Quote:
Originally Posted by carpetmojo
Which leaves us open to attacks, yes ?
So basically, there is a possible danger ?
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Yes, and no. There is danger in that malicious scripts can be run in your browser and track your activity, redirect your searches, or collect your information and then "phone home" to share it. Some browsers are more vulnerable than others, generally the more common it is, the more likely it will be targeted. No one bothers directing an attack towards an obscure piece of software used by 0.5% of the market. In the Windows world they hit Firefox and Internet Explorer, and most likely the default browsers in iOS and Android.
The Android Marketplace offers anti-virus apps that run discretely on the device and scans all downloaded files for threats before allowing you to install, and they can of course also scan all data on the device if necessary. Android AV apps are a lot more common today than last year, and as Android becomes more popular it will become a bigger target, and as a result the selection of anti-virus apps will undoubtedly continue to grow.
So for any eReader running an Android OS, there is a part of your answer.
If I remember right, my Sony 950 runs a Linux based OS. Linux, like Android and unlike Windows for the longest time, separates out the part that you the user can access from the important system files that Windows XP malware targeted in order to entirely cripple a machine. That why you need to give yourself elevated command-line access in Linux before you can do certain things, and why you need to root your Android device if you want to be able to do certain things to it. Without those elevated permissions, you are very limited in what you can do to modify the devices itself. This means that it's hard for malicious software to install itself to a level where it can do real damage.
Please note that it's very easy for you to over-ride a lot of this security by telling the Android Marketplace "yes, please accept all permissions and install this". Pay attention to what the app wants to do, and when in doubt, say no!
As for using the built-in browser to buy books from other sites, that actually moves a lot of the security issues fro your device to the store website. So if you use the browser on your Sony T1 to buy from Waterstones.com, then you would enter the info into their encrypted payment page in your browser and send it over your encrypted wifi over to them. If Waterstones have even the slightest little clue about information security, they store your info on a very secure server, that is separate from the website and protected in very paranoid ways, because that's EU law and they don't want to be dragged to court over being careless about your personal information. And once it's in their possession it is now up to Waterstones to keep your information safe, and up to you to clear the cache in your device browser so that it can't be seen and used by someone who picks your pocket on a crowded bus.
Sorry if this was a bit vague. I haven't spent nearly as much time as I should on learning about these issues. If anyone out there has, please, feel free to correct any mistakes I made (and share your links!).
