Mobile Phone Malware Is A Growing Problem

Malware on Android phones has now spread to the iPhone.

Malware for mobile devices has been a big problem, but it is expected to become an even bigger problem this year with the proliferation of smart phones. This has been the big problem for Android devices as the app store, Google Play, continues to serve up apps that are infected with Malware. Some of it is intentional and some is accidental. But what ever the case, the end result is the same for those who are infected as a result. All of this is becoming a much bigger problem as those who are doing this have a growing target market as the number of smart phones running Android continues to grow. It seems that the Android Malware problem just keeps rolling along.

According to a Tend Micro report, we can expect to see the growth of infected apps growing and they are predicting a "pandemic" by the end of year. And it is not just Google Play who is delivering these. Amazon's App Store for Android is another location where this happens, so you have to be very selective on what you pick to download. Even some reputable apps have been infected, but not by the developer, but others. It is making it tough to be downloading apps.

And if you think this is limited only to the Android OS, guess again. Apple is getting this problem as well. There are reports of a Trojan horse in the downloads from the app store. This was reported by well known security firm Kaspersky and was tied to an SMS app which has since been removed. Apple in the past has been known for not having malware and virus problems, but with this, it appears they have joined the rest of the world in having to deal with malware.

So, where does that leave you? The issues with mobile devices are not much different than with a computer. Know your sources of downloads. In the case of Google Play, that makes it very difficult because Google is supposed to be filtering out all the bad apps before the public downloads them. At the moment, they are still working to improve that situation. Things which are free to download are generally the ones where you might get malware on your mobile device. Purchased apps are generally far safer and are less likely to cause your problems. Note the "less likely" as developer apps sometimes get infected without the developers knowledge.

Give that Apple has suffered a Trojan horse issue from the app store, we can expect them to step up efforts to protect their customers even more. Google is going to have to really step up efforts. For that matter, any centralized app store which provides downloads is going to have to make them safe. Do not download apps from web sites that you are not confident in. Some are set up quickly solely for the purpose of infecting mobile devices.

Given events this year, we should start to see far more effort put into providing antivirus and malware software which can run on mobile devices. Once these are out in greater numbers, it will be up to the individual to download and install from reputable sources. Go with the well known names and not some company you have never heard of because it is cheap. Remember, you are protecting your information and with smart phones, more of it is being saved there. The Cloud is now coming into play to store your information from your mobile devices.

Things are changing fast, but malware is going to be around for a long time. Be prepared to protect yourself and your mobile device.

Malware Problems Impacting Small Business Owners

Hackers are going after small businesses

 
In this world where small business owners are trying to build up their business, there are growing concerns about the web and how hackers are going after businesses. There are a variety of ways this is happening and it is all related to connectivity to web and all that lurks out there. There is more information about the problems which it presents and just how easy it is to get infected with some malware or trojan which can expose the finances for your business. This is something which you as a small business owner need to be aware of. Being aware is the first step towards taking action to protect yourself.

As a small business owner, connection to the web exposes you to potential harm. If you are not connected to the web, then you are not reading this and therefore have nothing to worry about. But for everyone else, you need to review what you are doing on the web and with web connected devices. Some of the great new technologies for small business are fantastic, such as Square which lets you accept payments on your smart phone. That let's businesses be mobile and not tied to the old technologies. Having to have a land line to dial up and process credit card payments is becoming a thing of the past. But, it is that new technology which has the potential to cause big problems.

For the past few years, the idea of malware on smart phones has been lurking out there as a growing problem. This year, it has moved from lurking on the fringes to roar into visibility as a huge problem for mobile devices. Reports are beginning to emerge showing that this problem has become much worse than anyone has expected. In a report from McAfee, they are showing a 1200% increase in malware in the first quarter this year as compared to the 4th quarter of 2011. This should cause a small business owner to take a much harder look at how to protect yourself against malware.

We know that there is an increase in targeted malware against mobile devices. There is also the Android apps which have been reported which already contain malware before you download them. The move to Google Play is expected to reduce that problem and you should only download apps from trusted sources. It makes it tough to know what to do. If you have employees who click on attachments in any email you receive, you have probably been hit a few times. Keeping AntiVirus software up to date is critical for computers. But mobile devices are something which has not received the desired attention from providers. That is stating to change and you will hear a lot more about AntiVirus software for smart phones. You must take a serious look at this area.

Part of the reason for that is because there are many out there who are now starting to target small business specifically. And this applies even if you are exclusively using Apple products. It seems that there are specific groups targeting Macs, iPads and iPHones. We know that groups are already specifically targeting Android devices, so this should not come as any surprise to anyone. At a speech at the San Francisco Small Business Week, one speaker was warning about attacks on Small Businesses and you need to be very careful with mobile devices.

“Eight out of ten mobile banking apps have security flaws, but Apple and the banks don’t want you to know that. I’ll wait another 20 years to stick my toe in that pond.”

One recommendation is to not use mobile banking apps because that is something hackers are targeting right now. Once they have your bank information, along with the access to your bank, they can begin to pull money out of your accounts. And for a small business, that can create some big problems. It appears that once the crimes are committed against a small business, most law enforcement agencies are unlikely to do a lot of investigation for electronic crimes like this. This can be a real problem when it cross jurisdictions, such as cities, counties or states. An even bigger problem is trying to figure out where the crime actually was committed. Most law enforcement agencies do not have the tools or the manpower to investigate these kinds of crimes.

There are things which you can do, but they require you to alter your current way of doing things. As an example, do your online banking on a different computer than your work computer. Do not do it on your smart phone. Or get some encryption software for your mobile device and computers. All of this should raise your awareness that things are quickly changing in our mobile world and you must adjust to it in order to protect yourself.