Keep Up With The Times, Be A Savvy Smartphone User

As I’d mentioned in my last post, I have been doing a lot of research on smartphones, since I was planning to buy one for the elder netizen at home. The research threw up some interesting findings.

Today, there are around 4 billion mobile phones in use worldwide, of which 1.08 billion are smartphones and 3.05 billion are SMS-enabled, according to mobile market infographics from the Microsoft Tag team. Another interesting finding is that globally people are using their smartphones mostly for social networking. Playing games, watching video/You-Tube, clicking and sharing pics, tweeting and posting Facebook updates on the go have become commonplace.

But I find the Indian youth context much more fascinating. Let me illustrate:

- The statistics: While a Nielsen survey seems to think it’s a rather small number, almost 10% of the Indian youth (15-24yrs) hold a smartphone today. Now, add to it the fact that 50% of the Indian population is below the age of 25, and that’s a pretty significant number.

- Leveraging the trend: Are companies like BlackBerry whose phone ads are funky and highlight social networking apps and features way beyond the traditional email. For that matter, the Vodafone ZooZoos, have also won over the hearts of millions of young users.

Now, I have come to consider smartphones as heaven-sent for the perpetually busy people of today. However, what concerns me is the massive adoption by the youth as well. I often spot kids busy tinkering with their BlackBerrys over a cup of coffee. Their usage mirrors the global trends I’ve mentioned above and that’s what sends my Cybermum antennae into overdrive.

Aside from the fact that I sometimes think it hampers their social skills, the bigger concerns are those around the security threats that they are exposed to. Keeping in mind that kids are increasingly using their phones to take photos and videos with their friends, the prospect of these personal items falling into the wrong hands is scary.

Phone loss or theft, hacking and virus attacks are quite commonplace. So at a basic level it is essential to:

• Not share your phone with others, as they can surreptitiously install spyware

• Refrain from using free Wi-Fi at public spots to do sensitive work like bank transactions. Infact disable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when not in use

• Refrain from storing sensitive data like ATM PIN on the phone – a surprisingly large number of people do!

• Use strong passwords for accessing emails

• Practice safe mailing habits and not open attachment or links in dubious mails or in SMSes from strangers

• In case of loss of phone, contact your service provider to remotely wipe the data or lock the phone

Some more sophisticated precautions include:

• Encrypt data that has to be stored and use password to access it

• Install an effective software that allows you to lock and wipe your phone memory if you happen to lose it, as well as locate and restore your data

• Backup your files regularly

So smartphones are here to stay and their appeal, demand and scope is on an upward curve. So I am of the opinion that we can use them to improve our lives if we are prudent and cautious while doing so.

As always, stay safe on the net, and see you soon.

Anindita

Tags: encryption, India, mobile security, mobile security software, smartphones, youth

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