[Captivate Android Development] littlewierdo:
Right, the example given is (www. googla .com) is an example of one type of exploitation that a typo can lead to.

Another type is what is known as phishing. This is a link you might click on that appears to be valid because the information presented appears to be valid. It generally is a scare tactic.

Example:

You receive an email that says your password needs to be changed in order to access your paypal account. A link is provided in your email 'for your convenience'. The act of clicking the link could infect your PC OR a website appearing to be paypal may appear where you can type in your email address and password, at which point, they would have your login information.

The top 7 rules to follow

1. DO NOT click any links in your email.

2. DO NOT click any links in applications other than a web browser.

3. Update your software and browsers as frequently as possible (I usually check my apps twice a day and check Cyanogen during the day until I receive an update notification.

4. DO NOT surf for porn or other 'shady' web content. Stick to known good sites.

5. DO NOT perform mission critical tasks on your phone, such as checking your bank accounts.

6. Be aware of any applications you install. Each App is a potential new attack vector for someone to get your information.

7. Uninstall apps and plugins you dont use anymore. Each unused app is a new vector of attack and if you dont even use that app, why have it installed? On the PC, most people could probably uninstall Java and Shockwave for example. And I guarantee everyone here has numerous apps that could be removed from the phone that they would not miss.

I know my explanation probably scared some people. The fact of the matter is, I hope it did. I also hope that I have encouraged people to learn how certificates work and learn how to use their web browser to make sure certificates are indeed valid and how to track them.

Your cell phone is a toy, nothing more. Sure, you might think of it as a tool, the problem is, the OS is a toy (yes, sorry, Linux, Windows, OSX, IOS, & Android all fit in this category). They all are very vulnerable to poorly written code, the majority of it which comes from the web (if not 99% of it these days). And guess what your phone has a constant connection to? And can you really control what data is sent from your phone to the web? Can you really (and easily) identify what information is going out to the internet?

Once you turn that 3g / wifi connection on, every app on your phone begins to trickle data in and out of your phone, none of which you can control (easily) or even see what the contents are.

Security is NOT the most important feature, often times, it is an after thought.

Remember also, Android is relatively young as far as OS's are concerned. Even worse is that it is not written to allow Google to make critical changes to the OS in an emergency situation.

In short, use your phone for what it was meant for but keep in mind it is vulnerable to data theft.

I tell people all the time, dont put anything on the internet that you dont mind the world knowing. I dont care how safe the site is you are putting the data/pictures/videos, once it is on the web, it will be hacked eventually.

Think of your phone the same way. Use it for anything you dont mind the rest of the world potentially knowing, otherwise, keep it off your phone (I dont have any banking apps or super personal information / data on my phone other than my email account information - which is not super sensitive to me).

You wouldn't go traveling down a dark alley while holding cash in your hands, visible for everyone to see. Common sense. You should do the same with your phone.

Surf known and good 'safe' websites and stay out of murky, dark corners of the web.

Oh, and did I mention, dont click links in your email?