Naked selfies found on cell phones

[Hum]

Thousands of pictures including "naked selfies" have been extracted from factory-wiped phones by a Czech Republic-based security firm.

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."

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[McKay]

I factory wiped my old Android phone and gave it to my friend, he managed to recover every single one of them.

[compl3x]

People think delete = erase.

[Dot Matrix]

I factory wiped my old Android phone and gave it to my friend, he managed to recover every single one of them.

Doh!

[Hum]

Oh dear -- they can see my pee-pee. :blush:

[+Warwagon MVC]

Well crap, should have tried that on my eBay S3

[timster]

this is why i don't sell/give away mobile phones or hard drives. people can recover pretty much anything they want to with the right program.

[The Evil Overlord]

Darn it, I was hoping for pictures :s

[TAZMINATOR]

Darn it, I was hoping for pictures :s

 

What if it was your wife?

[Hum]

What if it was your wife?

That's how I met her :D

[The Evil Overlord]

What if it was your wife?

*makes mental note to make sure our phones are completely wiped or destroyed when we're done with them*

[Raa]

Or you could, you know, not take incriminating evidence using a phone?

[bradsday]

^ Exactly.  Don't take pictures of your junk and this won't be a problem.  Strange times we are living in - strange times.

[neowin1338]

pictures or it didn't happen

[Roger H. Veteran]

I thought this thread would have pics!

 

Son, I am disappoint! :no:

 

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Guess I will do a better job of clearing any old phones now though, not for selfies but just other data - secure data.

[Steven P. Administrators]

I think it's odd that manufacturers don't have a way to completely wipe a phone, I mean they do.. but obviously that only works to a certain extent if everything can be recovered :s

[Hum]

I thought you could zero out a phone, same as a hard drive.

[WAQT]

What if its an Android, and its encrypted, and then factory reset before selling?

[Praetor]

the problem is that people think that a factory reset is enough for them to safelly sell the phone, it was never that way. worse that finding nude photos is corporate data on them.

[LimeMaster]

Simple solution to the BIG problem that everyone is worrying about: Use a removable SD card to store your data instead of the phone's internal memory. :)

[timster]

Simple solution to the BIG problem that everyone is worrying about: Use a removable SD card to store your data instead of the phone's internal memory. :)

you're assuming that everyone uses a phone that allows a SD card to be used.

[LimeMaster]

you're assuming that everyone uses a phone that allows a SD card to be used.

Well, most phones do nowadays. Even the cheap ones have a slot for it.

[cork1958]

this is why i don't sell/give away mobile phones or hard drives. people can recover pretty much anything they want to with the right program.

"people can recover pretty much anything they want to with the right program"

 

 

Something only a total dipstick wouldn't know now a days, IMO.

 

I also don't give away or sell anything that has or can store data.

[neufuse Veteran]

Well, most phones do nowadays. Even the cheap ones have a slot for it.

ooo I gota do that with my iPhone..... *looks* wait what? </s> :rofl:

[FMH]

Racy title! :p

I think it's odd that manufacturers don't have a way to completely wipe a phone, I mean they do.. but obviously that only works to a certain extent if everything can be recovered :s

Uh-oh, Neobond is having second thoughts about selling that phone. It will be a scandal!