If you have an Android phone, and you use Viber, you need to read this

BY Stefan Constantinescu

Published 26 Apr 2013

A countless number of OTT (over the top) messaging clients exist. People don’t want to pay for text messages, so they install something like WhatsApp, and then call it a day. One of the more popular services, one that even I use, is called Viber.

Viber works on a variety of platforms, and a massive security flaw has just been discovered in the Android client. If someone has access to your phone, and they know your phone number, they can bypass your lock screen. In order to prevent this from happening, you should disable pop-up notifications.

Ars.Technica has several videos demoing the hack, but I’m going to embed just one below. Reminder: For this to work, someone needs physical access to your phone. And you know how I feel about that. Once someone has your device in their procession, getting access to the sensitive information inside is usually an incredibly easy proces.

What’s Viber got to say about this? According to a statement given to Android Community, the company is fully aware of the problem and they plan on updating the app next week. They’ve known about the problem since Wednesday (today is Friday), and they’ve been working around the clock to get this problem resolved.

[Image Credit: Jon Choo]