Researchers from North Carolina State University have determined that skinned versions of Android may expose private data to any app that makes a request — and all without asking for user permission.

The research team tested handsets from HTC, Motorola and Samsung, along with the vanilla, non-skinned Nexus handsets from Google, and found that the skinned versions of Android introduce vulnerabilities. Depending on the handset, installed apps were able to access location data, make phone calls, use the camera, delete packages, reboot the phone, send text messages and record audio.

The researchers...

Opera software has released Opera 11.60, the latest update for the company’s flagship desktop web browser.

If you’d like to take Opera 11.60 for a spin, head on over to the Opera downloads page and grab a copy.

Originally Opera had planned to make Opera 12 its next release (see our review of the Opera 12 alpha), but the company decided to add the interim 11.60 to get some of the already completed new features out to users while work continues on the hardware acceleration in Opera 12.

The full speed boost of hardware acceleration isn’t here yet, but Opera 11.60 is still no slouch when it comes to ...