What Your Portable Device Is Giving Away

Security experts have long expressed concern about portable devices. This is true whether the device is an Iphone, an Android device, an Ipad, or a Windows-based tablet. If it connects via Wi-Fi, it's on somebody's radar, both the good guys' radar and the bad guys' radar.

Everybody likes ease of use. Everybody likes convenience. But everybody also likes to keep their proprietary data from falling into the hands of competitors. The problem is that ease of use and convenience both suffer as more stringent security measures are put in place. And security suffers as ease of use and convenience are given precedence.

There's no one-size-fits-all solution and the cost of security, both monetary cost and lack of convenience and ease of use, must be balanced with the risk.

The Threats

Mobile computing devices can store huge amounts of data. Thumb drives that hold 64GB of data are readily available for $30 or less. Assuming that a typewritten page contains approximately 2000 text characters, a 64GB storage device could hold approximately 33,554,432 pages. And the device fits easily in a pocket.

These portable devices are often unprotected and, when coupled with the facts that they are easy to lose (yes, I've lost some) and easy to steal, the threat is clear. But thumb drives are old technology. For a data thief to use such a device, the thief must possess the device. It's much easier to just grab data out of the air and then use that to gain access to protected resources.

Phones and tablets represent a double threat because they usually come with large amounts of built-in memory and they can communicate wirelessly over non-secure networks. Thieves have two opportunities: They can steal the physical device or they can steal data as it's being transmitted to an open Wi-Fi hotspot.

Images provided by Internet Security Specialist Webroot.

The Solutions

For thumb drives and the memory in other portable devices, encryption is a good idea. When devices are encrypted, the data contained on them is at least more difficult to extract. That's not to say impossible because someone with sufficient computing resources and a strong enough need to know what's on the device will probably be able to break the encryption. But it's enough to thwart run-of-the mill desperadoes.

As for eliminating the over-the-air threat, that's so easy that I'm always surprised when I learn that somebody isn't doing it.

Virtual private network (VPN) software can encrypt data when it's in the air, between your device and the open Wi-Fi hotspot.

Regardless of the type of portable device you use, you'll find variety of VPN products and services that are available. If you're protecting an Apple phone or tablet, you should obtain the app from the Apple Itunes Store. For Android devices, download the app from Google Play or the Amazon App Store. While this won't absolutely guarantee that the app isn't malware, it does provide some assurance that it has been validated. Windows 8 users will also find apps for their computers in the Windows Store.

VPN applications require little or no technical knowledge to install and use. If you know how to download and install an app, which is essentially an automatic function on smart phones and tablets, and you can create an account using your e-mail address and a password, you already know how to set up most VPN apps. Many of the services provide the VPN without charge for limited use. If you spend a lot of time online via Wi-Fi, you will need to pay a few dollars per year for the service.

Given the amount of protection VPN provides, the small annual fee is well worth the cost.

One Real-Life Example

I've tried several VPN services over the years. Most of them are relatively easy to install and set up, and most of them offer adequate bandwidth for the occasional user. Now I've found the first VPN service that's so quick, so easy, and so full-featured that I've decided to to beyond the basic free plan and pay for unlimited bandwidth.

This might in part be a result of my owning several devices that can connect via Wi-Fi and the fact that 3 of those devices are highly portable and, therefore, more likely to be used via Wi-Fi. When the only Wi-Fi device I owned was a notebook computer and I spent very little time lugging it around, the free services were adequate.

But part of the reason I decided to pay for the service is the fact that it works so well, works so transparently, and covers 5 devices for a little more than $4 per month. Those who want to add a VPN to a single device can do so for about $2.50 per month. Both of those are based on paying for a full year's service in advance. Month-to-month rates are $5 and $3 per month, respectively.

The service is called SurfEasy. When you start the app, you can allow it to optimize your location or pick a specific location. If you select a non-US location, you may still appear to be in the United States, but generally nowhere near your actual location.

For example, I used the optimized setting and SurfEasy told me that my Web traffic would appear to be coming from Virginia. Herndon, Virginia, I assume because that's the site of a gigantic Internet hub.

I'm less interested in obfuscating my location and more interested in simply encrypting information that I send over the Wi-Fi connection. Sending login IDs and passwords in the clear is never a good idea.

After trying the free service for a while (2 days in my case) and you're ready to sign up for an account, it's easy. Just click the Upgrade button and you'll be connected to the Play Store. In just a few moments, you'll have an active account (good for either 1 or 5 computers). If you have an Iphone, you'll need to connect to the Itunes store.

Because SurfEasy works for all types of computers and mobile devices, you can also sign up on the company's website and download versions for your Windows or Mac computer.

Find more information on the SurfEasy website.

Other Good Ideas

• Label portable devices with your name and a phone number. You might be surprised how many people actually attempt to return things that they find, but they can't do that if there's no way to identify the owner. Many phones and tablets have a screen that can identify the owner, but if the device's battery is dead, it won't work. A label is a good idea.
• Password protect the device. That should be evident, but a surprising number of people carry around devices that aren't password protected and also aren't encrypted.
• Set timeout on the device so that it will automatically turn off and lock when it's not in use.
• Run updates frequently or allow the device to update the operating system and all apps automatically. Updates are sometimes designed to provide new features, but most updates address security flaws and you shouldn't skip them.
• Download apps only from official sources such as the Apple Itunes Store, Google Play, or the Amazon App Store. Malware can be distributed via these official channels, but the likelihood is reduced considerably because the store keepers vet apps before allowing them to appear. Apple's process is generally considered to be the strongest of the bunch.
• Services exist that will attempt to find your mobile device if it's lost or stolen. The service can report the device's approximate location and also might be able to engage the on-board camera to take pictures of the current user. Various services exist and some are specific to certain types of devices.
• Use hardware encryption if the device supports it. Sometimes encryption can be used in conjunction with device-finder software to delete data from a stolen device.
• For thumb drives, any device that's used to store sensitive data should be encrypted. Although software encryption such as TrueCrypt is free and easy to use, the easiest solution involves using flash drives that are self-encrypting. These are much more expensive than standard thumb drives ($125 for a 16GB drive) but devices such as the Apricorn Aegis Secure Key will automatically destroy all of its data if it determines that it's being attacked.

Being careful, using reasonable security practices, and adding applications that protect your privacy won't guarantee that you'll never be victimized by data poachers, but you'll make your data a much less attractive target. The harder you make a thief work, the more likely it is that the thief will forego your data and attack a softer target.

Finding a Monochrome E-Book Reader

About 3 years ago, I asked if color screens were really necessary on e-book readers. At that time, monochrome was the standard and color screens were relatively low resolution, not easy to see in bright light, and overpriced. What a difference 3 years have made.

Amazon still has a monochrome Kindle, the Paperwhite at $120, but the Fire and Fire HD are color. Barnes and Noble recently dropped its color Nook reader and now offers just the $80 Simple Touch, which is monochrome.

There's no question that monochrome is the best choice for books -- except when it isn't. And most of the time, it isn't. Magazines extensively use color. Many books have color illustrations. And today's color screens don't drain batteries in minutes, are readable in sunlight, have the same resolution as (or better resolution than) the older monochrome devices, and the price difference isn't as great as it once was.

So why did Barnes and Noble drop its color version? Why will Amazon probably do the same?

I think it has to do with the small and medium tablets that can be used with the Kindle app, the Nook app, the Kobo app, or Callibre to read books and can serve hundreds of other functions via various apps. There's a parallel here. In the late 1970s, Apple released the Apple II (or Apple // if you prefer or even Apple ][) and the world changed. Instead of computers that could do just one job, these were the first multi-purpose computers. They could perform any task that somebody could write software for.

That's what's happening to the book reader market today. Why buy a reader when, for not much more, you can have a device that will do much, much more.

Three years ago, I said that I didn't quite see see the advantage of color for most of what I read: Fiction and non-fiction books that, if they have pictures, will have black and white pictures. Text on a color screen will be less crisp and clear than monochrome text, I said, because of the way RGB displays work. So for me, color wasn't a big deal.

Things have changed in the past 3 years, though. I may have mentioned that already a time or two. Today I still have my original monochrome Kindle. I still take it to the gym. But when it comes to reading an ebook that deals with photography or design, I want to see the pictures in color.

In 2010, the various color readers had colors that were described as "muted", which was probably being polite. They were muddy. The resolution was poor. Battery life was lousy. And they really couldn't be used outside.

My little Nexus 7 that I described last week is turning out to be an excellent choice for reading. If I return to this topic in 2016, I wonder what else will have changed.

Short Circuits

Facebooking the World

Sometimes those of us who have high-speed Internet service at home forget that a few users who have Internet access are still using dial-up systems and about one fifth of US households have no Internet access at all. Elsewhere on the globe, it's worse and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg says that he wants to do something about it.

He's formed a group that will work to improve wireless Internet access. The group includes browser company Opera and electronics manufacturers such as Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm, and Samsung. Zuckerberg says he considers this to be one of the greatest challenges of his generation.

Internet.org, as the group is known, has only a few members and could be seen as competition for Google's efforts to expand Internet access in the United States.

Expanding the Internet to cover 5 billion more people would provide services that those people could use, of course, but it would also give Facebook an opportunity to gain more users. Facebook already has more than 1 billion users and future growth would seem to depend on expanding the overall user base of the Internet.

Internet.org says that it has 3 primary goals: Developing new technologies that will lower the price of mobile connectivity, creating the software tools needed to make networks more efficient (this would provide additional cost reductions), and establishing what the group calls "sustainable new business models" that would convince existing mobile communications businesses to add mobile Internet service.

The organization is working to attract additional members from the ranks of tech companies, non-profits, and higher education.

A New Look for YouTube on Android and Apple Devices

Those who watch YouTube videos on Android or Apple phones and tablets have probably noticed that things look a bit different. YouTube rolled out a new interface for Android starting on the 19th and for Apple devices on the 20th.

Users of YouTube on either type of device will eventually receive the update, but if you haven't yet received it and you want the update right now, just head to the Itunes or Play store.

The primary change is the ability of the new interface to perform a search while a video is playing. You'll need to minimize the playing video, but there's no longer a need to stop the playback operation to search for something else. The video that's playing will shrink to a small area at the bottom of the screen during the search.

Other changes generally improve the search function so that users can schedule videos in a playlist.

Netflix Will Add Films from the Weinstein Brothers, but When?

The Weinstein Company was founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 2005 after they left Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979, but by then was owned by Disney. The studio has released films ranging from Michael Moore's Sicko to Inglorious Bastards, from The King's Speech to Zack and Miri Make a Porno, from Django Unchained to The Tillman Story. Now these and all the other films by the company will be coming to the Netflix streaming service.

But not until 2016. Netflix already has rights to show some of the films, but the new agreement includes all films by the studio and by its subsidiary, Dimension Films. Netflix will be able to show the films before they're released to on pay-TV channels, which will make Netflix more competitive. The service has already begun producing some of its own content.

The exclusive agreement doesn't take effect, though, until 2016. Netflix has been buying up exclusive rights to lots of existing films in addition to creating its own content, such as Orange is the New Black. CEO Reed Hastings is seeking to increase membership in the company's $8-per-month streaming service. The company currently has 30 million US subscribers and nearly 8 million additional subscribers in other countries.

Big Iphone Battery Can Zap People

Would you like to add a taser to your Iphone? Now you can. An add-on battery called the Yellow Jacket provides extra power for your Iphone and also powers a relatively low-power taser.

There might be better ways to spend $140 because using the taser would be cumbersome in an emergency (you first have to remove a safety cover to expose the electrodes, flip a switch to turn the device on, and then push a button to fire the taser) and the taser reportedly feels more like a Yellow Jacket (wasp) than a real taser. The output is rated at about one-eighth of an Amp at 650 kilovolts. That sounds like a lot and, as voltage goes, it is; but the stopping power of a device such as this depends on amperage and 1 Amp isn't a lot.

In other words, the Yellow Jacket might prove to be more of an irritant than a crime stopper.

If you don't own an Iphone 4 or 4S, you're not yet eligible to add a Yellow Jacket. The developer will soon add models for the Iphone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S4. Perhaps the Yellow Jacket's best feature is its ability to add lots of extra talk time because it includes an 1800-milliamp-hour battery.

You'll find more information on the Yellow Jacket website.