posted to the broadcaster’s website on Thursday calls out Samsung’s handling of the recall as “full of arrogance” and suggests that Samsung has discriminated against Chinese consumers by insisting that phones in the country do not need replacing. China has not been included in the global Note 7 recall, so customers are not entitled to replacements...

Two independent and reliable sources have confirmed to us that Google is planning a new Pixel laptop to be released in Q3 2017. The project, known internally as 'Bison' and by the informal nickname 'Pixel 3,' will likely be the first brand-new device to showcase Google's combined Android / Chrome OS 'Andromeda' operating system in a laptop form factor. Bison, then, would be the culmination of years of work by Google's Pixel team and Google's Android and Chrome OS teams.We are extremely confident Google plans for the device to run Andromeda. We are also confident that Andromeda is a...

A picture truly is worth a thousand words:

SUMMARY Half of Android users are stuck on software platforms from 2013 or earlier. This translates into a performance pitfall and major security flaw for Android users. As a result, Google is at risk to a major security breach, resulting in a exodus of users to Apple's iOS platform. Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Android 7.0 is finally here! It looks smooth and makes several improvements, but does it actually matter? Most Android users won't see this update for quite some time, as Android updates typically have a very slow adoption rate. Demonstrated below, half of Android users are running their devices...

The research firm Gartner has crunched some numbers and found that Android and iOS accounted for a record 99.1% worldwide market share in the second calendar quarter of 2016, which is compared to 96.8% in the year-ago period. What some may view as even more shocking is that Android accounted for 86.2% of the market share in the second quarter, up from 82.2% a year ago. Meanwhile, iOS lost some ground as it dropped to 12.9% market share from 14.6% in the year-ago period. It's no surprise that Windows and BlackBerry have been losing market share. They dropped to 0.6%...

I just downloaded about 10 updates on my Android. Every one downloaded fine, with the exception of the NRA-ILA app. I tried several times but only got an error message. And when I clicked on the error message, it gave me a message about "sorry about not being able to download Pokémon Go" Just seems fishy.

The “Quadrooter” vulnerabilities in Qualcomm-based Android phones might grant total control over target devices, but Google reckons attacks should hardly ever reach users. The Chocolate Factory reckons the Verify Apps feature in its Play Store was already blocking apps that tried to take advantage of Quadrooter. Only a reckless user would be compromised in the first place, since you'd have to download a compromised app from a non-Google source – and that's where Verify Apps comes in. Google pointed out to Android Central that the four-year-old feature, along with its SafetyNet, was designed to protect users from non-Play Store malice....

The flaws affect devices containing Qualcomm chips Serious security flaws that could give attackers complete access to a phone's data have been found in software used on tens of millions of Android devices. The bugs were uncovered by Checkpoint researchers looking at software running on chipsets made by US firm Qualcomm. Qualcomm processors are found in about 900 million Android phones, the company said. However, there is no evidence of the vulnerabilities currently being used in attacks by cyberthieves. "I'm pretty sure you will see these vulnerabilities being used in the next three to four months," said Michael Shaulov, head...

MIT engineers have developed biological computational circuits capable of both remembering and responding to sequential input data. The group's work, which is described in this week's issue of Science, (http://science.sciencemag.org/content/353/6297/aad8559) represents a critical step in the progression of synthetic biology with the integration of DNA-based memory, in particular, pointing the way toward building large computational systems from biological components—computing devices that are living cells—and, ultimately, programming complex biological functions.

The full disk encryption used to safeguard information stored on Google Android devices can be broken, an independent researcher has found. Gal Beniamini spent several years analysing the TrustZone platform found on Qualcomm chipsets, and utilised previously gained knowledge to run code that is able to extract the encryption keys used to scramble stored data on Android devices. The researcher discovered that encryption keys derived from the TrustZone feature could be extracted by software and cracked by brute force outside the Android devices, thus bypassing security mechanisms that limit the number of password guesses that can be made.

Hackers are stealing credit card information in Europe with malware that can spoof the user interfaces of Uber, WhatsApp and Google Play. The malware, which has struck Android users in Denmark, Italy and Germany, has been spreading through a phishing campaign over SMS (short message service), security vendor FireEye said on Tuesday. Once downloaded, the malware will create fake user interfaces on the phone as an “overlay” on top of real apps. These interfaces ask for credit card information and then send the entered data to the hacker.

Blasphemy! Godless malware preys on nearly 90 percent of Android devices Godless, an emerging mobile malware threat capable of rooting Android phones, has started to adopt the traits of an exploit kit, in that it searches for multiple vulnerabilities through which it can automatically infect a victim. Once it successfully executes, the malware gains root access to the device, granting it full control. Christopher Budd, global threats communications manager at Trend Micro, told SCMagazine.com in an interview that Godless is ostensibly an “encyclopedia of known, good attacks against various vulnerabilities… It's loading up on attacks and using whatever will work,...

COURTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY are grappling with a key question for the information age: When law enforcement asks a company for cellphone records to track location data in an investigation, is that a search under the Fourth Amendment? By a 12-3 vote, appellate court judges in Richmond, Virginia on Monday ruled that it is not — and therefore does not require a warrant.The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld what is known as the third-party doctrine: a legal theory suggesting that consumers who knowingly and willingly surrender information to third parties therefore have “no reasonable expectation of privacy” in that information...