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With our smartphones getting more advanced every month it seems, the question has to be asked, can Android phones be used against their owners through some sort of malware or hack?

The short answer is yes, in theory, according to an Information Week posting talking about the upcoming Def Con conference. Two researchers from Trustwave have developed a rootkit that can be installed on an Android handset, that gets activated when a specific “trigger number” is called.

When applied, the rootkit would give attackers root access to an Android device, allowing them to install background apps to hijack the handset.  Some examples of what a hacker could do with this include reading all of your info, sending and receiving SMS messages in your name, etc.

The two researchers have said that while they have proven this is possible, they have not seen this exploit being used in the wild.  This of course does not mean that we won’t see it in the future.  The researchers say that right now a hacker has to have physical access to your phone to install the rootkit, but that it could be adapted to a Market app that would install it automatically. It’s worth noting that Google does screen apps in the Market to try to catch malicious code.

With mobile computing being the fastest growing platform type in the world right now, it was only a matter of time before we started to see this kind of discussion open up.  Mobile handsets are especially susceptible since they do not have the horsepower to run virtual machines to help with the stop of malware.  Hopefully we will not see any widespread outbreaks of malware in our beloved Android platform.

HTC EVO 4G owners trying to use Qik Video over the weekend found themselves running into all sorts of connection issues thanks to overwhelming and unprecedented demand.  The Qik blog is telling us that they have had to temporarily unpublish the video calling application over extreme workloads.  Qik is reporting that their servers were hit with twenty times their normal requests.  The company is working to provision more capacity and hopes to have things back up before long.

In a post on the Logitech blog, Ashish Arora, Vice President and General Manager of the Digital Home Group at Logitech outlines the new Harmony Link functionality for Google TV, and it is some exciting stuff!

Of course we already know that Logitech is creating a companion box so that you can add Google TV to your existing HDTV.  Now we know some more of the functionality that they are going to include in the box – such as turning your Android phone into device to control any of your entertainment center components that use IR remotes.

This functionality is called Harmony Link, and it honestly looks like something that could be a big deal.  If you are a home theater enthusiast, you probably have many different components with many different remotes floating around.  The idea of a Logitech Harmony remote is that you can get rid of all your device remotes and converge them into one high quality device.  Usually this would cost you from 9 – 0 depending on the model Logitech remote you bought.  Now with Harmony Link you will be able to install an App to your Android handset that will have the same kind of functionality as a Harmony Remote!

This is a very cool development for HTPC enthusiasts who own Android handsets.  As you can see in the picture to the left, you have a Motorola droid and a Nexus One running the Harmony Link app.  Want to control your HTPC setup from your coach with one remote?  Yeah, there is an app for that, but it ISN’T on the iPhone.

In an article over at Chinitech.com, it is being reported that the television set pictured to the left is the fist set in the world to have the Android platform built into it.  Chinese electronics manufacturer TCL has reportedly been working in their labs since 2008 to integrate Android with one of their displays, with this unit being the product of their efforts.

According to the article this set can connect to the internet, video chat, make purchases online and install Android apps from the Market.

To be clear, this is NOT a Google TV unit, but a independent effort to use Android to converge your television with the internet in much the same way that Google is working on now with Sony and Logitech.

The downside of this TV is that China will most likely cripple much of the functionality since they censor everything but air to breathe over there, but rest assured, TCL will work to find some sort of workaround to the laws and rules they have to abide by.

It is interesting to see a proof of concept like this, and makes me want Google TV to release NOW.

Qik is not the only company feeling the effects of the EVO 4G and its massive sales figures.  ShopSavvy developers Big in Japan are reporting similar workloads and finding that some of their retailers are “not fairing as well under the load.”  That’s a great thing for them as it means the app has been downloaded in droves.  Overall scans traffic is up 50% since the launch of the EVO 4G.  In fact, Big in Japan is seeing a record number of downloads thanks to Sprint’s latest handset.

Click here to read our review of the EVO 4G!

Another HTC codename/product has popped up thanks to a RadioShack screen which comes courtesy of TjCrew.  The full retail price of the Intruder looks like it might be a placeholder at 9 while the contract cost of 9 is more in line with something I’d expect out of an Android phone.  Do we know this is run by green robots?  Not definitively but AndroidCentral is hearing it is Android 2.1 and has the height and width of a Coke can.  Being that it shows AT&T in the top right corner, we could surmise this phone may be the Aria/Liberty.

Or, it could be another phone altogether.