New Horizons…

It has been a little while since I last blogged. My apologies – so, what happened? Well, I changed job and continents – literally and figuratively: new horizons.

I am writing this blog from here in Los Angeles, California. I took up the exciting offer of moving over here to head up the Product Management effort in establishing Norton in the brave and different world of Mobile. I have not been disappointed, in either my choice of new job, nor my new country.

The past months have been head down focused on building a team, on building technology and building products. It’s been quite a ride. To be fair it has not all been about work – mostly, mind you. However, I have found some time to attempt to learn to surf and retrain myself to play ‘soccer’.

I had time to attend CES in Las Vegas last week. The show is now not so much about the big set piece announcements, rather, a showcase as to the possible: a window to new horizons. A brave new world awaits. From my standpoint, it means that the Norton mobile team has much to ponder and to navigate in providing a whole new generation of product and services. Fundamentally, what is ‘security’ in this context? For sure, it is different. There are some things we can leverage from our past experience, most of it we will have to build anew and look to the spirit of innovation to propel us onwards. Again, new horizons come into view. It is going to be very interesting – I will be sure to give you a view and insight into just how different it all is.

January 21, 2012 | Filed Under Miscellaneous, Mobile, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment 

How to stay safe when scanning QR codes

Guest post from Simon Ellson.

As I went gift shopping over the festive season, I found that most adverts I walked past on the London Underground had QR codes.

I think most people are familiar with QR codes but if you aren’t;  QR (Quick Response) codes are a type of matrix barcode that companies add to adverts and posters that, if scanned using a QR reader on a mobile device, take you to a website for further information related to the advertisement or poster on which the QR code appeared.

QR codes were created and originally used by the automotive industry as an efficient way to track vehicles during the manufacturing process but they are now used widely as an advertising aid.

However, they are also open to misuse by criminals;

Imagine a wall of advertisements with their QR codes displayed.  Then imagine how easy it would  be for a criminal to stick their own QR rogue code over a bona fide one.  Someone quickly scanning the advert as they walk past probably wouldn’t notice that the original QR code has been tampered with and that they were potentially infecting their mobile device courtesy of a rogue QR code.

This type of attack on a smart phone is known as attagging.

We all need to be aware of these dangers and be vigilant when scanning QR codes for signs of tampering. 2d Code recently provided tips on how you can scan a QR code safely. One of the tips that they gave was to install an app on your mobile device. This gives an added level of security and helps to protect your stuff.

2d Code recommends using Norton Snap. This is a free QR code reader which functions as a typical reader and also provides the added benefit of security to the scan.  Norton Snap analyses web sites to see how they will affect you and your device before you actually visit that site.

You can download Norton Snap via iTunes or the Android market place.

QR is short for Quick Response  and if you act too quickly you could get a quick response you were not expecting.  Stay safe!

January 4, 2012 | Filed Under Identity theft, Mobile, Security | Leave a Comment 

Possible threats to mobile users in 2012

Guest post from Andrew Ford.

This is quite an exciting week for my inaugural blog; Earlier this month, Norton by Symantec announced the availability of Norton Tablet Security and an update of Norton Mobile Security Followed by Get Safe Online Week which focused on threats to smart phones from rogue apps and malware .

This got me thinking about what the biggest threats to mobile users in 2012 will be.  I had a chat with Orla Cox, one of my colleagues in the Symantec Security Response Centre in Dublin and this is what she had to say;

Orla Cox;

“We’ll likely to continue to see an increase in attacks via mobile platforms. In the past year we’ve seen 40 new families of mobile threats.  This number will continue to increase over the next year.  At the same time, however, PC threats will continue to be most dominant, vector numbers wise.  We continue to add detection for 60,000 new threats every week”

I also asked Orla how she thought the  bad guys would be making their cash in 2012 and she pointed out that the increase in the use of mobile devices for financial transactions will continue to make them a more attractive target for criminals.  Using  smart phones or tablets to make payments means that users must store their credit card details on the phone, therefore we may see attackers creating malware that can steal that data. We may also see threats which follow the trend in Windows malware such as Rogue Antivirus software.

I know myself that the open and ubiquitous platforms are the most attractive for attackers and for that reason Android will likely continue to be the more attractive platform to attach.  If we see an increase in popularity for Windows Mobile-Nokia devices, then these too may become attractive to attacker. Apple iPhones and iPads will also not be immune from threats due to the millions now being used across the world. Indeed using any mobile device in an open wifi environment leaves a user open to other people capturing the data they transmit across the airwaves.

All this said, it remains more important than ever to be smart when using your smart phone and tablet.

As a minimum users should lock their phone with a pin code (you would be surprised just how many people don’t use this simple function on their phone).  This is a simple function that can save users a lot of hassle if their phone falls into the wrong hands.  At the other end of the scale, users can install mobile security on their mobile device. Caution should also be used when connecting to wifi hotspots.

Mobile devices are now mini computers and people keep their lives on them. How do you protect your device?

November 23, 2011 | Filed Under Family Online Safety, Identity theft, Mobile, Security, Technology | Leave a Comment 

It’s Not a Con – Over the Pond

Well, it’s been a blast. I’ve been working for Norton for over four years now, developing our products from PC anti-virus to full-service internet security suites with add-on features like family safety and safe search, and now we’re moving on again, into mobile computing protection. And as Norton moves on, so do I, to head up the mobile product development team in California.

As such, my world is suddenly very busy, as we develop new applications for people to keep their smartphones and tablet computers safe from cybercriminal attack, but also work to help them manage these mini-computers, get the best performance out of them, and protect their privacy.

Therefore, I’ll be writing less and less for ItsNotaCon, as my UK colleagues take up the reins of the blog, writing about cybercrime and how it affects people in the UK, family safety and general PC protection topics. Simon Ellson, Marian Merritt and others will be keeping you abreast of security topics in the coming months.

In the meantime, a little plug from me. Why not try Norton Mobile Utilities, if you have an Android phone? This is a free application available from the Android marketplace here https://market.android.com/details?id=com.symantec.monitor&hl=en which is designed to help you get the most out of your phone. It helps you to understand what apps you have, helps you manage and back them up, as well as helping you understand exactly what impact each app is having on your phone’s performance and also your own data – many apps request a great deal of access to other functions on your phone which can be an indication of a malicious app. It also contains useful tools to help manage data and call limits, memory use and battery performance.

Have fun – I’ll be back from time to time to tell you about mobile developments, but in the meantime it’s over the pond and out!

August 8, 2011 | Filed Under Mobile, Security | Leave a Comment