It seems that a certain Terence Eden has discovered a method to access apps on your Galaxy Note 2 even when the homescreen is locked, although this particular Galaxy Note 2 runs on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and is a UK variant. So far, he has tried it on a rooted as well as a factory fresh model, and the same exploit still works, so you might want to take note.
Since a picture speaks a thousand words, and a video would do this homescreen exploit justice, why not check out what the video is all about above? In a nutshell, it seems that the Galaxy Note 2’s homescreen can be accessed with a very simple method – by pressing the “Emergency Call” icon, followed by the ICE button and then pressing the physical home key for a handful of seconds. This will open up a window of opportunity to click on any of the homescreen app, and if you happen to have a “direct dial” widget there, the hacker can actually place a call, which is definitely not something nice to happen to you. It seems that Terence has already informed Samsung about this five days ago, and so far he has yet to receive a response from them. Sucks!