iPhone Security: 10 Apps to Keep Your Apple Smartphone Safe

Photo: ayuzo.com

Once you’ve managed to realize the importance of keeping your phone as safe as locked vault, you need to know which apps to really put your money on. To help you make the right choices, we've reviewed 10 security apps that are worth the space on your phone.

1. Get Your Tech Back With Find My Phone (Free)

What do you think about an app that would not only help you find your lost iOS device but also protect your data while it’s lost? Find My Iphone helps you do just that. You may lock your phone while its lost, send a message or it or even erase all data.

2. WISE ID – Protect personal data. (Free)

This app helps you store your encrypted data safely, such as your PIN numbers, your passwords, credit cards, photos, notes, and other data. So not only do you have your data at your fingertips but you have it safe as well. This provides you with the option of password authentication, dot pattern or face recognition.

3. SECURE IT mSECURE by mSeven Software, LLC ($9.99)

How about you get an insurance for $10 for your Iphone? Yes that’s exactly how much it takes to get a 256 bit blowfish encryption, password generator, free back up utility, cloud data protection, auto-lock, email backup and optional self destruct.

4. Secure FolderPRO by iDevMobile Tec. ($1.99)

This app has some similarity with the mSECURE though is available at a cheaper rate. It can code-lock or pattern lock your pictures, videos, texts, credit cards as well as your passwords. You can easily identify any intruder with picture and gps track system. It also gives you a secret website, along with a private navigation system. This happens without a track of history.

5. Surf Safely With Kaspersky Safe Browser (Free)

We have all been fed up of inappropriate content and malicious links, Surf Safety filters such links and saves the users from fake websites.

6. Alarm.com – monitor/control security systems at home or business. (Free)

Wouldn’t it be great if you are able to keep a check on your house or your business in your absence? This app helps you do just that. Although it requires for one to have an interactive alarm.com service plan with a compatible system, the outcome is great because you have access to your home from just anywhere. This app enables you to watch a live/recorded video from your security cameras, set your thermostat temperature or even control the lights.

7. Wickr Lets You Send Self-Destructing Messages (Free)

Photo: foxnews.com

Would you rather have all your read messages lying around filling your inbox or have your inbox clean and sorted? Wickr comes to your rescue to solve this crisis by allowing you to send messages to several other users with this option of building a mechanism to destruct these messages. The mechanism they use is to forensically erase unwanted files you deleted from your device, with Secure File Shredder.

8. Hide Photos From Prying Eyes with Pic Lock 3 (Free)

All of us have our restrictions when it comes to the privacy of our pictures. With its redesigned interface and multiple layers of protection Pic Lock 3, helps you keep your media files safe and secure.

9. Avira Mobile Security App Offers Backup, Anti-Theft (Free)

This app makes storage, access and sharing data securely very easy for all the users while they are on the go. The firm’s very first cost free iOS brags of a malicious process scanner, storage and battery optimization tools which are then to the company's Secure Backup platform.

10. Lock It All Up With Keeper Password & Data Vault (Free)

If you have not heard about 256-bit AES encryption then you have probably missed this app from Keeper Security that boasts of syncs across all of your mobile devices which creates passwords which are ultra secured with the embedded password generator.

11. Kryptos (Free)

This may sound like technology for the secret services, however if you had been looking for a space where you could safely discuss the secret topics then Krypton is what you were looking for. This app equips the user with a free military-grade 256 bit AES-platform which is encrypted for keeping secrets safe,. The connection is made through voice over IP for secure calls over 3G, 4G and WiFi networks.

Written By:
Sara Xiang is a information security consultant. She has special interest in graphical aspects of security algorithms. Now a days she is studying algorithms that are use in luxbet Sports.

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Lucrative support of offshore .NET development of productive outcome

Offshore .NET development has become a cliché in the global business. This has transformed the outlook of the developing companies. With the progression of technology and the increasing demand for transparency, such services has facilitated the critical needs of the business and given them the scope to rise beyond their limitation. The .NET platform is currently experiencing a significant impact in a manner in which various applications are being developed for the World Wide Web.

Associated Technologies

The utilization of the standard and web based technologies has greatly improved the interoperability of the different systems which has thus assisted the companies to easily utilize the applications and the various data from the clients. Some of the most common technologies associated with offshore .NET development include:

Solutions: Web services for application development, B2B integration, Reusable components for mobile solutions, B2C application development
Languages: C programming, Visual basic. NET, ASP.NET
Core: .NET framework, COM, COM+, DNA
XML Web Services: SOAP, XML
NET Servers: Application center, Commerce Server, BizTalk Server, Share Point Server, Content Management Server

Expertise solutions

Offshore .NET development has proved to be an effective way of offering web based solutions in expertise ways. These include:

Application upgrade management
. NET application development and system design
Development of application interface
Re-engineering of applications from legacy systems to .NET
Migration of desktop and web applications to .NET
Development of Web services using the .NET framework along with SOAP toolkit
Web enablement of legacy applications

Lucrative benefits of offshore .NET development

Since the very introduction of .NET development and the exploitation of offshore services, businesses and developers have benefited from this. Hiring offshore development services have proved to be profitable and companies have been successful in maintaining the software development outlay under control. Such a platform signifies a major stride towards encompassing object oriented designs and management of code innovations which has become a general trend in the e-business application development. The various advantages to involve offshore .NET development are:

• Reduced project cost: Outsourcing the development sector to such offshore companies minimizes the cost of the entire project without having to compromise on the quality. This assists the companies to concentrate on core areas and optimize the profits in better ways.
• Rapid application development: With competition on the rise and the increasing demands of the clients, developing companies are always on the look out for faster ways to impress their clients. The quick and flawless services of the offshore development companies within the specified time frame contribute to the success in a major way. This helps the companies to release their products in a quicker way.
• Easy mean to incorporate new changes: The increased competition requires frequent changes to be incorporated into the system which helps the business to grow. The skilled services of offshore .NET development helps to conceptualize and execute the innovative changes and ideas as per the specifications in simpler and easier ways.
• Adopting supple development: Such services adopt certain agile techniques which are utilized in a quick and flawless ways thus overcoming the limitations of the usual project management.
• Expertise resources: Skilled and well trained experts are available who are well acquainted with .NET development environment. The resources focus completely on the specified technology which results in the high end and scalable solutions.

The processes adopted by the offshore .NET development adds value to the business which assists to conceptualize the ideas in innovative and better ways.

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About Author :
The vast domain of Offshore .Net Development in Germany has fascinated Evan Gilbort to come up with this content which reflects the preciseness in which implemented by the Asp.net Developers.

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Understanding Virtual Patching — and Why It’s So Important

Image by ddpavumba from freedigitalphotos.net

Every day, hackers are looking for —and finding — vulnerabilities in secure networks and applications. Most of these vulnerabilities can be eliminated by applying patches or fixed, but by some accounts, there are as many as seven critical patches released every day. For a busy security IT team, immediately applying those patches to every server is a cumbersome, and sometimes impossible, task.

Compounding the problem is the shift to virtual environments. Traditional security and patching methods are not effective in the virtual environment for various reasons, meaning that without an effective solution, performance issues and security holes will remain, leaving your networks and data vulnerable to theft.

One of the best solutions to the issue of managing security patches is virtual patching. This agentless solution immediately identifies security vulnerabilities and applies necessary fixes, creating a secure environment until the critical or “official” patch can be applied. Such a system overcomes many of the issues presented by virtual environments as well, preventing a serious and costly data breach as a result of poor patch management.



Where You’re Vulnerable and Why

In most enterprises, there are several places where vulnerabilities can be found. For example, you may be running an older operating system or application the developer no longer supports or issues patches for, and your security measures will not protect those systems. Other issues include systems that cannot be shut down to apply patches for fear of lost productivity or revenue, delayed release of patches and fixes from the developer and SQL injection attacks via Web applications that can be difficult to locate and fix on a large scale.

The virtual environment only complicates these vulnerabilities. Under a traditional security model, all of the traffic from virtual machines must flow through one central server to be scanned for malicious content or code, which causes network congestion and slows down network performance. Compounding the problem is the fact that in many virtual environments, the server locations regularly move, turn on and off according to demand or are dormant for extended periods. This all makes it difficult to consistently and effectively apply patches as needed.

How Virtual Patching Works

While correcting the source code of the vulnerability via a patch is the ideal re-mediation strategy for any potential problem, that’s not always practical. This is where virtual patching comes in.

Technically speaking, a virtual patch is an additional layer of virtualization security that prevents hackers from taking advantage of a known security vulnerability. Again, because vulnerabilities quickly change, it can be all but impossible to effectively apply every new patch as it’s released, and a system that was completely impervious one day could be ripe for an attack the next. That’s why some people call virtual patching “just in time” patching or “external patching,” because it blocks vulnerabilities before they become problems. Regardless of terminology, it provides an important layer of protection against a potentially devastating security breach.

Virtual patching relies on intrusion protection and detection (IPS/IDS) rules to protect against known vulnerabilities, including those that have not yet been addressed by patches. The advanced network security system automatically scans the network to determine the OS, applications in use, patches that have already been deployed and other factors, and determines which rules need to be activated to protect the system. As things change — new patches are installed, for example — the virtual patching system will automatically adjust the IPS/IDS rules that apply, so as to avoid service disruptions and system slowdowns. In the virtual environment, such a patching system covers all virtual machines —including new machines and those that have been dormant — and routes all traffic through a secure machine to ensure protection on every front.

Patch management is one of the most important — and most time-consuming — tasks for many IT security teams. In fact, some surveys indicate these tasks take up the majority of their time, but are largely ineffective. For those organization struggling with patch management, or even those who have a handle on it but need to ensure compliance and data integrity, virtual patching is an ideal solution, adding a layer of protection that traditional perimeter security measures simply cannot.

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About The Author:
About the Author: Melissa Cromwell works as a content curator in the tech industry. You can follow her on Google Plus here

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WordPress has Bolstered PHP and How

Even since its inception, WordPress has dwarfed all the other open source blogging platforms. With the incessant updates and developments, it continues to rise above the competition with both its feet comfortably perched on the growth curve. But what makes it even more resourceful is how it seamlessly combines the PHP functionalities with its own set of capabilities to create dynamic web pages. This has in turn lead to a resurgence of PHP, as more and more WordPress users are making sure they do not miss out on the PHP add-ones for their websites. The .php files on the WordPress add vibrant features and ease customization. Let’s take a detailed look of why it’s widely believed that WordPress has given PHP a shot in the arm:

Making Novices Take PHP More Seriously

For the fact that WordPress gives them a heap of reasons to develop their websites in PHP, website owners have been increasingly realizing the relevance of this programming language, even if they don’t have a lot of clue of its syntaxes. To begin with, if the WordPress theme you have selected is missing out on certain features, you can easily include them using PHP. To stay in sync with all the benefits of PHP, the WordPress website owners are beginning to learn PHP too.

You Believe it Because Google Says So

WordPress is also said to be buoying PHP simply for the fact that it is a much more popular technology than PHP, as PHP still can’t boast of as many advocates as WordPress can, despite the fact that it made its way into the market 8 years prior to the WordPress launch. Whilst, the simplest way to determine so is through a Google search with ‘PHP’ and ‘WordPress’ as separate queries, which lets you compare the search results and come to the conclusion. However, for the fact that Google keeps changing its algorithms, the appearing search results cannot be validated. In order to get more assured results, you can try out Google trends, is an excellent tool by Google to find out which particular term is searched the most from different locations of the world. The search stats are divided according to the different timelines, and thus it helps you establish the fact that WordPress is something that is searched and used by a large section of webmasters.

If you wish to develop your website in PHP using the PHP framework, that would mean a lot of time spent on development. WordPress ensures you slash any additional time you might have otherwise spent on writing codes. Afore mentioned, PHP can be later exercised to extend functionalities beyond what WordPress gives you.

About The Author:
Celin Smith is a PHP developer and also a technical writer working with Custom PHP Development Company offering wordpress and all PHP Frameworks services.

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The Geography of Cell Phone Carriers: Who Provides The Best Coverage In Your Area?

Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile are the four major carriers. If you ask anyone which is the best, then you will get a subjective response based on opinion and void of objective facts. Some people will probably even say that the carrier they're signed with is the best one simply because their two-year contract prevents them from switching over and experimenting with a different carrier.

Ultimately, there is no provider that is hands-down a cut above its competitors. With all else being near even, your geographical location may be the deciding factor in determining the right carrier for your needs.

How To Determine The Best Carrier For Your Area

There are a number of interconnected factors that one must take into consideration, such as signal strength, response time, download speed and the number of reception towers in your area. To an extent, you will be able to gauge these factors by noticing the network’s general speed and stability when browsing the Web, streaming music or downloading apps.

For the most part, carriers keep a tight lid on the data regarding those metrics. This makes it very difficult for the average user to calculate and make comparisons, that is, until now. New apps are available that enable users to determine the best carrier for any given location.

Carrier Compare

This is an IOS app that runs a speed test on your phone. It then compares the information to crowdsourced data from other smartphones in the area, including the median speed for phones of every major carrier in the vicinity.

While Carrier Compare is a great app for comparing data speeds, Apple has severely restricted its overall effectiveness by not letting the app compare signal strength. Apparently, the restriction has to do with the infamous Antennagate back in 2010, which caused an enormous PR nightmare for Apple amid complaints that the iPhone 4 lost its reception when the lower left portion of the phone is touched. According to some insiders in the tech industry, Apple fears that an Antennagate II may be impending if users are allowed to compare and contrast signal strength.

CellMaps

This is an app developed by Mosaik, a company that collects and stores data for all the major carriers to showcase a worldwide coverage map. Updates are made quarterly and enable users to set search terms to better understand where they can get the best data coverage. The app is also useful for travelers and those relocating. Users will be able to check the coverage map of the destination to see if their current carrier provides good service for that particular area.

Currently, the app is free and available for Android version2.3.3 and later. However, with a very affordable $2 upgrade, users can experience the full power of CellMaps with a feature that enables direct comparisons between providers. The app also has the ability to zoom out to show the entire country or zoom in up close to show your street. For now, CellMaps is limited to the four major carriers and doesn’t include smaller providers like MetroPCS or Cellular.

Get Informed Before Selecting A Carrier

Before agreeing to sign the dotted line and locking yourself into a two-year contract, it is important that you arm yourself with as much information as possible. Some of the major carriers charge up to a $350 termination fee if you choose to sever ties before the two years are up.

The major carriers have good general reception in most areas though in certain places reception can get a little iffy due to uneven terrain or bad placement of towers. One carrier may have better call coverage at a certain location while another might have better data speeds. In another location, the opposite may be true. Aside from input from family and friends, you should also obtain raw and unbiased data by using an app like Carrier Compare or CellMaps.

Even those eligible to get a free phone through a government program for low income families should try to find out what kind of reception they would get. Cell phone reception is more location-dependent than most people realize and should always be taken into consideration as part of the decision making process when deciding on a carrier.

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About The Author:

Ashley is a freelance writer and an occasional guest-blogger interested in tech, gadgets and business related topics. When she is not working she likes to travel and read as much as she can. If you have any question feel free to leave a comment.

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Behavior Blocking or Artificial Intelligence: Real-Time Virus Scans

Finding solutions quickly for the latest virus is challenging. New scanning software seeks to stop viruses with real-time scanning protection. Protecting against viruses, worms, and Trojans is a major challenge to today's computer software designers. The number of viruses being released each year is alarming, and anti-virus software designers appear to be outnumbered. By the time most viruses have been detected, they have already infiltrated different levels of computer programming, including main frames and standalone processing units. Software developers have brought down their response time from weeks and days to hours and even minutes, but for some, this is too little, too late.

Anti-Virus Software

Viruses are programs which attempt to infiltrate a computer's software and operating system. Its intentions vary, but they are rarely good. Most viruses, including worms, Trojans, keyloggers, and malware, are all designed to gather information from your computer and send it to someone else. Some of these programs have strictly malicious intentions, such as the disruption of a program's normal function. These can be used to sabotage control systems for manufacturing facilities, power plants, or security systems. Those that are used for information gathering usually are helpful in conducting data breaches and identity theft.

To counter these dangerous programs, software engineers work tirelessly to provide
best-up-to-date anti-virus programs that can detect and contain the viruses. The difficulty is that most virus programs are released with little or no warning. It isn't until computer operators start noticing problems that they realize they've been infected with a virus. The challenge to anti virus software development is to find programs that are able to respond instantaneously to infection attempts. As programmers continue to work on these problems, many are leaning toward artificial intelligence and similar ideas for effective solutions. While some programs seem to be effective, they can also result in many "false-positives" when detecting malicious files and programs. Monitoring these programs can be tedious for those who are unfamiliar with software design.

Behavior Blocking

One of the many types of anti-viral software on the market today includes behavior-blocking technology. These systems serve as virus protection software for computers, and they are proving to be very effective. This type of program reviews each action that a piece of software is attempting to perform, analyzes its behavior, and either permits it to continue, or notifies the user that a program is attempting to commit a questionable act.

The biggest issue with behavior blocking software is that it requires the computer operator to be much more familiar with software design. The average office worker using a desktop computer for administrative duties, such as word processing, database maintenance, and webpage design, don't usually have a very broad understanding of software programs, and may not know if they should permit an act or deny it. Many routine programs on a computer make changes to other programs as a regular part of their process. Such routine activities could cause repeated notifications by behavior blocking software, which could slow the computer user's productivity substantially.

Real-Time Scanning

One of the current goals of anti-virus designers is to come up with software that operates in  a real-time manner. Every time a file is downloaded, opened, received, copied, or modified, a real-time scanning program analyzes it for possible security risks. Such real time scanning and virus protection software would provide immediate detection. The procedure for this type of program is, after analyzing a file for security risks, the software immediately flags the user with the name of the file and with the specific security threat being exhibited. This constant monitoring provides the highest level of security against viruses, malware, and other malicious programs.

Many of these programs can be set up to also remove any files that are dangerous, and to update the anti-virus software to look for recurrences of the threat. Programs can be configured so that they do not warn users of their anti-viral activities, thus reducing disruption in the operator's routine. Although this may not always be the desired setting for some users, most will benefit by the lack of interruption. It maybe useful to alert the user about problem files, so that the user can report the problem to the file's originator or to the organization's IT office.

Battling against computer viruses, malware, spyware, and other unwanted programs is never ending. For those who are tasked with finding appropriate software, learning more about artificial intelligence-based programs, behavior blockers, and real-time analysis will be extremely helpful. Without knowledge of these program options, lesser protection may be used, failing to adequately protect computer systems. Of course, users should do their part in minimizing the introduction of viruses by using caution when opening emails and downloading files from the internet. Minimizing the number of programs that begin during startup can also help reduce inadvertent introductions of malware and similar malicious viruses.

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About The Author:

James has been associated with the IT industry for the past 5 years. He is working as a tech support specialist in NYC. Besides system troubleshooting, he loves to write articles related to computer security and educates people about cloud antivirus softwares in order to keep their PC safe from malware and viruses.

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Security Flaw Could Give Hackers Complete Control Of Android Phones

Photo: t3.com.au

With almost everybody holding an android powered smartphone these days, and everything getting logged onto that one device, it becomes critical to understand how safe is it to let open everything that you have to this smartphone. It is stated that almost every other smartphone run on the android operating system consists of a flaw which gives hackers the chance to get access to every application that the user has installed on his device. Going by the statistics, if this is to be deemed of complete truth, more than 900 million handheld devices are at a very high risk globally.

Information through Bluebox Security

This information on the serious flaw coming with each android phone was brought to notice by the Technical Director of a security firm, Bluebox Security, Mr. Jeff Forristal. He further mentioned that if this is what he is seeing, it could almost give rise to a catastrophe. His statement claims that any hacker who’d want to get access to every sort of data on a user’s device, he would just need the installation of the “Trojan Horse” type malicious software and thats it. That would be enough to leave everything on the user's handheld open for the hacker’s access.



To make it easier to comprehend, the hacker has the supreme power to get every sort of information he wants out of an infected device. The hacker holds the ability to capture all the data on the user’s mobile which most likely has sensitive data. This could include pictures, private SMS, emailers, passwords to various IDs and other identification papers amongst other important things. The news is creepier for people who access their bank accounts on the internet through their smartphone.

Since the hole in the system flings open the access to the phone completely, even your transactions can be read and thus rendering your password and account unsafe too. The worst is.. Google does recognize the loophole! So its not something that you can dismiss as another rumour against Google’s strong operating system to pull its fan following down.

Technically Speaking….

Photo: zdnet.com

If you are trying to figure out how this whole phishing act takes place, lets explain you how. Every app is coded to run on the android operating system. Once a hacker realises he needs to break into the system of a smartphone and installs the virus, the flaw in the security system allows a certain change in the code of the app without causing any change to the cryptographic signature. Since the signature remains unaltered, the application still reads as authentic irrespective of the fact that it has been changed and modified by an external agent.

Progress in solving the issue and Precautions

The flaw had been brought into the notice of Google in the month of February this year. The vulnerability issue is supposed to hit devices that run on the version 1.6 or superlative. Post research and development on the same, it is confirmed that Samsung’s Galaxy S4 is the only mobile device as of yet that is free from the malware. Thus it clearly indicates that progress is being made in the right direction. Yet still, until something stringent is accommodated by the company, most companies advice android users to update their OS regularly and to only download the mobile apps that they are absolutely sure of.

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About The Author:
Adam Prattler is a corporate gifting consultant who works with 001flowerflower.com to come up with gifting schemes for employees in Hong Kong. His keen interest in technology is evident from his thorough posts on various technology issues.

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