Android Devices Are More Vulnerable Than BlackBerry And iOS Devices To Hide Personal Data

If you are currently using either Android devices or Windows XP PC or both, and you want to get rid off from your devices in future, then I suggest that you don’t do this. If you are thinking that you have restored your devices into the factory condition by following all the instructions provided by the manufactures, then it might be your misconception. These devices are unable to delete your personal data permanently and resulting your personal data are often being retrieved by third party to whom you have sold your device.  However, if you are using BlackBerry or iOS devices (like iPhone and iPad), then you should not to be worried if you are planning to sell. Trust me, it’s not possible to delete all personal information from Android and Microsoft Windows XP devices, even if you are carefully following all the instructions provided by the manufacturers.

Identity theft expert of McAfee—Robert Siciliano—said, “One guy asked me to log him out of Gmail if he was still logged in. I had no idea how naive some people can be. What’s really scary is even if you follow protocol, the data is still there.  BlackBerrys were totally impenetrable. RIM has fantastic software. They did a really good job of destroying data when you reset the factory settings. Put it in the back of a closet, or put it in a vise and drill holes in the hard drive, or if you live in Texas take it out into a field and shoot it. You don’t want to sell your identity for 50 bucks.”

Robert Siciliano bought 30 electronics devices from Craigslist—mostly Smartphones and Laptops—to investigate how really the folks are removing its personal details before selling the devices to third party. According to Robert, folks are generally not more precautious about the security issues which might be happened with them while the device will go to other’s hand.  Robert endeavored to hack these devices with his own effort as well as took the help from forensic expert. Astoundingly, the data he gathered from the 15 devices (Android and Windows XP) were related to the bank account information, Social Security numbers, child support documents, credit card account log-ins and a host of other personal data.

However, he found that devices powered by BlackBerry, iOS and Windows 7 OS were effectively wiped out all personal data from the devices—as followed by the manufacturers’ instructions. Are you still thinking that your data are safe after removing the SIM card from your Phone?  By removing the SIM card, you can only protect your contact list, nothing more than that, but your all personal information will remain stuck with your Phone.