Should you or shouldn't you bother to purchase antivirus for your Smartphone? Five and ten years ago, nobody would have even asked that question. Most of us had just plain old cell phones that made...phone calls. So now we've clearly moved in a much more complicated direction and the question remains how safe is my new Smartphone now that I can connect it to the Wild Wild World of the Internet.
I purchased my first Blackberry in 2007. Another in 2009 and then again in 2011. I then parted my Blackberry ways experimenting with an iPhone 4 in 2010 and recently a Samsung Galaxy Skyrocket 2011, and now (2012/2013) a Samsung Galaxy Note 2. My '07 and '09 Blackberries were never any good at real in depth Internet browsing. However, they did live up to Blackberries legendary reputation for being very secure devices. Clearly they set the bar very high as far as mobile security was concerned. The rise of the iPhone and then subsequent ascension of the Android phone have set newer bars as far as exploring the Internet and having a secure device. Now that most 2012 (and up) cellular phones can jump on the Internet at speeds so blazing fast, that they can out pace some tablets from just less than two years ago with their connections speeds and browsing abilities...we've entered seme very, very uncharted territories.
Well, perhaps I shouldn't say uncharted. If you've had a computer more than 10 years (I started using my first computer in high school some 30 years ago) you know that there were computer viruses out there in the wild that could adversely affect your device if you were not careful. So now you have virtual mini computers in your purses, pants and jacket pockets and you're wondering if you should buy something to protect your device?
Okay let me discuss this with you this way. 10 or 20 or 30 years ago, the computer you were using probably had your semester's paper from high school or college, or a work assignment for your job. Then later on it became important for some things you did in your home like shopping, communicating with others, sharing family photographs, etc. Now today, you use it to schedule appointments, join social networks, log ALL of your most important phone numbers and music selections, your text messages, emails, favorite cooking recipes...apps, apps and more apps. Are you sure you want to leave such a device open to having it's information stolen?
Now you older folks, don't get all sour and self assured that you don't need to have all that information in a tablet or Smartphone and you're doing just fine with your old tiny, winy address book next to your night table. Phooey you! If you have anything like my old phone book or my mother's old phone book, you have numbers written over numbers and a pages falling out left and right. No way you could keep track of 300 plus phone numbers and addresses in that old thing. No way that phone book can give you instant access to a map of that address after you look up the name of the business. The instant access to such information and connections is so immediate and so "awareness changing." Everyone I know over 45 who has recently learned how to use a Smartphone and can work it into their budget, has never, ever gone back to a regular phone. They absolutely refuse. They are plugged into their families, friends, jobs - whatever and do not want to go back to the old way.
Bear in mind, I did read an article last year from an alleged "tech" guy who stated that he didn't know of any particular "viruses" in the wild that were geared to attack Smartphones and tablets. He felt that there wasn't sufficient cause for alarm or rush to purchase an antivirus for your Smartphone. Well...all I have to say is this...5 years ago (and earlier), there wasn't even a question of needing to purchase antivirus for a Smartphone in the first place. The phones couldn't do what they do today. They couldn't blaze through websites like they do today. The more places you can go to, the more likely you are going to pick something up.
IRONICALLY as I sit here writing this post, a family friend's Twitter account was hacked with a virus and I just received a text message with a virus filled link via my phone. Had I NOT been aware to NOT click onto the link, I very well could have infected my Twitter account and Smartphone with this virus. I sent her a regular text message and she fixed it. But now it is just that easy to have some jerk ruin your phone or online accounts. Hopefully my antivirus would have kicked in and saved me, but you never know. Nothing is 100%, but zero percent is 100 % ineffective. By having antivirus in my phone and reading through a potentially infectious Social Network message, I saved myself a huge headache.
Most of the Smartphone antivirus comes "free" with full features for 30 days. Then they switch you to basic, limited features after the 30 days and prompt you to pay for full protection for the year. There are so many now out there this year, as opposed to last year or the year before. In a subsequent post I will scribe some recommendations here on this blog. For now...do some research and protect your Smartphone and tablets folks. It might be the very last shield you have between your personal information and...identity theft.
I purchased my first Blackberry in 2007. Another in 2009 and then again in 2011. I then parted my Blackberry ways experimenting with an iPhone 4 in 2010 and recently a Samsung Galaxy Skyrocket 2011, and now (2012/2013) a Samsung Galaxy Note 2. My '07 and '09 Blackberries were never any good at real in depth Internet browsing. However, they did live up to Blackberries legendary reputation for being very secure devices. Clearly they set the bar very high as far as mobile security was concerned. The rise of the iPhone and then subsequent ascension of the Android phone have set newer bars as far as exploring the Internet and having a secure device. Now that most 2012 (and up) cellular phones can jump on the Internet at speeds so blazing fast, that they can out pace some tablets from just less than two years ago with their connections speeds and browsing abilities...we've entered seme very, very uncharted territories.
Well, perhaps I shouldn't say uncharted. If you've had a computer more than 10 years (I started using my first computer in high school some 30 years ago) you know that there were computer viruses out there in the wild that could adversely affect your device if you were not careful. So now you have virtual mini computers in your purses, pants and jacket pockets and you're wondering if you should buy something to protect your device?
Okay let me discuss this with you this way. 10 or 20 or 30 years ago, the computer you were using probably had your semester's paper from high school or college, or a work assignment for your job. Then later on it became important for some things you did in your home like shopping, communicating with others, sharing family photographs, etc. Now today, you use it to schedule appointments, join social networks, log ALL of your most important phone numbers and music selections, your text messages, emails, favorite cooking recipes...apps, apps and more apps. Are you sure you want to leave such a device open to having it's information stolen?
Now you older folks, don't get all sour and self assured that you don't need to have all that information in a tablet or Smartphone and you're doing just fine with your old tiny, winy address book next to your night table. Phooey you! If you have anything like my old phone book or my mother's old phone book, you have numbers written over numbers and a pages falling out left and right. No way you could keep track of 300 plus phone numbers and addresses in that old thing. No way that phone book can give you instant access to a map of that address after you look up the name of the business. The instant access to such information and connections is so immediate and so "awareness changing." Everyone I know over 45 who has recently learned how to use a Smartphone and can work it into their budget, has never, ever gone back to a regular phone. They absolutely refuse. They are plugged into their families, friends, jobs - whatever and do not want to go back to the old way.
Bear in mind, I did read an article last year from an alleged "tech" guy who stated that he didn't know of any particular "viruses" in the wild that were geared to attack Smartphones and tablets. He felt that there wasn't sufficient cause for alarm or rush to purchase an antivirus for your Smartphone. Well...all I have to say is this...5 years ago (and earlier), there wasn't even a question of needing to purchase antivirus for a Smartphone in the first place. The phones couldn't do what they do today. They couldn't blaze through websites like they do today. The more places you can go to, the more likely you are going to pick something up.
IRONICALLY as I sit here writing this post, a family friend's Twitter account was hacked with a virus and I just received a text message with a virus filled link via my phone. Had I NOT been aware to NOT click onto the link, I very well could have infected my Twitter account and Smartphone with this virus. I sent her a regular text message and she fixed it. But now it is just that easy to have some jerk ruin your phone or online accounts. Hopefully my antivirus would have kicked in and saved me, but you never know. Nothing is 100%, but zero percent is 100 % ineffective. By having antivirus in my phone and reading through a potentially infectious Social Network message, I saved myself a huge headache.
Most of the Smartphone antivirus comes "free" with full features for 30 days. Then they switch you to basic, limited features after the 30 days and prompt you to pay for full protection for the year. There are so many now out there this year, as opposed to last year or the year before. In a subsequent post I will scribe some recommendations here on this blog. For now...do some research and protect your Smartphone and tablets folks. It might be the very last shield you have between your personal information and...identity theft.
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