It was reported here that there is a whooping 400% jump of malware attack for Android phones, and the medium of transmission are wi-fi hot spots and application download. On the same report, a 17% increase of SMS type trojans that is intended to increase usage of the recipient numbers. Wow, pre-paid load and air time can also be stolen via sms trojans.
On the other hand, this report highlights another malware attack on Facebook and the seeming failure of the most popular social networking site to curb these. I received direct messages from people inquiring how they can prevent the annoying chat spams and wall posts from friends who are trigger happy clicking every available link found on their wall, lols.
At the beginning of the year, I shared with you the security predictions of McAfee , the AV firm thought that attacks on mobile devices, social media via applications are bound to increase., and recent development prove that their analyses are correct.
With these, more than ever, we should all take precautionary measure to protect our device from being hacked and taken over, and prevent identity theft. These precautionary measure may be simple, but can prevent us and our family from harm:
- Use of AVs or whatever is the counterpart of that for android and apple platform.
- Avoid doing financial and other sensitive online transactions in wi-fi hot spots.
- Check on plugins and applications review first before downloading
- Choose your community. No matter how careful you are, if your friends and groups members in your network, then your feeds and wall will always have garbage.
- The less personally identifiable info you share the better.
- Use geo/location services cautiously.
- Don’t be trigger happy, clicking links without thinking.
- Think before you share anything
- Be informed, get updates on the latest threats.
- Add value by education your family and your network .
By doing these, you will not only protect but establish a good online reputation.
If I missed something, do add more tips on the comment section. Let’s enjoy our smart phones/ other devices and plunge into the social web sea. But let’s be smart and safe online 🙂