Author: Quik Fix Repair

Passwords are a notoriously poor way for people to get secure access to their accounts. It’s not actually passwords that are the problem, but people. Everybody likes to do things with the least amount of effort possible, and for a lot of us that includes choosing passwords. We’d like something we’ll be sure to remember, but that usually means something that’s easy for others to guess. Passwords like “password” and “123456” are so common that anyone who uses them might as well not have a password at all.

A large part of the problem is that we have so many passwords for different sites. Coming up with a different password for each site is a pain. Password managers help with this, but most phones don’t come with one already installed, so getting one and figuring out how to use it takes some effort too.

Biometrics: Better than passwords?

It’s just easy to fall into the habit of choosing bad passwords. We find it hard to imagine we’re important enough to go after. But when we find out we’re wrong, it’s bad news.

There are other phone technologies that can make security easier. The basic problem is to show that you, the person logging into an account, are the same person who opened the account. One was to do this is to examine some part of your body that doesn’t change much over time and is different for every person. This approach is called biometrics.

Fingerprinting yourself

Fingerprints are a popular choice. We have our hands on our phones all the time, so it’s not a big step to put a thumb on a sensor. Currently it’s mostly high-end phones that have these, but they’re gradually appearing in less expensive phones.

The biggest use for fingerprints is in unlocking phones. If you can keep strangers from using your phone, they can’t use it to get into your online accounts. PINs for unlocking phones have the same problem as passwords; it’s too easy to settle on obvious combinations like “1234.” Unlocking a phone with a fingerprint takes even less effort than entering a PIN, and it’s difficult to fake.

There are several different kinds of fingerprint scanners.

• The optical scanner takes a photograph of your fingerprint. It can get very high resolution compared to other methods, but it’s easier to fool by putting a picture of a fingerprint in front of it.
• The capacitive scanner works electrically. It can “see” the ridges of your fingerprint, which are in contact with the scanner, and the gaps, where your skin is a little farther away. It can recognize the difference between three-dimensional human flesh and a flat picture or even a cast.
• The ultrasonic scanner uses high-frequency sound waves to take the fingerprint’s ultrasound picture. Like the capacitive scanner, it sees a three-dimensional image, so a picture won’t fool it. This is a fairly new technology for phones, but it could offer advantages. An ultrasonic scanner can operate through metal or glass, so it can be better protected than a capacitive scanner.

Facial recognition

Some phones and financial services are following a different biometric route: taking a picture of your face. One of its simpler forms is Face Unlock on Android phones. Android says it’s not a secure feature; it’s far too easy to fool it with a still picture of the owner. A good PIN is better security.

Others, though, have come up with more secure forms of facial recognition. Its use for making payments (often called “selfie pay”) is a growing niche. MasterCard’s Identity Check requires you to blink in order to prove you’re a live person and not a picture. Amazon has applied for a patent on a similar method, though it hasn’t brought it out for public use yet.

Scanning the eye

We’ve seen movie scenes where people walk into super-secure facilities and prove their identity by staring into a device. Scanning the retina of the eye really works. The pattern of veins in the back of your eye is as distinctive as your fingerprint. It’s not the most user-friendly form of authentication, though.

A less intimidating variant is scanning the iris of the eye. This doesn’t require bringing your phone up close and staring into it while getting a flash of light in the eye. A phone can take a picture of your iris from a distance. It’s reported to give fewer false matches than fingerprint scans by a wide margin.

How secure are they?

No method of identification is absolutely secure. We can imagine science-fiction technology that can imitate a person’s appearance, voice, fingerprints, and eyes well enough to fool any security system. The question is which is the best of the alternatives.

Security depends on how good the system is at catching spoofs. It’s not hard to get your fingerprint or picture. If a crook can duplicate it in a way that’s good enough to trick a phone, your security is completely broken. You can change your password and have a different one for each account, but you have only two eyes and ten fingerprints, and you can’t change them.

Passwords, used properly, are very secure. Used badly, they aren’t secure at all. Biometrics provide pretty good security for everyone, and saddle everyone with the same weaknesses.

Perhaps biometrics will improve to the point that they’re competitive on security with the strongest passwords, and more convenient. When that happens, they may replace passwords. For now the tradeoff is a complicated one, but in a few years just looking at your phone may be the standard way of showing that you’re you.

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You need a new smartphone, but your budget is tight. Can you save money by buying a used phone? Absolutely. You just need to be careful to avoid getting a bad deal or losing your money.

Where to buy

The first question is where and how to buy the phone. Buying something from a stranger over the internet is risky. Classified ads have a lot of good deals, but there are many cheats offering stolen or damaged goods. Some will take your money and not deliver anything.

The safest way to buy a used phone is to get a refurbished one from a manufacturer or carrier. The phone will be in good shape, and you’ll usually get a warranty. If you get a previous-generation phone, you can save a fair amount.

If you’d like to save more, you’ll have to try other channels. On Amazon or eBay, you can look for a seller with a high reputation score. It’s a bit riskier than buying a manufacturer’s refurbished phone, but you might still find it acceptable. Look for someone who accepts returns.

A store or kiosk that sells used phones is another reasonably safe option. You can examine phones till you find one that you like, and you can ask all the questions you want. Just be careful of a kiosk that opened the day before or a dealer at a flea market.

Buying from a friend, or someone a friend can personally vouch for, is also pretty safe. You can ask your social network contacts if anyone’s looking to sell a phone or knows someone who is.

Buying from a stranger is a lot riskier. If you go that route, follow every step here carefully to make sure you don’t get shafted.

What kind of phone?

Do you have a preferred operating system? Some people have strong preferences for iOS or Android. An adventurous few prefer Windows phones or even Blackberries. iPhones tend to be expensive, whether new or used, but they may be worth it to you. They have fewer security problems, if only because Apple gives their owners fewer choices about where to install software from. Android gives you many choices of models, capabilities, and price ranges.

Questions to ask

If you’re buying from a private party, ask lots of questions. Just doing that will drive many scammers away. They prefer to deal with people who’ll accept a pig in a poke.

Ask for the phone’s ID number. This is called the ESN, MEID, or IMEI. You can check it with online services such as Swappa and CheckMEND for reports that the phone has been blacklisted. Stolen phones can be blacklisted, as well as ones with accounts in arrears. Not all stolen phones will show up as blacklisted, but it helps.

Ask if the battery and camera work well, and if the phone’s ever been water damaged. You won’t necessarily get honest answers, but you’ll put the seller on notice that you’re being thorough. That can help scare away the cheats.

Phones that have replaceable batteries are better bets for buying used. Check the manufacturer’s data on the model.

Ask if the phone is locked to a network. It’s not necessarily a problem if it is, but make sure that any locations you often use can get good connections to the network.

Even if it’s unlocked, make sure your preferred carrier can handle the phone. There are GSM and CDMA phones, and carriers handle one or the other. They’re two different technologies.

Buying the phone

If you buy on eBay, PayPal is the safest way to pay. PayPal Protection will help if your purchase isn’t satisfactory, and you avoid giving anybody a credit card number.

If you’re buying from an individual, arrange an in-person meeting in a public, well-lit place. That not only reduces your chances of being mugged but makes it easier for you to examine the phone. Bring cash. If possible, bring a friend with you.

Go through this checklist, taking your time:

• Check that the identification number matches the one you were given. On an Android phone, you can check by dialing “*#06#”.
• Is the battery level reasonably high?
• Does it charge when you plug in the charger? If the seller tells you the phone doesn’t come with a charger, bring your own.
• Is it free of signs of water damage or hard use?
• Are the screen and the camera lens free of scratches?
• Does the Wi-Fi work?

After you buy

Before doing anything else, do a full reset on the phone. That will get rid of nearly all malware, as well as respecting the seller’s privacy. You might be tempted not to do this because the seller told you it comes with some great apps, but it’s better to avoid the risk. This advice doesn’t apply to refurbished phones from certified sellers; whatever the phone comes with should be safe.

Install security software at the first opportunity. This is good advice in general, and it gives you an extra level of protection when you don’t know your phone’s history.

Register your phone with your carrier as soon as possible, so you’re sure it works.

Final thoughts

Buying any complicated devices used has its risks. Some ways of doing it are relatively safe; others will save you more but involve a bigger chance of being cheated. Decide how badly you need to save money and what your comfort level is.

If you want to save money but are nervous about buying used, consider buying a discontinued model. You won’t get all the power and features of the latest model, but you may get enough.

Finally, if you’re shopping because your old phone is behaving erratically, consider getting it fixed! Contact us to have your phone checked over; we may be able to get it running as well as anything you’d buy, for less money!