![\"Man](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1761460210_510_960x0.jpg\")
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Is your phone at risk?<\/p>\n
getty<\/p>\n
You have been warned \u2014 you must check your devices to make sure you\u2019re not \u201cleaving the door open for hackers.” Beware, you\u2019ve been told, \u201cmodern cyberattacks rarely go straight for the crown jewels. Instead, they probe for weak points.\u201d Your weak points.<\/p>\n
The warning comes from Microsoft<\/a> and it\u2019s aimed at Windows 10 PCs<\/a> that have now fallen off support with the OS reaching end-of-life<\/a> on Oct. 14. But at most that affects 400 million users, likely a much lower number than that given an additional year\u2019s support is freely available. Meanwhile, a billion smartphones are running that risk.<\/p>\n ForbesFBI Warning\u2014Delete These WhatsApp Messages On Your SmartphoneBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n Microsoft is highlighting \u201cthe hidden dangers,” where \u201cunsupported systems aren\u2019t just outdated, they\u2019re unprotected.\u202f\u201d Windows is squarely in every hacker\u2019s crosshairs, but we live with a mobile-first threat landscape. <\/p>\n Your phone is the digital key to your life \u2014 and it\u2019s constantly at risk.<\/p>\n \u201cAt any given point in the year, over 50% of mobile devices are running outdated OS versions, and a significant number are compromised or infected,\u201d Zimperium<\/a> says. Half that number can update, they just haven\u2019t. But between 25% and 33% of smartphones now in use are running outdated versions of Android<\/a> or iOS and can\u2019t update.<\/p>\n Android threat landscape<\/p>\n EndOfLife<\/p>\n I welcome all the headlines warning Windows 10 users to enroll in the free extended support offer or to upgrade to Windows 11 if they can. But many users running older PCs will also be running older phones. And there is no ESU equivalent.<\/p>\n iOS threat landscape<\/p>\n Uptrade<\/p>\n \u201cA significant percentage of devices are not upgradeable due to the device\u2019s age,\u201d Zimperium warns, which in an era of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) to work is a risk that extends well beyond the individual users putting off an upgrade.<\/p>\n Apple, Samsung, Google and others offer ever longer periods of support, albeit you need to beware quarterly or even biannual updates replacing critical monthly ones. Cyber experts warn it\u2019s simply not worth the risk to run an aged phone. Even if you need to downgrade capabilities to find a workable price point, make sure you\u2019re current.<\/p>\n ForbesSamsung Issues Critical Update For Most Galaxy S24 And S23 OwnersBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cHackers don\u2019t need to break your strongest lock,\u201d Microsoft says, \u201cthey just need to wait until you leave a window open.\u201d For a billion smartphone users, those windows are already open. And each time Google or Apple issues a zero-day fix<\/a> which will never make it onto your phone, that window opens ever wider. <\/p>\n Don\u2019t take the risk. If you need to upgrade, then do just that. \u201cThe problem with ‘just one more year\u2019 thinking,\u201d Microsoft says, is that it will get you in the end.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Is your phone at risk? getty You have been warned \u2014 you must check your devices to make…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240802,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7234,113382,11229,113383,49,48,25406,69787,113381,11227,61],"class_list":["post-240801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-android-security","tag-android-update-now-warning","tag-android-warning","tag-apple-attack","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-google-attack","tag-iphone-security","tag-iphone-update-warning","tag-iphone-warning","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}