I really enjoy those commercials for Capitol One, Master Card, featuring those comical Viking warriors and their hilarious antics. After the mayhem subsides, each performance is capped with the popular slogan, "What's in your wallet?"
Now I can't duplicate that level of comedy here but I would like to ask, "What's in your phone?"
Could it contain your calendar and 'to do' list (who you are, what you are doing, and where you are going to be), your credit card information, friends and contact lists, documents, social media portals, pictures of you, your family and friends, and possibly your boarding pass for your next flight. Are you familiar with that sinking feeling experienced when a purse or wallet is misplaced? It's nothing compared to the devastating crash that follows once you realize that, yes, it is gone. My phone! Where is it? Who has it? What do I do now?
Your phone is a computer and all computers should have some form of security. Is it password protected? Does it have security software installed?
First, you should password protect (screen lock) your phone. That will at least provide you with some minimum protection. You can usually find this feature under your phone's 'settings' area. Next, you should install security software (apps). Several security apps are free so cost is not an issue. So, what will a security app give you? Each of them differ in their own ways but the basic features you should expect to find are spyware/malware protection, phone finder (misplaced/stolen phone and GPS locator) and the ability to remotely lock and delete all your data from the lost or stolen device.
Listed below are a few of the free security apps available out there. Most of them offer a paid premium version so read the features and decide if the premium upgrade is for you. Which security app do I recommend? Any one of them! Just get one installed and activated as soon as possible.
Any (security app) is better than none.
Free security apps:
What is コンピューター空手 ? “ComputerKarate” is the cultivation of cyber awareness and the use of defensive computing techniques designed to protect you, your family and your computer from the mental, physical and cyber attacks of the 21st Century. http://www.computerkarate.com
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
A Wakeup Call
Someone just called my cell to give me a quick reminder that telephone fraud is alive and well. Around 8 o'clock on a Tuesday evening, a scratchy sounding robot (automated call) informed me that due to a large purchase, my MasterCard is locked. "To unlock your card please press one." As I grinned I thought, why, why can't they call me in person so I can have some fun! Holding that thought, I hung up. This phone scam is pretty old and maybe your bank warned you about it in the past. Well, it is still around. It comes in several flavors as automated calls and text messages. They all lead with "your account has been locked." Then it follows with instructions to "unlock." If you proceed, you are asked to divulge your card account numbers and pins. Financial institutions are always reminding us that they never request account information during an unsolicited call or email. Please make sure that all of your family members and friends, juniors and seniors are aware of these scams. If you become a target, don't press 1, just hang up. Don't click it, delete it.
So, to whomever it was that called-- thanks for the reminder!
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