A “selfie” is simply a photo that teens (mostly girls) take of themselves while holding the mobile camera at arms length. They often come in floods online—sometimes dozens a day depending on a teen’s exuberance. Posting photos is nothing new, however, selfies are exploding with the popularity of Instagram. And while posting umpteen photos may seem harmless to a teen at the time, let’s face it, the constant stream of “me, me, me” is not the healthiest reality.

As a mom of a 13-year-old daughter it’s more than a little disturbing watching the cycle of  “fun.” Here’s how it usually goes: Girls will purse their lips, try to look more mature, get in front of the bathroom mirror, and crowd into the camera lens. They get their hair just right. They use a photo app to adjust the photo until they look as good as possible. Then they post. And 10 minutes later they post again; thus, the selfie cycle.

There’s no doubt this growing trend of what might be called “streaming me” creates a daily, subtle assault to a young woman’s bodyimage, self-esteem, and overall beauty perspective.

So how does a parent combat the trend? With candor, consistent (compassionate) communication, and a healthy dose of stealth stalking (don’t overdo it) to make sure there’s a degree of balance.

Here are some tips we hope will help you coach your kids through the selfie craze.

Refresh perspective. Take the time (repeatedly and lovingly) to remind your daughter that social media is not a true representation of everyday life. Remind them that their peers only post beauty shots—no one looks great all the time.

Watch the Dove videos. Sit down together and watch Dove’s powerful videos on body image and true beauty. If you’ve never seen these videos, you are in for a real boost to your parenting goals!

Affirm acceptance. Send your daughter a strong message that she is accepted, and has unique qualities and individual beauty. Listen and ask questions to show you care about her interests and ideas.

Build the bond. Constantly work on developing a relationship with your daughter that overpowers the influence of her online peers. The goal: That your input becomes one she looks to for true perspective and belonging.

Encourage offline hobbies. Help your daughter develop hobbies and interests (offline) that affirm her skills and highlight her individual interests and talents. You may see the selfies decrease.

How is the Department of Defense going to secure all of these mobile devices? Simple: with a well thought-out plan, complete with objectives and goals.

The Department is looking to roll out top-secret and unclassified mobile devices throughout this year and the next while establishing its own device management capability. The DOD is also looking into Public Key Infrastructure, a method of authentication, in conjunction with other digital signature services.

Robert Carey, DOD Chief Information Officer, shares on the matter, “It’s an exciting time for the mobile space, and I will tell you as we march into it and into choices and … into smart phone utilization in the DOD, it is not without the requisite security…Many an industry and federal agency are leaping into it a little faster than the security apparatus is willing to catch up with, but we are not. We are trying to leap in it with the security apparatus attached.”

We’ve discussed the importance of mobile security many times on the blog, but this news presents itself as a good opportunity for a refresher. Here are a few key points you should consider when laying out your mobile security plan:

1. Have a Plan for When Mobile Devices Get Lost or Stolen

In the event one of your company phones gets lost or stolen or finds some other route to the black market, it’s important to have a contingency plan in place. Make sure your employees use a password for their devices, and be sure that all phones are equipped with security software such as McAfee Mobile Security, which can easily locate, lock and remotely wipe the data on a potentially compromised phone. Larger organizations can check out McAfee Enterprise Mobility Management, which aids IT managers in simply adding/deleting users from corporate network resources while enforcing their security policy.

2. Educate Employees on Basic Security Practices

Don’t place passwords on post-it notes. Don’t talk about sensitive projects or programs in a cafe. Don’t assume that an unsecured Wi-Fi network is a safe place to log in. Always use a different password for different accounts. Give your team the tools they need to maintain unique and secure passwords.

3. Avoid Risky Apps

It may be disappointing to hear, but company property isn’t a suitable device for you to play TempleRun. Refrain from downloading unnecessary apps on your mobile device, especially if they’re free and can access your contacts. Android devices are particularly at risk, as recent studies and news reports show that many Android apps are listed as “suspicious” and malware is, unfortunately, common on the platform. Apple’s App Store has a more strict app vetting process, so it appears to be more secure, but it’s only a matter of time until some form of malware sneaks through.

As the workforce becomes increasingly digitized, secured mobile devices will become all the more important. Now is the time for your company to lay out its mobile security plan. Having the right software, practices, and education about mobile security are important first-steps, but it’s not all. Remember: there’s always room for improvement. If the DOD can lay out a strategy for over 600,000 mobile devices, so can you!

To learn more about this topic, be sure to follow us on Twitter at @McAfeeConsumer or Facebook at www.facebook.com/McAfee.

Today, cyberattacks can mean much more than financial setbacks, and this example should serve as a cautionary tale for online merchants to take security seriously. eCommerce merchants are especially vulnerable as they deal in hackers’ target of choice, the personal and financial information of consumers.

Below we discuss the reality of cyberattacks and small businesses, and what you can do to make sure that your site doesn’t suffer the same fate.

It Can Happen To You

In the last year alone, cyberattacks have not only increased in frequency, but also in severity. Even some tech industry giants and other prominent businesses weren’t safe from the wave of breaches. With 47,000 reported security incidents in 2012, hackers were definitely busy, and will most likely continue to be.

Most websites have at least one serious weakness that can potentially lead to a security breach down the road. The consequences of these vulnerabilities being noticed by the wrong people will be extraordinarily costly, if not fatal for some smaller sites. Additionally, the ongoing lack of PCI compliance among small to medium sized businesses, has made them even easier to take advantage of.

Hackers can breach your site in a variety of ways including, but not limited to, malware infections, brute force intrusions, as well as through third party vulnerabilities. The 2013 Verizon data breach report found that 52% of attacks utilized some form of hacking and 40% incorporated malware, with the overwhelming majority of attacks rated as opportunistic.

The Aftermath

So what happens after a breach? Along with the headache of identifying and fixing the damage from an attack, the costs merchants face when this scenario occurs can be devastating. From the cost of a forensics audit to site downtime—not to mention heavy fines and other consequences—a serious enough breach has the power to cripple any small business. What’s worse is that most business owners don’t even take into account the ultimate price of a breach in security until it’s too late.

Aside from potential financial losses, a cyberattack can also permanently tarnish your reputation as a reliable and safe merchant. As we’ve mentioned before, trust plays a huge part in whether or not shoppers choose a site, and there’s no quicker way to lose revenue than by being breached. Not to mention the uncomfortable notification and/or password reset emails to customers who have been impacted by the incident.

Like in the article mentioned above, there is light at the end of the tunnel for most businesses after a data breach, but proper security is the best way to ensure they don’t happen in the first place.

What Your Business Can Do

Making sure your site and customers are safe starts with the backend. Web and application firewalls are essential lines of defense and every business should incorporate them into their strategy. Additionally, for all merchants accepting credit card payments, SSL encryption is another critical step towards crossing your T’s and dotting your security I’s. Regardless of whether or not a third-party payment provider is in charge of processing transactions, all other customer data, like passwords and contact information, must be encrypted as well.

Many security risks merchants face are nothing new, and yet hackers exploit them again and again. However, enlisting the help of a third-party security provider will help identify and patch mission critical issues before they become a problem for your business. Frequent vulnerability scanning is not only a great way to keep site weakness in check, but also complies with one of the many PCI DSS requirements.

Once all of the backend pieces are in place, it’s important to show shoppers that you are a legitimate operation—and this is doubly important for small businesses. One of the best ways to achieve perceived security and build trust with consumers is by displaying one or more reputable security seals on your site.

Visit our website for more information on McAfee SECURE services, and be sure to follow us on Twitter at @McAfeeSECURE for the latest in eCommerce news and events.

Too often, the same password is used for multiple online accounts—for instance, you might log in to your online banking site with the same password you use for your personal email account. In the McAfee Digital Assets survey from earlier this year, 37% of people reported that they use the same password for multiple online accounts. Using identical passwords is convenient for us as users, but it’s also convenient for any hacker trying to steal personal information—once a hacker has access to one of your accounts, he can use a recycled password to snoop around at will.

Certainly, using more than one password and pass phrases that include a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols and is at least ten characters in length goes a long way towards keeping malicious people at bay, but unfortunately, merely adding variety to your login information doesn’t guarantee security.  In The Easiest Ways to Not Get Hacked, author Rebecca Greenfield included this chart showing just how much difference one character in length makes:

One of the most important accounts to keep secure is your primary email account—and here’s why: sooner or later, all of us have to use the “I forgot my password” option, which typically sends a password reset email. A whopping 79% of McAfee Digital Assets survey respondents said they’d used a “forgot password” button in the last six months. A hacker only needs to crack the password for your primary email account, and he’ll be able to access any of your other secure accounts simply by clicking the “forgot password” button when he sees it. This is what is known as a single point of failure, meaning it’s the one piece in any system that can bring down your whole system.

Establishing a separate email account for registration is one idea—in other words, your “I forgot my password” emails would all be sent to an account other than your primary email account. But even in that situation, there’s still only one password between a hacker and most of the data you want to keep out of a hacker’s hands—from financial accounts and bank access to your weekly grocery delivery service. So the real question, even if you’re savvy enough to have a separate email address for password rescue, is: how do you make any email account more secure?

Two-step verification (often referred to as two-factor authentication) is a system designed to give you an extra layer of security that’s easy to use and indispensible for commercial or highly sensitive accounts. Two-step verification protects your email with not only a password, but also by associating your account with a specific device or devices. A recent example of how this works comes from Google. In the case of Google’s two-step verification for Gmail accounts, a user simply re-authorizes the account every 30 days, by providing a numeric code that confirms the account.

The extra step and learning a new system of security sounds like an enormous hassle but Google has taken the pain out of the process by allowing you to obtain the code in one of three ways:

• Via text. You can have Google send you a text message containing the code.
• Via Smartphone App. You can download a free app that will generate a randomized code for at the time of sign in.
• Via landline. You can receive an automated voice message to a non-mobile phone that tells you the code.

This means that a hacker who wants to access your email account can only do so if he’s also got access to your text messages or your landline phone. It might not stop every cybercriminal, but it does make the average hacker’s job a lot harder.

This two-factor authentication, while not new, is making major inroads amongst websites, apps, and services that process critical information. Many corporations have used hardware-based secondary authentication codes for years, but Google and others (including Twitter) are working hard to make this enhanced authentication flow a more practical and accessible part of our working lives.

New biometric verification options, such as a retina or fingerprint scan, are also catching on among security-conscious consumers, and will likely be a feature on more devices in the future. As times change, and more sensitive information flows through these sites, we can be sure to see more of these processes put into place.

We talk on this blog a lot about teaching kids to navigate the online world. It’s our goal to help you raising cyber savvy, cyber safe kids who can hold their own and not get trampled online. We talk about privacy issues, social issues, and all the emotional and physical threats our kids carry in their pockets on a single device.

However, if you leave out the critical detail of making eye contact regularly with your child then anything you attempt to teach her about online safety, well, it may just slip into the abyss.

So we pause and recommend (rather plead) with parents to please, stop, drop (the gadget) and lock eyes with your kids.

Don’t finish that email. Don’t keep typing while waiving the “just one sec” finger. Don’t text at the restaurant. Don’t get more preoccupied with posting a photo to Facebook than you with living the moment at hand. Don’t nod to your kids as if you are listening while strategizing your next Words with Friends move. You get the picture.

Studies concur: eye contact teaches a child she is valued, how to listen to others, and it does wonders for her self worth and self-confidence.

Be fully present with your child and teach them to do the same with others. Explain to your child what you are doing and why. This will teach them that eye contact and listening is a top value in your family.

Be prepared. They may act awkward at first. They may blow you off with a laugh. But be assured: when you lock eyes with your child, no matter the age, they will light up like a firefly. Whether they let on or not, all kids need and crave attention, love and affirmation. Not one of them is “too cool” for extra affirmation.

By building your eye contact, when the time comes to deposit wisdom into your child, they will actually listen and learn rather than be face-first in a device. Hopefully, they will soon begin to return the courtesy and look at you when you talk.

Good luck. And remember, it’s never too late to begin a better thing.

The threat to our mobile devices is also high because our smartphones are always connected, they usually carry some personal data, and they are even equipped with small cameras, microphones, and positioning devices (just like the spies carried in old movies). And because there are more built-in devices options (like cameras and microphones) compared with computers, it makes the operating systems and apps more complex, increasing the way that cybercriminals can take advantage of any security holes.

But you can focus on doing some things that will help you be more secure when using your mobile devices. We provided five tips here and now here’s five more:

1. Be careful when “checking in” on social sites: Facebook, FourSquare and other geo-location programs are fun and sometimes you can score some deals for “checking in” at locations, but you also want to be cautious of letting people know where you are – especially if you’re away from home. And you also may want to consider disabling the GPS (global positioning system) on your smartphone or tablet so your photos don’t’ have latitude and longitude information embedded into them when you share them.
2. Don’t remember it-forget it: Don’t set user name and passwords to be remembered in your mobile browser or in apps and make sure you always log out of accounts when you access them. And like on your computer, make sure you use strong passwords and different passwords for each of your accounts.
3. Be careful what you share: Yes it’s fine to stay in touch with our friends and family via social networks, but be careful what you share. Even if your privacy settings are set to only let your friends see the information, it’s best to take the approach that once something is online, it lives forever. Think if you’re really ok with your grandmother or boss to see that update, picture or video.
4. Don’t text or email personal information: While this might seem pretty basic, we may find we need to share credit card numbers or personal details with another person. But this should be done via a secure site or app or use your mobile’s other function (the basic phone part). Emails and texts can be intercepted and then your information can fall into the wrong hands. Also remember that legitimate organizations like banks will not ask you to text personal details like that so if you see requests like that, it’s most likely scam.
5. Turn off your Bluetooth: If you’re not using this connection, it’s best to turn it off. Not only will this help save your battery life, but it prevents hackers from accessing your device through this technology. Many devices are preset to use default settings that allow other users to connect to your device, sometimes without your knowledge. In some cases, hackers can access a phone’s contacts, calendar, text messages, and more.

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Expert to McAfee. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked!  (Disclosures)

Seems the theft was pretty simple to pull off. The culprit—a frequent visitor to our home—simply looked over my son’s shoulder as he typed in his iTunes password. Then, for the next six months the “friend” proceeded to download nearly four hundred dollars in songs, video games, and apps. We didn’t notice the twenty dollars here or the five dollars there until recently when he got greedier spent $35 in downloads in one day.

It took us several days of contacting iTunes, working with our bank and interrogating our own kids before we figured it out. The most surprised person: my son. The betryal stung his trust and taught us:  A) how easy it is to get someone’s password B) the reality that we are not as secure as we thought we were C) that online security applies to every aspect of your life—even your circle of friends.

All are great but tough lessons for a  teenager (and his parents) to learn.

Could security software have caught the theft? Not likely. However, holding the reigns of our personal information more tightly could have helped us avoid this inside hack job.

We agreed to:

1)    Routinely change all passwords

2)    Never share our password with anyone—even good friends

3)    Type our passwords in private–even it feels awkward or offends a friend in the room

Hackers have developed tools to get at your personal data that are openly shared (and even celebrated in their community) all over the web. In describing various tools, it’s easy to find phrases like “When you need to brute force crack a remote authentication service, [tool X] is often the tool of choice. It can perform rapid dictionary attacks against more then 30 protocols, including telnet, ftp, http, https, smb, several databases, and much more.”

It’s pretty scary to learn that hackers make it sport and even compete to find creative ways to breech your personal security, which is a reality we need to teach our kids.

Some quick password reminders to share with your family:

• When creating a password, don’t use a word found in the dictionary or any personal information such as your name, birth date, pet’s name, or the street you live on.
• And, don’t use any of the above words with a number after it like MaryFrances1 because hackers know many logins require a word and at least one number.
• Never use keyboard sequences like “asdfghjk” or “67890”
• Never use sequential numbers or letters like “123456″ or “abcdefg”
• Mix special characters and numbers in addition to letters when creating a password.
• Never use the last 4 digits of your social security number.
• Don’t use obvious words like “password,” “letmein” “god” or “love.” Hackers attempt to think like the average Joe.
• Use a different password for each site or app you use. Change out your passwords regularly, especially those on very private accounts—especially banking sites.
• Use a password generator and keep your passwords on file in a secure password manager.

The most important takeaway from this study is that parents are largely unaware of what their kids are actually doing online. The study found that 46% of kids would change their behavior if they knew that parents were watching, with nearly 50% looking up sites they shouldn’t be. Kids today are hiding what they are doing and it’s putting them in danger—whether they know it or not. Now is the time for parents to get tech savvy and close the Digital Divide.

With this in mind, from June 11^th-28^th, we’ll be holding three different prize drawings to give away a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 16GB Tablet and a 1-year subscription to the McAfee^® LiveSafe^™ service to one lucky tweeter. All you need to do to enter is retweet our #DigitalDivide content of the day that is featured with the contest hashtag, #RT2Win! The tweets each day will showcase some of the top content around the Digital Deceptions study, illustrating the disconnect between kids and parents when it comes to online activities. We hope that you’ll help us spread the word about our study to promote safer online experiences for everyone.

More Details on How to Win:

During each Drawing period, tweets will be announced every business day at 8am PT with the #RT2Win hashtag on @McAfeeConsumer feed, so keep a look out on Twitter! Each retweet must include the #RT2Win and #DigitalDivide hashtags to be eligible, and the winner will be chosen from the entries received during the time period of each Drawing.

Additionally, each lucky winner will be featured as our McAfee “Follower of the Week,” and highlighted on the @McAfeeConsumer feed with a Twitter graphic following their selection.

Help us spread awareness of the #DigitalDivide and encourage parents and kids to communicate about the risks online – follow our team on Twitter and #RT2Win!

Digital Divide #RT2Win Giveaway Terms and Conditions

1. How to enter: No purchase necessary. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning. Three Twitter Retweet to win (#RT2Win) Prize Drawings (“Drawing”) will be held, Drawing periods are as follows (all times Pacific time zone):

Drawing 1: 8:00 AM Tuesday June 11^th, through 5:00 PM Friday June 14^th.

Drawing 2: 8:00 AM Monday June 17^th, through 5:00 PM Friday June 21^st.

Drawing 3: 8:00 AM Monday June 24^th, through 5:00 PM Friday June 28^th.

 Eligible contest tweets will be announced daily at 8am PT during the drawing period on the @McAfeeConsumer feed featuring the #RT2Win hashtag. Each retweet must include the #DigitalDivide hashtag to be eligible to win, and winners will be chosen at the end of each week (Friday). No other method of entry will be accepted besides Twitter. Entries from one Drawing are not carried over to a later Drawing (you must enter each Drawing separately).

To enter on Twitter, go to https://twitter.com/McAfeeConsumer. Find the contest tweet of the day, which will include the hashtags: #RT2Win and #DigitalDivide. Look for the contest tweet daily starting at 8am PT. Retweets of other tweets or those that do not contain the hashtag #DigitalDivide will not be considered. 

2. Eligibility: The contest is open globally to those who are 18 years of age or older on the date the contest begins. Employees of McAfee and its subsidiaries, affiliates, prize suppliers, and advertising and promotional agencies, their immediate families (spouses, parents, children, and siblings and their spouses), and individuals living in the same household as such employees are ineligible. A winner of one Drawing is eligible to enter in the subsequent Drawings.

The contest is governed by the laws of the United States and is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Void wherever prohibited by law with no exceptions.  

3. Winner Selection: The winner for each Drawing will be selected at random from all eligible retweets received during a Drawing’s entry period. By participating, entrants agree to be bound by the Official Contest Rules and the decisions of the coordinators, which shall be final and binding in all respects. The odds of winning depend on the total number of eligible retweets received. The winner will be notified via direct message on Twitter.com.

4. Prizes: The prize for each Drawing is a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Tablet with 16GB Memory and 1-year subscription to McAfee LiveSafe service (approximate retail value: $580). Prizes cannot be exchanged for cash and cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion. No substitution or transfer of prize permitted.

5. General conditions: Entrants agree that by entering they agree to be bound by these rules.  All federal, state, and local taxes, fees, and surcharges on prize packages are the sole responsibility of the prizewinner. The prizewinner will be required to execute and return, as directed, an Affidavit of Eligibility/Release of Liability/Prize Acceptance Form within 2 business days following notification that the winner has won the prize. Return of a prize notification as undeliverable, failure to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility/Release of Liability/Prize Acceptance Form, or any other failure to comply with any official rules will result in disqualification and the selection of an alternate winner. 

The winner grants McAfee the right to use and publish his or her Twitter handle online as a “follower of the week,” in connection with the contest. By entering, participants release and hold harmless McAfee and its respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees, attorneys, agents, and representatives from any and all liability for any injuries, loss, claim, action, demand, or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with the contest, any prize won, any misuse or malfunction of any prize awarded, participation in any contest-related activity, or participation in the contest. 

Prize Forfeiture:  Each prize will be awarded.  If winner cannot be notified, does not respond to notification, does not meet eligibility requirements, or otherwise does not comply with these prize drawing rules, then the winner will forfeit the prize and an alternate winner will be selected from remaining eligible entry forms for each Drawing.

Dispute Resolution:  Entrants agree that McAfee has the sole right to determine the winners of the drawing and all matters or disputes arising from the drawing and that its determination is final and binding. There are no prize substitutions, transfers or cash equivalents permitted except at the sole discretion of McAfee.

Governing Law:  Each Prize Drawing and these rules will be construed in accordance with the laws, jurisdiction, and venue of New York.

Privacy Policy:  Personal information obtained in connection with this prize drawing will be handled in accordance policy set forth at http://www.mcafee.com/us/about/privacy.html (McAfee Privacy Policy).

Malware is a generic term used to describe any type of software or code specifically designed to exploit a computer or the data it contains, without consent. Malware includes viruses, Trojans, spyware, adware, most rootkits and other malicious programs. Some malware is used as a one-time attack that just wipes your hard drive or sends all of your passwords to an unknown server. That kind of attack is a cakewalk in comparison to a type of malware called a Trojan.

A Trojan is a type of malware that leaves a backdoor open to your system for the hacker to access at any time. If someone steals all of your passwords in a one-time attack, the solution is easy: you just change your passwords. However, if you have a Trojan that steals your passwords, hackers will have your new passwords the second you change them. Trojans are an unending nightmare for your personal data.

With more people using mobile devices to orchestrate every detail of their lives, mobile Trojan malware is on the rise. Scarier still, these Trojans aren’t just after your excel sheets, they’re sending text messages on your behalf and gathering data on your location.

The newest iterations of malware are the most sophisticated and dangerous Trojans yet. One of the latest targets the Android operating system; McAfee Mobile Security detects it as Android/Obad.a via the cloud (other vendors refer to this as Backdoor.AndroidOS.Obad.a.) and is often simply called Obad.  Lianne Caetano has a more in-depth article about how Obad works.

Obad lets a hacker completely control your phone without you ever knowing about it and your phone can catch it just by standing next to someone with an infected phone.

Here are some ways you can protect your phone from Obad and other terrible Trojans that might be targeting your personal data:

• Get mobile security. Mobile security products scan your phone for malware and can remove suspicious software before you become the victim of an attack. Having an antivirus on your phone is the easiest and most basic security measure you can take, and as mobile devices become a hub for ever more important activities (including online banking and shopping,) protecting your personal information means installing comprehensive security on all of your devices, not just your PC or laptop. If you’d prefer to use one security solution for all of your devices, check out McAfee LiveSafe.
• Don’t download questionable apps! Before you download an app, take a second to check out reviews, or do a simple web search to see if it’s reputable. You should also carefully review permissions requests for any new app you download, and make sure you know whether your favorite new word game is accessing your email or social networks, or sharing your geographic location. Appearances can be misleading, and some apps install hidden malware on your mobile devices.
• Do not download files that you are not 100% certain of what they contain. Even trusted friends can unknowingly send you a file with hidden malware.
• Do not leave your Wi-Fi on. Manually connect to Wi-Fi before you use it every single time and only connect to trusted networks, like a password-protected wireless network in your home or office. It is an annoying inconvenience, but most phones are set to connect to any available Wi-Fi network—meaning the free internet at your local café could give hackers access to your phone even if you aren’t using it while you pick up coffee.
• Secure Bluetooth access with a password. Never leave your Bluetooth connections unprotected. As some unfortunate consumers have already discovered, Obad and other new Trojans can use Bluetooth to “jump” from one device to the next.

With mobile Trojans on the rise, you need to take precautions to protect your personal data. These simple measures will keep your information safe and your phone free of malicious software.

In a recent Digital Assets survey, McAfee discovered that in the U.S., nearly 90% of us own 2 or more digital devices and a quarter of us own 5 or more! The more devices we have, the higher the chance that we’ll misplace one or fall victim to an increasing number of criminals interested in the high value our gadgets hold. In fact, last year the New York City Police reported that more than 40% of all robberies now involve cell phones, and in San Francisco nearly half of all robberies involved a cellphone.

These stats are concerning given that a missing laptop, smartphone, or tablet is not just an inconvenience, it’s an active security risk for you and those you care about.  Emails, credit card information, photos, and family and friends’ personal contact information are just a few examples of the wide range of sensitive data stored on the devices we carry around on a daily basis.

So what if you could entirely eliminate that gut-wrenching feeling of panic and loss?

Now you can with McAfee’s Smart Perimeter, a security service that enables devices to track each other through a safety perimeter created by the user around a group of devices. Once the virtual perimeter is established, if one of the devices is separated from the others by more than 30 feet or taken outside the designated area, Smart Perimeter alerts you immediately, helping to prevent loss or theft. Whether you tend to forget your tablet at a friend’s house or someone tries to walk away with your smartphone while you’re on the train, Smart Perimeter alerts you as soon as your mobile device has moved outside a designated area, letting you know it’s been left behind or someone else is trying to walk away with it. It allows you to create a virtual security fence or wall so that you don’t have to keep a constant eye on each device.

For example, let’s say you’re at the airport for a business trip reviewing a presentation with a colleague at a coffee shop on your tablet. When it’s time to leave you forget your smartphone on the table and nobody notices because you and you’re coworker are rushing to get to the gate on time. With Smart Perimeter, your tablet will ring an alarm so before you’re too far and it’s too late, you’re able to retrieve your phone.

Smart Perimeter is just one feature in McAfee Mobile Innovations, a  free app that gives you access to innovative new security and productivity tools in beta that are being tested.

Our electronic devices have become essential parts of our daily lives.  We take extra care to protect our families, personal information, and possessions, but what we don’t often realize is that in the wrong hands, our mobile devices can put these things at risk.  Smart Perimeter is just one more solution that allows you to rest assured that McAfee will protect your digital life for you.