After hearing about what happened to Scarlett Johansson it seems like everyone is talking about what they can do to keep the private data on their smartphone private. While it is important to follow best practices, it might be time, depending on which OS you rock on your smartphone, to consider adding an extra level of protection.
While web based threats cut across all smartphones, app based threats are far more prevalent in more open platforms that do not have a review process for apps. Sadly both of these threats are growing and OS developers are scrambling to keep up with security updates and patches. As shown in the infographic above, Android users today are 2.5 x's more likely to download an app with malware than they were at the beginning of the year and people are 3 x's more likely to click on a phishing attack link on their phone than on their desktop computer.
What can one do in addition to following best practices? Invest in some mobile security software. We were given a demo recently by Lookout and have to say we were quite impressed. Lookout offers security against phishing, malware, and spyware, backup, missing device location and management solutions for your Android, Windows Mobile, and Blackberry device. They have both a free and premium solution ($30 a year) and for the comprehensive array of services they offer we think that we would strongly consider going premium if we were Android users.
While there is no known malware for iOS users, there is an anti-virus app solution to vet files. VirusBarrier iOS lets you easily scan email attachments, other files you have access to on your iOS device, or files on remote locations such as MobileMe and DropBox, web servers or WebDAV and FTP shares. This app costs $2.99 and due to the secure design of iOS cannot run automatically or at scheduled intervals, but instead works only on demand.
What do you think, ae we a bit paranoid? Are you considering opting for some mobile security on your smartphone?
(Images: Joelle Alcaidinho Infographic: Lookout Mobile Security)
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Hello unplugged,
afaik, Scarlett Johansson's iphone got hacked. So why do you display some infographics about threats to Android?
Bribed by Apple?
Silly infographic. The malware statistics are for androids, and yet all the little phone images are of iPhones.
Anyway, as poor SJ shows, you don't need malware for your info to be vulnerable. Proper password usage would help these folks (locked down iPhone users) far more than an antivirus.
Look up the popular passwords and NEVER use them. NEVER use your birthday, or birth year, or a family member's birthday. Have obscure security questions that aren't easy to guess. (better yet, lie - don't put down your mother's maiden name, chose a word like Gladhandbust that you can remember, but that does not appear in a dictionary.)
Don't use the same password everywhere. For a typical user it's just too much to ask them to use a unique password everywhere (I couldn't) but at least have some "less secure" passwords you use for accounts you don't care about, and then super secure passwords you never use anywhere else except the most important accounts. For example, got slightly naughty pictures on your facebook account? Make sure you have only one password for facebook that you don't use ANYWHERE ELSE. That way if your online scrabble account is compromised, they won't get access to your facebook as well.
Well, I suppose not taking nude photos of yourself on your iphone is quite obvious as well. Just my two cents.
The infographic was from Lookout Mobile Security and not all of the info was specific to Android. I am guessing they just tried to go with a graphic that looked like a generic smartphone.
As stated in the piece above web-based attacks cut across all smartphones and the stat about phishing attacks was not Android specific.
I second Kaete's advice about unique and varied passwords, remember the best practices folks!