Hacking a phone through bluetooth

With that effect, a hacker, when you are in that favorite shopping mall, will secretly steal your vital information from your smartphone as you shop. Since Bluetooth has a very limited connectivity, he or she probably will be stalking you right behind you pretending to shop.

Be it on a bus, a shopping mall, a gas station, school or anywhere, there is a reason to stay safe by sealing all loopholes to getting hacked. To avoid this, always have your Bluetooth switched off immediately after use. Someone might be targeting you just behind your back. Set your Bluetooth to be only discoverable by only devices you have paired with before.

Always make sure your phone is regularly updated with regular system security updates. Sign in. Forgot your password? Get help. Privacy Policy. Password recovery. Technology Sage. Crowded public places are hotspots for hackers. If you must pair a device for the first time, make sure you do it at home, in the office, or in a secure area.

If a Bluetooth device that you have previously paired with gets lost or stolen, make sure you remove it from your list of paired devices. In fact, you should do this with all the Bluetooth devices this stolen or lost gadget was previously connected to. Gadgets are often rolled out with unknown vulnerabilities. These will only be discovered once buyers start using them. This is why companies release patches and critical updates for software. Updates repair security flaws that have recently been discovered and fix bugs.

Installing them helps keep hackers out. Using this technology comes with a lot of security and privacy risks. To protect yourself from hackers and viruses, you must keep your software and hardware updated.

But which devices need to be updated? Loraine has been writing for magazines, newspapers, and websites for 15 years. She has a master's in applied media technology and a keen interest in digital media, social media studies, and cybersecurity. But you can bet the baddies are already at work reverse-engineering this month's Android patch to try to find what got fixed and how to exploit it.

Paul Wagenseil is a senior editor at Tom's Guide focused on security and privacy. He has also been a dishwasher, fry cook, long-haul driver, code monkey and video editor. He's been rooting around in the information-security space for more than 15 years at FoxNews.

Hey, Android users: You might not want to use Bluetooth in public for a while, because there's a serious flaw that could let anyone within Bluetooth range -- say, in a subway car, on a busy street or in a parking lot -- wirelessly hack your device without your knowledge.

Paul Wagenseil. If the cybercriminals can replicate a trusted network , they can trick your device into connecting to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices that they control. The hackers can then bombard your device with malware, spy on you and even steal your data from your text messages and apps. Once a smartphone has been compromised, the hacker can intercept and redirect phone calls, access bank details, send or receive files or simply watch what you are doing in real time.

Bluebugging is often performed in busy public places, often where there are a lot of routine commuters. Choosing a busy place allows them to remain undetected and to monitor the same devices which pass by regularly.

Hackers may also choose places where people linger for several hours like cafes, pubs and restaurants.

Dorset Police recently discovered an instance of bluebugging in the busy seaside town of Bournemouth. Local residents began reporting incidents where they were receiving automated messages and files from unknown senders as they walked through the city.

Dorset Police issued some guidance to Bournemouth residents — advice that we can all use to avoid becoming victims of bluebugging. First, disable Bluetooth on your devices whenever it is not in use.