Security 101: December 2012

How safe is internet banking when I am using a smartphone to do it? I noticed several banks provided apps to do mobile internet banking and share trading but does it really work?

Smartphones have much limited security functionality than desktops. However, they do share one weakness: they are both equally exposed to external attacks if they transmit non-encrypted data over non-encrypted Internet connections.
So, it is not possible to give a general statement about how safe or unsafe the usage of an app really is. It depends mostly on the app itself. In general, an app that transfers highly confidential data must only work with encrypted data.
It is also highly recommended that the connection to the network also be encrypted because even if the data is encrypted, the application could be theoretically vulnerable to a sophisticated man-in-the-middle attack. The best method is to check with the app developer if the data is transferred in a secure manner.

 

 

Why do some antivirus manufacturers change their software’s interface all the time when users are already familiar with it?

Many antivirus manufacturers change their user interface (UI) based on the feedback they received from the marketplace and incorporate innovative and feasible changes that their customers have requested for. Some others change it regularly because this theoretically improves the acceptance of the users and allows them to gain new customers, thus
increasing their client base.

Even so, there is no golden rule in changing the UI of the products.
The software security field is changing constantly at an amazing pace and this includes the users of security software and services. As such, the antivirus (AV) manufacturers are trying to keep pace with this ever changing landscape and also trying to be as competitive as possible as there are over 30 AV products in the global market plus many others
enhances that are local.

via Avira – TechBlog http://techblog.avira.com/2012/11/30/security-101-december-2012/en/


© Copyright 2012 Sorin Mustaca, All rights Reserved. Written For: Sorin Mustaca on Cybersecurity


Check www.endpoint-cybersecurity.com for seeing the consulting services we offer.

Visit www.itsecuritynews.info for latest security news in English
Besuchen Sie de.itsecuritynews.info für IT Sicherheits News auf Deutsch

Related Posts

There are also nice parts in giving information to Google. The result is … impressive.

I am logged in in the Chrome browser with my Google account. I have my birthday correctly added there, and yes, it is today… 🙂   Result:  A Google start page personalized for me. I have to say that I am kind of … impressed. Of course it is easy to do it with such much information. […]

Link shortening service Bitly hacked, users asked to reset credentials

Link shortening service Bitly late Thursday announced it has suffered a data breach, and urged all users to reset their credentials.  Bitly’s CEO wrote in the blogpost that they have “reasons to believe that Bitly account credentials have been compromised; specifically, users’ email addresses, encrypted passwords, API keys and OAuth tokens”. This is really bad because it […]

Old Facebook likejacking scam in use again: “[SHOCKING] At 14, she did that in the public school”

We wrote last year a couple of times about Facebook likejacking scams. A likejacking scam is an attempt to lure Facebook users to click on a post in order to see something very interesting. For example, “Dad walks in on Daughter… Embarrassing” , „This spider is brutal“, “Who visited your Facebook Profile”, “I Will NEVER TEXT Again After […]