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If you’re engaging in the seasonal feeding frenzy that is Black Friday you might want to take care, because a bunch of what’s being offered in terms of Android devices isn’t just cheap tat, it’s also dangerous according to a new report.
Security analysts at Bluebox Labs have published a report having bought a range of devices offered at reduced prices by major retailers in the US, including Walmart and Best Buy. The researchers put these devices through security tests and found an alarming number had big security problems.
What we found was shocking: most of the devices ship with vulnerabilities and security misconfigurations; a few even include security backdoors,” said Bluebox, in a blog post. “What seemed like great bargains turned out to be big security concerns. Unfortunately, unsuspecting consumers who purchase and use these devices will be putting their mobile data and passwords at risk.”
As you might expect, many of these devices are from brands which are not well established. Bluebox published a list of devices which you probably should avoid picking up.
- DigiLand from Best Buy
- RCA Mercury from Target
- Mach Speed Xtreme from Kmart
- Polaroid from Walgreens
- Zeki from Kohl’s
- Mach Speed JLab Pro from Staples
- Craig 7 from Fred’s Super Dollar
- Pioneer 7 from Walmart
- Nextbook from Walmart
- Ematic from Walmart
- RCA from Walmart
- Worryfree Zeepad from Walmart
If you insist on getting one of these Bluebox suggests that you only use it for some basic “low risk” tasks such as gaming, film streaming and browsing, but adds that you should not use them for online banking or purchasing items via the web.
“We recommend that you avoid conducting online banking, making purchases or storing sensitive data on these devices – if you do, you will be putting your data at risk,” the report said.
While many of these devices and retailers do not operate in the UK, we still now have the Black Friday sales over here. Ultimately the same caution still applies: don't buy an Android tablet you've never heard of regardless of how cheap it is!
11:28, 28 Nov 2014
by pbriden via Featured Articles
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