Five Mobile Operating System Options

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There are a number of mobile operating systems, but five major players have floated to the top, dominating a major chunk of the market. It used to be that people chose their phone only by their carrier and what brands they offered. Today many choose their phone based on the manufacturer and its operating systems features.

Symbian: 31% of all mobile phones run this open-source operating system, most of which are “feature phones,” otherwise known as dumb phones, as opposed to smartphones. Nokia is the largest shareholder and customer. Other brands whose phones run Symbian include Fujitsu, Samsung, Sharp, and Sony Ericsson.

Symbian’s worldwide market share has declined from over 50% in 2009 to about 30% in 2010. Last month, Nokia announced a partnership with Microsoft, which will replace Symbian OS with Windows’ operating system.

Windows Mobile 7: Less than 5% of all mobile phones run Windows Mobile 7, which took over where Windows Mobile left off. This is a closed-source operating system that can be managed through Microsoft Exchange. Microsoft’s mobile industry market share has recently slipped quite a bit, leaving the future of Windows Mobile 7 uncertain.

BlackBerry RIM: BlackBerrys running this closed-source operating system make up 15% of all mobile phones. BlackBerry RIM began as an enterprise solution, and still is for the most part, but a consumer base has developed. Businesses like BlackBerry RIM because enhanced end-to-end encryption is standard with BlackBerry Enterprise Server. BlackBerry RIM meets the Department of Defense’s requirements, and it’s good enough for the President. This system supports over 15,000 applications, and over two million are downloaded daily.

Apple iOS: 16% of all mobile devices are iPhones or iPads running Apple iOS. This is a closed-source operating system. Currently, Apple iOS supports over 400,000 applications, including third party applications as of July 2008, which have been downloaded over 10 billion times.

Google Android: 33% of all phones run Google Android, an open-source, Linux-derived operating system backed by Google, along with major hardware and software developers that form the Open Handset Alliance. (Intel, HTC, ARM, Samsung, Motorola, and eBay, to name a few.) Google operates the official Android Market, which contains over 150,000 applications, with an estimated 3.7 billion downloads.

In summary, I’ve had plenty of Symbian-based phones, but at this point, I’ll may never have one again mainly because they are more feature than smart. I’ve never had the type of job that requires a BlackBerry. Many love the Android operating system, and though it has its detractors, I do love Google and may consider Android. But for now, I’m still in awe of my iPhone.

Robert Siciliano is a personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto. (Disclosures)

The Rise of Smartphones

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More consumers than ever before are buying smartphones. A smartphone is an Internet-enabled mobile phone with the ability to purchase and run applications. Smartphones are generally equipped with voice, data, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS functions. Operating systems include Google’s Android, Apple’s iOS and Windows’ Mobile 7. Most function on a 3G wireless connection and can switch to Wi-Fi when it’s available. Newer models are being built to accommodate the upcoming nationwide deployment of 4G wireless networks.

“Worldwide mobile phone sales to end users totaled 417 million units in the third quarter of 2010, a 35 percent increase from the third quarter of 2009, according to Gartner, Inc. Smartphone sales grew 96 percent from the third quarter last year, and smartphones accounted for 19.3 percent of overall mobile phone sales in the third quarter of 2010.”

In the U.S, there are 293 million cell phone subscribers and cell phone penetration is  over 93%. In 2010, more than one in four households had cell phones and no landlines, which is an increase of 2.1% over 2009. Almost one in six households use cell phones exclusively, despite having a landline. Wordwide, there are 5 billion  smartphones in use.

The number of mobile broadband subscriptions surpassed the half billion mark in 2010, and in 2011 broadband subscriptions are expected to exceed one billion. As more and higher speed networks are built, more consumers will gravitate toward the mobile web. Smartphone users are downloading billions of apps and spending millions via mobile payments. In fact, for the younger generation, smartphones are used for a majority of ecommerce transactions. Many of these people haven’t been inside a bank in years!

Taking Security Measures.

As more people switch to smartphones, mobile security concerns increase. Here are a few reminders to help keep your data secure on your phone:

1) Use a PIN to lock your phone: 55% of consumers do not use a PIN to lock their phones. Mobile content is especially vulnerable to hackers and thieves.

2) Don’t store banking passwords on your phone: 24% of consumers store computer or banking passwords on their smartphones. 40% of consumers say losing their phone would be worse than losing their wallet, and two million mobile phones are lost or stolen every year. That’s one every fifteen seconds.

3) Register for a service that can remotely locate, access and wipe your phone: There are services that can remotely access a lost phone, pinpoint its location, and, if necessary, wipe the data from the phone. Now is the time to consider investing in one, before you lose your phone.

Robert Siciliano is a personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto. (Disclosures)

Managing a Digital Life: Snooping on a Spouse’s Email

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Your spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, or partner just headed out to do errands without logging out of his or her email account. The computer’s sitting right there. Would you feel compelled to check it out?

According to a recent study, there’s a good chance that you will eavesdrop on your significant other’s cell phone and email conversations.

38% of people who are younger than 25 and in a relationship have snooped on their significant other by reading private email. 10% of the time, this snooping revealed that the other person had been unfaithful, resulting in a break up.

36% of people in long-term, committed relationships indicated they check emails or call histories without their significant other’s knowledge. 3% of married snoopers discovered they were being cheated on.

33% of women say they snoop on their spouse or partner, while 30% of men do.

Is this okay? Trust is a fragile intangible that can be irreparably broken. But aside from the moral and ethical implications, is it legal?

CBS News reports, “An Internet law designed to protect the stealing of trade secrets and identities is being used to levy a felony charge against a Michigan man after he logged onto his then-wife’s Gmail account and found out she was cheating… [He] is being charged with felony computer misuse, and faces up to five years in prison after logging into the email account of now ex-wife…on a shared laptop using her password.”

So before you go clandestine and hack your honey’s Hotmail, know that the long arm of the law may toss you into the hoosegow .

Robert Siciliano, personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto, discusses hackers hacking email on Fox News. Disclosures

Software Makes Dumbphones Smart for Facebook

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Facebook for SIM, from Gemalto enables anyone to enjoy Facebook on all handsets, even if without a data connection or data subscription. With this technology, Gemalto brings Facebook to millions of mobile phone users regardless of their handset type.

“Increasingly people want to be able to stay connected and communicate with their friends on Facebook anytime, anywhere,” said Henri Moissinac, Head of Mobile Business, Facebook. “Gemalto has developed a creative solution in Facebook for SIM that enables people without mobile data plans to stay connected to their friends on Facebook in an affordable way.”

Gemalto’s software development team has embedded the software application into the SIM. This ensures the Facebook application is compatible with 100% of SIM-compliant mobile phones.

From Wikipedia: “A subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module (SIM) on a removable SIM card securely stores the service-subscriber key (IMSI) used to identify a subscriber on mobile telephony devices (such as mobile phones and computers). The SIM card allows users to change phones by simply removing the SIM card from one mobile phone and inserting it into another mobile phone or broadband telephony device.”

The innovative solution provides mobile subscribers with simple and convenient access to core Facebook features such as friend requests, status updates, wall posts or messages. It also offers unique functions: people can sign up for this service and log in directly from the SIM application. Interactive Facebook messages pop-up on the phone’s screen so people can always share up-to-the-minute posts and events. One can also automatically search their SIM phonebook for other friends and send them requests.

Facebook for SIM is extremely easy to use and is available to everyone. No data contract or application download is needed, because the software is embedded in the SIM and it uses SMS technology. As a result, it works for prepaid as well as for pay-monthly customers. Following an initial limited free trial period, Facebook for SIM then operates on a subscription model via an unlimited pass for a given period of time.

Robert Siciliano, personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto. Disclosures

mCrime Takes A Leap Into Profitability For Criminals

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Cellular phones are becoming a bigger target for crime. As smartphones continue replacing landlines and billions of new applications are downloaded, mobile crime, or mCrime, will inevitably increase.

McAfee’s threat report for the fourth quarter of 2010 reveals steady growth of threats to mobile platforms. New mobile malware increased by 46% in 2010. 20 million new threats were discovered last year, or 55,000 per day. McAfee Labs has identified a total of nearly 55 million pieces of malware. 36% of that malware was created in 2010.

Senior VP of McAfee Labs Vincent Weafer says, “Our Q4 Threats Report shows that cybercriminals are keeping tabs on what’s popular, and what will have the biggest impact from the smallest effort… In the past few quarters, malware trends have been very similar in different geographies, but in the last quarter we’ve seen a significant shift in various regions, showing that cybercriminals are tapped in to trends worldwide. McAfee Labs also sees the direct correlation between device popularity and cybercriminal activity, a trend we expect to surge in 2011.”

Protect yourself from malware and other threats. Spyware can be remotely or directly installed on your cell phone. Never click on links in texts or emails, since links may point toward malicious downloads. Keep your phone with you. Don’t let it out of your sight and don’t share it. Make sure your phone requires a password, as this makes it more difficult to install spyware.

If your phone is behaving oddly or you have some other reason to suspect that it contains spyware, reinstall the operating system. Consult your user manual or call your carrier’s customer service for step-by-step help with this process.

Invest in a service that can locate, lock, or wipe your phone, and even restore your data when you trade it in for a new one. If necessary, you’ll be able to lock down your service remotely or wipe out important stored data to protect your privacy. You can back up your data directly or use the web to so remotely. You can access your data online from anywhere, or locate your missing phone and plot the location on a map. If it’s lost or stolen, SIM cards and phone calls can help get it back for you.

Robert Siciliano, personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto, discusses mobile phone spyware on Good Morning America. Disclosures

5 Gotta Have Social Media Apps

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Applications on mobile phones are all the rage. I spend more time on my apps than I do making calls. That time spent is often with those I connect with on social media.

Twitter and Facebook are the major players in social media and applications for them are a plenty.

TweetDeck

FREE. TweetDeck is your mobile browser for staying in touch with what’s happening now on Twitter from your iPhone or iPod Touch. TweetDeck shows you everything you want to see at once, so you can stay organized and up to date no matter where you are.

Create groups, search Twitter, manage multiple accounts and easily post your tweets or share photos, link and much more. Plus sync your existing TweetDeck columns between your desktop and iPhone. Nice and easy.

Twitpic Poster

FREE. This is a simple app for sharing pictures on Twitter using Twitpic service.
It’s super easy, all is done in 3 taps:
1. Select an image or take a picture
2. Upload to Twitpic
3. Enter Twitter message

You can also just take a picture and email it to your Twitpic address, but I find the Twitpic Poster easier and less cumbersome.

Seesmic

FREE. Do you have multiple social media accounts? More than one Twitter? Facebook? MySpace?  Seesmic for iPhone lets you update and view multiple social networks in an efficient and powerful application. Manage multiple Twitter accounts, your Facebook account, a Ping.fm account and organize all your accounts, searches, trending topics and lists in your customizable dashboard.

Facebook

FREE. Facebook for iPhone makes it easy to stay connected and share information with friends. Use your iPhone to start a conversation with Facebook Chat, check your friends’ latest photos and status updates, look up a phone number, or upload your own mobile photos to Facebook while on the go.

PingChat

FREE. PingChat! is the ultimate way to communicate with all of your friends, whether they use an iDevice, Android or BlackBerry. PingChat! provides free, unlimited, cross-platform, smartphone-to-smartphone messaging, with real-time conversations, group chat, media sharing, and much more. Simply create a Ping! ID, share your ID with all your friends, and start Pinging!

You won’t need to pay your carrier for text messaging. Wi-Fi or your current data plan is all it takes to send messages. Some apps offer free texting, but are exclusive to the U.S, or support few other carriers.

Send photos, videos, voice notes, contacts and map locations seamlessly directly in your conversations.

Robert Siciliano, personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto. Disclosures

Go “New and Shiny” or Wait?

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Keeping up on the latest advances in technology has always been my thing. I once had a beeper the size of a pack of cigarettes, and a mobile phone bigger than a shoebox.  I’m something of a gadget geek and a wannabe innovator. I like new and shiny.  .

You probably haven’t run across the name Everett Rogers in People Magazine. In 1962, Everett Rogers developed a theory for the adoption of innovations.

According to Rogers, innovators are the first individuals to adopt a new innovation, and are often the inventors themselves. Innovators are risk takers with close ties to scientific sources and connections to other innovators. Because of their high tolerance for risk, innovators often adopt technologies that ultimately fail.

Early adopters are the second wave of individuals to adopt an innovation. These individuals are opinion leaders, and realize that early adoption will help maintain their position as central communicators.

The early majority tends to be slower to adopt an innovation. They have less contact with early adopters and seldom hold positions of opinion leadership.

The late majority approaches innovation with a high degree of skepticism and waits to adopt until after the innovation has been widely embraced by society. This group displays very little opinion leadership.

Laggards, the last to adopt an innovation, are basically dinosaurs. These individuals, who tend to be advanced in age, show almost no opinion leadership and are typically resistant to change.

Early adopters are willing to camp out overnight, wait in line, and spend lots of money for an item that is not ready for prime time. Many new technologies have flaws that should be resolved before you make a commitment.

One example of early adoption is using a browser that’s still in beta. I can tell you firsthand, this is a painful process, yet once you go beta, you never go back. The newest browser lures you in with enticing bells and whistles, but has the stability of a toddler just learning to walk. This frustrating scenario involves plenty of reboots.

Influencers are going to go New and Shiny. That’s what they do. They are the pavers of the road and we thank them for that.

But unless your business or job requires you to be on the cutting edge, I’d recommend that most people wait until the early majority begins to adopt a new technology. That way, you get to check out the new and shiny thing without the hassles, headaches, and instability. Let others learn from the mistakes, and then you can benefit from their efforts.

Robert Siciliano, personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto, discussing Digital picture frames with built in viruses on Fox News. Disclosures

10 Social Media Security Considerations

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Social media security issues involve identity theft, brand hijacking, privacy issues, online reputation management, and users’ physical security.

Social media provides opportunities for criminals to “friend” their potential victims, creating a false sense of trust they can use against their victims through phishing or other scams.

Register your full name on the most trafficked social media sites, and do the same for your spouse and kids. If your name is already taken, include your middle initial, a period, or a hyphen. You can do this manually or speed up the process by using Knowem.com.

Get free alerts. Set up Google alerts for your name and kids’ names, and you’ll get an email every time one of your names pops up online. You should be aware if someone is using your name or talking about you.

Discuss social media with your kids. Make sure they aren’t sharing personal information that would compromise their own or your family’s security with their “friends.” Monitor what they do online. Don’t sit in the dark, hoping they are using the Internet appropriately. Be prepared not to like what you see.

Be discreet. What you say, do, and post online exists forever. There is no way to completely delete a digital post. Keep it professional, and be aware that someone is most likely monitoring you, possibly including your employer.

Maintain updated security. Make sure your hardware and your software are up to date. Update your antivirus definitions, your critical security patches, and so on.

Lock down settings. Most social networks have privacy settings. Don’t rely on the defaults. Instead, set these preferences as securely as possible. The main social media websites offer tutorials, which you should use.

Always delete messages from unfamiliar users. I get messages from scammers all the time, and I’m sure you do, too.

Don’t share personal information through games or applications. Nothing good can come from publishing “the 25 most amazing things about you.”

Always log off social media sites before walking away from the PC. If you ever use a friend’s or a public PC, this habit will save lots of aggravation.

Don’t use geolocation features, which literally track your every move in order to announce your location to the world. There’s no reason to allow anyone, anywhere, to stalk you. And don’t post status updates sharing the fact that your home is vacant.

Robert Siciliano, personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto, discusses hackers hacking social media on Fox Boston. Disclosures

Check Your Password Security

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Passwords are the bane of the security community. We are forced to rely on them, while knowing they’re only as secure as our operating systems, which can be compromised by spyware and malware. There are a number of common techniques used to crack passwords.

Dictionary attacks: These rely on software that automatically plugs common words into password fields. Password cracking becomes almost effortless with a tool like John the Ripper or similar programs.

Cracking security questions: When you click the “forgot password” link within a webmail service or other site, you’re asked to answer a question or series of questions. The answers can often be found on your social media profile. This is how Sarah Palin’s Yahoo account was hacked.

Simple passwords: When 32 million passwords were exposed in a breach last year, almost 1% of victims were using “123456.” The next most popular password was “12345.” Other common choices are “111111,” “1234567,” “12345678,” “123456789,” “princess,” “qwerty,” and “abc123.” Many people use first names as passwords, usually the names of spouses, kids, other relatives, or pets, all of which can be deduced with a little research.

Reuse of passwords across multiple sites: Reusing passwords for email, banking, and social media accounts can lead to identity theft. Two recent breaches revealed a password reuse rate of 31% among victims.

Social engineering: Social engineering is an elaborate type of lying. An alternative to traditional hacking, it is the act of manipulating others into performing certain actions or divulging confidential information.

There are a number of ways to create more secure passwords. One option is to create passwords based on a formula, using a familiar name or word, plus a familiar number, plus the first four words of the website where that password will be used. Mix in a combination of upper and lowercase letters, and you have a secure password. Using this formula, your Bank of America password could be “Dog7Bank,” for example. (Add one capital letter and an asterisk to your password, and it can add a couple of centuries to the time it would take for a password cracking program to come up with it.)

Password managers can also help generate and store secure passwords. Some people like Lastpass. Another incredibly efficient and secure service is Roboform, which has a “Generate” tab in its browser toolbar that creates passwords that can’t be guessed, like “ChF95udk.” All your passwords are backed up on a secure encrypted server and can sync on multiple PCs.

It is just as important is to make sure your PC is free of malicious programs like spyware and keylogging software. Beware of RATs, or Remote Access Trojans, which can capture every keystroke typed, take a snapshot of your screen, and even take rolling video of your screen with a webcam. But what’s most damaging is the possibility of a RAT gaining full access to your files, including any passwords being stored by a password manager.

Use antivirus and anti-spyware software and firewalls, and set up your PC to require administrative rights in order to install any new software.

Robert Siciliano, personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto, discusses hackers using social engineering to hack email on Fox News. Disclosures

Mobile Payment is Coming

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Near Field Communications, or NFC, is the exchange of information between two devices via wireless signal. For example, a wireless signal emitting from your cell phone can act as a credit card when making a purchase.

This year, over 70 million mobile phones will be manufactured and sold with NFC built in.

NFC can be used in other ways beyond credit card transactions. It can integrate with hardware, such as your car, to unlock a door. It can activate software.

Soon enough, using your phone as a credit card will be commonplace. Mobile contactless payments, in which you pay by holding your phone near the payment reader at the register, are expected to increase by 1,077% by 2015.

According to a study by Boston-based research firm Aite Group, “The gross dollar volume of U.S. mobile payments is estimated to grow 68 percent between 2010 and 2015, but the mobile payments will continue to represent only a ‘tiny portion’ of U.S. consumer spending for many years.”

Mobile payment is still in the testing phase in the United States, Canada, and other countries around the world.

Security is paramount. A new type of smartcard-based SIM is at the core of mobile payment security. It contains a small computer with its own software designed to protect the payment account information. Your credit card provider will make sure that mobile payment is fully secure, or it will not happen.

Robert Siciliano, personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto, discusses identity theft in front of the National Speakers Association. Disclosures