[Guyzer]

my friends an avid android user. tablet and phone.

just got a spam text from my friend. it said "you better be ready for it youll understand why ive been trying to tell you about this h". It was trying to dupe me into replying but the number it came registered from was different than from my friend.

gave him a call he told me there a few others he contacted unknowingly with the same message.

GO BB!!! could never imagine this happening, yet i keep reading about it in android, and for the first time just experienced it first hand. doubt this will be my last exp as well.

BB FTW

[guerllamo7]

Guyzer,
I'm sorry your friend experienced this. I'm very happy with BlackBerry security but I certainly don't enjoy reading anyone getting hacked.

I hope they catch the creep that did this but chances are not great.

[howarmat]

Actually this is the kind of thing JARED CO does with their apps for BB

[auto208562]

With the limited info, there's no evidence that its an android issue. There are many instances of gmail, yahoo, etc malware which reads the contact list and sends out spam messages.

Its happened to me and I am on a bb. Doesn't mean my bb was hacked. Could be from any machine I used whether its malware, or even user error.

[Stewartj1]

Your friends private information and that of his friends has been compromised. That really sucks no matter how you look at it.

[Bla1ze]

Hate to break it to ya, but I've had BB apps do this on more then one occasion. Spam text messages, emails, logging back to their servers.. Can and does happen on just about any platform, don't ever think just because you're using a BlackBerry it can't happen. That's fundamentally flawed logic and dangerous behavior if you value you personal information.

[tr1ad]

don't be such a fanboy op

it happens to any platform
could even be a google issue and most android contact lists are synced with google / gmail

[TheScionicMan]

The SPAM guys have your contact info now as well... LOL

[wout000]

Depending on what orginated the message he could either be hacked or have downloaded an app that does this.

Either way, there's mobile malware out there and statistics show it's abundant for Android devices.

Best protection is still the user. READ before you click ok when an app asks you to have permissions for something.

[omniusovermind]

Did you race home to type this as soon as it happened, or did you take the time to change into some spider man jammies and watch star trek over a bowl of capt crunch cereal?

[BoldPreza]

I fail to see why this warrants a LOL. People getting hacked is never a funny thing. Who knows how much has actually been compromised.

[guerllamo7]

I think the OP is just pointing out that BlackBerry is still the most secure device out there. Howarmat and Bla1ze say it happens to BlackBerry as well but I say that every single app I've installed asks me if I want to give it trusted app status and android does not.

If I say no then there is no way for the app to get to my contacts or anything else. Therefore BlackBerry is more secure than android or iPhone on this respect and others.

The OP's point is correct in my view. It is by far more secure than any other platform. However, as I mentioned before, I hate to see any mobile user get hacked and to the point made by wout000, no device is completely safe (even BlackBerry) and actually managing your access and apps is the best protection.

On this point of security I read that an eight character password with numbers and UC/LC combination takes about three years to break. Regardless of the precise amount of time, the point is that it is very, very, very difficult to break into it.

Howarmat and Bla1ze are moderators. I've yet to read one post by them where they just pour love on BlackBerry. After Bla1ze posted those pictures on the Bold 9930 I almost did not get it but then someone else posted theirs and they looked great. After having taken a thousand pictures with my Bold 9930 I'm glad I got it. Both video and pictures are awesome. I guess they are Dragnet types "Just the facts, ma'am".

The fact that the OP may be wrong about the specific instance does not negate his larger point, which is correct. BlackBerry is the most secure mobile device in the world and that is just a fact.

[ichat]

I would love laughing on this but I don't want to for only two reasons:

A) hacking just isn't good
B) bb can have this too so just keep it quiet before we have a great big endless debate on this.

*eyes rolling*

You overkilled this one man.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9860 on 7.1.0.342 with Tapatalk and my fingers

[avt123]

I think the OP is just pointing out that BlackBerry is still the most secure device out there. Howarmat and Bla1ze say it happens to BlackBerry as well but I say that every single app I've installed asks me if I want to give it trusted app status and android does not.

Android tells you EXACTLY what permissions the app is requesting. It is up to the user at that point to realize it's not good that a calculator app (example) is asking permission for your contact list.

Howarmat and Bla1ze are moderators. I've yet to read one post by them where they just pour love on BlackBerry.

Moderator doesn't mean rabid fanboy.

[pantlesspenguin]

Android tells you EXACTLY what permissions the app is requesting. It is up to the user at that point to realize it's not good that a calculator app (example) is asking permission for your contact list.



Moderator doesn't mean rabid fanboy.

Quoted for truth.

[jacobmathias]

Quoted for truth.

Oh yeah! Truth.

[sk8er_tor]

With Android, the problem is that an app can just take your address book without the user's approval; that been documented many times. This same thing also happened on the iPhone as well. I know many people will say the app has to get permission but these apps are not asking for permission.
With BlackBerry, you've always had to have the user's approval when granting permission to the address book.

[BoldtotheMax]

With Android, the problem is that an app can just take your address book without the user's approval; that been documented many times. This same thing also happened on the iPhone as well. I know many people will say the app has to get permission but these apps are not asking for permission.
With BlackBerry, you've always had to have the user's approval when granting permission to the address book.

Did you even bother to read any of the responses in here? An Android tells you exactly what it is requesting. It is up to the end user to download it. So find an app that don't request it....simple enough.

I have had 4 different Androids and not once had a problem. I download apps I know don't request stupid stuff. Problem solved!

Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using Tapatalk 2

[Stewartj1]

Did you even bother to read any of the responses in here? An Android tells you exactly what it is requesting. It is up to the end user to download it. So find an app that don't request it....simple enough.

I have had 4 different Androids and not once had a problem. I download apps I know don't request stupid stuff. Problem solved!

Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using Tapatalk 2

Words to live by regardless of platform, even your laptop.

[Tõnis]

I'm with you, op. I have a BlackBerry, and no app is doing this to me. BlackBerry, ftw!

[hornlovah]

Did you even bother to read any of the responses in here? An Android tells you exactly what it is requesting. It is up to the end user to download it. So find an app that don't request it....simple enough.

No, Google "capability leak android." Sophisticated malware won’t ask for permissions, it will invoke another program that already has these permissions. The upside is that some of the Android malware protection apps are doing a good job at quickly detecting malware. Av-test.org recently reviewed 41 Android virus scanners, and about ten of them did very well. I use avast! on the Evo, and it has a ton of really nice features. It's just a matter of staying informed, and taking the necessary steps to protect your phone and your contacts.