what's up linux folks,

I have a smartphone with bluetooth v2.1. The bluetooth is always off. I am planning to buy a bluetooth stereo headset and that means I have to enable bluetooth.

This may be a dumb question or not but can people hack into my phone if bluetooth is enable?

Yes. I once googled around about hacking Bluetooth and there were plenty of programs to hack BT phones.
Any broadband network is very vulnurable.

P. S. I prefer KISS cell phones like nokia 3310.

thanks Alex

I found this youtube link about bluetooth security basics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXpo_5GdEtM

it's a shame people can't enjoy technology without worrying about hackers/crackers attacking their devices.

That's why we need to become tough UNIX guys who know how computers work.

I always turn off bluetooth on any device. I mean what's wrong with a wire, especially for such a short distance ?

If you care for even more paranoia, I have saved this link:
http://www.technologyreview.com/news...al-your-smart/

I also never use an IR keyboard, and I never enable wifi on my own router. Of course I also configure the router to only allow certain MACs to connect.

Hi H_TeXMeX_H

There is nothing wrong with wire(s) as I used all my devices this way. This is a first for me to use wireless bluetooth headphones. You see, I like to hear music when I go to bed. Hearing music makes me to to sleep faster. And when I want to skip a song or increase/decrease the volume I have to pick up the smartphone to do so. Bluetooth headsets have these controls on the headset for convenience.

Anyway, I am still deciding if I should use bluetooth on a smartphone while music listening. My other option is to just buy a media player with bluetooth.

thanks for the reply and link

And you're using bluetooth for what it was meant for. (Nighty night... sleep tight.) It's a very short-range radio protocol. It has slight security, literally to make wiretapping inconvenient.

Obviously do not use it where there is serious risk of interception. Otherwise you should be fine.

30 feet is sort of short, but it would be nice if we could adjust the range even shorter when appropriate.

I always go with wires and strongly dislike any kind of wireless connections. Just saying...

Here's another good link:
http://arstechnica.com/business/2011...es-to-hackers/