Smartphone security’s been on our minds today, after hearing about the lock screen exploit in iOS 6.1, and this evening Google has taken to its Android Developers blog to outline some of the security enhancements that it’s made in Android 4.2, including this week’s 4.2.2 update.

The brand new security tweak in 4.2.2 concerns USB debugging. While that can be a useful way to access your phone, especially if something goes wrong with the touchscreen, it can potentially leave your phone vulnerable to someone trying to bypass the lock screen. To combat that, 4.2.2 lets you create a computer-specific fingerprint, and only allow USB debugging when connected to such an authorized PC.

Android 4.2 also adds a better random number generator, introduces some more secure ways for apps to use Javascript, and changes the default way that access is granted to content providers, preventing the chance for unauthorized access in ambiguous situations.

While many of those changes are only going to affect developers, it’s still nice to see Google pointing out just what it’s been doing to keep our Android smartphones safe and reliable.

Source: Google