Bad news, Droid owners. Android OS version 2.0.1, which all up-to-date Droids are running, has a bug that makes it fairly easy to bypass the phone’s screen-lock security mechanism. The security feature, when working, requires users to input a pattern using onscreen dots before they can access most of the phone’s features (the iPhone offers a similar option).
Exploiting the bug is fairly simple: while receiving an incoming call on a Droid that has its Lock screen activated, you can simply hit the dedicated ‘Back’ button to bypass the lock and jump to the homescreen. This, of course, gives access to the owner’s Email account, cookied web pages, phone directory, and everything else stored on the phone. You can take a tiny bit of solace in the fact that the thief would have to know your phone number or wait for someone to call your phone to exploit the bug, but that’s not particularly reassuring. The issue was first reported earlier today by The Assurer, which says that it is apparently only affecting Android version 2.0.1 on the Droid (which already represents a large chunk of Android’s userbase).
We reached out to Google about the issue, and a Google spokesperson gave us the following statement:
“We are aware of the issue and we’re working to deliver a fix to Motorola Droids shortly.”
Android isn’t the first smartphone OS to fall prey to security bugs like this. In August 2008 a similar flaw with the iPhone allowed people to easily bypass the phone’s lock screen.
Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
Could cellphone radiation actually be good for you and bad for you at the same time? It might, according to a group of researchers at the University of South Florida, who say that tests on mice suggest that long-term cellphone use might actually help fend off some of the effects of Alzheimer's disease. That, as you might have suspected, is the exact opposite of what the researchers expected to find, and they say that exposure to electromagnetic waves from cellphones could both prevent some of the effects of Alzheimer's if the exposure is introduced in early adulthood, or potentially even reverse some of the impairment among those already memory-impaired. Needless to say, the tests are still in the earliest of stages, but the researchers are apparently planning on modifying the experiment to try to speed up the results, and eventually expand it to include tests on humans. Tests on mice still found cellphones to be an impairement while driving.
[Thanks, Antonio]
Study finds cellphone use may fend off effects of Alzheimer's disease originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Jan 2010 10:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Etymotic is holding down fort in the iLounge Pavilion at CES showcasing its new line of less expensive moving-coil based headphones. The mc-series consists of the hf2, hf3, and hf5, and employs the moving-coil sound tech instead of more expensive balanced armiture hardware. As Etymotic explained, it's the extra air chamber that makes the moving coil acoustics better than they would normally be. We're not crazy audiophiles, and we can't really make a realistic judgment in the middle of the Las Vegas Convention Center, but the sound quality was definitely passable. They've got a couple of models sporting in-line remote controls for iPhone / iPod touch, and you can score 'em in any color to match your iPod nano. Check the neon 'buds out in our gallery below.
Etymotic moving-coil based earphones ears-on originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jan 2010 23:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The third annual Crunchies Awards last night were a smashing success, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors, startups, and other members of the tech community to honor the top in their class and enjoy an evening with friends. Thanks to everyone who attended the ceremony and the afterparty across the street at San Francisco’s City Hall, and we hope to see you all next year. We’ve got plenty of photos of the festivities, some of which we’ve embedded below. And there are many, many more photos available at the Crunchies 2009 Flickr Stream.
All photos via the Crunchies 2009 Flickr Stream, except for the top two which are by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid.
Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
