Protect your Android device against theft, viruses with McAfee Mobile Security (Appolicious)

Smartphones aren't cheap. That's why it makes good sense to want to protect your investment.

McAfee Mobile Security is a service that protects your phone from viruses, backs up your data (contacts, photos, videos, call history, etc.) and even allows you to locate your phone on a map in case it's lost or stolen.

After a seven-day free trial, if you decide this is something you need in your life, you can buy a one-year subscription through the app's website: www.McAfeeMobileSecurity.com for $29.99.

You've probably got a pile of paid monthly services stacking up (Netflix, Hulu, The New York Times digital subscription, Pandora, etc.), which might make it difficult to justify spending even more cash. I look at McAfee Mobile Security, though, the same way I look at my AAA auto insurance. You might not think about it or use it very often, but when you need it, you're really glad you have it.

If your phone is lost or stolen, you can see where you phone is on a map. You can access your phone's data at any time through the app's website. The app also tracks when a new SIM card has been inserted into your device, and tracks your phone's call log. If you're still not able to get your phone back, you're able to wipe all of your phone's data — to prevent friends and family from being harassed, or embarrassing text messages and photos from being shared with strangers.

Like I mentioned earlier, the app also does a bit of preventive maintenance to make sure you don't pick up any viruses or lose any valuable information. McAfee has its own color-coding system, which is designed to alert you to potential viruses, browser exploits or other malicious websites. This way, you know which sites to avoid.

I have used McAfee on my own computer for years, so I was already a bit familiar with how this program works. Even so, the average user won't have any issues figuring this out. You mostly just follow the step-by-step directions through setup. Even better, this app works so you can set it and forget it. It takes care of the hard parts all by itself.

Download the free Appolicious Android app

Protect your Android device against theft, viruses with McAfee Mobile Security (Appolicious)

Smartphones aren't cheap. That's why it makes good sense to want to protect your investment.

McAfee Mobile Security is a service that protects your phone from viruses, backs up your data (contacts, photos, videos, call history, etc.) and even allows you to locate your phone on a map in case it's lost or stolen.

After a seven-day free trial, if you decide this is something you need in your life, you can buy a one-year subscription through the app's website: www.McAfeeMobileSecurity.com for $29.99.

You've probably got a pile of paid monthly services stacking up (Netflix, Hulu, The New York Times digital subscription, Pandora, etc.), which might make it difficult to justify spending even more cash. I look at McAfee Mobile Security, though, the same way I look at my AAA auto insurance. You might not think about it or use it very often, but when you need it, you're really glad you have it.

If your phone is lost or stolen, you can see where you phone is on a map. You can access your phone's data at any time through the app's website. The app also tracks when a new SIM card has been inserted into your device, and tracks your phone's call log. If you're still not able to get your phone back, you're able to wipe all of your phone's data — to prevent friends and family from being harassed, or embarrassing text messages and photos from being shared with strangers.

Like I mentioned earlier, the app also does a bit of preventive maintenance to make sure you don't pick up any viruses or lose any valuable information. McAfee has its own color-coding system, which is designed to alert you to potential viruses, browser exploits or other malicious websites. This way, you know which sites to avoid.

I have used McAfee on my own computer for years, so I was already a bit familiar with how this program works. Even so, the average user won't have any issues figuring this out. You mostly just follow the step-by-step directions through setup. Even better, this app works so you can set it and forget it. It takes care of the hard parts all by itself.

Download the free Appolicious Android app

Germany warns of Apple software security hole (AP)

BERLIN – Germany's IT security agency says the software running Apple's iPhones, iPads and the iPod Touch has "critical weaknesses."

The Federal Office for Information Security said Wednesday that clicking on an infected PDF file "is sufficient to infect the mobile device with malware without the user's knowledge" on several versions of Apple's iOS operating system.

It says the same could occur when opening a website that carries an infected PDF file, possibly opening the device to criminals spying on passwords, planners, photos, text messages, e-mails and even listen in on phone conversations.

The agency says Apple Inc. has not yet offered a patch to fix the problem.

Apple Germany spokesman Georg Albrecht told The Associated Press he was aware of the warning, adding that Apple would not comment on it.

Vulnerabilities found in Google Chrome PC security (Reuters)

BOSTON (Reuters) – Google Inc brags that computers running its recently released Chrome operating system are a lot safer than traditional PCs, partly because user data is stored in the Internet cloud and not on the machine.

Yet researchers at an independent computer security firm warn that the Chrome PC's reliance on Web computing makes it vulnerable to the same attacks that hackers have been launching on websites and Web browsers for years.

Matt Johansen, a researcher with WhiteHat Security, said he identified a flaw in a Chrome OS note-taking application that he exploited to take control of a Google email account. He reported it to Google, which fixed the problem and gave him a $1,000 reward for pointing it out.

Johansen said he has since discovered other applications with the same security flaw.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg," he told Reuters. "This is just evolving around us. We can see this becoming a whole new field of malware."

Google is betting that the launch of its Web-centric Chrome OS PCs will help reshape the decades-old personal computer industry, challenging entrenched players such as Microsoft Corp and Apple Corp. The first Chrome PC laptop, from Samsung, went on sale earlier this month. Early reviews have been mixed, with some influential technology hands noting that the concept of an always-Internet-connected PC may be ahead of its time and not ideal for mainstream users.

One key to hacking Chrome OS is to capture data as it travels between the Chrome browser and the cloud, Johansen said. Hackers have until now mostly targeted data that sits on a machine's hard drive.

"I can get at your online banking or your FaceBook profile or your email as it is being loaded in the browser," he said. "If I can exploit some kind of Web application to access that data, then I couldn't care less what is on the hard drive."

Johansen declined to identify the applications with the security bugs. He and colleague Kyle Osborn are holding back that information for a presentation at Black Hat, a prestigious hacking conference to be held this August in Las Vegas.

Those applications belong to a class of software programs known as "extensions," which users download from the Google Chrome Web Store. Extensions are essentially applications that run inside browsers

The bulk of Chrome OS extensions are written by independent software developers, not by Google.

Johansen said the problem with the extensions is related to a design flaw in Google Chrome OS: the operating system gives extensions sweeping rights to access data stored on the cloud.

"Chrome is trusting these extensions more than it would be trusting just another website," he said.

Executives at Google said they are looking to improve procedures that screen extensions for vulnerabilities before clearing them for the Chrome Web Store.

Caesar Sengupta, director of Chrome OS, said the company was exploring "various ways" of trying to automatically tag questionable extensions. Yet he said that Google did not want to make it onerous for developers to get their extensions distributed through the marketplace.

"We are trying to create a system that -- like the Web -- is open," he said.

Alex Stamos, a security expert with iSec Partners who helped develop the security system for Chrome OS, said that it would be unfair to condemn the overall security of the new operating system just because of the issues cited by the WhiteHat researchers.

"While things might not be perfect, we are talking about a much more controlled and secure environment than you have on Windows and Mac PCs," he said.

For information on the Black Hat conference, see http://www.blackhat.com.

(Reporting by Jim Finkle; Additional reporting by Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Gary Hill)

Security firm will update your Facebook status so thieves think you’re home (Yahoo! News)

We all enjoy discussing our vacation plans with our social networking contacts, but when a potential thief gets wind of your extended departure, things can get much less enjoyable. According to security company Precreate Solutions, clients have reported a sharp spike in break-ins after announcing on Facebook that they'll be away from home for a long period of time. To combat this, the company is offering to keep your Facebook status updated while you're away, for a fee.

Using a list of pre-approved messages, the company will post periodic updates to your Facebook account to make it seem as though you're going about your daily routine. It's a bit like leaving your home's interior lights on a timer to make it appear that the house is occupied when you're away, but with a social networking twist. Of course, your cover will be completely blown if you accidentally post your own Facebook update bragging about how nice the scenery is in Hawaii, or how great the margaritas are on the cruise ship.

Precreate Solutions' director, Gary Jackson, says that insurance companies are beginning to take notice of the higher-than-average risk that social network buffs pose to their books, claiming "It's getting to the point now when insurance firms are going charge higher premiums for social media users." We're not quite sure about that, since it would mean sifting through literally hundreds of millions of users to match names with accounts. Still, the danger of posting your vacation plans is real, and it's always a good idea to be non-specific about when, and for how long, you'll be away from home.

Of course, you can use your Facebook and Twitter privacy settings to make sure that only certain people see your updates in the first place. So if you'd rather play your social networking cards a little closer to the chest, take a look at our guide to get started!

Telegraph via The Next Web

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