Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Let's Review Some Basic Tablet Security Tips

Here's a quick checklist of security tips for your tablet:
Don’t jailbreak ** your tablet – this might expose the device to greater security risks.   What's Jailbreaking?  See Below **

Be wary of any apps you download – Always check the author.  Don’t download any paid-for apps which are suddenly are available for free, and be wary of any changes in any permission changes it may seek for accessing data. 

Always use a strong password in case your tablet is stolen, and download the Find my iPhone app (also works for iPads) – or download some similar security software for Android – which will locate the device in the event it's lost or stolen.  Remember, 1 in 10 portable computers are stolen!

Be wary of public Wi-Fi !  You may be "snooped on" so avoid logging into web accounts unless you use SSL encryption. Never try to do anything on public Wi-Fi that you’re not comfortable with a bunch of strangers seeing.

Don't trust the "native" security features of your tablet no matter how secure you think they are.  Download a third party mobile security software which will block malicious apps, scan for malware, prevent data loss and locate, lock or wipe a missing device. Recent security reports show that many native O/S across all platforms stop less than 50% of known malware.

** The act of 'jailbreaking' is changing the technical settings of a device so that users can download applications that are not approved by the tablet or smartphone maker.  It is illegal to tamper with the settings of a tablet but, ironically, it's not illegal to jailbreak a smartphone.  Go Figure!
Thanks to Tony Larks, Vice President, Global Consumer Marketing, Trend Micro for sharing these tips.

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