Advocate's Studio

We’ve all been there. Wanting to log in to your Google account on a public computer or computer of questionable security. What’s a Googler to do? For a very limited time (it is no longer active) you could use Google’s new experimental QR code secure log-in procedure! Before the experiment was pulled, you could use both your smartphone and the desktop to log-in without having to fork over your password. Start by navigating on the insecure desktop to http://accounts.google.com/sesame. Then, using your smartphone’s bar code reader (like Google Goggles, for e.g.) scan a QR code showing on the desktop. Your smartphone was then directed to a log-in page. Log-in on the phone and, like magic, the desktop would then navigate to your Gmail or iGoogle page. No chance of password hacking there. Very cool indeed.

However, it appears the experiment was short lived – Google announced on Google + that the log-in was experimental and no longer available but that Google was working on something related and better. Better can’t be bad. I’ll be scanning the Google feeds for whatever trick they may be talking about and report back.

Ever wonder what other people use their smartphones for? I know what I use mine for – quite a bit of email, a bit less texting and talking, a TON of picture/video taking, and a sizable amount of browsing and news consumption. Oh, and a little social media thrown in. Interestingly enough, the number one use for smartphones isn’t very smart at all – you can pretty much text on ANY phone, smart or dumb. Still, this infographic by Tatango is an interesting look at how people prefer to employ their brainy little devices:

I just got a new work smartphone – its Android-powered, but more on that later. With a quick download of a Nitro app, I have sufficient security to access my Outlook mail, contacts, calendar and tasks. I understand my IT department is deploying tools to further integrate the mobile and desktop experience – first, iOS and Blackberry, with Android-friendly tools coming soon. When I come into work these days, a new wireless network pops up on my phone’s screen: iPad Test. Yes, Virginia, businesses are definitely going MOBILE.

Zendesk has published a cool infographic detailing the marriage between the enterprise and their smartphones. It’s tight, and only getting tighter. Check it out below, hat tip to WebWorkerDaily:

We are all going mobile. And, generally speaking, that isn’t such a bad thing. To have a tool the approximate size of a deck of cards with you at all times that can manage your business and personal affairs over the “air” is a compelling sell indeed. However, along with the obvious benefits, there are certainly drawbacks, with security or lack thereof being not the least among them. In many respects, the lack of security does stand to some reason. What is far more troubling, however, is the general lack of awareness among mobile phone users regarding the risks associated with such “always on” connectedness.

BeSpacific blog highlighted a March 11, 2011 report by the Ponemon Institute, a group focused on security issues, on the findings from a survey of 734 U.S. mobile phone consumers over the age of 18. Ponemon was trying to get at two pieces of information: are consumers aware of the risks; and, do consumers care about the risks? The results, culled from their answers, are a tad shocking.

Ponemon reports that the key finding from their research is that users are unaware of the type and extent of security risks associated with mobile phone use and are not terribly concerned about them.  Users are far more concerned with security on their laptop or desktop computers than they are with respect to their mobile phones. They are also far more concerned that a marketer will try to contact them over their phone then they are about weak links in the security chain. A sizeable percentage store sensitive data on their phones, but over 50% of users have not enabled the basic security of a keypad lock or password protection. And a 57% majority report that security is not an important feature on their phone at all. Nearly half of consumers are unconcerned about transferring a device to another person without properly wiping the phone’s data. Most are unaware of being “tracked” while using their phones or the lessened security that accompanies jailbreaking a device. Less than half are concerned about insecure wi-fi to phone connections. Only about half are aware of and less than half are concerned about “cross-over” – security of business information jeopardized by personal use of a device.  And, it appears, a large percentage of smartphone use is mixed business and personal, with employers paying some or all of the bill.

Now, I am sure that Studio readers are well aware of the risks associated with mobile smartphone use and have implemented security measures to prevent against harm. But, as a public service, I list below the security scenarios addressed in the report. Maybe there is one you overlooked, who knows? But, knowledge being power and all, this is one arena in which ignorance is definitely not bliss.

1.   location data embedded onto image files can result in tracking of the smartphone user

2.   Smartphone apps can transmit confidential payment information (i.e. credit card details)

3.   Smartphones can be infected by specialized malware called “dialerware” that enables criminals to make use of premium services or numbers resulting in unexpected monthly charges.

4.   Smartphone apps may contain spyware that allows criminals to access the private information contained on a smartphone

5.   Financial apps for smartphones can be infected with specialized malware designed to steal credit card numbers and online banking credentials.

6.   If a social network app is downloaded on a smartphone, failing to log off properly could allow an imposter to post malicious details or change personal settings without the user’s knowledge.

7.   A smartphone can be disposed of transferred to another user without properly removing sensitive data, allowing an intruder to access private data on the device.

8.   In many cases, people use their smartphone for both business and personal usage, thus putting confidential business information at risk (a/k/a cross-over risk).

9.   A smartphone can connect to the Internet through a local WIFI network that is insecure. This may result in a virus attack to the smartphone.

10.   Smartphones contain basic security protections that can be disabled by jailbreaking, thus, making the smartphone more vulnerable to spyware or malware attacks.

11.   Smartphone users can be targeted by marketers based on how the phone is used for purchases, Internet browsing and location. As a result, the user may receive unwanted marketing ads and promotions on their smartphone.

Apparently there are over 100 tweaks, but the WWDC presentation highlighted eight of them.

1. First, the beautiful new design, previously broken by Gizmodo. Flat front and back, stainless steel edge, 9.33mm thick. 24% thinner than iPhone 3GS. Thinnest smart phone on the planet. Mute, volume up and down buttons on left edge. Front facing camera, micro SIM tray. Camera with LED flash on back. Microphone, connector and speaker on bottom. Headset, second mic for noise cancellation and sleep / wake button on top. The stainless steel band around the phone is part of its structure and serves as the antenna for the phone. Glass front and back.
2. Next, a vastly improved display, with four times the pixels in the current space of one – 326 pixels per inch. Its called “retina” display, fits within the same 3.5″, but crams in 960 by 640 pixels.The results are downright amazing, and undoubtedly will set a new screen standard.
3. Next, the A4 chip, designed by the Apple team. It has bigger specs – 6 hours 3G browsing, 10 hours Wi-Fi browsing. 10 hours video. 40 hours music. 300 hours standby and up to 32 gb of space (the latter is the same as the 3GS). Quad band HSPDA/HSUPA, 802.11n.
4. Next, its got a Gyroscope! It has a 3 axis gyro, with its own, new CoreMotion API. Will be interesting to see what developers do with this. The Jenga demo, with 360 degree rotation, is pretty breathtaking.
5. Next, a completely new camera system. There is an illuminated sensor on the back, along with the new, 5 megapixel camera. It has a 5 times digital zoom. Tap to focus. The flash is LED. And guess what? High definition video! 720 pixels at 30 frames per second (getting worried, Flip?). iMovie is coming to the iPhone as well (for $4.99 – why isn’t this included?), so you can edit your vids right on the phone.  It will even allow incorporating photos into your vids.
6. Next, iPhone OS 4 has been enamed iOS 4. All the features previously layed out by Jobs and discussed in the tech blogs, ad infinitum. Mail and Pandora music at the same time. New Mail features – unified inbox and threaded mail items. Bing will now be  search option in Safari. Unfortunately, it will not be available for download today (or even this week).
7. Next, iBooks is coming to iPhones with iOS 4. All the same features, including reading / viewing PDFs and downloading all the same books. Mailed PDFs will open in iBooks automatically. AND, you will be able to sync all bookmarks and notes across devices.
8. Finally, and I am not sure why this is relevant to the iPhone discussion,  iAds. Although Apple has only been selling them for 8 weeks (with over $60 million committed by advertisers), clients already include: Citi, Unilever, AT&T, Chanel, GE, Liberty Mutual, State Farm, Geico, Campbell’s, Sears, JC Penny, Target, Best Buy, Direct TV, TBS, and Disney. The ads will be turned on for all iOS 4 devices on July 1 (so we will be getting iOS 4 before then).
9. Oh, wait – there’s one more thing (because the fine folks at Apple can’t count). Yup, you guessed it. Video chat. The person called shows up full screen, and your tiny little image shows in a box in the lower left corner. It’s called FaceTime. Looks to be wi-fi only for now. And you can use front or rear camera so the person called can see what you are seeing.

Will I be getting one? Let’s just say, my 3GS is sitting right next to me is starting to sweat.

UPDATE: Stuff I missed because I had to leave before the live blogging ended – FaceTime will only work between iPhone 4 users. iPhone 4 will be $199 for 16GB and $299 for 32GB, and ATT is making everyone whose contract expires in 2010 eligible for upgrade. Pre-orders for iPhone 4 start on June 15. iPhone 4 will be available in the familiar black and white.

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