Business Security Information

The use of smartphones has led to a whole new set of security issues. Since there is no standard definition of a smartphone, for the purpose of this article and for future reference, I will refer to them as a mobile phone which provides advanced capabilities similar to those found on a personal computer.  These capabilities can include internet access, e-mail, downloadable applications and even e-book reading capabilities.  As time goes by, as with all technology, the capabilities of smartphones will increase and change just as they do for computers.

Just when you thought it was safe to use wireless, along comes a new attack on wireless encryption.  WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), the oldest form of wireless encryption,  has not been safe to use for quite some time, and I would recommend you use one of the other wireless encryption methods mentioned in this article if you are still using WEP.  The information or data that you send or receive on your wireless connection can easily be captured and read by others if you don’t encrypt that traffic.  This article will help you make necessary changes to your wireless network.

What do you and your employees use mobile phones for?  Of course, phone calls and checking voice mail, but what about checking any of your online accounts or purchasing items online?  Well, lately, I have been reading a lot about mobile phone spy software, and then this past weekend, I watched the movie “Mall Cop” with my kids.  A character in the movie called Pahud uses his girlfriend’s cell phone to spy on her location using GPS tracking.  It turned out to be a good thing as far as the movie ending    was concerned, but in real life most people do not like to be tracked or spied on.

Kaspersky Lab, an anti-virus/malware company, recently published a “Stop Cybercrime Guide” which I have read, and I think is an excellent overview of many of the computer security threats a business, home office or individual users may face.  Information covered in this short, 10-page document includes:

• Types of malicious programs and how to protect yourself against them.  Some of these protections you may have heard of before, such as installing security software, updating your software, backing up your data, and not using the administrator account except when needed, which I discussed in a previous article.