Saturday, November 17, 2012

Some Password Sites Need Computers for Security

By Allyson Westcot


Many business people won't go anywhere without their smartphones, and often have a number of apps on their device that require usernames and passwords. Unfortunately, about three-fourths of all those apps, even the ones asking for sensitive info like credit cards, don't encrypt data well enough, or at all, to protect these things adequately.

If you use your smartphone to login at any website, your password is probably the only thing that's encrypted at all. Your username might not be protected, so anyone monitoring you can grab it. That's one fewer things they have to guess before they can gain complete access and possibly wreak havoc. Sometimes passwords aren't even encrypted.. If your smartphone stores usernames, passwords or even credit card information, that data might be sitting there just waiting for the person with the right tools to grab it.

A rugged laptop, on the other hand, can be as secure as you need. You can generally purchase built-in security ranging from virus protection to things like biometric access. A good firewall, anti-virus protection and heavy encryption should be enough for most people.

LinkedIn is a business social site where network and advertise their skills and experience. Unfortunately, along with sites and applications like WordPress and Skype, your login data isn't protected when you login with a smartphone. Yahoo Mail, Gmail and Netflix are also very well-used sites that don't keep your information safe enough when logged in through a phone.

Some users may also find that their personal banking info isn't that secure via phone. Facebook, Amazon, Twitter and other wildly popular sites also keep some information without protection if you access them through a phone. Why rely on a phone that has a small chance of being secure enough when you could use a computer with lots of security? Using a computer is an ideal choice for using websites that might not protect your information.




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