Opinion Secure your phone
Users need to realise the seriousness of the threat of unsecured smartphones.
Most of us dont mind spending money to get fancy anti-virus software to protect our PCs and laptops,but never bother to secure our smartphones,though they too are under serious threat from malicious software. With more and more people migrating to smart phones that are connected to the Internet 24×7,cyber criminals have realised the potential and seem hell bent on increasing their presence.
While a protected PC might show an alert message when you click on a phishing mail,you dont have the same luxury when opening the same mail on a phone. The threat is even more with Android phones,with Googles app market flooded with rogue applications that retrieve contact information from your phone once installed. Some of these software can also log you traffic and locations and misuse the data.
Google is doing its bit to clean up,but there is no guarantee you wont download a malicious software before someone raises a red flag. Soon you could be flooded with calls from hapless people on your contact list saying they have sent the money to the account that you asked them to,or something like that.
There can be more damage if someone gets hold of your smartphone itself. In fact,a study has shown that most Indian mobile phone users have lost their phones at least twice in five years. This means all your personal stuff is out there with a stranger,who in all probability is planning to misuse it.
You can,however,protect your smartphone by getting a good mobile security software. For instance,the Norton Smartphone Security Beta for Android,which is scheduled for an upgrade soon,can secure your phone from cyber attacks,unwanted calls and privacy theft. Plus,it can lock the phone or wipe its contents in case the device is lost or stolen. Similar software meant to keep your phone safe are available on Apples App Store and Nokias Ovi store as well.
But considering the fact that consumers are still not keen on getting security for their mobile phones,some smartphone makers too have started packaging the software,at least trial versions,with their phones. However,the task of securing phones from cyber criminals will be complete only when users realise the seriousness of the threat and start looking for solutions.
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