Sophisticated Trojan "Geinimi" Hijacks Android Smartphones

A malicious new piece of malware codenamed "Geinimi" has appeared in China and Android smartphones are its main targets.

Lookout Mobile Security, a San Francisco-based blog, reported that "Geinimi" is able to compromise personal data on a user's phone and send it to remote servers. According to the author known as "tim," it is "The most sophisticated Android malware we've seen to date, Geinimi is also the first Android malware in the wild that displays botnet-like capabilities."

Designated as a Trojan, Geinimi is currently uploaded through repacked versions of Android apps distributed by a third-party Android app market, most particularly in China, with titles such as Monkey Jump 2, Sex Positions, Presidents vs. Aliens, City Defense and Baseball Superstars 2010.

Currently, Android smartphones outside of China are still shielded but the fact that there is a Trojan for the Android OS is quite alarming. With the iPhone still secure, what is Google going to do to fix this?

Or is this simply a ploy for Antivirus companies to jump on the appstore bandwagon?

The New Google Android Honeycomb Tablet

Google gave a sneak peek of its long-awaited tablet which will run a special new version of Android nicknamed Honeycomb.

The Google Honeycomb tablet, which was briefly unveiled at an event in San Francisco by Google Anroid expert Andy Rubin, will be built by Motorola and is due to be released next year.

No specifications were given out by the Mr. Rubin but may believe it will be an upgraded version of Stingray, Motorola's contribution to the tablet wars, which will also be released next year.

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High Risk Defects Found in Android Kernel

A security analysis was conducted by Coverity, a source code analysis firm, on the Android kernel 2.6.32 (Froyo) and found high-risk defects including memory corruption flaws, memory illegal accessess and resource leaks.

The Android kernel 2.62.32 is targeted for smartphones based on the Qualcomm MSM7xxx/QSD8×50 chipset, specifically the HTC Droid Incredible. In addition to the standard kernel, this version includes support for wireless, touchscreen, and camera drivers.

Here are the main points of Coverity’s findings:

• The Android kernel used in the HTC Droid Incredible has about half the defects that would be expected for similar software of the same size.
• The Android kernel has better than industry average defect density (one defect for every 1,000 lines of code); however the report discovered 359 defects that are believed to be in the shipping version of the HTC Droid Incredible. We believe the defects we found are a sample of what could be shipping in many OEMs devices and products that leverage the Android platform.
• We found 88 high-risk defects in Android: 25% of the Android defects discovered, including memory corruptions, memory illegal accesses, and resource leaks, are considered high-risk with significant potential to cause security vulnerabilities, data loss, or quality problems such as system crashes. These are traditionally defect types that many of our customers fix and eliminate completely prior to shipping a product.
• Accountability for Android software integrity is fragmented. The problem is no different with Android than what we see across open source. Android is based on Linux, which has thousands of contributors. Compound that with the Android developers from Google, the contributors to Android from the larger development community, and OEMs that supply components for specific configurations of Android to support different types of devices, and the lines of accountability are quickly blurred. It’s not clear who is ultimately accountable, but it is clear that a new level of visibility is needed to provide the OEMs that incorporate Android in their software supply chain with an objective measurement of Android software integrity.

Android 2.1 Eclair Upgrade Finally Coming To Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

This is a return-favor for Chad who posted a couple of articles when I was on vacation. This article is also for the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, Xperia X10 mini, and X10 mini pro owners, who like Chad, have been waiting for the Android 2.1 Eclair upgrade.

The Android 2.1 Eclair upgrade for the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 series will be available on October 31, 2010 according to a blog post on the Sony Ericsson website. Users will be notified of the update over-the-air, but because of the size of the download, Android Eclair 2.1 will have to be installed using the companion software that came with your SE Xperia X10.

The improvements brought about by the Android 2.1 Eclair upgrade are as follows:

SE Xperia X10:
• HD video recording with continuous auto-focus for high quality videos
• Upgrade of the Android platform to Android 2.1
• New back up and restore application, with extended content back up
• 5 homescreens for apps, widgets, shortcuts and folders
• Social phonebook which automatically syncs contact pictures from Facebook and shows when your friends are online

SE Xperia X10 mini and SE X10 mini pro:
• Improved Bluetooth functionality with support for sending and receiving pictures, contacts and more
• New backup and restore application with extended content back up
• Automatic synchronization of your contact pictures between Facebook and your phone book
• Improved ways of handling pictures, audio, text and numbers in your messages
• Upgrade of the Android platform to Android platform 2.1

Proceed to the Sony Ericsson Update page HERE to check out if it's now available in your country.

Android 3.0 "Gingerbread" Features Voice Chat And YouTube Leanback

As the rollout for the Android 2.2 "Froyo" upgrade is ongoing, the attention shifts to the next iteration of Android OS AKA "Gingerbread".

The Android 3.0 "Gingerbread" build will be optimized for latest trend in technology, tablets.

Phandroid got a first glimpse on the new Android build and notes that in addition to what appears to be a major graphical overhaul of icons and user interface, the biggest confirmed features coming in Android 3.0 include video chat support leveraging the Google Talk protocols and SIP support for Google Voice.

The standard icons on Android 3.0 have been redesigned for a simpler and cleaner look which should look great on the optimized 1280X760 resolution supported by the new OS.

With the Android handsets expected to serve as another remote controle for Google TV, the YouTube app on Anroid 3.0 will include the ability to control YouTube Leanback.

SIP, or Session Initiation Protocol in Google Voice will let users receive calls to Google Voice over Wi-Fi and cellular data.

Google confirmed that the new Android 3.0 "Gingerbread" will be out at the end of the year but declined further comment on the matter.

What other features do you think should be added to the upcoming Android 3.0?

[Source: Phandroid]

The Race To Topple King iPad

The iPad's success with millions already sold and many stores running out of stock in just a few mere months has had major PC manufacturers looking like wannabes.

With the initial success of Apple's iPad and the standard set so high, it's going to be a long climb before anyone can challenge the king of the hill.

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Motorola Pokes Fun At Apple

No doubt the Motorola hit the right note with consumers when they released their Droid series of smartphones. Motorola with its flagship Droid X is beginning to gain ground against Apple and its once superior iPhone. Motorola is not being brash about their new-found status but they're not being shy about it either.

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Spy Video Of Upcoming Samsung Galaxy Tab

At least the telco employee held on to his Samsung Galaxy Tab prototype. LOL! Someone got lucky and quick-minded enough to interview and secretly film the telco employee playing with what is presumably a Samsung Galaxy Tab.

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Android Motorola Droid 2 Antennagate

Could Apple CEO Steve Jobs' claim that most smartphones have antenna weak spots be true? As if to prove Steve Job's point, Verizon's newly released Android Motorola Droid 2 is having issues with its antenna's too--and it's not about holding it the wrong way.

A report from TechCrunch says "a good number of reports" from users of Verizon's new Android Motorola Droid 2 are complaining about signal problems even without touching the phone.

The report also noted that all four of the Motorola Droid 2 phones tested by Engadget in its review of the phone demonstrated "endlessly fluctuating bar counts," in addition to problems reported by two other reviewers.

Do you have antenna or other issues with your Android Motorola Droid 2 too?

India's $35 Tablet

It looks like an iPad but costs way way way way cheaper. India's HR development minister, Kapil Sibal, unveiled a $35 (roughly PhP1650) that runs on Linux but may run on the Android OS.

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Sony Ericsson Xperia X10's Mini Me's: The World's Smallest Android Phones

 The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini and X10 mini pro are declared as the world's smallest Android smartphones with a dimensions of 3.2 by 1.9 and 2.05 respectively-- approximately the size of a credit card. Small, but powerful enough.

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Swype.. It's Time To Swipe And Stop Tapping..

I woke up late in the morning, my very technogoogler friend popped a buzz and message on my screen for a new review for my Sony Ericsson Xperia X10i and for the sake of my fellow Android users. Here's my review about Swype, a new input software for Android which allows the user to swipe as a way to inputting text, keys and symbols when composing SMS, Emails, making posts and comments in Social Networking Sites or even typing an URL over the traditional way of inputting on touch screen devices. Kudos to the developer of this app, it's fun to play and use it.

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10 Areas Where The Android Trumps The iPhone OS

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