Millions of HTC Mobile Users Vulnerable to Cyber-Attacks

More than 18 million users of smartphones and other mobile devices made by HTC are vulnerable to cyber-attacks, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The regulator charged the mobile developer for customizing its Android- and Windows-based phones in ways that allow cyber-criminals to install dangerous software and steal users’ personal details.

The FTC identified several flaws in HTC software, including insecure implementation of two logging applications, and programming vulnerabilities that let third-party Android apps escape the permission-based filter.

“Because of the potential exposure of sensitive information and sensitive device functionality through the security vulnerabilities in HTC mobile devices, consumers are at risk of financial and physical injury and other harm,” FTC representatives said. “Sensitive information exposed on the devices could be used, for example, to target spear-phishing campaigns, physically track or stalk individuals, and perpetrate fraud, resulting in costly bills to the consumer.”

The dangerous applications can also send text messages, record audio, browse history and access information such as credit card numbers and banking transactions.

HTC agreed to develop and release software patches to fix the vulnerabilities. 

Source: http://www.bitdefender.com

Compose Your Masterpiece with Beats Trellis

It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for another free PlayStation Mobile game for your HTC! This week you play music producer with the experimental music rhythm game Beats Trellis.

Designed by Sony Computer Entertainment’s R&D division, Beats Trellis gives aspiring musicians the tools to compose short tracks while commuting to work or passing time in meetings. The “Trellis” is essentially an easy-to-use grid of musical tones used to compose your masterpiece with a variety of instruments, drum kits and breakbeats.

Visit the PlayStation Mobile Download Hub today to get your free copy of Beats Trellis.

* Playstation Mobile for HTC devices is currently available in Japan, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Australia. Availability may differ by carrier.

by Dan Lazarides via HTC Blog

Bringing Audio Speak to the Masses

There’s one in every family, the self-described audio engineer. Our eyes glaze over as they share their thoughts on the EQ settings of our car stereo or give detailed explanations about the rich, warm sound of vinyl records compared to the CD’s and MP3′s of today. Of course, we just sit back and wonder “what are they talking about?” This week, we share our guide for helping you decode the world of “audio geek speak.”





by Larry Meadows via HTC Blog

HTC Thunderbolt Gets ICS OTA Update, XDA Changelog Now Available – XDA Developer TV

HTC turns its back on the development community.This story and more are covered by Jordan, as he reviews all the important stories from this week.  Jordan talks about the other videos released this week on XDA Developer TV. The first one was a device review for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. Also, XDA Developer TV Producer TK released an app review this week for AppDialer-T9and XDA Elite Recognized Developer AdamOutler celebrates 1337 day.

Jordan talks about the new XDA change log, showing a bunch of changes that have happened at XDA over the years. Additionally, this week Jordan talks about the Ice Cream Sandwich (nope, that’s not a typo) release for the HTC Thunderbolt. Pull up a chair and check out this video.

Source: http://www.xda-developers.com

A Brief History of Photography

As smartphone photography continues to grow in both quality and popularity, it’s hard to recall the days we carried separate cell phones, cameras and video recorders. Now, your smartphone makes it simple to quickly upload and share the latest self-portrait, baby photo, or other amazing shot you didn’t miss. Let’s take a moment to reminisce over the history of photography (and give thanks that we have a lightweight HTC in our pockets instead of a Brownie camera!).





by Larry Meadows via HTC Blog

[Rumor] HTC M7 Release Date Set. When will you be Getting Yours?

Hey HTC. Didn’t you know today was BLACKBERRY DAY? No? That is fine with me. Looks like a rumor is making its way around the internet saying that their new flagship phone, the HTC M7, is set to be available on March 8th. Looks like HTC is going to try to push their baby bird out as early as possible, so let’s hope it knows how to fly. With Sony releasing their new phones, and the Galaxy S4 on the horizon, I am wondering if people are just going to look past the M7, and wait for something better. It is probably what is going to happen, but hopefully the core of “team HTC” will show up and buy that beautiful new piece of phone delight.

If that was not enough, it seems that the M7 will be coming out in two colors. Black matte, and a silver/white color. Two colors coming out at the same time? That is different. I guess we will get all the info next month at their press event. Let us know what you guys think.

Source: Android Authority

[Video] HTC! M7! Peter Chou Screams Out in this Video

The excitement is building as we inch closer to the unveiling of HTC’s new flagship, the M7. CEO of HTC, Peter Chou, got a little excited at the company’s end of the year party in Taipei today . The video below is not of the best quality, but it starts off with Chou yelling out, HTC! The crowd responds with HTC! Chou then yells out, M7! In which the crowd does the same. This goes on for a little bit, and then we see him hold up the M7. Teasing us Chou? We do not get a good look at the phone, but it something to get a little exited about. Check out the video below, and just yell with them like I did when I watched it earlier.

With million pixels and Tegra 4 processor, the new flagship HTC M7 exposured

According to Taiwan media reports, HTC will launch a higher specification flagship model codenamed HTC M7in first quarter of next year, the main competitor is directed at the Samsung GALAXY SIV which will also be launched in the first quarter of next year. HTC aspects have not responded to the message, but based on the analysis, the authenticity of the HTC M7′s can be high, because in accordance with the Taiwan media reports, HTC has asked the upstream components and chassis supplier to reserve 4- 5 million number HTC M7 components to prepare for production need in the first quarter of next year.

It is worth mentioning that there are Hong Kong media saying HTC M7 is expected to put on the market in the next year’s Chinese New Year. Therefore, if this rumor turns true, then we may be able to usher in the official release of the HTC M7 in CES2013 in early January next year.

As HTC have HTC Butterfly flagship model advented, it’

Continued Support for the Developer Community

Last week, there was some buzz about a website that contained RUUs for HTC devices being taken down at the request of HTC. We’d like to take a minute to provide some background.

The issue with the site in question was NOT that it provided custom ROMs or RUUs. The site used HTC trademarks without a license from HTC. The domain name contained ‘HTC’ and it used HTC logos, making it appear to be an official HTC website. Like any other company, we must protect our trademarks and brand. We cannot risk being associated with, and held liable for, software that we don’t have any control over that’s put onto an HTC device through a third party.

HTC openly embraces the community that chooses to flash custom ROMs onto their devices. The HTC Unlock Bootloader tool on htcdev.com evidences this support. We think the custom ROM community is valuable to the overall health of the Android ecosystem, and we have no intention of abandoning them. We love the passion of this community, and we hope you continue to build with us, use HTC products, and give us honest and direct feedback.

by Leigh Momii via HTC Blog

How to Root HTC One X