Tag: security apps

At the same time that consumers are being warned about their privacy over smartphones, those devices could also help.

A mobile technology trend involving the use of smartphones and tablets to help to improve local security among residents of a neighborhood and in tracking, through the combination of smartphones and social media apps.

These tools are becoming an increasing part of various types of community policing program.

The key is that smartphones are owned by the majority of adults, and among the owners of that mobile technology, most use social media apps. Moreover, they spend a great deal of time on those applications and they access them on a regular basis. This, as a result, is providing a useful tool in the help to fight crime. A new trend has started with private security companies as well as with the Community Policing Forum (CPF), where this tech and these mobile apps are combined in order to be able to raise awareness of issues and to alert residents when a problem may be present.

A growing number of specific instances of the use of mobile technology for crime fighting and safety has been occurring.

One example, among many, occurred on New Year’s Day, in Glenvista, South Africa. Just before opening at 8am, the Glenvista Shopping Centre Checkers store was robbed. This involved a situation in which an estimated seven suspects had stolen an undisclosed amount of money from the cash office. In this case, the robbery was discussed on the CPF Facebook page, where there were a number of important leads and connections made that brought about several advancements toward solving this crime. The good relationship between the CPF and the police has continued since then and they work closely.

Other CPFs within the community are also using mobile apps to be able to help in battling crime. Community Watch is one of the apps that is being used the most widely, as it brings together an instant messaging service with a direct connection to CPFs, private security companies, and even the police.

These are only a couple of examples of the important role that mobile technology is starting to play in the safety of individuals and entirely communities in South Africa, as regular everyday people and law enforcement officials work together to improve their own security using smartphones and apps.

Not only more and more people doing their online browsing and shopping on their mobile devices, in some third world countries their affordability makes them the only choice for people who want to access the World Wide Web.

Additionally, they can be much more convenient for making transactions, due to NFC systems, and the fact that people often need to engage in ecommerce while on the go. So there is no doubt that there is a demand for a reliable mobile payment system, and that that demand will only be increasing as time goes by, as the number of people enraging in this type of transactions grows, but are mobile devices safe enough to be entrusted with your money?

Well, due to a number of possible methods of payment that you may be interested in, and different devices and platforms they are using, this is not really a question with a definitive answer, but if you know what you are doing and try your best to keep your transactions as secure as possible, you shouldn’t have to worry about the safety of your transactions too much. For instance, certain types of payment practically don’t require you to give out any information apart from your cell number, so you don’t have the risk sharing your information online. Likewise, in direct, bar code payment, you are not required to trust someone with your credit card, while NFC systems are quite secure, and mostly use encoding when performing transactions.

This is to say that, in some aspects at least, mobile payments, that don’t come down to just simply entering your credit card data like you would on a PC, can be much safer than some of the more conventional electronic payment options. However, this is not to say that they are without any risk, which is why you have to take proper precautions. For instance, if you are not using a direct payment method, but instead sending data over a wireless connection, you have to make sure that you are not doing so over an unsecure, public network, like the ones you find malls, coffee shops and the like.

Additionally it would be a good idea to protect your mobile device with antivirus software. The vulnerability of the device will mostly depend on the platform it is using. For instance, iOS, which is a tightly monitored system is considered to be quite a bit more secure than the open Android, but on the other hand, that means that more developers tried to polish out the chinks in Android’s armor with security apps, you only have to take the time to find and install the ones that you feel provide you with the best protection. Most of these apps also give you a way to password protect your device, which is to say that even if you lose it, people probably won’t manage to retrieve the sensitive information that you have on there.

As mobile payments are becoming a more common method of performing financial transactions, more people are focusing on making them safer, which is to say that they are offering more security as each day goes by, but you should probably still only use this method of payment for smaller transactions, and use some of the safer methods for heavier purchases.

Article by Samuel Evans blogger and writer for “Mobile Shop” Samuel currently exploring everything related to mobile phones and gadgets.