Post by smsPost by joeThat sounds like an android device is an open book to any miscreant who
wants to steal your data or hack your machine. Another reason to avoid
android devices.
You have to unlock your Android device in order to view the file system
on a computer.
Wrong!
Please don't say such things, particularly on an Apple newsgroup because
the Apple Apologists have no concept of fact (they get all their 'facts'
from Apple Marketing brochures), so they never ever double check
what fits absolutely beautifully into their imaginary belief system.
Every one of those screenshots I provided are on an un-rooted Moto G
that I just started to use (it was one of the gift phones of years ago
handed back to me to play with).
Loading Image...You'll note that, since this is an Apple newsgroup, it's filled with
children who nit pick since they can't prove any of their imaginary believs
otherwise, so I always said "visible" when I mentioned the file system.
1. An unjailbroken iOS device has almost no visible file system to access
2. An unrooted Android device has plenty of visible file system to access
3. A rooted iOS or Android device has almost all the file system visible
The level of visibility depends only on whether you're root (where you can
see everything) or if you're not root (in which case you can still see far
more than you can on iOS - and - in fact - you can see all that you /need/
to see).
Again, this USB screenshot of the visible file system is on an un-rooted
stock Moto G, where my experience is the same with /all/ Android phones.
http://wetakepic.com/images/2018/03/04/android_usb_on_windows.jpg.
It's the same visible file system over Wi-Fi (AFAIK):
http://wetakepic.com/images/2018/03/04/android_ftp_on_windows.jpg
Of course, I've also unlocked Android (which is trivial to do on my S3),
which then garners me access to everything, e.g., the /etc/HOSTS file, for
example, so that I can slide the hosts file from Windows over to Android.
Post by smsYou can see the difference between how it looks, on Windows, for a
locked versus unlocked device at <http://oi66.tinypic.com/1z4ew06.jpg>.
I realize from that screenshot that you skipped a step. If you put any free
FTP server on your Android phone, and then right click on Windows to "add a
network location", you can access all of the visible file system on
Android, over Windows, without putting a spec of software on Windows.
Post by smsThe security of your device, whether iOS or Android, is as secure as you
choose to make it.
Not really. They're all insecure. The weakest links are all the same.
And there's nothing realistic you can do about it.
Post by smsAs with iOS, on Android devices you can use
biometrics or use a code (with Android you can also use a pattern) to
unlock your device.
All you guys think everyone is going to go frontal on your phone.
That's like thinking the burglar is going to come down the chimney instead
of sneaking through the back door.
Sure, /some/ burglars sneak in through the chimney ... but that's not your
major threat.
Post by smsLow end Android devices lack a fingerprint scanner, but mid-range
devices (generally $150 (unsubsidized) and up) do usually have one, as
of course do the flagships. I.e. our favorite nym-shifter likes the LG
Stylo 3 Plus which costs about $210 unsubsidized, and has a fingerprint
scanner; the LG Stylo non-Plus (about $120) also has one (but lacks fast
charging and NFC).
I bought a bunch of those back-fingerprint 32GB $130 octocore LG Stylo 3
Plus phones, and I may still get one at $150 at the local T-Mobile store
(if it's still on sale), where, at that price, it has better features than
the $300 128GB iPad I just bought and which will arrive later this week.
Post by smsThe most secure biometric used on phones is iris scanning, but that is
not that common on phones, followed by fingerprint scanning. The least
secure biometric is face recognition, which has both the highest false
rejection rate AND the highest false acceptance rate.
Ummm.... I don't even use a PIN on my current Moto-G hand-me-down phone.
That circa 2014 phone can do things that no iOS device can hope to do.
http://i.cubeupload.com/ZkqbqI.jpg
Post by smsEven companies that use face recognition have issue multiple warnings
that it is not as secure as other biometrics, period.
Face it. Face recognition is a marketing gimmick for easily fooled fools.
Post by smsWhat you really want to do is to ensure that whatever device you choose,
on whatever operating system, has either a fingerprint reader or an iris
scanner, and that if it's an iris scanner that it can be set to use iris
scanning ONLY.
What's wrong with a six-digit pin?
Post by smsThe Samsung S9 reportedly uses a combination of facial
recognition and iris scanning that is less secure than iris scanning
only, but face recognition is easier for the user, and faster than iris
scanning. Fortunately you can always just use the fingerprint scanner.
On devices without a fingerprint scanner you can still us a pass code,
though this is less secure than a fingerprint scanner.
Not really. They can't get a passcode from an unconscious or unwilling or
dead person, while they can get a fingerprint from all three (if they
hurry).