So What Is Really Stored In Your iPhone?

The saga continues to be played out in the courts and the media.  Should Apple be forced to write new software allowing Federal investigators to retrieve information thought to be contained in the iPhone5 used by Syed Farook, one of the terrorists responsible for the recent San Bernardino attack?   Strident and cogent arguments have been made from both sides of the argument and soon the courts will have the final say.  After following this story you may be more than curious to know what specific information might be contained in your iPhone or other smartphone model.

To begin to get a clearer picture of the contents of your phone it might be good to note that your smartphone is much more than a device for making calls or texting.  The computing power and storage capacity of a standard iPhone6 has exponentially more computing power than the Cray super computers of the last century and could guide a million Apollo lunar missions simultaneously.  The phone’s internal storage can handle billions of bits of information and the screen can display graphics better than the best flat panel TV. 

For many of us, the smartphone has become indispensable for managing our professional and social lives. That being so, we keep a great deal of information in the phone which was once relegated only to our wallet, a bank safety deposit box or that shoe box in the hallway closet.  Since we know we have stored contacts and addresses, passwords and bank account information, and pictures of our kids, we have a good idea of what we are carrying around in our pocket or purse and, heaven forbid, what we have lost if the phone comes up missing.  Or do we really know?

Over and above what we actually choose to save in our phone, the software in the phone retains an extraordinary amount of information automatically without our knowledge but with our permission. Most of us automatically click “Accept” when faced with the License Agreements on our devices without actually reading what we just accepted.

If you were able to peer into the innards of your phone you would find a trove of some very personal information.  Each picture has a time, date and location stamp.  Depending on the size of your storage, a record of every keystroke and other phone usage is retained for months perhaps as much as year.  This includes bank account information, passwords, personal communication, text messages, music or podcasts listened to and even locations visited.  Once accessed, a map and chronology of your entire life could be reconstructed.  For most of us that story might be very boring, for others, not so much.

For sure the digital revolution has been a boon to our economy, has enhanced our education and knowledge, and opened up wonderful entertainment options. It also has given us some very serious and important social and political issues to deal with.

I will be on WVXU’s Cincinnati Edition at 1:30pm Wednesday, March 23^rd. You can call in with any technology questions or comments.  WVXU is 91.7 FM.  Hope to hear from you.  If we get enough calls I may be asked back.

Some Online Security Tips

Computer security and privacy have been dominating the headlines.  The most recent announcement in the media deals with a major security vulnerability named Heartbleed. This bug affects a popular encryption technology designed to protect your sensitive data on the Internet, like usernames, passwords and emails.  Unlike some bugs and viruses, there really is no protection that you can install on your computer to address Heartbleed since it exploits a programming error in the encryption software and as such requires the software developers to fix the problem. 

There are however things that you should do to assure your security and privacy whenever you go online.  I have written often about the need to be vigilant about security.  This might be a good time to reiterate some of those tips.

When you purchase a Wi-Fi router, smart phone or other device that require a password be sure to change the default password.  Many devices come out of the box with a standard password already installed.  The problem is that often these passwords are known by most every hacker on the internet.  So failure to change it leaves you open and exposed.

Speaking of passwords, don’t use obvious names and dates.  Your birthday, your kid’s name, your street address do not provide much protection.  A password with a numerals and both upper and lower case text along with some punctuation marks are best.  The password should not make a real word or phrase.

Many of us are wedded to our smartphone and tablet and use them for all types of online activity and take advantage of the proliferation of free Wi-Fi hot spots.  From McDonalds to Speedway, from interstate rest stops to public parks, it seems we can most always find a free Wi-Fi connection.  While reading a newspaper or checking the weather are fine, you should not use these public Wi-Fi spots to access online banking sites or other sites that contain important and private data.

If you use online banking many institutions will allow you to be notified when any transaction that you did not initiate gets processed.  So when a deposit or debit is made to your account, you will get an email alerting you to the activity.  This service often requires you to activate it on your account.  Be sure yours is activated.

This last tip might be an example of closing the barn door after the horses have escaped.  More and more merchants offer affinity cards allowing discounts and other perks to card holders.  When you visit the store you swipe the card.   Over and above the discount you receive you also have provided the store with a trove of purchasing information.  Some stores sell this information to third parties.   Also more and more often you are asked for your telephone number when checking out as well as the offer to email you a receipt.  Again giving out little bits of information over time can provide a very accurate profile for those miscreants looking to steal your identity and money.

Increasingly we will do more on line and as we do there will be better protections developed like voice, retina and or finger print recognition. Until these are common place, be careful out there.

A Few ID Security Tips

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past several months, you know that several major retailers have been the target of hackers with information about millions of customers being stolen and resold to digital miscreants worldwide.  Hardly a day passes without some new report of a bank account emptied or bogus credit card charges.

While most of us can’t address any major flaws in the security systems of retailers and we can’t guarantee 100% personal security unless we choose to go off the proverbial grid, we can do some simple things that can make identity theft more difficult for those looking to get into our cyber wallets and purses.

Let’s start with sending email.  If you have several people, like your club membership, that you need to send email, don’t put all the addresses in the “To” line.  Rather, put all the addresses in the “BCC” line (the Blind Copy Line); that way the individuals getting the email do not get the complete list of all recipients.  Those with less than honorable intentions can harvest email addresses from messages sent using the standard address method.

Speaking of email, what benefit is it to you to say yes when the clerk asks if you would like your receipt emailed to you? I can think of none.  Announcing your email to the others in line at the checkout, at the same time the clerk may have asked you for your phone number while clearing a check, is just too much information.

So many of us use smart phones and tablets and are delighted when we sit down at Bob Evans or McDonalds and find free wifi.  I use it myself to read the online New York Times, check the weather or sport scores.  This is not a place to do anything online that you wish to keep confidential. 

For example, don’t check your VISA balance and don’t access your online bank account.  Public wifi access can be easily hacked and you never know if you are actually on the Bob Evans wifi.  It could be that the nice looking young man at the next booth has a small wifi hotspot posing as the real Bob Evans wifi and everything you type is being recorded on his laptop.

We shouldn’t be paranoid, but a little common sense can go a long way to protect your identity. 

If you would like more information on online security just email me your name, address, social security number and mother’s maiden name and…..

Whose face is on a one dollar cell phone?

There is a major credit card company running a series of ads on TV that depicts a crowded fast food line coming to a screeching halt because a single customer has the audacity to use cash to pay for the “Biggie Burger and drink.” Is cash a thing of the past? Well for many of us it may be.

Been to the local Biggs store recently? As part of an upgrade to the computerized check out lanes they have added fingerprint recognition to the credit card terminal. While at this writing they have not activated the system, it is only one of several technologies that are being used to speed up transactions and tighten security. A quick swipe of your finger on the reader and you are identified, your purchase is authorized and the money is transferred from your bank account to the store’s. Since your finger print is unique to you, security is enhanced. This technology, once the province of a James Bond movie, is becoming common place in daily life. There are other similar technologies that scan your retina to accomplish secure identification.

Some of you may already have a “speed pass” that can be used at several major gas retailers. This plastic card can be waived in front of the pump instead of using a credit card or cash. While we don’t have many toll roads or bridges in the area, many in other parts of the country use a system that scans cars and trucks as they move through the toll gate without stopping.

The lowly cell phone is another example. Today’s phone has already morphed in to a camera, MP3 player, GPS receiver, web browser and email terminal. Tests in the US and abroad make your personal cell phone a sort of “magic wand” of purchasing activity large and small. Rather than putting coins in a parking meter or soft drink machine, you just wave your cell phone in front of the coin slot, enter a personal code and voila, the drink appears or the minutes are added to the
meter and your banking account is debited for the amount. There no coins, bills, credit or debit cards.

The same cell phone may give you access to the ATM, the gas pump, the highway toll both and of course the local supermarket.

It seems to me ironic that our Federal government is concentrating on making our paper money more difficult to forge at a time when fewer and fewer of us even use the stuff. But what do I know?

Setting up home wireless network is easy and inexpensive

The lazy days of summer are here. It is a time when many of us move outside for the next three months. Grilling on our decks or sitting out and enjoying the evening breezes. Just as you have been able to take your telephone conversations with you to the back yard or deck using a cordless phone, you can also take your laptop as well. Setting up a home wireless computer network is really quite easy and inexpensive. Even if you don’t venture outside, having access to the internet in any room of the house and having multiple family members share the single connection is a real plus.

A home wireless network consists of a small device that connects directly to your cable or DSL modem. It is called a Wireless Network Router. Instead of maintaining the connection to all the computers in the house over wires, it actually “broadcasts” to these computers within about 100 feet of the device using high frequency radio waves. Each computer must be equipped with a wireless network card. So for most of us mortals who live in standard size houses, the 100 ft. radius encompasses all the rooms in the house and the back yard.

Each computer using this wireless network signal must have the appropriate add-on hardware. Often laptops come with a built in card. There are also adapters that plug into the USB port of your desktop computer.

You can set up a home network that includes the wireless router and three cards or add-on devices for three computers for a total of about $125.00. All computer stores and the major appliance retailers have the equipment for sale. Two of the most popular brands are Lynksys and D-Link.

The cost of the equipment is a function of the speed that it can send and receive data and the distance it can broadcast. For most homes look for a label on the device that reads “802.11g.” This should work fine, unless you are a power user sending high definition video around your home on this network.

Be sure that you follow the directions to “secure” your network. A person driving down your street with the proper equipment could eavesdrop on your connection and capture data that might have your banking or other private information. If you live in the city where apartments or homes are close together, a non secure network could provide free internet access to several of your neighbors. The only way you would know is that your connection might get very slow.

Oh yes, both Cincinnati Bell ZoomTown™ and Time Warner Road Runner™ will provide and set up a wireless network for you for an extra monthly fee. When I last looked, the cost of doing it yourself would be recouped in about 24 months.

So break out the brews, the hotdogs and the laptop and go wireless this summer.