selling a old smart phone ? Beware, your data can still be accessible From Android smartphone

 Selling a old smart phone ? Beware, your data can still be accessible From Android smartphone, After Factory Reset

Picture from : android authority

Are you planning to junk your smartphone in the second-hand device market for the sake of a new one? Beware as your data can be retrieved from your old phone.

A new Cambridge study has found that user data is retrievable from second-hand Android devices that have been wiped via a factory reset, techweekeurope.co.uk reported. Such data can be recovered even from handsets protected by full-disk encryption, the researchers said.

Most Android handsets offer no easily accessible way of deleting user data, including access tokens, messages, images and other content, the study said.

Experts have been airing their concerns for some time now that the smartphones are extraordinarily difficult to clear of user data.

The study examined 21 second-hand devices running Android versions from five manufacturers that had been wiped using the operating system's built-in factory reset feature.

But the problems also exist with third-party data deletion applications, such as those offered by antivirus vendors, the researchers said.

The team was able to recover data including multimedia files and login credentials from wiped phones, and many of the handsets yielded the master token used to access Google account data, such as Gmail and Google Calendar.

The problem results from multiple issues, including the inherent difficulty of fully deleting data from the flash memory used in smartphones, something due to the physical nature of such memory chips, according to the research.

Other issues include vendors' failure to include necessary drivers or failures introduced by their modifications of Android for individual devices.

As a proof-of-concept, the researchers recovered the master token in a device and found that after reboot, it successfully re-synchronized contacts, emails and other data.

The master token, used to access Google accounts, was found to be retrievable in 80% of the devices that had a flawed factory reset mechanism.

Devices protected with encryption can still be accessed, because the file storing the decryption key is not erased, making it accessible to cracking, the study said.

Google Play Store will now allow users to ‘pre-register’ for upcoming apps and games

Google Play Store will now allow users to ‘pre-register’ for upcoming apps and games

Picture : google Play Store

Google has now introduced a new and interesting feature which lets users ‘pre-register’ for apps in Google Play Store. Pre-registration is free for Android customers and allows them to receive notifications when the app or game is available for download or for purchase on the store.

The first app to receive this feature is Terminator Genisys: Revolution, by Glu Mobile. The app, which is the official game of the Terminator Genisys: Revolution movie, is likely to be available when the movie releases or during the same period. The description reads, “The year is 2028 and humanity is on the brink of extinction. Help John Connor in the war to save the human race in the official game of the new movie Terminator Genisys. Escape from the Skynet prison camp and fight the machines in this action-packed sci-fi shooter!”

The pre-registration process is anticipated to create more hype ahead of the official release for upcoming new apps or game titles which are gearing up to arrive on the Play Store. A report by Android Police points out that pre-registration is simply designed to give users a notification when the app is finally released, when it can be purchased and installed. If a user changes their mind, there is a one-tap un-register button which will remove the user from the list, adds the report.

Use Multiple numbers in one sim

Use Multiple numbers in one sim - BlackBerry’s virtual SIM solution is their secret weapon 

The ability to provision nine numbers on one SIM card will make life incredibly simple for enterprises, power users, travelers and consumers who hate carrying more than one phone

  In September, BlackBerry acquired the SIM virtualization company Movirtu. The move didn’t catch the attention of the media but it was very much in tune with the company’s enhanced focus on apps and services, particularly those meant for enterprises and business users. The latest addition to that is SIM card virtualization.

The Canadian company will leverage Movirtu’s technology to make it easier for enterprises to manage devices in BYOD (bring-your-own device) and COPE (corporate-owned, personally enabled) environments.

So what does SIM virtualization do? In a nutshell, it allows multiple phone numbers to be active on a single SIM card.

The technology will come to India later this year, and BlackBerry says it’s currently working with telecom operators to set up the framework for this to work seamlessly.

What is the benefit of SIM virtualization?

1.You don’t need to carry multiple phones or juggle multiple SIM cards

2.You can have different numbers for voice calls, data connections, even roaming, on the same phone

3.Enterprises will find it easier to activate and deactivate corporate virtual connections for new employees as well as those who leave

4.Users will also be able to manage their billing better, as charges can be billed separately

5.Enterprises can apply corporate usage policies on the business number.

Up to nine virtual numbers can be activated on one SIM. The interface for using this service will be an app that will be available for BlackBerry, Android and iOS smartphones. With one click, a user can add another number as their virtual number on the same SIM card.

For example, let’s say you have one Vodafone connection as the primary number for official use, and a second Vodafone number for personal use. This means two SIM cards and two phones to manage. Even if you have a dual-SIM phone, it is still a bit of a hassle. With SIM virtualization, you can set up the second number as a virtual number on the primary SIM card and use one phone for both connections.

Second, even if you don’t have another SIM card, the app can create a virtual number for you—users will get to choose a number of their preference initially, but if someone else already owns it, alternative options will be suggested. Enterprises may find this service extremely relevant—when a new employee joins, they can simply create a virtual corporate number on the person’s existing SIM, with separate billing, and without the hassle of managing SIM cards and phones. When the employee leaves the company, the virtual number can be deactivated quickly, again without the hassle of recovering and handling hardware.

The big advantage is that billing and usage can be separated. For example, you could use one number for voice and SMS, and another for data or national roaming perhaps. Once the app is installed and activated, it provides intricate control over which connection each action uses—you can choose one connection for phone calls, another for browsing the Web. So, if your company says they will pay voice-call and SMS-use bills for your official number, you can easily turn off the data plan on that and use the second SIM for a 4G/3G/2G connection.

But there are certain limitations dictated by the Union government’s telecom rules. First, if your primary SIM card is from one operator, virtual numbers of the same operator must be activated on that. So, if you have an Airtel SIM card on which you want to activate some virtual numbers, those must also be activated and billed by Airtel.

What we aren’t entirely sure of is how the virtual numbers will be activated since every new mobile phone connection here requires a complete KYC (know-your-customer) verification process. Perhaps mobile operators will utilize the user identity verified with the primary connection to verify and activate virtual numbers too.

This is most certainly poised to be a big development. In addition, its availability on almost every popular smartphone makes this flexible enough to be used with any device a user may be carrying. What’s needed is a simple activation process—hopefully this will be a more streamlined one than the verification and activation processes a user must deal with when activating a new SIM card.