We’ve become a society so addicted to the Internet that we need to get our fix anywhere anyhow and anyhow anywhere we can.  We’re not just online at home these days; we want info from the web on the bus, at the match, in the pub or at the concert
Smartphones have quickly become the most exciting new technology of the last decade as they put the online world at our fingertips wherever we go: whether it’s your daily news fix, keeping up with those Twitter updates or checking train times.

It’s not just tech geeks getting online on-the-go -52% of UK mobile phone users have a smartphone and now 28% of internet usage is from our mobile phones.

Over the last few years, we’ve become more risk-aware when it comes to using the web -most of us know now to protect our PCs with the right security software.  We keep the software updated and are generally more aware of the dangers of sharing too much personal information online. But unfortunately there seems to be an attitude gap and this same level of care isn’t usually applied to our mobile phones: school boy error!

Internet access on smartphones has opened up a whole new jungle of technology safety issues similar to those affecting laptops and PCs.

Some of the biggest predators from smartphone internet use include:

• Size matters, but not to e-Criminals- they don’t care about the size of your browsing device, it’s your data they’re after.  There’s the same potential to access harmful websites as with browsing on a desktop or laptop - these sites that will typically try to lure you into providing personal information or finance details.
• Unfortunately not all apps are legitimate.   Even though they may look official, with the same packaging as the most popular apps on the market, fake apps come loaded with malware that will be downloaded onto your device. The best way to prevent this is to purchase downloads from reputable stores (for iPhones this is the Apple store and for Android, the Google Play store).
• SMS spam and scams – do you get those texts from 8***7 asking you to text back immediately because they have some exciting news for us? - As with emails you should always follow the rule: if you don’t know who sent it, don’t open it!
• However, the biggest threat facing smartphone users is actually a privacy issue. Did you know that most personal information shared through a smartphone can be traced and used by fraudsters? A person’s location, home address, where they work and even their favourite shops can be tracked just by the digital signature of data sent from smartphones! Many popular apps create geo-tagging signatures which encode information through your images and data that can pinpoint your exact location.

Just like web security on our PC at home, web security on your mobile phone shouldn’t be taken for granted. Ensure your device has up-to-date mobile security. It could be as simple as adding a 4 digit pin code lock to your handset and  also switching off any geo-tagging tools on apps.

But most importantly, be smart about what information you share using your phone. They may be called smartphones, but you have to be the brains behind them.