If you are part of the fast-growing number of mobile users who access email, Facebook or Twitter on their smartphones, then make sure you follow safety practices like password-controlled access setting, having a remote lock facility, and watching what you download, as the cyber security threats are now moving from computers to mobiles.
Even while these threats to computers become more numerous (currently numbering around 3 million) and unique (each affecting around 50 computers), smartphones (ie, those based on an operating systems) have emerged as a vulnerable medium because of unregulated third party apps.
The use of mobile for data connectivity is expected to increase with high-speeds offered by 3G networks.
According to Norton Mobile Survey-2011, based on a sample of 500 Indian smartphone users, 60 percent users are comfortable with online banking, connecting through Wi-Fi, and having their location identified by software on their mobiles, while 50 percent access email and shop online.
It also found that around 60 percent currently do not have password protection, and three-fourths cannot lock or wipe their phone remotely.
Announcing the survey results to the media here today, Symantec country sales manager (India & Nepal) Gaurav Kanwal said open-source operating systems like Android are more prone to security threats than proprietary ones, but those were also the fastest growing platforms in smartphones.
Citing figures from IDC, a technology consultancy firm, Kanwal said Android-based smartphones grew from 2.9 percent of the total as of December 2009 to 9 percent a year later.
These include brands such as HTC, Dell and Micromax, among others, and the number of smartphones sold in India last year was at 5.96 million, he said. The smartphone base as of end-2009 was around 8-9 million.
Norton, which had already introduced mobile security software for Symbian and Windows platforms, has now launched Mobile Security for Android to be downloaded from the phone as an app from its site, accessible at m.norton.com.
Kanwal said the software offers anti-theft protection through remote location, lock and wipe capabilities, anti-malware scans, certain level of parental control and blocks phishing sites. A one-year licence for the software costs $ 29.99 (around Rs 1,360).
