Tag Archive for: settings

Turn off 2 Pixel and Samsung Galaxy settings to prevent hackers from owning your phone

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Google has a Project Zero team that analyzes software and hardware, looking for exploits allowing malicious attackers to get into various gadgets. Project Zero just found one such severe vulnerability, a 0-day issue that would allow hackers to remotely control phones like the Pixel 7 and 6 series, and Samsung Galaxy phones like the Galaxy S22.

The issue resides in the Exynos modems inside those devices. Until manufacturers, Google included, patch them, users should turn off two phone features to eliminate the risk of hacks. These are VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling and shouldn’t impact your overall phone experience.

With VoLTE turned on, you’ll be placing your calls over 4G, and the feature should improve the overall quality of phone calls. Wi-Fi calling, meanwhile, helps you make calls in areas with spotty cellular reception. They’re not must-have features that you immediately think of when buying a new phone. Rather, you take them for granted, if you’re even aware of them.

Whatever the case, you can easily turn these features off from the phone’s Settings app. Once the Exynos patches start rolling in via security updates, you can reenable them.

You might not consider yourself a target for hackers, but that doesn’t mean you’re safe.

Project Zero found 18 vulnerabilities in Exynos modems from late 2022 and early 2023. Four of them are critical, including issues that would allow an attacker to control phones remotely:

The four most severe of these eighteen vulnerabilities (CVE-2023-24033 and three other vulnerabilities that have yet to be assigned CVE-IDs) allowed for Internet-to-baseband remote code execution. Tests conducted by Project Zero confirm that those four vulnerabilities allow an attacker to remotely compromise a phone at the baseband level with no user interaction, and require only that the attacker know the victim’s phone number. With limited additional research and development, we believe that skilled attackers would be able to quickly create an operational exploit to compromise affected devices silently and remotely.

These vulnerabilities are serious enough that they convinced Project Zero to delay the disclosure of the…

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How to change your computer’s settings to stop spying programs

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You can go into your PC or Mac settings and restrict to access your camera, mic, and location.

Your phone knows a lot about you. It tracks your movement, browsing habits, downloads, and more. Go here for a trick to know when your phone’s camera or microphone is being used.

You also need to worry about social media apps, voice assistants, and smart TVs from listening and recording what you have to say. Tap or click for steps to put a stop to it.

Phone apps ask permission to access your camera, mic, and location. You can go into your phone’s settings to grant or restrict these permissions. Did you know you can do the same for your PC or Mac? Here’s how:

How to change app permissions on Windows

Windows has a Privacy page where you can fiddle with your app permissions. It just takes a few clicks.

Change app permissions on Windows 11

• Go to Start > Settings > Privacy & security.

• Under App permissions, select an option (for example, Location). Then choose which apps can access it.

• You can also use the Recent activity dropdown menu for each permission to show which apps are accessing them.

Change app permissions on Windows 10

• Go to Start > Settings > Privacy.

• Under App permissions, select an option (for example, Microphone). Then choose which apps can access it.

There are many permissions on the list, including access to your calendar, files and folders, email, music library, notifications, and webcam. Consider whether an app truly needs the access level it requests by default.

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Android mobile phone privacy settings: Warning for billions of Android owners

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Mobile phone owners across the world are being warned to check their Wi-Fi settings, due to a little-known privacy concern with Android mobiles.

A viral TikTok video has revealed that simply turning off Wi-Fi on an Android device doesn’t mean it is not working, and it could still be running in the background.

WATCH IN THE VIDEO ABOVE: How to truly turn off Wi-Fi on Android phones

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TikTok star @tatechtips shared the advice in a video, advising users to check their Wi-Fi scanning settings.

“Turning off your Wi-Fi, doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve turned off your Wi-Fi,” he said.

The video went on to explain users should go to ‘Location Services’ in settings and then ‘Wi-Fi Scanning’, where an option asks if apps can ‘use Wi-Fi for location detection even when Wi-Fi is turned off’.

Billions of Android users are being warned of the little-known privacy concern.  Credit: TikTok/ @tatechtips 

“So that means when you’ve turned your Wi-Fi off, but you’ve got your scanning on, your phone is still constantly sending probe requests for Wi-Fi,” he said.

“So if you want an extra level of privacy, turn your Wi-Fi scanning off as well.”

The video has received more than 67,000 likes, with many users commenting that they had no idea the Wi-Fi could still be running in the background.

“Thank you, I’ve always wanted to turn it off but never knew how,” one user said.

“Thanks. More privacy, the better. Turn it off immediately,” another added.

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Tips for computer privacy settings on your browser, social media, and online gaming

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Some of the products written about here are offered in affiliation with AOL. We may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change.

Middle-aged Asian man using laptop work from home.

When was the last time you checked your privacy settings? (Photo: Getty)

Chances are your privacy settings are something you clicked on once and then basically forgot about it. But it’s a good idea to occasionally go back and evaluate your settings to make sure they’re still right for you.

If you don’t like how a particular site is using your information or if you’ve changed your mind about sharing certain aspects of your profile, then you can and should go back and update your privacy settings. If you’d rather not share any personal information at all, there are other ways to use the internet without giving up too much control over what happens to your data.

Software, such as System Mechanic, works to help keep your private life, well, private. The software bundle helps protect your computer by patching security holes within your device and alerting you of any compromised privacy settings. System Mechanic also helps find browser-stored passwords that are vulnerable to hacking.

Along with installing System Mechanic, you can also choose to browse the internet anonymously by opening a private browser or by turning off cookies and pop-ups for greater privacy.

Try System Mechanic for 30 days free*

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Periodically review your privacy settings to make sure they still work for you. (Photo: Getty)

Tips on privacy settings for social media

Some companies will ask permission at every point where they collect user data — including during sign-up, registration, account creation, login, purchase, and delivery. Social networking sites offer guides or “Frequently Asked Questions” about their privacy tools. Review these resources and refer to them if you have a question about how to adjust your settings on the service.

In addition, check your privacy settings across your social media sites. They allow you to choose who sees when you send messages, photos, videos, etc., and they also give you tools to manage how long those conversations stay stored on both of them.

Some social media sites also let you…

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