Top Ten Flashlight Apps Steal Everything

This makes me glad that I own an iPhone that comes with a built in flashlight toggle in the OS.

This is why a person gets a real flashlight instead of using a hack light created from their phone.

I suppose people are thinking they are getting more value from their phone. That turned out well...

originally posted by: Snarl
The apparent solution is to take your phone back to the store from where you bought it, and have them restore it to factory settings to erase the Trojans the apps introduce.

One doesn't need to go back to the store. They can factory rest an Android phone by going to "System Settings > Backup and Reset > Factory Data Reset".

originally posted by: scghst1
This makes me glad that I own an iPhone that comes with a built in flashlight toggle in the OS.

Samsung also adds their own flashlight widget on Android devices.

Also, those of us that root and ROM our Android devices, most ROM developers add in flashlight apps/widgets as well.

originally posted by: roadgravel
This is why a person gets a real flashlight instead of using a hack light created from their phone.

Why carry around a separate flashlight when there's a bright LED light(s) on your phone already that can be used for a flashlight?

This is why we have smart phones. So we don't have to carry around a flashlight, camera, alarm clock, calculator, MP3 player, notepad, laptop, pager, voice recorder, portable GPS unit, etc.

It can all be done with one small device.



I always say that everyone is responsible for their own PC and smartphone security. There's no way I would use a flashlight app that needed any more permissions than the camera (for LED flash light).

People really need to start paying attention to the permissions requested by apps.

This is why we have smart phones. So we don't have to carry around a flashlight, camera, alarm clock, calculator, MP3 player, notepad, laptop, pager, voice recorder, portable GPS unit, etc.

The old All-In_One solution.

My phone broke.

Now I am without a flashlight, camera, alarm clock, calculator, MP3 player, notepad, laptop, pager, voice recorder, portable GPS unit.

I have DroidLight and it only needs access to the camera. I was very happy when I looked at it seeing this article/video, but then I tend to be paranoid anyway so if a simple app needs a ton of permissions I'll try to find one that doesn't heh.

Lil

Oh.. a Big LOL And another LOL again...
I never download apps ever nor do I use my phone for online banking and this is why. cyber security in becoming next to impossible and with more and more sites attached to your personal life the more at risk you all are to being hacked..I also refuse to do any online banking with this laptop because of this kind of risk.

originally posted by: _BoneZ_

Samsung also adds their own flashlight widget on Android devices.

^^^ This thanks I just uninstalled the app and found the built in one I didn't know existed on my new phone lol.

Lil

Dang.
I'm getting the feeling that if one opts to have a service providing 'smart' technology, that person may not really be putting much stock in their own 'smarts'?

Pretty soon our refrigerators will have 'weight sensing adjustment wheels' that sense how many calories are about to be consumed, that will send an automatic text message to the nearest grocery store ordering more 'stock' to be delivered promptly...followed with credit card crap so to finalize the transaction!

None of those fridges will have mechanically locking doors...

Wow... I just took a look at my flashlight app, simply labeled flashlight, 11 MB's. With all of the permissions, including edit system setting's, check running app's, read phone call's / text's. The whole damn phone basically.

Thanks for this information, it's been deleted, I may factory restore it myself!

S&F!

I often call my phone an electronic leash. Little did I know how true that was until now. What other apps are doing the same thing?

My Huawei Ascend Mate 2 (awesome phone btw) has a built-in flashlight, but I am paranoid even of that.

a reply to: Snarl

Is this iphone only? When I check google play two of the top 5 require no permissions but camera/mic.

The camera controls the LED Flash, not sure what the MIC is for.

I use Tesla LED.

originally posted by: CT_Flyboy
I often call my phone an electronic leash. Little did I know how true that was until now. What other apps are doing the same thing?

Angry Birds was a rather popular spy tool it seems, as it was downloaded over 1.7 billion times.

Angry Birds and 'leaky' phone apps targeted by NSA and GCHQ for user data

a reply to: raymundoko

Not sure, brother. I gave up on staying tech-savvy way before the advent of smart phones.

I put this thread up primarily to show to our hospital's Information Assurance guru.

Boy ... were his eyes open wide after watching. LOL

so glad I just have a crappy keyboard slider phone (non-smartphone)

I wouldn't want to pay monthly for internet I would hardly use anyway.

It will be a little bit more difficult for a drone to geo-locate and missile me than some other folks.
But if I was being chased by spooks I would probably chuck my crappy Samsung Intensity II anyway.

Just check the app, my app is okay for torch but I suspect we in the UK would search on 'torch' not 'flashlight,.
I did check the MAGNIFYING GLASS app and this had all sorts of unrequited permissions.

a reply to: Snarl

I wonder how much money they paid to get on Fox? They offer no solution but to do a reset and install their own flashlight app, I wonder who really made that app? Don't you recall the NSA and po po complaining that the new Cell phones wont come with an automatic back door for them? This is just another high class marketing campaign to lure in the sheep.

If anyone thinks any cell phone is truly safe then I have some news for you, not one of them are. The NSA has every phone tapped and China or Russia probably has them tapped so no amount of being paranoid is going to keep you safe but definitely do not use your phone for anything related to finances. Not on the web anyway.

Factory reset?

1) You can do this EASILY yourself on any phone, using the "Factory Reset" option in settings.

2) Why not just remove the offending app?

OP makes no sense!

a reply to: babybunnies

Start the video @ 3:19 and listen for seven short seconds. Using the phone's feature to re-set your phone to factory defaults ... will not ... clear the data areas mentioned.

The best advice for everyone, IMVHO, is in the post just above yours.