Tips for making smartphone apps safe for children

The last year has seen many stories of children racking up app purchases on their parents’ credit cards, simply by clicking yes to the offer of in-game currencies and items. Thankfully, it’s an area that’s being tightened up by the smartphone giants. Here are some simple steps to ensure your children are safely using apps:

In-app purchases

The majority of new games produced for children now include in-app purchases, in which the player can pay a small (or sometimes terrifyingly large) amount to make progress easier in some way. Most phones require you to enter your account password to authorize a payment, but they often then give the user a grace period to make further purchases without authorization.

 

To prevent this in iOS, go to Settings | General | Restrictions, and choose to Enable Restrictions. You’ll be asked to set a passcode, and further down the page you can disable the slider on In-App Purchases. Every single attempted in-app purchase will now require your passcode. In Android, open Google Play, select Settings and scroll down to the User Controls section. Choose Use PIN for purchase, and choose a passcode.

Age restrictions

If you’re worried about your children finding apps they shouldn’t be using, you need to set up parental controls. In most big app stores every app, song and video is age rated, so you can simply set your device to only allow content at or below an appropriate age rating. If your child tries to download something they shouldn’t, they’ll be asked for your password – this way the adults can still access any content they choose. The method varies by platform, but the settings tend to be in the same place as those for in-app purchases, as described above.

The best part is that this doesn’t only work for apps. The same controls can easily be set up to restrict the camera, file transfers, the web browser and any specific sites you want to block, and even any virtual assistants your phone might offer. Explore the settings pages fully – you might be surprised just how safe you can make today’s devices.

Catching rogue apps

Of course, none of this is any good if the app itself is the problem. Compromised apps can contain malware (malicious software), that can steal data from your device and slow performance. To be safe, use a tool such as Norton Mobile Security to scan for harmful apps, and Norton Spot to look for those that display intrusive adware. That way you can hand the phone over safe in the knowledge that it won’t be compromised.

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أقطار المغرب الكبير 11:56 AM  No comment

Hackers hit web accounts of MtGox boss

Hackers have taken over some of the web accounts of Mark Karpeles - boss of the troubled MtGox Bitcoin exchange.

 

The attack on Mr Karpeles seems to have been motivated by growing frustration over the actions of MtGox.

 

Last month MtGox stopped trading and filed for bankruptcy after finding out that $465m (£279m) in bitcoins had been lost via a security bug.

 

The attacks were mounted on the personal blog and Reddit account of Mr Karpeles and left the hackers in charge of both social media accounts.

 

The attackers used their access to grab detailed information about trading activity at MtGox. They then shared their findings by posting a 716MB file containing much of what they had found.

 

The material posted included an Excel spreadsheet of more than one million trades, entries from MtGox's business ledger and information about its back-office administration software.

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أقطار المغرب الكبير 1:22 PM  No comment

Free Wi-Fi hotspots pose data risk

Sensitive information should not be sent over public wi-fi hotspots, to avoid hackers stealing it, Europe's top cybercrime police officer has warned.

Troels Oerting, head of Europol's cybercrime centre, said people should send personal data only across networks they trusted.

He said the warning was motivated by the growing number of attacks being carried out via public wi-fi.

Europol is helping a number of countries after such attacks, he said.

Stolen data

"We have seen an increase in the misuse of wi-fi, in order to steal information, identity or passwords and money from the users who use public or insecure wi-fi connections, we should teach users that they should not address sensitive information while being on an open insecure wi-fi internet." he said.

The attackers are not using novel techniques, but rely on well-known approaches that attempt to trick people into connecting to a hotspot that, superficially, resembles those seen in cafes, pubs and restaurants and other public spaces.

Man in the Middle

The attacks meant that data swapped when people communicate with a bank, shop via the web or log in to social media sites could be captured by attackers.

As its name implies, in the Man in the Middle attack thieves attempt to insert themselves between users and a hotspot to gather all data passing between the two points. 

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أقطار المغرب الكبير 9:18 AM  No comment

Android users, beware of growing malware threats

New data suggests that mobile malware is becoming more advanced in its capacity to target smartphone users, according to internet security firm Kaspersky.

In a report published for the years 2012-13, Kaspersky found that in 2013 over 143,000 new modifications of malicious programs targeting mobile devices were detected, indicating a rapid increase in the amount of programs that exist.

Additionally, over 3.9m installation packages were used by cybercriminals in 2013 to distribute mobile malware - a figure that rises to 10m unique installation packages over the two years.

The report reads: "The mobile malware sector is growing rapidly both technologically and structurally. It is safe to say that today’s cybercriminal is no longer a lone hacker but part of a serious business operation.

"It is now clear that a distinct industry has developed and is becoming more focused on extracting profits, which is clearly evident from the functionality of the malware."

Concerns have been raised about the percentage of Android users being targeted, with Kaspersky explaining that over 98 per cent of the malware was aimed at smartphone users that use the popular operating system, highlighting its "vulnerabilities and growing popularity".

Worryingly enough, the number of banking trojans circulating is also increasing. Kaspersky say the number of mobile malware modifications for phishing, stealing bank card information and money from bank accounts represented a twenty-fold increase, with 2,500 infections prevented by the company in 2013 alone.

“The cyber industry of mobile malware is becoming more focused on making profits more effectively, i.e., mobile phishing, theft of credit card information, money transfers from bank cards to mobile phones and from phones to the criminals’ e-wallets,” explains Kaspersky.

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أقطار المغرب الكبير 2:14 PM  No comment