Posted on February 13th, 2011Mobile Internet devices are becoming increasingly popular with a broader demographic of users. Like the early days of the Internet, this creates a situation where many of those users don’t understand the security threats that are presented to these devices. Some of the top security firms in the world are predicting that there will be more and more threats presented to platforms such as the iPhone and the Google Android operating system. This means that there are quite a few users out there who have absolutely no idea what threats are even present. Of course, this sounds an awful lot like the 1990s when computer viruses, Trojans and worms were new things to most users.
More and more websites are creating separate versions of their pages for use on mobile devices. This means that many of their visitors are choosing to go to their sites on their phones rather than on their computers. It also means that those users are more vulnerable to attacks by unknown threats. According to the security firms, many of the threats will emanate from the fact that the users have a poor understanding of DNS security and of Internet security in general where these devices are concerned. According to a report on TMCNet.com, this has security experts worried about attacks involving botnets and security threats that involve stealing personal information.
Where your mobile devices are concerned, aside from educating yourself, you can also make some very simple changes to the way you use them to increase your security a great deal. For example, all of the major mobile operating systems have different ways that you can lock out the screen. You should always make sure that your screen locks and that it takes a password or another type of security credential to get access to the phone. Remember, while you likely don’t leave your laptop lying around unattended, you probably do an awful lot with your phone.
You can also take a look into the new security products for mobile devices. If you have a website that hosts a mobile version of your main site, it’s still up to the users to provide for their own security. If you’re concerned about the security of your web host, you can talk to the technical support people or other staff members who can give you a rundown on how to keep your site secure.