Wow, that’s a nice, new phone you have. But, wait; is it merely a phone, or is it actually a pocket computer that just happens to also make phone calls?
How about that fancy, high-dollar iPad you have; or, Kindle Fire, or Toshiba Thrive or Samsung Galaxy tablet you’re wishing Santa would bring? What is that thing, really?
Smartphone, Android phone, iPhone, Windows phone, iPad, TouchPad or whatever “tablet” you want to pick, they are all the same thing: computers.
Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past decade, or have never before read my column, you know that computers need protection from the bad guys. Internet criminals have nothing else to do, all day long, every day, but figure out new ways to steal your stuff, or to use your computer as a tool to steal other people’s stuff. It’s their job. It’s what they live for, and they are amazingly good at their job.
You also know that, with a little effort and smart thinking, you can protect yourself (and, your computer) from the Internet bad guys. The bad guys are beginning to target smartphones and tablet computers in a big way, and it’s only going to get worse as time goes by.
If all you ever do with your phone/tablet is take phone calls or surf the Web to visit various websites, you may be able to get away with things as they are; for now, anyway. However, if you expect to use your mobile device to check email, buy songs on iTunes, fiddle about with Facebook or make online purchases from eBay or Amazon, take precautions now. I hate being the guy that has to say, “Oops, sorry, you’ve been hacked; too bad for you.”
Securing a mobile device is the same as securing a laptop or desktop computer. You need to update your operating system and various programs (apps) to plug security holes. You need a firewall to protect against unwanted intrusion. You need some sort of anti-malware protection to stop viruses and other nasties that come from the Internet. If you use “open,” unsecured wireless networks, you need some sort of VPN tunneling service to protect your Internet communications from prying eyes.
Mobile device security is a relatively new, emerging field. With normal desktop and laptop computers, there are many well-developed security products to choose from, simply because vendors have had many years to fine-tune their programs. With mobile devices, your choices are much more limited.
In the firewall and anti-malware departments, I like Lookout Mobile Security. For both Android and iOS (iPhone, iPad) devices, Lookout Mobile Security (mylookout.com) has free and paid versions. You can even use it to find and/or erase your phone if it is lost or stolen.
Respected security company Kaspersky (kaspersky.com) offers Kaspersky Mobile Security for $30. It covers firewall and anti-malware chores for Android, Blackberry, Symbian and Windows Mobile products, but not Apple iOS. Other companies, such as Intego, Trend Micro and Symantec, offer similar products for iOS. One nifty, free stand-alone firewall app is Firewall iP. A simple Google search will lead you to all of the associated websites.
To learn about wireless network security, you should read my series of columns titled, “To Wi-Fi, or not to Wi-Fi,” found on my website. Here, you will learn about why and when you need to use VPN tunneling. After that, check out Hotspot Shield for iPhone and iPad devices. Android phone and tablet users should look at SSH Tunnel and bestfreevpn.com.