Naked selfies extracted from 'factory reset' phones

The firm, called Avast, used publicly available forensic security tools to extract the images from second-hand phones bought on eBay.

Other data extracted included emails, text messages and Google searches.

Experts have warned that the only way to completely delete data is to "destroy your phone".

Most smartphones come with a "factory reset" option, which is designed to wipe and reset the device, returning it to its original system state.

However, Avast has discovered that some older smartphones only erase the indexing of the data and not the data itself, which means pictures, emails and text messages can be recovered relatively easily by using standard forensic tools that anyone can buy and download.

The company claims that of 40,000 stored photos extracted from 20 phones purchased from eBay, more than 750 were of women in various stages of undress, along with 250 selfies of "what appears to be the previous owner's manhood".

There was an additional 1,500 family photos of children, 1,000 Google searches, 750 emails and text messages and 250 contact names and email addresses.

The company said: "Deleting files from your Android phone before selling it or giving it away is not enough. You need to overwrite your files, making them irretrievable."

It was not made clear by Avast whether they extracted data from all 20 phones.

Destroy the phone

Google responded that Avast used outdated smartphones and that their research did not "reflect the security protections in Android versions that are used by the vast majority of users".

It was recommended by Google that all users enable encryption on their devices before applying a factory reset to ensure files cannot be accessed.

This feature, said Google, has been available for three years, although it is not enabled by default, which could leave less tech-savvy users open to attack.

Apple has had built-in encryption for its hardware and firmware since the release of the iPhone 3GS.

The hardware encryption is permanently enabled and users cannot turn it off.

Additional file data protection is available, but must be turned on in the settings menu.

Independent computer security analyst Graham Cluley said that if a user is serious about privacy and security they should make sure their device is always "protected with a PIN or passphrase, and that the data on it is encrypted".

However, Alan Calder, founder of cybersecurity and risk management firmIT Governance, told the BBC that erasing data, even after it has been encrypted, will not be enough to completely protect your device.

"Google's recommended routine for protecting the data only makes it harder for someone to recover the data - it does not make it impossible," he said.

"If you don't want your data recovered, destroy the phone - and that has been standard security advice, in relation to telephones and computer drives, for a number of years. Any other 'solution' simply postpones the point at which someone is able to access your confidential data."

eBay hacked: 230 million told to change passwords after major cyber attack

On Wednesday morning, eBay told its users to change their passwords. The online auction house and retailer announced in a press release that it had been hacked.

Hackers gained unauthorized access to a database that included eBay customers' names, home addresses, dates of birth and encrypted passwords. eBay said that financial information like credit card numbers were stored separately and were not compromised. Encouragingly, the company said it has seen no fraudulent activity as a result of the hack.

The cyberattack took place between late February and early March of this year, but eBay only detected it two weeks ago. The company plans to email customers about the security breach and tell them to change their passwords on eBay and any other website where the same password is used.

The compromised passwords were encrypted, so it's unclear if the hackers are able to read them and use them elsewhere online. The cyberattack also swept up details like names and addresses, which could potentially be used to commit fraud outside of eBay.

When asked how many people were affected by the attack, eBay referred the Huffington Post to a webpage that simply states the company is asking all 145 million of its active buyers to change their passwords.

It's generally good password hygiene not to use the same password on different websites. But for eBay customers who have doubled up, the company is recommending you change your password on both eBay and all other sites where that same password was used.

Cyberattacks can have a chilling effect on online customers, who must trust retailers with sensitive financial information to do business. Discount retailer Target has struggled to recover from a data breach discovered during last year's holiday shopping season, in which the credit card and debit card records of millions of customers were stolen.

Since December, profits for the retail chain have fallen and its CEO has resigned.

eBay also said that it does not want to speculate on who committed the attack while it's working with law enforcement. (Huffington Post)

How to get back on eBay suspended accounts

Traffic flows through eBay. That's a tough pill to swallow. Say it again- Traffic flows through eBay.They are ranked number 1 through Alexa Rankings and number 2 is a distant second. If you have something to sell, the hardest part is finding someone to buy it and that's what eBay is great at providing. They have buyers. For whatever reason your eBay account was closed or suspended and now you have inventory to move or stuff cluttering up your attic and no one to buy it. This lens will take you through the steps you need to follow to get back onto eBay anonymously, sell your product, and get paid.

Cliff Notes

1.Clear Cookies (incl. Flash)
2.Delete old eBay files
3.Get a Gmail Account
4.Get a T Mobile Rocket
5.Get a Mastercard/VISA
6.Get a cell/virtual phone #
7.Setup Bank Acct
8.Setup New User Accts
9. Setup Paypal
10. Setup eBay Acct

Youre Done!

Table of Contents

1. Cliff Notes
2. Get Help
3. Background
4. How do they track you?
5. Get a Gmail Account
6. Get a new ip address
7. Anonymous Credit Card
8. Set up your Cell Phone
9. Set up your Bank Account
10. Set up your Paypal
11. Set up your eBay account
12. Start Selling....Slowly
13. New Guestbook Comments

Get Help

Punch the words “eBay account closed” or “suspended by ebay” into any search engine and page after page of different sites pop up, offering to sell you any number of ebooks on how to get your accounts reinstated or create anonymous ebay accounts. I admit, I’ve fallen for them and even once paid 49.99 to try and gleam the tinyest bit of new information to try and gain an edge.

What I discovered is that I had figured it out all on my own and never needed to pay any money to read about something that I already knew. I will pass this knowledge on to you for FREE. What I am going to do here is to detail the steps I took to create 4 “stealth” eBay accounts. I have maintained these accounts for well over a year now and get paid through Paypal on each of them.

Background

In the new eBay world of the DSR, the small business seller is gradually getting pushed out. The rules we sellers must follow are gradually changing to coerce us to leave. The stubborn ones that refuse to leave,get forced out eventually. This will happen to everyone. I have personally spoken to 10 year powersellers who have had their accounts closed or suspended for various made up reasons. Now my momma used to say that there are 3 sides to every story: Your side of the story, their side of the story, and the truth which is somewhere in the middle. In the cases I’m referencing, these sellers were not in the wrong and have been forced out due to eBays desire to be more like Amazon.

There are many reasons eBay will limit or suspend your account and they all start with the word “unfortunately”. When you see or hear that word you are guaranteed to have a problem on your hands. These reasons range from moving into an apartment where someone was previously suspended to logging on from a computer that is on their banned list (ip address). If you are associated with someone that has been banned you will soon find yourself banned.

How do they track you?

This is step one. How do they know you are you? Once you figure this out you can work it from there. I have figured it out but this is an everchanging world so what currently works today may not work if you are reading this 6 months from now. The number one way they track you is through cookies.

( A cookie is defined by wikipedia as follows : A cookie, also known as an HTTP cookie, web cookie, or browser cookie, is used for an origin website to send state information to a user’s browser and for the browser to return the state information to the origin site. The state information can be used for authentication, identification of a user session, user’s preferences, shopping cart contents, or anything else that can be accomplished through storing text data on the user’s computer.)

They leave these on your computer and even use Adobe Flash Player cookies in case you get wise and clean your cookies after closing your browser each time. The work around for this is to create a new user account on your computer and only use that user account to access your corresponding ebay or Paypal account. You see, the cookie is left on one user account but is not transfered to all of them. It stays with that one user account, so theoretically you can create 10 different user accounts and have 10 different ebay accounts and ebay would be none the wiser. I highly recommend that you create some sort of spreadsheet to track your user accounts, ebay user names, and passwords if you are going to have more than one. I would also recommend you use your ebay store name as your user account name to cut down on the confusion. For example. I would create a user account named samsstuff and my ebay handle would be sammsstuff. That way if I create sallysstuff it will never get confused with sammsstuff. Following so far? Great.

Get a Gmail Account

This is the easiest part of the whole process. Everything you are about to register will require an email address. Yahoo and Hotmail can work but I chose Gmail because eBay and Paypal will track your emails through whats called a web beacon. This is an image that accompanies the email message that tracks the ip reading it and can possible do many other things that Im not aware of. In order to avoid this, I chose Gmail as the standard setting disables web beacons.

Get a new ip address

One other way they track you is by your ip address. Your ip address is like your mailing address at your house,only it tells eBay and Paypal who this computer is and when the ban you or suspend you,they are really suspending your ip address.. Now a lot of these online e-books will tell you to reset your ip address by unplugging your modem each time you log on. That does work but its a pain in the rear, so what I’ve chosen to do is to go to Walmart, and purchase a T-Mobile rocket. Its a prepaid usb laptop stick but I use it on my desktop to run an alternate account. Now I would probably recommend you use a rocket for each unique account as Ive tracked the available ip address that it uses and it has used the same one more than once. Its a lot safer to have a unique computer with a unique rocket running your business. That being said, the rocket is fast enough for what you need to accomplish here and it allows for complete anonymity.

Anonymous Credit Card

You are going to need an anonymous credit card to use with ebay in order to sell. The Green Dot/Walmart cards require a social security number and name match in order to register so they WILL NOT work. Your only option for complete anonymity is a VISA / Mastercard gift card. The vanilla card works as do many others. Just register a fictitious name and address. Remember to write this down as you will be asked for it in the future and Paypal will bill your card and ask you for a code from the statement in order to lift withdrawl limits.

Set up your Cell Phone

There are a couple ways you can do this. I chose to go out and buy the cheapest prepaid phone they offer and registered it online with the email address and fictitious name I created. Another way is to set up a virtual phone number. Just google it and many options will come up. Once you have this number,you will need it to confirm your Paypal account and deal with customers.

Set up your Bank Account

This was a no brainer for me. I chose Chase Bank. Simply because anyone can set up an account online and they do not match deposit names to accounts. It only takes 25.00 to open it. The account is free and they will even send you a debit card. I chose to open multiple accounts so I can swap my Paypal withdrawls to one account at Chase and not through Paypal.

Set up your Paypal

Set up your Paypal account with the same fictitious name and address you have used on the credit card and Gmail account. You will need to go through the confirmation process to become verified with the new phone and then link your new bank account info. Once you start getting some income into Paypal, you will need to lift your withdrawl limits by verifying your Credit Card. Paypal will charge a small amount to your card and then ask you for their merchant code off of your billing statement. With many credit cards you can get this info online (providing you registered) and if not, you can always call their customer service line to get the code. Once this is done you are all set.

Set up your eBay account

Now that you have your new phone number and your credit card setup. You should also have your web stick in place with your computer completely cleared of all old cookies and any old ebay management programs.You are ready to open your ebay account. First , make sure you have yourself logged on as the new user account you plan to use for this business. Now log onto eBay and sign up as a new customer. Pick the ebay handle that will match the user account you created and use your fictitious name. Make sure you act like a beginner and read the FAQ’s and poke around a bit once you have completed the signup process.

When you decide to sell whatever it is you are selling, be sure to take all new pictures. Do not use your old pics. You dont want to link anything from the new account to the old account. I would also stay away from VERO items at first. Remember you need to work slowly and safely. This can be a great thing and last you a long time if care is taken with the setup. You will have to list your credit card info in order to sell and you will also have to list your Paypal address to get paid.

Start Selling....Slowly

Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare? Sell your stuff slowly. You are supposed to be a new user. If you have set up multiple accounts, you will still get to sell an awful lot. Don’t go out and list 2000 dollars worth of ipods and don’t list any VERO items. You know what got you into trouble the last time so just don’t do it again and you should be all set. Please ask me any questions you might have and Ill try to help as best I can.