Is bluetooth safe to use?

[alien monkey]

Just a question to anyone...:(

[Michael]

Is it safe in what regard?

If by safe you mean: Will women see you wearing a Bluetooth headset and think, "oh my god, what a geek!" and therefore not come and talk to you, thereby keeping you from ever finding a mate and bringing the ultimate end to your chances of passing on your genes to future generations?

Yes, it will. In that case, it is unsafe.

[Shun]

Nothing is completely safe.

Bluetooth claims to has better "frequency hopping" than WiFi, and a very strong encryption algorithm.

My advise is to turn off the all "Discovery" features, and turn it off completely when not in use.

[alien monkey]

I say safe...as have read report that the bluetooth link 'might' be hackable!

I was just trying to get some more in depth info. Mainly because i recently bought a Z600 which has bluetooth functuinality and was considering purchasing a earpeirce.

[Shun]

How safe? Quite subjective, so I've includes a caution remark.

Bluetooth is not "might be hackable", it is hackable! The only unhackable data transmission technology known is Quatumn transfer, :)

Like all technology, it depends on the user to make the thing as safe as possible, eg. by turning off features when not in use.

Sorry, I really can't tell you that it is safe, neither will I say it is unsafe.

For more information about Bluetooth, take a look at www.bluetooth.com, www.bluetooth.org or www.widcomm.com.

[francisofarabia]

Originally posted by Michael
Is it safe in what regard?

If by safe you mean: Will women see you wearing a Bluetooth headset and think, "oh my god, what a geek!" and therefore not come and talk to you, thereby keeping you from ever finding a mate and bringing the ultimate end to your chances of passing on your genes to future generations?

Yes, it will. In that case, it is unsafe.

UNTRUE

i have been approached by some girls asking me how good is my jabra bt200....:D

it can be used as a conversational piece, ya know!

[Michael]

Just make the phone non-discoverable, and you will be fine.

It is hard to hack something that can't be detected.

Security through obscurity, so to speak.

[Jay McCreery]

I'm a bit of a newbie with this technology, so please excuse my ignorance. I thought Bluetooth has a range of only 30 feet. Are you worried about getting hacked by all those people within 30 feet of your device? What am I missing here? I am more concerned about getting zapped by the radio waves. In close proximity to my computer, I can hear the Bluetooth signal through the speakers, so what's it doing to me?

[Shun]

There isn't much reason at this moment, you only needs to worry about your competitors, your wife or girlfriends checking your contacts, messages and schedule and etc. To listen to conversation, a simple signal amplifier will do at close range.

However, phones are getting smarter and Bluetooth with range of 100m is going to appear on phones, hacking Bluetooth enabled phones will becomes much more popular soon.

BTW, none of my speaker react to class 2 bluetooth (10m) signal, even if they are just 10cm apart.

[alien monkey]

I am considering buying either a headset device or a handsfree device for the car, thats why i ask whether its 'safe'. I dont know much about bluetooth tech if anything thats why i ask.

Therefore if i buy a bluetooth headset or car-handsfree kit and as long as i switch it on only when i need it and remember to switch it off when not in use i should be Ok then, is that right?:confused:

Can anyone suggest a reasonable priced bluetooth device? Either for the car or headset.

I have a Z600.

[Michael]

Don't bother switching it on and off, just make it not discoverable. I think the Z600 calls it "visibility" or something.

[Shun]

An old news cross my mind this morning, about bluetooth flaws in mobile phones - http://news.com.com/2100-1009_3-5155927.html?tag=st_lh

The article wrote:-

some models--including a handful of Nokia phones--are at greater risk because they invite attack even when in "invisible mode," according to AL Digital.

"On some models of phone, you are only vulnerable to attack if you are on visible mode; however, there are other models of phones where you are vulnerable even in nonvisible mode," said Adam Laurie, chief security officer at AL Digital.

[kadamontaga]

That's worrying. Does anyone know if the 6230 is one of the more vulnerable handsets?

[gangstar]

I think the newer phones suc as Does anyone know if the 6230 is one of the more vulnerable handsets?

I think the newer phones such as the 6230 and the symbians have more bluetooth security, its the older T68i's and S55's you gotta worry about.

**I might be wrong though**

[Shun]

It's not the fault of Bluetooth, the security isn't that bad.

The problems lies in the implementation, so older phones does not necessarily has poorer security than newer phones. For example, in my test, T68i seems to have better implementation than some newer SE phones.

If done correctly, it should be quite safe as long as you make your phone "invisible". However, turn off Bluetooth when not using it to get the maximum protection if you are not sure.

PS: Only Nokia phones was mentioned in the report to have problems in "invisible" mode, other brand was not told, so please don't attack other brand unnecessary.

[cdover]

Originally posted by gangstar
I think the newer phones suc as

I think the newer phones such as the 6230 and the symbians have more bluetooth security, its the older T68i's and S55's you gotta worry about.

**I might be wrong though**

Yup. http://news.com.com/2100-1009_3-5155927.html?tag=st_lh <-- here says something about a 7650 getting hacked, so I'm guessing it'll be the same for the rest of the symbian nokia phones

[q7buzz]

I read somewhere on this forum that the new Nokias (6820 and 6230) will not pair with certain ipaqs as they use combination keys as opposed to the older unit keys, apparently improving security. (So secure that they wont work with my bloody ipaq!)

[Shun]

Keys combination in Bluetooth is suppose to allow letters and numbers, but due to some reasons (eg. diffferent character mapping, resource limitation and etc), many older devices restrict the key to numbers only.

The reported hacking was done because of the poor implementation, I managed to connect and send information to some phones without authenication or pairing with them, so it doesn't matter whether a number key or combination keys is use...

Anyway, it is still good to know that Nokia allows full combination of keys in the latest models, it should make Bluetooth much more secure when uses with compatible Bluetooth devices, :)

[Ni+Mh]

My phone is always invisible. I will never

I say never ever turn on me Bluetooth to discoverable unless I'm safe from me colleagues (Who are Bluejackers like meself) to pair a headset or another phone, or PC :rolleyes:

[m4twent]

i read in pc mag that while bluetooth is on people can hack into your contact info if they have bluetooth products. but for that to happen they have to be within 30 ft. as for safety by getting attention i own the motorola hs810 headset and i get alot of stares and attention from it. but i wouldnt worry about your safety while on bluetooth wuts the worst that can happen they get into your phonebook and prank call your mama or erase contacts. nothing to serious to stay at home and cry yourself to sleep over

[Ack]

Its mostly safe, the worse they could do get all of your contacts.

Other than that, don't accept contacts or notes and you will be fine.

If some dork has his laptop to steal people's contacts, then they have some serious issues........

[Shun]

No, the flaw is not limit to bluesnarfing, from the news reported by CNet:-

According to Nokia, if an attacker had physical access to a 7650 model, a bluesnarf attack would not only be possible, but it would also allow the attacker's Bluetooth device to "read the data on the attacked device and also send SMS messages and browse the Web via it."


30fts is good enough, my friends and I had tried searching in public transports, and it is quite common to find a few devices.

However, don't worry too much, you can't hide from it forever, just be more careful in using the technology.


(PS:I think I should get a 7650... if I connect to an enemy phone, I will send some nasty SMS to their partners, customers, girlfriends... or I may get some Bluetooth users to pay for my Web access... :)

[Ack]

Really? I thought it was just laptops........anyway I wonder where I can get a 7650 around here :) It would drive the H.K. people nuts!

[francisofarabia]

more on that A. L. Digital report

BT Sec flaw (http://www.thebunker.net/release-bluestumbler.htm)

[manav]

There's a friend of mine she says she gets a head-ache whenever BT is on. And like she always knows when I have it on. Even if the phone is in my pocket she uses a 7650, 6310i but sadely has to use BT for net connectivity just like me. Even me sometimes think BT is not good for health!

Manz:confused: