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Does the Android AppLock app really Protect Your Data and Privacy?

Does the Android AppLock app really Protect Your Data and Privacy?

Needless to say, smartphones have become an integral part of our lives. Your smartphone has photos, audio/video files and other such sensitive information. Now that accounts can be integrated, by gaining access to your smartphone, hackers can also gain access to your email accounts, social media pages and other messaging channels like WhatsApp. Hence, it is important to secure your smartphone. But how?

There are security patterns and app lock apps for Android mobiles that keep our personal information safe. Most of us use the AppLock Andorid feature to lock the screens of our smartphones and even apps. The AppLock enables you to apply security layers to prevent cyber criminals and spying eyes from stealing your messages, contact details, call lists, and other app installations. Thus, by keeping your data and privacy safe, this app acts as an advance protection for your smartphones.

AppLock is useful in several cases. It protects apps from unauthorised access by allowing you to secure them using a PIN number or password. The app provides Photo Vault and Video Vault to store your files. It allows you to create several user profiles in order to change the locks easily. Along with all the features, it also prevents intruders from uninstalling apps.

However, certain vulnerabilities were spotted in the AppLock Android feature. As per security researchers, this feature fails to protect a smartphone in several cases, such as:

  • -Saving photos and videos in Vault
  • -Securing the AppLock app with PIN number
  • -Resetting the PIN number

In the first case, the files that are stored in the vault don’t get encrypted. They are rather hidden in the file system of the device. This allows intruders to gain access to the data by installing a file manager on the device. Cyber criminals will be able to replace files in the directory and gain data from the SQLite database.

In the second scenario, attackers will be able to break into the security apps lock by using brute force attacks. Hackers will also be able to remove and change the Android lock. However, to carry out this attack, the device needs to be rooted.

Coming to the third scenario. Here, hackers can reset the PIN code of the security apps lock and to the entire device by resetting the PIN number. Even when the user has not provided any email address, hackers can intercept the traffic using Wireshark and get the MD5 hash.

Users are advised against using the AppLock feature until a mitigation is provided for the vulnerabilities. Meanwhile, there are several effective app lock apps for Android available on the internet. Download
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Cyware