http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/ Engadget Comments for http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Aug 16th 2010 3:21AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password//sarc.]]>Aug 16th 2010 3:24AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Aug 16th 2010 3:29AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Aug 16th 2010 3:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/+1
]]>Aug 16th 2010 3:35AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/
Its a shocker to me too that you were shocked with this news!]]>Aug 16th 2010 3:38AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/
Shocker: Just realized that Engadget has the same colors as the Carolina Panthers.]]>Aug 16th 2010 4:00AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Aug 16th 2010 4:01AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/
Yep, this has worked for me many a time on friends phones...]]>Aug 16th 2010 4:15AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/
In your case: radioactive bamboo grove. ]]>Aug 16th 2010 4:16AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/wouldnt a matte screen protector take care of this?]]>Aug 16th 2010 4:28AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Aug 16th 2010 4:42AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/]]>Aug 16th 2010 4:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Why even bother posting this? No one's awake but we few rtards. You know what? Thank you engadget! Thank you for occupying my sleepless time. Thanks!!]]>Aug 16th 2010 4:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/probably, but so would having clean hands...]]>Aug 16th 2010 4:59AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Aug 16th 2010 5:32AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/
Yes it would. even just a regular screen protector does anyways I have one on my bh2 it never smudges. ]]>Aug 16th 2010 7:00AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Aug 16th 2010 7:40AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Aug 16th 2010 7:42AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Aug 16th 2010 7:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/
except people dont like there girlfriend looking at there phone]]>Aug 16th 2010 9:16AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Not really since after I think 3 failed attempts it locks you out for a minutes, then after another failed its 5 min, then 20 min and sometime after the 10th wrong attempt it will erase all data. (iPhone)]]>Aug 16th 2010 9:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Aug 16th 2010 10:14AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Actually there's 4^4 = 256 combinations possible if you have the 4 digits; not 24.]]>Aug 16th 2010 3:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/
My bad u r right, there's no repetition, therefore it's 4! = 24 combinations. ]]>Aug 16th 2010 3:54PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/
All of you are missing this. You can enter the same digit more than once and there are 10 possible digits to choose from every 4 times. So it's 10x10x10x10 and that my friend equals 10,000!]]>Aug 16th 2010 4:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/The smudge help u narrow down the 10 digits to 4 and since if it's 4 separate digits, u use each of them once in each combination, that's narrow further the number of possible combinations and it's 24 total. He was right :) ]]>Aug 16th 2010 4:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Aug 18th 2010 10:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Aug 16th 2010 3:22AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Aug 16th 2010 3:25AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Aug 16th 2010 3:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Aug 16th 2010 4:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Dude! You have a real mummy?! WTF?]]>Aug 16th 2010 5:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Aug 16th 2010 3:25AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/I left my phone at home when I went to work once. My wife tried to use my old password that she had seen me enter (I had changed it by that point), tryin to get in my sheeeeit. When I came home, the smudge print of my old password was on the phone and she tried to deny it.

Caught her grease-handed!]]>Aug 16th 2010 9:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/No Duh on this one! Besides, I thought the U of P was an institute of “higher learning”. Moral of the story, keep your hands and devices clean. Sayin...]]>Aug 16th 2010 11:16AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Aug 16th 2010 3:25AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/
Randomise the pattern for how the numbers appears in the grid. Example: 1,4,2,8,9,3,..

My bank does this for pin numbers.]]>Aug 16th 2010 3:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Aug 16th 2010 3:28AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/That's a pretty good idea, now only if you can get Google to listen.]]>Aug 16th 2010 3:35AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/
It *is* pretty easy to figure out the smudge patterns though. I did it on a colleague's phone recently who didn't believe it was possible. It took 2 guesses.]]>Aug 16th 2010 3:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/How about relatively simple but multiple patterns? I'd say having 3 pattern keys would make the smudge patterns useless.]]>Aug 16th 2010 4:16AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Aug 16th 2010 5:15AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Well I was specifically talking about the first image there with a PIN and numbers.
For the pattern you could set a starting orientation (with a red dot or something).

I'm guessing the smudges are only from doing the exact same pattern multiple times. Just making the user do it differently sometimes will prevent this issue.]]>Aug 16th 2010 7:28AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Thats actually a really good solution.]]>Aug 16th 2010 10:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/I have a better idea than all of you.
If you allow the dots to be selected multiple times, the pattern will cross its self and make it the swipe have many more potential patterns. The same dot could even be selected three times for much more complicated password.

Makes me think of National Treasure, when nichcage figures out the hot girl's password, even though she hit one key twice.
Nicholas Cage could still figure it out. ]]>Aug 16th 2010 11:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/Aug 16th 2010 3:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/
And they even have an iPhone in the photo, heh.]]>Aug 16th 2010 3:44AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/
The iPhone has button taps, telling you the numbers of the pin, but not the sequence.

The Android has a sliding dealio, and just by retracing the smudge with your finger you can unlock the device.]]>Aug 16th 2010 3:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/shocker-touchscreen-smudge-may-give-away-your-android-password/
On Froyo you can use PINs or a password.

Also, there's still an iPhone in the photo.]]>Aug 16th 2010 4:56AM