Tuesday 26 November 2013

Why Mobile Holiday Shopping is Safe Holiday Shopping

Online Holiday Shopping It's almost Thanksgiving so that means it's almost Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and whatever other events retailers have made up to kick off the holiday shopping season. The convenience of modern technology lets us buy gifts for others, or ourselves, online instead of trampling each other to death in department stores. However, exchanging money online can also put it at risk. Tim "TK" Keanini of network security firm Lancope lists three reasons why mobile devices may be the safest, cheeriest way to shop online this holiday season.
1. Retailer-Specific Apps
Amazon, Target, Walmart, and other big retailers all have their own dedicated mobile apps now. Dedicated apps need dedicated attacks unlike websites which can be targeted by general browser attacks. That extra effort required by hackers means these trusted apps are generally less vulnerable than their website counterparts. While nothing is ever completely safe, even a little bit of extra security can make a big difference.
2. Mobile Sandboxes
Thanks to a practice called "sandboxing," mobile apps have a much more limited level of access than PC applications. To combat malware, mobile appsand soon Windows 8 appsare "partitioned in such a way that they have only what they need and nothing more," says Keanini. Mobile apps also tend to do a better job at explaining to users what they access so users can grant permissions as they see fit. By restricting freedom for themselves, as well as for any malware that might infect them, mobile apps give more freedom and safety options to the user.
3. App Legitimacy
While some may decry the walled garden approach of mobile app stores, the truth is that the high levels of authority and oversight from Apple and Google have made mobile apps much safer for the end consumers. Being able to easily trace software back to its authors has made identifying and eliminating potential threats much easier while making the App Store and Google Play Store more legitimate overall. Of course, this only applies to phones that aren't jailbroken or rooted though.
Thanks to their superior security, Keanini suggests shoppers switch to mobile devices for online banking and financial account auditing as well. Of course, that applies only when connected to a secure, trusted network. Despite these advantages though, mobile shoppers still aren't completely safe from cyber criminals. With mobile becoming a larger market every day, more hackers flock to it making mobile security more important than ever. Still, if you want to shop safer this holiday season, consider using your smartphone or tablet instead of your desktop or laptop.

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