Woohoo! New MP3 player!

[Mystic Muse]

Today, since my old Sony Walkman was acting up I returned it and got an IPod touch instead. It's been working out great but I had a few questions/concerns.

1. My friend said something about these being less secure than laptops for some reason, and so he hates IMing them. Is there any truth to that or is he just being a bit paranoid?
2. Me being paranoid time. There's no reason for me to be suspicious of apps is there? Or are there apps I should avoid?
3. Any particular apps I should get? Free apps specifically.

Thanks! :smallsmile:

[tyckspoon]

Everything on the Apple App Store has been checked and approved by Apple before being put up. That doesn't guarantee safety, but they are on average very safe because of it, and you can generally be pretty confident they won't wreck your Ipod.

Your friend is being paranoid.. and if he's really concerned about it, not paranoid enough anyway- IMs are not an especially secure mode of communication no matter what the devices involved are.

[Don Julio Anejo]

Considering my best friend can crack wi-fi signals in about 15 minutes and read any data transferred to and from a device... Your friend is being paranoid. Laptops are just as insecure :tongue: Although my friend is a fully certified network security consultant so he kinda does this sort of thing for a living and most people (me included) don't have the necessary knowledge or software for it.

App list:

1. Soundhound. Hold up your iPod next to a speaker and it'll ID the song in about 30 seconds. Does, however, require an internet connection so it works better as an iPhone app.

2. Skype and Facebook. Exactly what it says on the tin.

3. Mixology. All the drink recipes ever created, at your fingertips.

4. Opera Mini. A much better, faster, cleaner and sleeker browser than the built-in Safari.

Most other apps I have are jailbroken Cydia apps which may or may not work on an iPod, or me-specific app, like an app for my bank to check my balance/pay my VISA, my phone provider app to do the same thing, a Canucks app, a Bungie app to check people's Halo profiles... etc.

[Mystic Muse]

1. Soundhound. Hold up your iPod next to a speaker and it'll ID the song in about 30 seconds. Does, however, require an internet connection so it works better as an iPhone app. Hmm. Interesting anyway.


2. Skype and Facebook. Exactly what it says on the tin. I have the former and don't require the latter.


3. Mixology. All the drink recipes ever created, at your fingertips. Unfortunately, I'm not of legal drinking age so I'm not allowed to use the app. Fortunately, I found one for soda.


4. Opera Mini. A much better, faster, cleaner and sleeker browser than the built-in Safari. Okay, I'll try this one out.

Thanks for all the help!:smallsmile:

[Rawhide]

Considering my best friend can crack wi-fi signals in about 15 minutes and read any data transferred to and from a device... Your friend is being paranoid. Laptops are just as insecure :tongue: Although my friend is a fully certified network security consultant so he kinda does this sort of thing for a living and most people (me included) don't have the necessary knowledge or software for it.

Improperly secured wi-fi networks can* be cracked that quickly. Never use WEP. You should use WPA (WPA2 specifically) with a strong key.

If you're using WPA2 with a strong key, you should be protected from wi-fi snooping for the foreseeable future.

*High traffic networks, low traffic networks will take longer.

---

Instant messages on all the major networks are sent over the internet in plain text. This means that any message can easily be read by anyone along the connection path. Any of the various routers could store and/or allow your IMs to be read. This doesn't change if you use a desktop, laptop or handheld device.

---

A desktop is harder to steal than a laptop, which is in turn harder to steal than a handheld device. Handheld devices are relatively easy to misplace or steal. This may be the security he is referring to.

[Ranielle]

I mean, my computer is protected by quite a few passwords, my wifi network is as secure as I could get it to be, I've put cameras in the hallways in the house.

When I tell my "friends" about these, they ask the same question you should ask your friend: "why bother?" I do take medication for these kind of things after all. And our phonelines were tapped for a few years because of certain this and that involving dad.

So he doesn't want to IM you on your portable device because it could get .. um.. hacked? If he cares that much about it he would never say anything sensitive over IM no matter how secure he thinks it is.

This is just silly ;P

[Rawhide]

I mean, my computer is protected by quite a few passwords, my wifi network is as secure as I could get it to be, I've put cameras in the hallways in the house.

When I tell my "friends" about these, they ask the same question you should ask your friend: "why bother?" I do take medication for these kind of things after all. And our phonelines were tapped for a few years because of certain this and that involving dad.

So he doesn't want to IM you on your portable device because it could get .. um.. hacked? If he cares that much about it he would never say anything sensitive over IM no matter how secure he thinks it is.

This is just silly ;P

Are your hard drives protected by whole of drive encryption? If not, your passwords are meaningless. Even then, your data is still not 100% secure.

[Ranielle]

Are your hard drives protected by whole of drive encryption? If not, your passwords are meaningless. Even then, your data is still not 100% secure.


Yes, I'm using Symantec Endpoint Encryption, mostly because it sounds better than others. Funny thing is, I don't have anything that's worth stealing. I don't even have a credit card, yet alone sensitive information about anything. I don't have a facebook account or any other social thing either, oh well.

What I'm trying to say is, someone determined enough could steal the information, but I don't know why they'd bother. It's not like you guys IM each other state secrets or naked photos. Are you? ARE YOU?

[Rawhide]

Yes, I'm using Symantec Endpoint Encryption, mostly because it sounds better than others. Funny thing is, I don't have anything that's worth stealing. I don't even have a credit card, yet alone sensitive information about anything. I don't have a facebook account or any other social thing either, oh well.

What I'm trying to say is, someone determined enough could steal the information, but I don't know why they'd bother. It's not like you guys IM each other state secrets or naked photos. Are you? ARE YOU?

Then you've really gone overboard. Mainly because there are far easier ways to get the primary information attackers want, ways in which you have no control over and can't make secure. :smalltongue:

Still, in order for the computer to access the drive, the decryption key must be stored in memory. This is a vulnerability as the key can be lifted from a running system or through a cold boot attack. In some instances it is also possible to decrypt the drive through exploits or weaknesses.

Keyloggers, including the "evil maid" attack and hardware keyloggers, can allow an attacker another way to gain access to your passwords and/or keys.

Easier still can be guessing your password, or rather, logically working it out.

Easier still. (http://xkcd.com/538/)

[Archonic Energy]

Easier still. (http://xkcd.com/538/)

Damn it Rawhide i was thinking that...

*hides lead pipe*