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Blackphone 2 caters to the enterprise, the security-minded and the paranoid" they say, and these days, that is a slogan that just might catch your attention. It caught mine.
While much of the news coming out of MWC 2015 has been dominated by Microsoft's Lumia 640, the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, and tablets from Sony, there's always room for something a little different. Following on from the security-focused Blackphone, Silent Circle used the Barcelona event to announce the follow-up -- the Blackphone 2. The privacy-centric company has been working on the "world's first enterprise privacy platform" for some time now and the second generation Blackphone. As you would expect, there's a faster processor than before -- an 8-core beast -- as well as an upgraded 3GB RAM, a larger 5.5 inch screen and a bigger battery than before. Blackphone 2 has a $600 price tag and will be unleashed in July.
I might not be the only one frustrated with the Android-vs-Apple smartphone duopoly, and I'm sure I'm not the only one annoyed with the feeling that my phone was rooted since the moment I took it out of the box. Here's wishing good fortune to an alternative that makes security and privacy paramount.
App name: S Memo
App function: Notepad for android
App Permissions:
- read phone status and identity
- edit your text messages
- read your text messages
- record audio
- precise location
- modify your contacts
- read your contacts
- add or modify calendar events and send emails to guests without host's knowledge
- read calendar events plus confidential information
- modify or delete the contents of your USB storage
- add or remove accounts
- create accounts and set passwords
- find accounts on the device
- use accounts on the device
- modify secure system settings
- control near field communication
- full network access
- view network connections
- view wi-fi connections
- close other apps
- reorder running apps
- retrieve running apps
- run at startup
- prevent phone from sleeping
- read sync settings
- read sync statistics
- toggle sync on and off
- modify system settings
- test access to protected storage
Seriously, WTF? This is an application to write notes and save the results as a file. Why would hackers bother trying to crack the operating system when they just need to find a flaw in S Memo?Why does a note taking application require all of these permissions?
Why can't I, as the device owner, disable this application from using these permissions?
Yes. I feel like others have rooted my phone before I even used it. Perhaps a law should be passed compelling hardware and software manufactures to give users root access to all hardware and software when purchased.
Reminds me of what they have done to prevent users from accessing the computers in their car.