a few questions

[Forcefed]

Hello Everyone,

Just got my HTC Hero from Telus(Canada). What an amazing phone. Was debating between the Hero and the Storm 2. No regrets so far. I have a few questions

1- Blackberrys reputation is built on security thats why the phone is used by many Enterprises. My question is, is the Android platform safe, ie can I do my banking and other transactions on my phone??? or is it easily hackable??

2- Do we need an anti virus program?

3- Can someone recommend a place or a website to get my Hero unlocked(a place that has been tried and works)?

4- On the iphone is you unlock it and then Apple releases any new software version if you go ahead and update your phone on iTunes it will get bricked. So will the Android act the same, if I unlock my phone and then 2.0 gets released, will updating my phone can lead to bricking my phone?????

5- I keep seeing HTC Sync for PC, anything similar for a Macbook. Where can i find the HTC sync so that i can install it on my Macbook?

I appreciate your time and help.
Thanks

[extorian]

1) As with all devices, it's only as secure as the weakest link. Android supports all of the recent developments in security, but if you choose to use open non-encrypted wireless networks, or leave your phone around without the screenlock activated so anyone can pick it up and have full access to all your stuff, and Bluetooth on all the time with the default PIN, then that's your own fault.

2) No. But there are some. By default Android does not support Bluetooth file transfers, and you can only download apps from the Market. All apps warn you before installation as to what security privileges they require (such as reading your contacts, sending text messages, changing settings, etc). So, again, common sense is what keeps it secure. Don't install apps from anywhere you don't trust, read reviews of apps before you install them, check the rating of apps before you install them, make sure the app your installing has good reason to request the security privileges it's asking for - e.g. Does that game really need to read you contacts and send SMS messages? Does a battery level widget really need full internet access? Etc...

3) I can't help you there. There was another thread on here asking about unlocking, and it linked to someone on eBay. But I forget what the thread was called.

4) From what I recall, once it's unlocked it's unlocked, and this is completely separate from the operation system and its updates. Again - check this elsewhere as I'm not 100% sure.

5) No idea, sorry.

[Forcefed]

thank u for ur reply

[Forcefed]

other questions
1- every now and then the browser will not load any web page, what i get is access is forbidden, the only way to get it to work again is to do a soft reset(turn phone off pull out battery for 10 sec then install and turn on again).

2- day one of owning the phone on Google Maps when i clicked the magnifying glass(the locate me one not the zoom) the map located where i was and zoomed down to my location. For the last 3-4 days now it will say trying to locate your area, then this message disappears a few seconds later another message appears saying temporarily cant locate your position.

Any ideas as to why this is happening.

thanks

[extorian]

1 - The Access Forbidden is sent by the server you're contacting. It is HTTP error 403, and indicates that your browser was able to talk to the server, but the server refused to let your browser access what was requested. This is not the fault of the browser or Android - it's just reporting the message returned from the server.

What does the browser display? Is it just "Access forbidden"? Or does it give an error number like 403.9?

Anyway, in general, this error probably means your session has timed out, so when you try to access another page (or it reloads when you go back to the browser) you get the error.

You did say it wouldn't load any page. So that makes things a little more confusing. I'm wondering if some proxy software is running by your mobile phone provider or ISP?

2 - It sounds like you have your GPS off, and/or are inside a building or underground. If Google Maps can't get a good GPS lock for those reasons, then it will try and use your mobile network to figure out where you are. This relies on your mobile network supporting this feature (not all do). Try turning your GPS on while outside with a good view of the sky all around. Run Google Maps and you should see your GPS icon flashing at the top of the screen for anything from a few seconds to a few minutes. When it stops flashing, Google Maps should know where you are.

[Forcefed]

1 - The Access Forbidden is sent by the server you're contacting. It is HTTP error 403, and indicates that your browser was able to talk to the server, but the server refused to let your browser access what was requested. This is not the fault of the browser or Android - it's just reporting the message returned from the server.

What does the browser display? Is it just "Access forbidden"? Or does it give an error number like 403.9?

Anyway, in general, this error probably means your session has timed out, so when you try to access another page (or it reloads when you go back to the browser) you get the error.

You did say it wouldn't load any page. So that makes things a little more confusing. I'm wondering if some proxy software is running by your mobile phone provider or ISP?

2 - It sounds like you have your GPS off, and/or are inside a building or underground. If Google Maps can't get a good GPS lock for those reasons, then it will try and use your mobile network to figure out where you are. This relies on your mobile network supporting this feature (not all do). Try turning your GPS on while outside with a good view of the sky all around. Run Google Maps and you should see your GPS icon flashing at the top of the screen for anything from a few seconds to a few minutes. When it stops flashing, Google Maps should know where you are.


If thats the case how come it is able to connect and open pages when I soft reset the phone. I am confused to

[extorian]

To be honest - I don't know.

Do pages like google.com say forbidden too?

[Forcefed]

To be honest - I don't know.

Do pages like google.com say forbidden too?

yes google, hotmail, and others.

Well the good thing i didnt see the issue occurring again for the last few days.

[extorian]

Well, all i know is "403 Access Forbidden" errors are sent from a server (either a proxy server, or the actual one you're trying to connect to). Given that you were getting it on several completely unrelated servers at the same time, that means it must have been coming from a proxy server.

The server can issue these errors all on its own, for example if the server is simply too busy, or the server can issue this message in response to the way you and/or your browser are trying to connect - such is if your IP is blocked or you're trying to access a page that you do not have the level of access required to view any longer (this can happen if your session has timed out, even if it's a normal page like Google that you're viewing when it's via a Proxy).

I would imagine, that if it was some setting on your phone, then this problem would occur all of the time. So I'm going to guess that it's some proxy server your mobile provider or ISP is sending you through, and they've now fixed it. But that's just a guess.

[Forcefed]

thanks
I appreciate your replies.

cheers

[halethrain]

FYI, I have a HTC Hero on Telus and still get the 403 forbidden error. It occurs for me every day sometime before 1PM. Turning the phone off and back on always resolves the error. It's never occurred more than once per day.

[Forcefed]

FYI, I have a HTC Hero on Telus and still get the 403 forbidden error. It occurs for me every day sometime before 1PM. Turning the phone off and back on always resolves the error. It's never occurred more than once per day.


did u give Telus a call to figure out the issue. I didnt since it only happened twice

[halethrain]

Yeah, I gave em a call just to report it, not really expecting an immediate fix. Agent had no idea at first what I was talking about, but after putting me on hold to talk to his supervisor he came back to tell me it was a known issue and is being worked on.

[Forcefed]

hopefully they fix it