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How to Secure Your Home or Business On the Cheap

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It doesn’t matter who you are or where you live, your home is at risk of being burglarized. According to numerous studies, in the US alone, a burglary occurs about once every 18 seconds, which equates to about 5,000 a day.

5WFortunately, you can secure your home or business against burglary, and it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune. Here are 5 ways that you can get peace of mind on the cheap:

  1. Repurpose Your Smartphone
    If you are like most, you probably have an old smart phone hanging around just collecting dust in a drawer. For free or a small fee, you can download apps for both Android and iPhone devices that allow your smart phone to become a surveillance system with almost no effort on your part. Simply search “Surveillance app” in your devices app store.
  2. Speaking of Cameras…
    Of course, you can always just buy a surveillance camera for your business or home. These are often network cams and are easy to use and affordable. These low cost security cameras are often motion-activated cameras that sends a live stream and alerts to the user’s smartphone via the cameras app. Some of the features to look for include:

    • Night Vision
    • Wide-angle lens
    • Siren
    • Automatic detection of animals

    You can buy the systems at major retailers, and it start as low as $50.00.

  3. Set Up Some Tripwires
    Sometimes simple and traditional is best, and tripwires can really do a nice job of protecting your home or business, and you can get them for as little as $20. In fact, with a bit of ingenuity, you can even make your own. Some of them have a loud sound, too, similar to a gunshot, which will seriously scare anyone who is sneaking around where they shouldn’t be. These are low-tech and perfect for anyone wanting to beef up their other security systems, as a multi-layer approach to security is best. Search “trip wire alarm” on eBay or YouTube for all kinds of options.
  4. Get a Guard Dog
    If the traditional approach appeals to you, consider a guard dog. People have been using guard dogs to protect their property since the time of Ancient Rome, and one of the most popular breeds for this type of work is the German Shepherd, Doberman or Belgian Malinois. These dogs are large, strong, and intimidating, and you definitely wouldn’t want to cross paths with one that was trained to keep you off its property. Just keep in mind, whatever breed you choose, that you must get a professional trainer for the best results.
  5. Make a Pact With Your Neighbors
    One of the best ways to protect your property is to work with your neighbors and keep an eye on each other’s homes. For example, if you know your neighbor is going on vacation and you have more than one car, park one of them in their driveway. This way, it looks as if someone is home. You also should take their mail in because burglars know if there is a lot of mail in the box, the home or business owner likely isn’t around.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video.

New Smartphone Owner? Pay attention

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Recent reports show smartphones are outselling dumbphones for the first time ever. Dumbphones are actually called feature phones, which is odd because they don’t offer many features. Well, they do, like a camera, texting, crude internet access, and a few other extinct bells and whistles—but not as many as a smartphone.

The Wall Street Journal reports, “Smartphones accounted for 51.8 percent of mobile phone sales globally, research firm Gartner said…. The growth, up 46.5 percent compared with the same quarter last year, is driven by sales in the sub-$100 Android market.” The fact that Android’s lower prices reflect the rise in smartphones is significant due to the fact that Apple’s new iPhone 5C will be priced at $100 or less and older-model iPhones can be had for pennies with a two-year contract.

This is big. This means millions and millions more people are now using smartphones. (My dad got his first smartphone with the iPhone 5. The man won’t stop texting me pics of squirrels on his deck, deer in his yard and birds on the 30 feeders he has.)

The technology in smartphones today is just astounding. Whether you use an iPhone, Android or even a BlackBerry, having the world at your fingertips makes getting things done far more efficiently. Besides the obvious benefits of communications, multimedia and online shopping, a smartphone is a great way to save money. Just the other day, I went to a store to make a purchase and was floored by the cost of an item that I usually buy every two or three years. I immediately went online via my smartphone and found what I was looking for—for 90 percent less than what I had almost paid. Frankly, I don’t know how brick-and-mortar shops survive when consumers have this kind of access to price comparisons.

Now that you are a new and proud smartphone owner, you must recognize you are no longer using simply a phone. It’s a little computer. And can be hacked in the same way as that big one you have in your basement office. You can’t carry this little PC around and not keep security in mind. So here’s the guide to care and feeding of your little computer:

Operating system (OS). Update your operating system when required. The device itself has settings that will alert you to new updates. Never update your OS because you receive a text message telling you to do this. It’s a scam.

Password protect it. This isn’t a feature phone. It’s a smart little computer that accesses applications and data. If your phone is lost or stolen, you want it password protected.

Invest in Locate/Lock/Wipe software. Whether built into the OS or downloaded as an app from a third party, get software that will remotely locate your device if it is lost, then will lock it if needed and wipe the data.

Protect your wireless. Not all wireless is created equal. Your carrier’s 3G/4G has a level of encryption that’s crackable, but unlikely to be cracked—whereas any open or free WiFi connection can expose your device and its data to criminals. Installing Hotspot Shield VPN (available for both  iPhone and Android) will encrypt all WiFi communications, protecting you. And it’s free.

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to Hotspot Shield VPN. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen See him discussing internet and wireless security on Good Morning America. Disclosures. For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247.

New Mobile Security App for Android Smartphones

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Consumers with smartphones understand they are carrying around the functions of a computer, but most users are unaware that smartphones are susceptible to the same security threats that plague laptops and desktops.

As more online retailers introduce mobile e-commerce applications, criminal hackers are taking notice. Existing mobile operating systems are under attack and, like standard PC operating systems, they sometimes fail to provide the necessary security to support a payment application.

Malicious software (malware) can invade a device when consumers click a malicious link in a text message or email, surf a risky website or download a potentially unsafe app.  Once the device is infected, malware allows the collection of data from the device such as a location information, financial information, and login credentials.

Verizon Wireless has always protected devices on its network using sophisticated network intrusion and data analysis tools.  Now they will extend their network security to customers with the introduction of Verizon Mobile Security, an application that helps secure and protect Android smartphones against digital and physical threats.

The new offering covers concerns such as device infection, misplacement or loss, reaffirming Verizon Wireless’ commitment to protect its customers, devices and network by providing resources with robust security capabilities. Representing the next level of protection, Verizon Mobile Security, co-developed by Asurion and McAfee, is available on Android smartphones running Android 2.1 or higher.

To help protect yourself, I also recommend:

Refrain from clicking links in text messages, emails, especially if they are from someone you don’t know

Set your smartphone to lock automatically and unlock only when you enter a PIN

Keep your phone’s operating system updated with the latest patches

Invest in mobile security protection, which includes antivirus, for your smartphone

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Evangelist to McAfee. Watch him discussing information he found on used electronic devices YouTube. (Disclosures)

Selling Your Old Smartphone? Not Smart

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It has become standard practice to upgrade to a newer device, and people often sell, donate, or discard the old one. Or maybe you’ve received a new computer or mobile phone as a holiday gift and need to get rid of the old one. You consider selling them so you can get some money back—maybe to purchase your newest device, but is this really worth it?

After what I’ve seen, I don’t think so. I conducted a test where I purchased a bunch of used devices off of Craigslist and eBay to see if I could still find personal data on the devices. I found a startling amount of personal data including photos, phone numbers, addresses, emails, text messages and even passwords.

While most of us would think we were safe if we did a factory reset on our mobile device, we also need to remember to remove or wipe any media like internal drives, SD cards, and anything else that stores data really should be destroyed. And for Android phones, even though some of the phones had done a factory reset, I was still able to find data on them. Furthermore, after having spent a few months working with a forensics expert, I’ve come to the conclusion that even if you wipe and reformat a hard drive, you may still miss something.

So whether you destroy your smartphone with a sledgehammer, use a drill press to turn it into swiss cheese, or use a hack saw to chop it into pieces, and then drop those pieces into a bucket of salt water for, oh, say a year, just to be safe, for your own good, don’t sell it on eBay or Craigslist. Yes, this will not provide much help for resale value, but you’ll have some fun and know that your information is safe.

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Evangelist to McAfee. Watch him discussing information he found on used electronic devices YouTube. (Disclosures)

Almost 5% of Smartphones Lost Every Year

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McAfee and Ponemon Institute recently released “The Lost Smartphone Problem,” a study that attempts to determine how many employees’ smartphones are lost or stolen, and the consequences of these lost cell phones on various organizations. Among the 439 sample organizations, the number of missing smartphones is significant: 142,708 in one year.

Approximately 62% of smartphones are company owned devices assigned to employees for business use. 38% are personally owned and are used for business. Roughly 4.3% of these employee smartphones are lost or stolen each year. Of the 142,706 smartphones reported missing by the 439 businesses surveyed, only 9,298—7%—were recovered. 13% of the missing smartphones were lost in the workplace, 29% were lost while traveling, and 47% were lost while employees were working away from the office, either at home or hotel rooms. Employees were unsure where the remaining 11% were lost. And despite the fact that 60% of missing smartphones are believed to contain sensitive and confidential information, 57% were not protected with available security features.

The industries reporting the highest rate of smartphone loss were health and pharmaceuticals, education and research, and public sector organizations.

Based on the costly consequences of lost data assets, it makes sense to allocate the necessary resources to invest in anti-theft and data protection solutions in order to secure smartphones and the sensitive and confidential information they contain.

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Evangelist to McAfee. See him discussing identity theft on YouTube.(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)

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

mCrime Perfectly Positioned to Pounce in 2011

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The number of households in the United States that rely solely on wireless telephones continues increasing. More than one in four households had cell phones and no landlines in the first half of 2010, which is an increase of 2.1% since the second half of 2009. And almost one in six households uses cell phones exclusively or almost exclusively despite still having a landline.

What’s most interesting is that more than half of adults between 25 and 29 rely on cell phones alone. This is the first time that adults of any age range have been more likely to go without landlines. This trend indicates that those who have grown up with mobile phones as an accoutrement that went along with their lunch box have never bothered to get a landline. In a few decades, the landline will probably be about as obsolete as the rotary phone is today.

As a result of this shift, software application developers are focusing primarily on mobile devices, with PCs demoted to a secondary consideration.

And whenever there’s a major transition to a new technology, the uncertainty and newness creates the perfect opportunity for scammers to launch attacks. Dave DeWalt, chief executive of McAfee Inc. security software, predicts, “2011 is the year of the threat to the mobile device, particularly the mobile app.”

There are plenty of new tablets and smartphone devices coming out this year, along with thousands of new mobile applications. Meanwhile, hackers are creating bugs and viruses that modify the legitimate software industry’s processes.

Expect more scams and more scam warnings in 2011. The main initial concerns involve rogue apps and phishing messages designed to extract credit card numbers and login credentials. As mCrime evolves and criminals begin to make some money, they will have the resources to hire crackerjack programmers to do their deeds.

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

Mobile Apps Are Leaking Data on You

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Tracking users is all the rage. A battle is being waged over our data, and there are several parties involved in this fight. We voluntarily offer our data to various companies, only to discover that they are using it in ways that we never anticipated.

Smartphones have become almost an extension of ourselves. They are as integral to our lives as clothing. I have mine clipped to my suit when I’m working, jeans when I’m shopping, and pajamas when I’m lounging. And then, of course, it’s on the nightstand when I’m sleeping. It’s even right outside the shower.

And then there are the applications. Most people spend more time navigating their apps than actually making or receiving calls.

The Wall Street Journal found that many app developers haven’t been upfront with their intentions:

“An examination of 101 popular smartphone “apps”—games and other software applications for iPhone and Android phones—showed that 56 transmitted the phone’s unique device ID to other companies without users’ awareness or consent. Forty-seven apps transmitted the phone’s location in some way. Five sent age, gender and other personal details to outsiders. The findings reveal the intrusive effort by online-tracking companies to gather personal data about people in order to flesh out detailed dossiers on them.”

One developer of online ads and mobile apps declared, “We watch what apps you download, how frequently you use them, how much time you spend on them, how deep into the app you go.” The motivation here is money. The more they know about you, the more targeted ads they can deliver, and the more likely you are to buy.

So what to do? Privacy concerns are justified, but what can be done with this data, other than ad targeting? Not much. I don’t see any fraud or identity theft happening as a result of this. They aren’t going to try to sell you anything by cold calling you, and hopefully they’ll refrain from emailing sales pitches.

If you want to cleanse yourself of this type of tracking you can delete and avoid apps, or you could provide false information, but that could violate terms of service, and might even be a useless tactic.

The best you can do is try to understand what you are giving and what you are getting in return, and make conscious decisions as to whether the tradeoff is worth it to you.

Robert Siciliano, personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto, discusses leaky applications on Fox News. (Disclosures)