tube fanatic Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Really interesting (and scary) bit of information: https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q8xz8xKEFvU Maynard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 WOW, thanks for the link Maynard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 I think I have one of these app's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 another reason to be happy smart phone less Thanks for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 I clicked "Don't Allow" when it asked thinking why does Flashlight need to know my location? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iRONic Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Christ... Same here, Joe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Now I need to get rid of one of the most useful apps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Luckily my phone came with a flashlight so no need to download. As far as feeling safe by clicking don't allow goes, malware doesn't need your permission for anything. That's probably just a red herring and it's going to get whatever info it wants with or without your allowing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2point1 Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 I wonder how many other apps are like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iRONic Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Now I need to get rid of one of the most useful apps. My wife just deleted the one she had and installed the small-file one that the security guy in that video recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Just deleting don't work...guy sais reset phone. Thanks for posting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iRONic Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Just deleting don't work...guy sais reset phone. Thanks for posting If we had noticed any of the questionable activity he mentioned (GPS turning itself on) I would have done the factory reset. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 This is good information and probably is true. The bad thing is the other 100+ apps on our phones. I would bet many do the same or similar things, and sell the information. Take the supposedly harmless Lowe's for instance. Their app does something very similar and tracks users, changes phone settings, and collects personal information and circulates and sells it whether it is in use or not. It does tons more. Read the license agreement. Our company started developing apps and used Lowe's license agreement (the little box where you check I AGREE) as an example of what some of these apps do. I have the flashlight app and will probably do nothing...............because of all the others. This is nothing new and will continue. Bad news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sputnik Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Maybe/maybe-not (check Snopes link). Seems like most of those cool free apps are extracting information for commercial purposes anyway - nothing is really free. Maybe no crimminal aim, these things are probably used to target marketing but then again......it's kinda scary that there are so many hidden things happening on our wireless systems I have a Google phone but still mostly use my ol' Blackberry and I'll remain a luddite - modern e-commerce seems to have evolved into such a dirty business. http://www.snopes.com/computer/internet/flashlight.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzydog Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 I talked with my IT guy who believes this is most likely an issue with Android devices. Apparently Apple keeps tighter control of apps available through iTunes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Thanks for the information. I shared it with my high school son and one of his buddies. I didn't have the app, but I used to on an older phone. As Carl said, flashlight is built in now days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.