MSPNetworks Blog

For the longest time, smartphone manufacturers looked to develop devices that came with unique features in all different manners of form factors. Nowadays, however, there are very few phone manufacturers and those that are left have pretty much decided, for now, what the smartphone would look like. Even the ones that fold in half look and function pretty much the same. In this week’s blog, we will take a look at the declining innovation in the smartphone market and why it may not be a bad thing.

Smartphones are everywhere. Nearly everyone has one either in their pocket or in their hand and that fact would make you think that the underlying smartphone market is one that is remarkably strong. This really isn’t the case. Today, we’ll take a brief look at the smartphone market and how a lack of true innovation is one of the reasons the industry has seen large decreases in sales. 

The Smartphone Market is Shrinking

It wasn’t too long ago that the smartphone market was filled with companies looking to gain a significant market share in the industry. Since then some of the largest companies in the world have ceased their smartphone divisions. LG, Microsoft, and Amazon have stopped making smartphones altogether, while once industry leaders like Motorola have been bought and sold numerous times. 

2022, in particular, was not kind to smartphone manufacturers. In fact, the whole market saw an incredible twelve percent decline. You may be thinking, “How can that be, with so many people using smartphones?” The answer comes from the fact that lots of people aren’t buying new phones every 18 months or two years like they have been for the past decade. Much of this has to do with a lack of innovation.

“Innovation”

Smartphone manufacturers dispute that they aren’t at the forefront of innovation. Today’s budget smartphones are as good as flagships were only five short years ago. The problem is that flagships aren’t moving the needle each year with new features and form factors. Consider for a minute that for years the chipsets, the displays, the user interfaces and cameras on new flagship smartphones were greatly improved in some manner each year. For the past few years, however, there are slight improvements, but a major rise in costs. Even real innovations, such as the foldable smartphone market, haven't taken off because of the cost of the devices vs. the practical need for them. 

The point is that when innovation slows, people aren’t going to jump at the chance to buy a new phone for twice as much money than they paid for a device that works well enough and has relatively the same general makeup. This is why only a handful of companies are actually turning a profit in the smartphone space. In their marketing material they speak about innovation, without proving to customers that they are pushing the space forward. 

While the smartphone market is struggling to capture the imagination of its users, it’s still an extremely important part of today’s society and therefore will be invested in. So, while you may not see marked enhancements in display clarity, device speed, or security features, there are still benefits from getting a new phone every couple of years or so.  

If you are looking to use mobile to your business’ advantage, you’ll need help managing all the new endpoints on your network. Our technicians can help you develop a mobile policy, a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy, and help your organization make mobile productivity a feature of your business. Give us a call today at (516) 403-9001 to learn more.

Google’s Android operating system has about a 71.9 percent global market share, making it the most used smartphone operating system in the world. It’s well-trusted, and although the experience differs since phone manufacturers customize Android to fit their device, generally the operating system is pretty stable. This wasn’t the case for a massive number of users around March 22nd, 2021.

Around the 22nd of March, many Android users started to notice their apps crashing.

Not a particular app either. Instead, numerous apps that seemed to not be connected with each other were crashing persistently.

For instance, most users were reporting that Gmail was crashing, others noticed that doing a Google search crashed their browser app. Popular password management app Lastpass would crash for some users every time they tried opening it.

Not all apps were having an issue though. It wasn’t like all of the applications were made by Google, or some other developer. It seemed to affect a wide range of applications from communication apps to games.

Why Are My Android Apps Crashing?

This was such a sudden, immensely frustrating issue for some users. Fortunately the Internet prevailed, and a few users on Twitter figured out the culprit.

Android WebView, a system application that is powered by the Chrome browser and allows applications to view and access web-related content, had a bug in its latest update. This bug was causing your other applications to crash. The temporary fix was to uninstall the latest version of Android WebView by going into the Google Play store.

We’re not going to walk you through that process though, because Google fixed the bug in an update less than 12 hours later. Depending on when your phone searched for its updates, you may have missed the issue altogether.

It goes to show you that, while updates are generally important, an update isn’t inherently going to always go smoothly. Sometimes, updates have their own flaws that the developer doesn’t realize or didn’t experience in the testing process.

It’s important to consider when applying updates—not just to your smartphone, but to any software or hardware you use for your business. That’s why we test updates out in a test environment before deploying them, especially if they are for mission-critical applications. Google solved the Android issue in 12 hours, but that was a massive wide-spread issue. If you are running into a unique, uncommon issue due to an update, it could take days, weeks, or months for an official patch to come out. It’s better to test first, and if the test fails, determine how critical the update was, and go from there.

It’s always important to keep your hardware and software up to date, but always be prepared for something to go wrong.

If you need help keeping your IT maintained and updated, and want to reduce your overall risks for downtime and expensive problems, give MSPNetworks a call at (516) 403-9001 and ask how we can take over your technology and treat it as well as we treat our own.

Nobody intends to lose their smartphone. For some of us, our mobile device is glued to our hands for a good portion of the day—it’s hard to imagine simply leaving it somewhere, right?

Mistakes happen. It doesn’t take more than a few minutes to set your smartphone up so you can track it down easily if you lose it. 

The steps are going to be a little different depending on if you have Android or an iPhone.

Prevent Your iPhone from Being Lost Forever with Apple’s Find My iPhone

Enable Apple’s Find My iPhone.

Apple has a built-in service that is a part of iCloud that will allow you to track the location of your lost iPhone in case you accidentally lose it. This is ideal for when it slips out of your pocket in a taxi or you accidentally leave it in the booth at a restaurant. Technically, it could be useful if your iPhone was stolen, but it’s advised that you report a stolen iPhone to the police instead of trying to steal it back yourself.

Another great feature that Find My iPhone has is the ability to delete all of the data on the device so nobody can use it to steal your identity, break into your online accounts, or otherwise do what they want with your data.

Usually these features aren’t enabled by default—it’s something you need to turn on.

On your iPhone (it also works on iPads):

Open the Settings app.

Tap on iCloud

Set the Find My iPhone (or Find My iPad) slider to On.

If you haven’t already set up an iCloud account on that particular device, you’ll be walked through the steps to do so. Make sure you use a strong, secure password that you aren’t using anywhere else for your iCloud account, or else someone could potentially lock or wipe your device on you, and track your location.

You’ll then be able to log into the iCloud website and track the location of your iPhone, provided that your iPhone is on and not in Airplane mode.

Beyond that, you’ll also want to set up Touch ID or Face ID, and make sure you are always using strong passwords. Touch ID and Face ID options are presented to you when you first set up your new iPhone, but you can also find them in the Settings app. Just look for Touch ID & Passcode.

Track Down Your Lost Android Phone with Google’s Find My Device App

Android phones have a feature that is similar to Apple’s Find My iPhone. It’s called Google Find My Device. Just like Apple, it’s not typically set up by default.

To get started, open the Google Play Store and search for Google Find My Device. Install the application (you can also use this link to get there). 

Once installed, open the Google Find My Device application.

The app will ask you what account you want to log in as, typically you’ll want to use the same Google account you use for everything else on your phone. Make sure your Google account password is strong and unique.

Be sure to Allow Find My Device to access this device’s location when you are prompted.

As long as your phone is on, and its Wi-Fi and GPS is enabled, Find My Device will be able to track your phone for you.

You can sign into Google’s Find My Device site to manage and track your devices.

Of course, make sure your password for your Google account is strong, secure, and unique. Otherwise, anyone could gain access and track your location or wipe your devices.

We hope you never have to use this feature, but it never hurts to have it set up. Most smartphones are pretty expensive, and the amount of data on them and access to all of your personal information makes them practically priceless. 

For more information pertaining to your device security and other IT best practices, make sure you return to our blog!

If you’ve lost or misplaced your smartphone (or tablet), it’s critical that you act quickly. Every second counts, especially if you suspect that your device was stolen. Here are the steps you need to follow immediately, even if you think you simply left it at a restaurant or in the backseat of a taxi.

The steps are pretty similar whether you have an iPhone or Android device, but we’ll note some differences.

Step 1 - Assume the Worst

I know, this sounds bleak. While it’s possible that you are going to get your phone back, it helps to go into this assuming you will need a new one, and that the following steps you are taking are to preserve your identity (and your dignity). Getting your phone back will be a huge bonus, but right now, you need to act to protect yourself.

It sounds terrible, reading that out loud, but hear us out. Your phone has access to your email (and tons of other accounts), right? If someone gets access to your email, they can reset any password they want and log into any account tied to that email. That includes your bank account, your social media, your web hosting accounts, and literally anything else. If someone owns access to your email, they own you, figuratively speaking.

Step 2 - Remotely Lock and Wipe Your Phone

If you’ve set up Apple’s Find My iPhone setting for your iPhone or iPad, or you’ve set up Google’s Find My Device app, you can track the location of your phone, assuming it is on and the GPS/Wireless data is turned on.

For iPhones, log into your iCloud account in order to do this. For Android, go to Google’s Find My Device page. From either platform, you can usually get the exact location of your device. If it’s somewhere you recognize (at the restaurant you were just at, or at the office, for example), lock the device and call the location and have it located before someone else finds it. If you don’t recognize where the device is or it’s on the move, lock the device and wipe it if possible. 

If you didn’t set up Find My iPhone or Find My Device, you might be able to find and manage your device from your carrier or the phone’s manufacturer. Here are a few links to use as a reference:

• Apple - Find My iPhone Activation Lock: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201365  
• Verizon - Lock My Device: https://www.verizon.com/support/suspend-service-faqs/#lost-stolen
• Samsung - Find My Mobile: https://findmymobile.samsung.com
• T-Mobile - Lookout Mobile Security: https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-4257

Step 3 - Report It Immediately

Tuck away your pride here, you’ll need to report that you lost your phone. If you control your phone plan (as opposed to your phone being given to you from your workplace), contact your carrier and let them know. They can stop your phone from using their network which might slow someone down for stealing your information.

Here are some of the larger U.S. carriers, as a reference:

• AT&T: 1-800-331-0500 or www.att.com/suspend
• Sprint: 1-888-211-4727 or https://www.sprint.com/en/support/solutions/device/report-that-your-device-is-lost-or-stolen.html  
• T-Mobile: 1-877-746-0909 or https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-1211  
• Verizon: 1-800-922-0204 or https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/suspend-service-faqs/#lost-stolen

If your phone is provided to you from where you work, you’ll want to contact them immediately too, so they can take proper action. If you use your phone for your job in any way (checking emails, getting messages, etc.) you’ll need to tell them. At this point, it’s a liability and not only is your data at risk, but some level of company data is at risk too. Most businesses should have the ability to revoke access to company data and email remotely, or they may even be able to remotely wipe the device or the work profile on the device.

Step 4 - Change Your Passwords

Here are the big three accounts to change IMMEDIATELY:

• Apple
• Google
• Microsoft

Log into these three accounts (if you have them) and update your passwords.

Remember, all of your passwords need to be unique, strong, and secure. Don’t EVER use the same password twice. Ever. We cannot stress this enough.

Next up, change out your passwords in this order:

• Email accounts (if you have others besides your main Apple/Google/Microsoft accounts)
• Banking/financial accounts (bank accounts, credit cards, Paypal, merchant accounts, etc.)
• Cloud storage accounts (e.g. Dropbox, Amazon, Box, iCloud, Google Drive, Onedrive, etc.)
• Hosting/Domain-related accounts (e.g. GoDaddy, Network Solutions, Cloudflare, etc.)
• Social media (e.g. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
• eCommerce stores (e.g. Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, ebay, etc.)
• Services/utilities (e.g. Netflix, Hulu, your electric company, insurance companies, etc.)

Expect to spend a lot of time doing this, and be sure to take your time. You’ll want to be extremely thorough and ensure that every password is unique, and carefully document everything you do.

If You Suspect Your Phone Has Been Stolen, Report It to Authorities

We’ve saved this for the last step, but it’s probably a good idea to do this once you’ve changed your most important passwords. That being said, this step tends to not offer much as far as getting your stolen phone back.

Here’s the thing—if you track your phone and it is where you left it (for example, at a restaurant you were just at), then go ahead and call the restaurant and have someone find it and keep it somewhere safe for you. If your phone was stolen, or appears to be on the move, or it is somewhere that you couldn’t have left it, don’t try to retrieve it. 

If someone stole your phone, they are probably aware that you can track it. Don’t risk it.

Call the police and report it. There is no guarantee that they will be able to retrieve your phone (there’s no guarantee that they will even try, even if you provide the location), but it’s still a good idea to report it. It is a crime, after all.

Maybe, just maybe, someone picked up your phone and plans on being a good Samaritan and is taking it home to try to figure out how to get it back to its owner. You can’t really depend on that though—locking it and wiping the data is still a good practice. You could try calling your phone to see who is on the other side, but be extremely cautious. Again, if someone intentionally stole your phone from you, assume it is gone.

If You Find a Lost Phone

If you find a stray phone in a public place, the most helpful thing you can do is to give it to the staff at that place. For example, if you find a phone at a store, report it to customer service. Most people will instinctively backtrack and trace their steps to try to recover it. Help them out by leaving the phone at a location they would have lost it. Don’t try to take it somewhere else to help solve the mystery, you are only adding extra complexity, even if your intentions are good.

We hope you never lose your phone, but if you have, we hope this guide helps.

Today’s smartphones are equipped with assorted ways that users can authenticate their identity, from the now old-fashioned PIN to basic biometrics. However, while these options are available on a wide range of phones, not all of them are equally secure. Let’s look a bit closer at these authentication measures to find out which is most effective.

Does Mobile Security Really Matter That Much?

In a word: yes.

Look at how much we can accomplish with a mobile device. While we’re used to the capabilities that a smartphone offers, it wasn’t too terribly long ago that these capabilities were unheard of outside of science fiction. It wasn’t until 1996 that practical PDAs came about with the Palm Pilot, followed by Blackberry in 2002 and 2004’s introduction of HTC’s Windows phones that we had a taste of what a “smart” phone would look like. It was only in 2007 that the first generally-agreed-upon smartphone, the iPhone, was released.

Just think about the difference between the devices we have today, compared to those that preceded them. While these so-called “dumb phones” were not devoid of sensitive data by any stretch, they may as well have been in comparison to today’s devices.

Now, there are applications for everything, from money management to medical data to shopping and every other purpose imaginable, many of which contain or regularly access personal data. Therefore, it is so important for these devices to be secured… the method by which a user can unlock the device being just one tiny facet of these security needs.

Evaluating Your Authentication Options

Nowadays, the authentication options present on mobile devices are designed to combine the needed security with the convenience of the user. Yet, since they aren’t all equally effective at securing the device, you need to be selective about the authentication method you use.

Let’s go over the options your device may offer and see which one is the best for your security.

Passcodes/PINs/Passwords

We’re all familiar with these authentication measures, as they’re generally the baseline authentication measure for any device, including mobile devices. They also help prevent other authentication proofs from being put in place without the user’s approval. While these security measures are far from impenetrable, they are secure enough to serve as the basis for sufficient security. This is, of course, provided that the user is responsible when they set them.

That said, many users don’t act responsibly as they should, leaving their mobile devices relatively insecure. A study conducted in 2012 revealed that the PINs people used were often of personal significance to them, were composed of repeated digits, or (most amusingly) featured the number 69. Other common numbers were those that could easily be typed in sequence, like 1234, 7890, and the like.

Another study showed that increasing the length of the PIN from four numbers to six rarely added any security benefits, again because of the user. Apparently, the added length makes the user feel more secure by default, and by doing so, gives them the comfort to slack off in how secure their PIN is.

Naturally, assuming the user has the patience to retype their password each time the device locks, this option is more secure than a PIN. Regardless, these options are generally accepted as the most secure option right now.

Biometrics

Thanks to the hardware and software that our devices now support, users can now use their physical attributes to confirm their identity, as biometric authentication has risen in popularity. Naturally, the different methods that make up biometric authentication aren’t as consistent as many would assume.

Fingerprint Sensors: The first phone to have a fingerprint sensor—the Pantech GI100—first launched in 2004, and with the Toshiba G500, the fingerprint sensor became a mainstream inclusion on smartphones. This isn’t expected to change, with projections predicting that 90 percent of devices will still have a fingerprint sensor in 2023, as compared to 95 percent in 2018.

Fingerprint sensors come in many kinds, which does impact their security somewhat. For example, Samsung has started to incorporate sensors under the screen to enable a three-dimensional image to be captured. However, this inherently secure technology can be undermined using a screen protector, as the screen protector can actually lead to any fingerprint being accepted. There is also the concern that fingerprints can be harvested from another source and transplanted to the device to unlock it, so the user needs to prioritize making sure their device is properly acclimated to their unique print.

Iris Scanning: Currently, iris scanning is seen as the most secure biometric authentication, as the iris is even more unique than a fingerprint. While these capabilities are currently present in many devices, many users don’t use them. This is generally because it takes longer to scan the iris, as the user must direct their gaze to the sensor.

Facial Recognition: Fingerprint recognition has begun to be replaced by facial recognition capabilities, particularly with the rising prevalence of full screen displays. With a decent software installed and a good set of reference data, facial recognition can make unlocking a device effectively effortless. However, that’s assuming that the software is good and that the reference images are good. If these images have blights like glare on them, it is harder for a user to unlock and easier for a hacker to crack.

Pattern Passwords/Knock Codes

Finally, we’ve come to the least secure option of all. Many Android devices offer the user the option to tap a pattern of their choosing on a grid to unlock their device. Multiple studies have disproven the security of this method, simply because it isn’t too challenging to figure out a user’s pattern.

In one study, it was found that 65 percent of the 351 participants involved created a code that followed Westernized reading patterns, starting at the top-left and progressing to the top-right. Increasing the size of the grid only led to users selecting shorter patterns. Many patterns proved common amongst the participants as well:

1. An hourglass: top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right, top left, top right
2. A square: Top left, top right, bottom right, bottom left, top left, top right
3. The number seven: Top left, top left, top right, top right, bottom left, bottom left

To top it all off, the researchers found that knock codes were rapidly forgotten. 10 percent of the participants had forgotten their selected code by the time the 10-minute study was over. Plus, they’re slower: knock codes took five seconds to input, while a PIN takes four and a half.

Don’t Skip Securing Your Mobile Device

If you’ve made it this far, you’re likely a smartphone user, and as such, it plays an important part in both your professional and personal life. As you have probably gathered, you can’t afford to short-change any aspect of your security, down to the way you unlock your mobile device.

MSPNetworks can assist you in ensuring your business’ technology is adequate for your purposes, and that it has the necessary protections surrounding it. To learn more about our services, reach out to our team at (516) 403-9001 today.

Many users are noticing or just starting to hear about Google and Apple’s initiative to work with local governments to provide an easy way to help users prevent getting infected with COVID-19. The idea is that, if a local or state government wanted to build an app for users that would tell them if people nearby have been tested positive for COVID-19, they would get a notification on their phone. 

This, of course, raises many questions and concerns about privacy, but a lot of people are being warned that this has been forced onto their phones already, and that just simply isn’t the case. Let’s take a look.

Every so often, an update or change to some major software that everyone uses causes a big stir on social media. For example, several years ago when the Facebook app on Android requested access to use your smartphone’s camera, some people on social media had a lot to say about it. As it turns out, Facebook lets you take pictures directly from the app, so of course you would need to give Facebook permission to your camera if you wanted to use it for that.

A lot of these shifts in technology and privacy are concerning, but they often get mixed in with a lot of misinformation. We’re not saying you shouldn’t be concerned over the giant tech companies and the data that they collect on you every day - you should, and typically do, have some control over what is gathered. The point is, we’re seeing a very similar reaction to Apple and Google’s recent COVID-19 contact tracing app framework.

Did Google or Apple Install a COVID-19 Tracking App on My Phone?

No. They didn’t. Not technically. Google and Apple worked together to build a framework that app developers can use for apps that track COVID-19 cases. They didn’t sneak a COVID-19 app onto your phone without your consent. 

Why are folks worried? A big part is due to social media sensationalism. We’ve seen some posts going around Facebook that read like this example:

**VERY IMPORTANT ALERT!***
A COVID-19 sensor has been secretly installed into every phone.
Apparently, when everyone was having “phone disruption” over the weekend, they were adding COVID-19 Tracker [SIC] to our phones!

If you have an Android phone, go under settings, then look for google settings and you will find it installed there.

If you are using an iPhone, go under settings, privacy, then health. It is there but not yet functional.

The App can notify you if you’ve been near someone who has been reported having COVID-19.

The post above is pretty misleading. There is no new “sensor” that Google or Apple secretly installed. Instead, during recent security updates, the two companies added a setting to enable the use of Google and Apple’s COVID-19 Exposure Notification system. This means that when official apps are developed, you not only need to install the app and set it up, but you also have to opt in to tell either Google or Apple that you want to participate.

This update is essentially two things - it gives local governments and the health industry in general the ability to use a secure, singular framework to build COVID-19 apps on, and it gives users the choice whether or not they want to opt in at all.

Just to Be Clear, This Isn’t a COVID-19 Tracking App

I can’t reiterate this enough, unless you installed something, your Android or iPhone isn’t just going to start tracking you and your friends and family to see if you have COVID-19. If you go into your settings as mentioned in the above Facebook post, you’ll see that you either need to install or finish setting up a participating app before the notifications can even be turned on. 

In a joint statement from Apple and Google (which doesn’t happen very often!), they state that “What we’ve built is not an app - rather public agencies will incorporate the API into their own apps that people install.”

To explain this, an API stands for Application Programming Interface. Basically, Google and Apple have laid some groundwork that these apps can use. It also makes it much easier for users to opt in and out.

Ironically, the system won’t work if users don’t adopt it - if half of all users decide they won’t use the COVID-19 notification system, the system might not be reliable enough to work for those that do use it.

What Do We Know About the COVID-19 Tracking Apps?

The system is still in its infancy, and it’s really up to state and local governments to deploy the official apps themselves. The platform that Google and Apple have built allow it to be decentralized and secure.

To put it simply, when you opt in and use one of these apps, a random ID is generated and exchanged between your phone and nearby phones within Bluetooth range. These random, anonymous IDs are stored on your phone. Basically, your phone keeps a tally of other phones it has been near.

If someone is diagnosed with COVID-19 and manually shares that information with one of the official contact tracing apps, all of the random IDs your phone has collected over the past 14 days are uploaded (with your permission) and the users of those IDs are notified that they may have been exposed. The system doesn’t track your location, or share other users’ identities within the app, or even with Google or Apple. On top of that, the random ID that your phone generates is changed every 10 to 20 minutes. According to Google, the apps are not allowed to use your phone’s location or track your location in the background.

In other words, it is safe, anonymous, and if you don’t want to opt in, you simply shouldn’t install any official (or unofficial) COVID-19 tracking apps.

How to Uninstall the Apple/Google COVID-19 Exposure Notification

Since this question is undoubtedly going to come up, we figured we’d answer it here. As mentioned, because this API isn’t actually an app, you can’t uninstall it. It’s built into Android and iOS’s operating systems and pushed through recent security updates.

There are walkthroughs on the Internet that will walk users through rolling back their phone or other risky procedures, but that only puts your phone at risk for other threats. There is nothing to uninstall, and rolling back your phone and preventing future security updates from ever getting installed is a very bad idea.

You don’t need to worry about the API being there. It’s just a setting, and by default, you are opted out. If you are worried about it, both Apple and Google state that by simply not installing a COVID-19 Exposure Notification app, or uninstalling one if you did install one, is all it takes to not participate.

DO NOT FOLLOW ANY INSTRUCTIONS ONLINE THAT WALK YOU THROUGH ROLLING BACK YOUR PHONE AND OPTING OUT OF SECURITY UPDATES. 

If you are that serious about your privacy, you are only putting your privacy and data at more risk.

After reading and understanding the technology behind the COVID-19 Exposure Notification system, it does sound like they are taking every step to make the system secure and anonymous. After all, it does need to comply with healthcare regulations, which many of our clients know are very strict when it comes to data privacy.

The decision to opt in or out of the COVID-19 Exposure Notification system is yours and yours alone, but Google and Apple appear to be doing all the right things to ensure that the system is safe and secure, without violating anyone’s privacy.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, many people are avoiding human contact by turning to the Internet and mobile apps. On a national scope, mobile banking alone has seen an increase of 50 percent over just the last few months. In what certainly is no coincidence, the Federal Bureau of Investigation recently put out a warning that identified banking apps as likely targets for hackers.

As was said in the FBI’s announcement:

“As the public increases its use of mobile banking apps, partially due to increased time at home, the FBI anticipates cyber actors will exploit these platforms.”

We recommend that you take a few minutes and read the entire announcement, as it has a lot of information about these threats and quite a few tips that can help protect your mobile banking as well as many other applications.

If you don’t have the chance to go over all of this now, we’ve put together some of the most important tips to abide by if you’re trying to protect yourself and your financial interests.

Use 2FA

2FA, short for Two-Factor Authentication, and often seen nowadays as MFA or Multi-Factor Authentication, is effectively the addition of another identifier to ensure that someone trying to access an account is who they claim to be. Via texting, emailing, or generating a unique code through an application like Google Authenticator, Authy, Duo, or LastPass Authenticator, a user is given the key to open the additional lock on their accounts.

Any account you use should be protected by 2FA/MFA, especially those that deal with your finances or other sensitive information.

You should always set up 2-Factor Authentication on any account you have, especially if it deals with sensitive information or your money.

Be Smart About Your Passwords

Make sure that any passwords you use are sufficiently secure for your purposes. Rather than using common phrases or easy-to-guess combinations, like your birthday or a pet’s name, use a unique string of characters, numbers, and symbols for each account, or a passphrase consisting of unrelated words.

If You Aren’t Sure, Don’t Click on It

In what is probably the best piece of advice you can give someone who does business online in 2020, if you don’t know who sent it or where it will take you, don’t click on it. In fact, if you aren’t 100 percent sure about something, don’t click on it. Chances are your bank has a mobile app. Download that one from a reputable app store. They may have the link on their website, but if it doesn’t take you to the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store, don’t click on any link. Your bank has spent significant resources to make sure that their app has the security needed, don’t risk using any other app. 

Contact the Bank if You Have Questions

Confirmation that it was your bank sending you information, or that their app isn’t working properly at the moment won’t take more than a simple phone call to confirm. Go to their official website and get the customer assistance number.

We’re really glad the FBI covered this tip too, as it’s often glossed over. If you have any suspicion that something is strange or not working correctly, just call your bank. Go to their official website, or use the number on the back of your card or from a statement. You don’t want to be fooled into making a mistake that puts your finances in the crosshairs of hackers or scammers. Your bank will never ask you for your name or password over the phone, so never give that information out. 

Keep your money out of the hands of cybercriminals by being vigilant and understanding the signs of a scam. If you would like any more information about keeping your finances secure, call the IT security professionals at MSPNetworks today at (516) 403-9001. 

More people than ever are utilizing the conveniences of the Internet and mobile apps to avoid unnecessary human contact during the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, mobile banking alone has increased by 50 percent over the last few months, nationwide. In a recent PSA, the FBI warned that hackers are likely to be targeting mobile banking apps.

According to the FBI’s public service announcement:

“As the public increases its use of mobile banking apps, partially due to increased time at home, the FBI anticipates cyber actors will exploit these platforms.”

The PSA is definitely worth a read, and includes some good tips and potential threats that are out there. It’s worth noting that many of the tips apply to a lot more than just mobile banking.

If you are in a rush, here are some of the best tips to take away from it to protect yourself.

Utilize 2-Factor Authentication

You’ll see this called 2-Factor Authentication, Multi-Factor Authentication, 2FA, or MFA. That’s where a website or service will email or text you a little code to log you in. Some services will utilize an authentication application, such as Google Authenticator, Authy, Duo, or LastPass Authenticator. Using an authentication app is definitely a safer way to go, as they are harder to spoof than email and text, but anything is better than nothing.

You should always set up 2-Factor Authentication on any account you have, especially if it deals with sensitive information or your money.

Always Have Good Password Hygiene

Use strong passwords that contain lower and uppercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Your passwords should always be unique and not be used for multiple accounts, and your passwords should never contain information that could be guessed like your name, birthdays, your pets, and so forth.

If Something Seems Fishy, Don’t Install It

Never install something you aren’t 100 percent sure about. If your bank has a mobile app, be sure to download their official app, which they should have linked in their website. Avoid installing a mobile banking app that is sent to you via email or text message, because there is a chance that it could be bogus. 

When In Doubt, Call the Bank

We’re really glad the FBI covered this tip too, as it’s often glossed over. If you have any suspicion that something is strange or not working correctly, just call your bank. Go to their official website, or use the number on the back of your card or from a statement. 

If you accidentally called the number from the banking app, and that phone call seems suspicious, immediately hang up and be sure you use the number from their official website. If the hackers were clever enough to get you to download a fake banking app, they could easily have a fake support number to get you to call and submit your credentials. Your bank will never need your username and password over the phone.

All in all, be ever vigilant, because cybercriminals want to take advantage of the chaos to grift people out of their money. Don’t let them!

If you need help locking down your business and protecting your staff from cyberthreats, give MSPNetworks a call at (516) 403-9001 today!