Some questions from a novice

Ugly · Feb 16, 2011

Hello All

This is my first smart phone and so far I

dylo22 · Feb 16, 2011

Ugly said:
Should I install Antivirus/Spyware etc. protection. As far as I have been able to find there are Apps that access phone data such as call records, SMS, emails, personal details and phone records etc. While I have been checking the list of what it does before I install them, I was reading that one App originally did nothing but use space on the SD card, a later update introduced network access for adds but also phone records. Many users may not have seen the change and would have allowed access. Are there any other security issues that I need to a aware off? And how should I protect against any threats?

It wouldn't hurt to install an antivirus software on your phone. Just like your computer, your phone is susceptible to malware/viruses. Having an AV will give you an extra layer of protection. Protecting yourself against threats is very similar to the way you will do it on a computer. To name a few - Don't install apps you don't trust or know anything about - Do not click on suspicious email/sms/website links - do not transmit sensitive data using public wifi.

One additional pointer, using an app to connect to a service is much safer than going through a mobile browser.

2.What is the difference between Apps and Widgets. I have seen many comments from user saying that X App would be better it was a widget.

A widget is an app that is running on your homescreen like a weather or twitter widget. It is constantly running and updating. It does not require you to execute (open) the program to access information.

An app is program that you need to execute (open) to access its information.

takeshi · Feb 16, 2011

Ugly said:
As far as I have been able to find there are Apps that access phone data such as call records, SMS, emails, personal details and phone records etc. While I have been checking the list of what it does before I install them, I was reading that one App originally did nothing but use space on the SD card, a later update introduced network access for adds but also phone records. Many users may not have seen the change and would have allowed access.

Keep in mind that you can't just look at the permissions requested. You need to look at the bigger picture to see if the permissions requested are actually suitable given the app's features. Also keep in mind that the name of the permission doesn't always tell you why the app is requesting the permission. There are often certain specific permissions needed that are lumped together with other permissions. Without info on the app that you're talking about in your example, it's impossible to really comment on whether or not the additional permissions were warranted or not.

Ugly said:
Best Video resolution. I’m having a lot of trouble trying to work out the optimum video resolution. Almost every format I select, will display the video within a smaller window. I have made some videos with reduced image quality but the same resolution, and they will use the full screen. Can anybody enlighten me here?

Format and resolution are 2 different things. Resolution should not depend on the format. What's optimal for your device depends on your device's screen resolution.

Ugly · Feb 27, 2011

Dylo22 & takeshi thank you for taking the time to reply to my questions and sorry about the delay in responding.

1. Antivirus & Spyware

I suppose that my real problem with smart phones is that they seem so open and vulnerable to attack and data theft. I have only been able to find 7 threats, all Trojans. As the threat makers have only been going for about 6 months, there is still plenty of time for them to start innovating.

Maybe I

watsonchris · Feb 27, 2011

help not sure which phone to buy either the increible or desire s . help.
ps already own a desire

Clementine_3 · Feb 27, 2011

Ugly said:
Calendar reminders. If I store an event in the Calendar and set the reminder for x minutes, can I make the reminder repeat (say every 5 minutes) until that calendar event is acknowledged. As I can

dylo22 · Feb 27, 2011

Ugly said:
I suppose that my real problem with smart phones is that they seem so open and vulnerable to attack and data theft. I have only been able to find 7 threats, all Trojans. As the threat makers have only been going for about 6 months, there is still plenty of time for them to start innovating.

Maybe I

Ugly · Mar 11, 2011

Clementine_3 said:
Love this one for reminders: Download Calendar Snooze for your Android phone on AppBrain

Clementine_3

Thank you for the recommendation. I have been running this program for a few weeks now and its working well.

Thanks again

Ugly

Ugly · Mar 11, 2011

dylo22 said:
That's a legitimate concern. As android becomes more and more popular, it's reasonable to assume that the number of malwares for android is going to increase. We're only at the beginning stages of mobile threats. We may not be seeing much now, but I think in the next few months/years we'll be seeing a lot of new and creative methods for hackers to get info from our phones.

For now, I think you have two options to help protect yourself from data theft.

1. Not use your phone to do anything that send/store/download personal and confidential information (ie banking)

OR

2. Use those services sparingly and ONLY install apps that you absolutely trust on your phone. Of course that's easier said than done, because the whole point of android is freedom to download

dylo22

Have Install Norton AV and I

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