Smart Phones and Cyber Crime

[Raithe]

Hm, caught a report on cyber security - World Facing a Wave of Cyber Crime

 

Pointing out the nature of smartphones as a fully-fledged computer sitting in your pocket, that a lot of people allow to automaticlaly connect to wi-fi hotspots. How they're so user-friendly and accessible, and how people without thinking (because it's "just a phone") take the convenience without giving thought to the security aspects.

They are our bank vault, our confidant, our guide.

 

So with an estimated 480 million smartphones sold by the end of the year, how many folks on these forums have one?

 

Bitdefender's Catalin Cosoi said: "We have investigated applications for Android devices and basically, based on our statistics, we've seen a 2,000% increase of malicious applications compared to the last year... Our prediction is that in the following six months, we will have a 6,000% increase in malicious applications."

 

Not taking into account the various "celebrities" hacked phones, or even wandering down the line of the Murdoch groups phone hacking..

 

According to Detica and the Cabinet Office , Britain loses

[Walsingham]

Interesting point. I don't have a smartphone because when I'm out and about I don't want a gnat's battery life.

 

Just a thought, but surely the 'herd' are always (and quite logically) going to rely on being in the herd?

[Gfted1]

I have a smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S. The novelty of apps wore off long ago and 99% of the time its just a phone to me.

 

@Wals: Granted Im not a chatty guy on the phone but I can literally go days between putting it on the charger. If youre constantly using it I think the "talk time" is 8-10 hours.

[Walsingham]

I have a smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S. The novelty of apps wore off long ago and 99% of the time its just a phone to me.

 

@Wals: Granted Im not a chatty guy on the phone but I can literally go days between putting it on the charger. If youre constantly using it I think the "talk time" is 8-10 hours.

 

I'll keep that in mind. Must be due an upgrade sometime soon. I should add that my last upgrade qualified for a smartphone but I parlayed it into a craptonne of free minutes.

[Hurlshort]

I have an original Droid, I love it. One, I don't keep wifi on, that sounds crazy and would drain the battery. The way I use it, I never have trouble with the battery life, I charge it at night and that does me well enough. If I use the GPS system or internet radio for an extended period of time, I usually plug it into my car charger while doing so.

 

The GPS has been hugely helpful, but it's also just easier to communicate with people. I can text, send emails, facebook messages, I can even go on these forums. 3G is amazing and fairly widespread. I have Verizon, which I grumble about cost wise but can't beat their network. I don't really play any games, just a scrabble type game when I'm going number 2. At one time I even used it in my class to help with grading while I walked around, but now I have a tablet for that.

[Blarghagh]

I don't have one. The last thing I need is internet and flash games all the time. It's hard enough for me not to get stuck browsing TVTropes and Cracked.com or watching Let's Plays.

[Orogun01]

ITT: We talk about our smart phones. Cybercrime; is that a movie?