Beware snoopy apps that ask more than they need to know

<div class="imageContainer580xX" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: auto; line-height: 19px; margin: auto; width: 580px;"> <br /> <figure class="oneUp" id="page-lede" style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px 0px 35px; position: relative; text-align: center; width: 580px;"><img class="largeImage imgId100023974 " itemprop="image" src="http://zapt0.staticworld.net/images/article/2013/02/mobile-privacy-100016521-large-100023974-large.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; vertical-align: middle; width: 580px;" /></figure></div> <br /> <article style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; margin: 0px 15px; position: relative; z-index: 20;"><div class="department" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; overflow: hidden;"> <a class="icn-link icn-print ir" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2604700694927760696" style="background-image: url(http://csmb.staticworld.net/images/furniture/techhive/icn-mono-16x16_sprite.png); background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #25a7d7; direction: ltr; display: inline !important; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.45em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-indent: -999em; width: 16px;"><br /></a></div> <span itemprop="articleBody description text" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><section class="page" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> The president of the United States says he’s not “allowed” to own an iPhone, which is why he’s sticking with his BlackBerry, according to The Wall Street Journal.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> It’s a politically sensitive subject because the <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9108338/Continuing_coverage_Apple_s_iPhone" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #25a7d7; text-decoration: none;">iPhone</a> is the big American brand, and the president is a self-proclaimed fan of the late <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9137163/Apple_Update" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #25a7d7; text-decoration: none;">Apple</a> founder and CEO Steve Jobs. He’d love to pander to buy-America voters. (Obama is also probably not “allowed” to have an Android phone.)</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> Of course, neither the president nor the Secret Service is willing to say exactly how security could be compromised with an iPhone. But onesecurity risk is the unpredictable nature of both iPhone and Android apps.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> Sure, there’s a lot of flat-out malware flying around online, most of which looks like regular, legitimate apps but in fact are either malware or they compromise privacy or security in some way.</div> <h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: facitweb, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-top: 1em;"> Is that app selling you out?</h2> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> There are certain types of apps that users are wary about and may take precautions about downloading. But others don’t seem to have anything to do with user data, so they seem safe.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> The Federal Trade Commission <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9244612/Flashlight_app_vendor_settles_with_FTC_over_privacy_violations" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #25a7d7; text-decoration: none;">announced</a> this week that it reached a settlement with Goldenshores Technologies, which makes a free Android app called “Brightest Flashlight.” The FTC said the app harvested data on users’ locations and device IDs and sold it to advertisers without telling the users, and even when users rejected the app’s terms of service. The settlement forced the company to improve its privacy policy, user communication and data handling.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> The FTC said the app had been installed on “tens of millions” of phones.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> The whole “Brightest Flashlight” fiasco shines light on an uncomfortable set of facts about<a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/topic/75/Smartphones" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #25a7d7; text-decoration: none;">smartphone</a> apps. For starters, some apps that have no apparent need to harvest personal data or compromise privacy or security go ahead and do so anyway.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 0.7em;"> But even those that don’t move user data can leave users vulnerable through sheer incompetence.</div> <h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-top: 1em;"> <span style="font-family: facitweb, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 23px;">V</span></span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.7em;">ia:<a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/2070626/beware-snoopy-apps-that-ask-more-than-they-need-to-know.html"> PCWorld</a></i></h2> </section></span></article>

Beware snoopy apps that ask more than they need to know

The president of the United States says he’s not “allowed” to own an iPhone, which is why he’s sticking with his BlackBerry, accordin...

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