DIY: Keeping your mobile stuff safe

How to keep your mobile devices safe and secure, netsafe

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Don't know about you, but I kind of freak out when a game I'm installing asks for access to

• in-app purchases
• identity
• contacts/calendar
• photos/media/files
• wi-fi connection information
• device ID and call information.

Usually it's the free ones and usually I end up not installing them. I can understand the in-app purchases part, but is the app going to slurp up the email addresses of all my friends? Why does it need my calendar? And does wi-fi connection information include the password of my home hotspot?

According to this 2012 article in the New York Times blog section, Mobile Apps Take Data Without Permission, too. Wondering if this has changed, I managed to find a site called Practical Law that gives Data protection in United States. It was last updated in June. Not being a lawyer and being somewhat legalese-averse, I passed on reading it in entirety. Maybe you can.

A number of reputable sites give advice on how to secure your mobile devices, especially phone; their advice often includes recommending that apps be downloaded only from providers like Google, Windows, and Apple. Articles about how to keep things secure can be found at McAfee, Microsoft, and Google. Note the partners list at the bottom of the Google page--could be some useful info there. 

In Australia there's Stay Smart Online. And New Zealand has an outstanding site about mobile security called Netsafe. One really interesting feature is TheScamMachine. (Great graphics!) The opening page asks "Are you ready to scam someone?" And gives instructions for setting up a video to send to a friend:

Welcome, and thanks for using the scam machine from Netsafe. You are just a few moments away from creating a current affairs news video with someone you know, or even yourself at the very centre of it.

Most people have been the target of some kind of scam at one time or another. Sometimes, the intended victim has no idea until its all too late. The scam machine lets you put yourself or a friend in that position, with no risk of them actually coming to any harm.

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TheScamMachine

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-- Marge