Tech Talk at ShieldsGroup

According to Shanghai Daily, a virus has affected at least one million cell phone users in China.  The Zombie Virus, as it’s called, disguised itself as an anti-virus app that, when installed actually sends the details of the contacts on the user’s phone to hackers, who then use these contacts as a database for the spread of spam. Additionally, it sends links to infected  recipients phones.

Additionally, when a user follows a link sent by the virus, they find their phones infected.

Be careful out there — especially when you’re adding apps. And just as links received in email should be clicked with care, so those received on your phone should be examined carefully.

Never use the same password for all your accounts. That’s data-security 101. Ha! It’s not even 101. It’s kindergarten level.  I use loads of passwords for different accounts without using a formula to help me remember them. How am I to keep them all straight?

At first I used Password + from DataViz. It was a great little application that I kept on my Sony Clie. However, when I moved to the Windows Mobile world, I needed something to run on that OS. Enter KeePass. Keepass is an excellent little program that runs on a variety of platforms.

Today, I installed it on my Droid.

It is great to have all my passwords on my person whenever I need them.

Now — If I can just remember that master password….

🙂

Yesterday I got a droid 2. Today, Ken, the RootKing, told me to put antivirus on it.

I put Lookout Mobile Security on it at Ken’s suggestion.

As my Apple buddy, Chris, often tells me, open systems have their problems, not the least of which is susceptibility to viruses.

Lookout is more than an antivirus app. It helps you locate your droid if it’s lost. It makes your droid make a loud noise. And it backs up your data.

Here’s the Lookout dashboard.

Click the image for a larger rendering.