Besides the danger of phone malfunction and failure due to bugs, attackers can also get access to the data on your phone, including your contacts, email, photos, and even your whereabouts. But all is not lost. Here are some things you can do to keep your phone safe from viruses and your personal information private.

• ALSO READ: A Professional Hacker Tells You How to Protect Your PC

1. Avoid Jailbreaking or otherwise “rooting” your phone, says Tim Armstrong, virus analyst at Kaspersky Labs. Your smartphone becomes a bigger target for malicious agents when you “jail break” or hack into your phone so that you can download apps from other operating systems or switch mobile carriers.

2. Avoid opening email attachments on your phone.  As with desktop malware, mobile attachments can contain malicious programs.

3. Avoid clicking on links in text messages. Text message spam can contain links to malicious websites.

4. When downloading applications be wary of the system resources that the application needs permission to access on your phone. If you are not familiar with the app don’t download it.

5. “Be extra careful of possible phishing sites while using your mobile browser,” says Armstrong.  While browsing the internet, apply all of the same precautions to your phone as you would your desktop. When possible, enter the site address directly in the browser. If you click a link to a new page check the URL to make sure you weren’t redirected to an unknown site.

6. Turn your Bluetooth device off when you are not using it. Anyone with a Bluetooth-enabled phone can easily spy on your phone activity, from calls you make to the text messages you send. Also, do not accept Bluetooth messages from strange phone numbers.

7. Lock your phone, and enable remote wipe.  “The most common problem affecting mobile users is the physical loss of their phone…from leaving it in the back of a cab to having it stolen,” says Armstrong.  Wiping it will keep thieves from accessing any personal information on the phone. Also, make sure you back up the data on your phone.

8. Upload antivirus software. Many smartphones come with some form of antivirus protection, but it doesn’t hurt to get more. Companies like Kaspersky Labs, McAfee, and Lookout Mobile Security will provide you with extra protection along with other critical services.

For more information on cyber security read:

Five Steps to Better IT Security

Who’s in Your Wallet?

Tech Insider: Cloud Storage Keeps Your Data Safe and You Sane



The iHeritage Guide is an iPhone app that helps tourists find locations that have historical relevance to African Americans.

Everywhere you look you hear people talking about apps, the abbreviated term for the software that runs on your smart phone and sometimes interacts with the Web or other applications. There is an app to help cooks choose the right serving size for a recipe, an app for traveling professionals trying to switch flights, and productivity apps for entrepreneurs who bill by the hour. Samuel Suraphel created the iHeritage Guide, an itunes app that interacts with the GPS app on a phone to help tourists identify the nearest museum, event, or building of historical or cultural significance to African Americans. There is an app for just about anything you can thing of; or maybe not. Perhaps you’ve got an idea for an app that no one else has invented, but you have no idea how to get the app in people’s hands, or rather on their smart phones. This week on Inventors Insider, Suraphel gives ten quick and dirty steps to create an app for iPhone:

• SEE ALSO: iPhone Apps that Save You Money

1)    Define the User Experience for the App. Determine the type of app you want to create. Does your app provide a convenient solution to a common problem? Is it a game, or based on a social networking site? Is it a tool that simply reformats your business’s web presence onto an iPhone? Figuring out the type of app you want to create will facilitate the development process.

2)   Decide how to monetize the app. “It depends on what your strategy is for the product,” says Suraphel, who also runs Beta Bahil, a new media/tech firm that helps companies in the African diaspora develop mobile apps, among other things. Do you want to charge a standard fee to download your app or will you install an ad engine? Perhaps this app is a test run and you plan to offer it for free so that you can get feedback for when you sell a more developed version. No matter what your initial intent, deciding the cost structure upfront will help you determine your audience and how the user will interface with the software.

3)   Create a storyboard for your app. Towards the beginning you need to get a rough idea of the user experience for your app. What will the interface look like? How will the screens interact with one another? From there you can determine what resources you will need for the development portion and graphics portion, and where you might place ads. The storyboard will help you decide whether you need to hire a software developer or handle it internally.

4)    Download the software development kit. You will need to obtain the SDK from apple. The SDK is free. You will also need to know a programming language called Objective C.

5)    Develop the App. Create the back end coding-aspect of the software and the front end user interface that involves more design elelments. If you’re not already doing web or app development you might want to source those software and graphics development skill sets by hiring a contractor or freelancer. You might also consider purchasing a template app and Content Management System from companies like MoFuse.

6)    Develop a content management system. If your app is content based and you are providing the data then you will need to build a CMS that hosts the data and interacts with the web. Alternatively you can integrate all of the data into the app itself.

7)   Obtain a developer’s license. To submit apps to Apple for their app store you need to purchase a $99 license that is renewed yearly.

8)    Get permission to use other vendors API. An application programming interface (API) facilitates interaction between different software programs. If your app can’t perform without another company’s software, then you need to contact the company for permission to use and obtain its API. For example, because iHeritage interacts with the GPS, Suraphel had to get permission to use the API for the phone’s GPS.

9)   Test your app. Make sure you’ve gotten rid of any bugs that will ruin the user-experience before you submit your app to Apple. Distribute the app to a limited number of iPhones for a beta launch. Also, to ensure approval from Apple, be certain that your content does not infringe on anyone’s copyrighted material, or include profane or violent content.

10)   Develop a marketing plan. If Apple approves your app, develop a marketing plan and create a community around it to get people to download and use it. Suraphel created a social networking presence for iHeritage on Facebook and Twitter to connect people with the content.

For more information about iPhone apps visit:

They’ve Got Apps for That

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Tempted by everything from wireless network cards to routers to laptops with built-in Wi-Fi capabilities, companies can easily shell out thousands of dollars in their attempt to operate a business without wires. Figuring out how to make the best investment isn’t always easy, nor is determining the value of the money and time investment that must be made to get a wireless setup in gear.

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive to gain access to the Web and e-mail from just about anywhere. For starters, many companies use BlackBerrys and  other smart phones that offer a variety of services, from basic phone to e-mail and Internet to calendars and address books, essentially serving as an “office away from the office” for owners, managers, and employees who spend much of their time on the road.

With costs that range from $200 to more than $600, depending on the model and type of service contract purchased, smart phones are available with data packages that cost $60 to $100 per month (including phone and text services). “If all you need is e-mail on the go, then smart phones are a great option,” says Shawn Welsh, vice president of marketing and business development for Telular, a fixed cellular terminal developer with offices in Atlanta and Chicago.

But what happens when you’re miles from the office and in need of a way to connect back to your company’s network? Or when you need to edit a PDF file and send it to your marketing department within 10 minutes? That’s where Wi-Fi-enabled laptops come in particularly useful. With a PC card (they range in price from $50 to $150) that’s either installed in the laptop or inserted into an expansion slot, users can get connected by dropping into a Starbucks or other establishment that offers public Wi-Fi. Some of the services are free, but others command a per-hour, per-day, or subscription-based fee.

For those of you who need regular access to mobile Wi-Fi –- and who don’t want to run around trying to find public access to such services –- the major cellular phone carriers such as Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T offer access to the Internet and e-mail from all service areas. They charge $60 for the monthly subscription fee, which covers 5 MB of data (roughly the equivalent of 1.7 million e-mails or 10,000 photos, according to Sprint’s mobile Internet Website). Most carriers also charge activation fees that average $35.

When you sign up for service from a major carrier, a new cellphone number is assigned that’s separate from a voice plan. Using it is as simple as plugging the card into the laptop expansion slot (or using the one already installed in your computer). Most wireless card providers also offer a service through which customers can use their cell phones as a wireless modem, thus eradicating the need for a PC card. “Using a PC card and Wi-Fi is a good option because it allows business owners to connect and use typical office software while on the road,” Welsh says .

Another option for business owners that set up “temporary offices” away from their headquarters is the fixed cellular terminal. Ranging in cost from $500 to $700, the terminal connects to a land phone line and allows multiple users to share one connection and a single voice/data bill every month. While the upfront costs are higher than you would pay for a PC card, the benefits of fixed terminals include lower monthly service bills and accessibility for multiple users.

When selecting which mobile Internet option is best for your company, consider the level of mobility required and the number of accounts that need to be enabled. “If you’re going to be highly mobile, but if all you need is e-mail, then a BlackBerry or iPhone will be perfect,” says Welsh. “But if you need more connectivity and access from remote locations, then a PC card and mobile Wi-Fi service will be your best bet.”

Web Resource:

Wireless Internet Service Providers