Naked Selfies Are Being Extracted From 'Factory Reset' Phones
Smartphone Users' Details Can Be Uncovered Despite Factory Reset Attempts
In these days of increasing mass panic over the security of our online lives with increasing social media engagement, a Czech security firm has made some alarming findings that will make people think twice (and maybe a third time!) before selling their used smartphone.
The Czech Republic-based security firm, Avast, have revealed that their research has seen thousands of pictures being extracted from 'factory wiped' second-hand cells amongst other data including ex-users' emails, text messages and past Google searches. Even more alarmingly, the firm stated that their extraction, from mobiles bought second hand from online auctioning site Ebay, used forensic and security tools that are available to the general public - meaning anyone that's tech-savvy enough can hack into second-hand data.
Some of the pictures extracted would be certain to leave their past owners rather red faced, including naked selfies and one phone that revealed a picture of the past owner's manhood!
This has lead to experts warning that the only way now to ensure all data is permanently deleted is to "destroy your phone."
Most smartphones now come with "factory reset" button included that is designed to wipe and reset a device returning it to its factory settings. However, Avast discovered that older smartphone models will only erase the indexing of the data, but not delete the data itself, leaving data vulnerable to prying eyes.
On hearing the news, Google has recommended that all users enable an encryption feature on their phones before applying a factory reset to ensure their data's safety. But how easy is this encryption service to use and implement?
Google has said that their encryption service has been active and available for years, however it is not enabled by default so leaves some less tech-savvy users out of the security loop and more vulnerable to attack.
Apple, however, have apparently always remained that one step ahead with encryption services in their devices coming built in to their models since their 3GS model in 2008.
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Naked Selfies Are Being Extracted From 'Factory Reset' Phones
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