How to Make Your Phone More Secure

Just like computers, smartphones have their security flaws. There have been many examples of Android breaches, with the Kapersky Security Bulletinproviding the recent example of the Android version of the Pegasus mobile espionage software, known as Chrysaor.

While the consensus is that Apple’s iOS is more secure than Google’s Android OS, all phones remain vulnerable to the latest chip vulnerability to be exposed: Spectre.

Additionally, in September alone last year Sophos Labs found that more than 30% of the ransomware it identified was on the Android platform, and there are an estimated 10 million Android apps that are categorized as ‘suspicious.

Given the rise of mobile malware, users need to be constantly vigilant and make sure that their phones are secure, and here are six ways you can do that.

1. Lock your phone:

 

Enabling a phone to lock itself when not used for a short period is a cornerstone of keeping the device secure. When the phone is locked, it prevents others getting access to the device, and all of its data data and apps.

While years ago locking your phone was a bit of a pain, modern smartphones offer a variety of unlock options, including fingerprint sensors and facial recognition, so you no longer have the excuse that it’s inconvenient to have to unlock the phone when you want to use it.

When you configure the lock settings you can specify the number of minutes before your phone locks, so specify a short interval of only a few minutes to make sure an unattended phone is locked down if found. The phone should also default to the lock screen after a restart, and require a PIN, not a fingerprint or other less secure shortcut, for the initial unlock to offer a higher level of security.

2. Keep the OS up to date:

 Android users continue to face the fragmentation of their OS. The most common version of Android in use as of February 2018 is Nougat (7.0, 7.1), with a 28.5% market share, but only 1.1% of Android phone users are running the latest version, Oreo (8.0, 8.1), while the five-year-old KitKat (4.4) still soldiers on with 12% of the market, according to Fossbytes.

The situation is better, but far from perfect, in the Apple camp. While the latest version of iOS, 11.2, does have the highest market share at 70%, there’s a persistent minority of users still on earlier versions, such as the 10.1% who are on version 10.3, which is approaching a year old and doesn’t offer all the latest security updates.

Android users continue to be quagmired between phone manufacturers not releasing the latest updates for their handsets, and then carriers not rolling them out, leaving users potentially vulnerable to new threats, a situation that Google is seeking to address with its latest attempt to facilitate Android updates, Project Treble.

Our recommendation would be that if your phone is no longer being updated, then it’s time to start shopping for a new one. When looking for a new smartphone, in addition to other features, look for a phone that’s likely to receive updates over the long term. This makes an argument for choosing a more popular flagship that’s more likely to get plenty of update love over its lifetime, or a Google Pixel phone that will be well supported with updates.

3. Avoid insecure brands: 

Some phones have a reputation for receiving more frequent updates, such as the aforementioned Google Pixel line, and Apple iPhones that continue to get updates for several years. However, with other smartphones it’s quite the opposite.

In February the issue of phone security reached the level of a congressional hearing in the US, with intelligence officials warning that phones from Chinese manufacturers Huawei and ZTE should be considered insecure, and going so far as to accuse these phones of spying on US citizens. And last year budget phones from Blu were pulled from Amazon due to privacy concerns.

In general, sticking to more mainstream brands that have a high profile in the market, rather than second- or third-tier products, is the safer choice.

4. Encryption:

With all the data that’s on your smartphone – emails, contacts, financial apps and more – it goes without saying that if the phone is lost or stolen you don’t want a crook gaining access to it. The solution is to encrypt the phone’s storage, so that if it falls into someone else’s hands the data is protected.

Thankfully, setting up encryption is pretty simple – just follow our handy guide.

5. Scan for viruses:

 Mobile devices are increasingly susceptible to malware, including ransomware. Even the Google Play Store continues to be plagued with malware, with unreputable programs attracting an astonishing 4.2 million downloads, including the ExpensiveWall hack that masqueraded as a wallpaper app. The solution, just as when downloading software to a laptop or PC, is to be wary of downloads from less mainstream vendors and unverified sources, and to scan periodically for viruses and malware.

While Windows desktop operating systems come with Windows Defender to guard against malware, mobile platforms don’t yet have a default antivirus program. The easy fix is to download and install an anti-malware app, and we have recommended choices from reputable vendors for both iOS and Android.

6. Don’t jailbreak your phone:

A subsection of iPhone users have a reputation for ‘sticking it to the man’ by jailbreaking their devices, believing that in order to get the most from their phone they need to free it from Apple’s built-in restrictions on which apps and extensions they can install. Android users can do something similar, although the term here is to root the device, rather than to jailbreak it.

The problem with doing either is that it enables users to download unauthorized apps that may contain malware. For example, back in 2015 the KeyRaidermalware that targeted jailbroken iPhones, and resulted in 225,000 Apple accounts, including passwords, being found on a server.

That attack, however, pales in comparison to the more recent CopyCat malwarethat affected 14 million Android devices, and even rooted eight million of them without the owner’s knowledge. The source of the malware was popular apps downloaded from sites other than the Google Play Store.

From a security standpoint, the best practice is to not jailbreak your phone, and stick with the original OS to avoid exposing the phones to malware and other threats. source

How to watch Rugby Championship online Live Stream

New Zealand take on the arch rivals Australia in the second Rugby Championship Match. here is nazimali4800.blogspot.com guide to streaming all the action online using mobile, PC and Smart TV devices.

New Zealand face Australia for a second weekend in the Rugby Championship. Despite a second half comeback from Australia, New Zealand thrashed their rivals 54-34 Sydney last time out.
Mow the Wallabies head to the Forsyth Barr Stadium Dunedin in the hope they put the past defeat behind them.

However it won't be an easy match to win especially with New Zealand Dane Coles expected to play his first Test since November.


The thirty year old hooker who was nominated for world of the year in 2016 has suffered numerous injuries in the recent months but is now fit to play.
Coles inclusion is the only change to the starting XV that beat the Wallabies 54-34 in Sydney last time out.
Speaking ahead of the game, Australia captain Michael Hopper said, " Certainly starting hard, having really good communication about how we get out of our area and relieve pressure is an  important for this weekend."

"The last game the back to back tries and points that we allows them it was really hard to deal with so minimizing those things putting pressure back onto New Zealand is really important."

Australia replace Samu Kerevi with Tevita Kuridrani at outside center.

So, if you want to watch all the actin here's how to tune in online.

How to watch New Zealand v Australia:

Coverage of this morning game between New Zealand vs Australia will be shown live on Sky Sports main event (Sky 401, Sky HD 435, Virgin 511, TalkTalk 402, BT TV 402) with the pre match build up starting at 8am and kick off set for around 8:30 pm.

This means that all the action can be on your desktop, laptop via Sky Go app, which if you are an exciting customer is also available on iOS and Android smartphone and tablet devices.

Sky Go is also available on a number of platforms including Amazon Fire devices iPAD, Mac computers and laptops, Playstation 3 , PS4 and Xbox One.

The Sky Sports app available to download on iOS and Android devices will also be providing live text coverage and updates.

If you are not currently a Sky Sports customer but can't stand to miss out on the action you can add the channels to your box via a Now TV subscription.

Day passes which let you add sky Sky Sports Channels for 24 hours start at 6.99£ a day with a weekly pass starting from £10.00 and no in to a contract.

Now TV does't even require a typical television to use as it is also available on a NOW TV Box Chromecast, PS4, PS3, Xbox one, Xbos 360, Roku, LG smart TV, PC or Mac and selected mobile and tablet devices

Internet (An introduction)

Internet:

                     The Internet was the result of some visionary thinking by people in early 1960s who saw great potentiol value in allowing computers to connect and share information on research and development in scientific and military fields. J.C.R Licklider of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA), first proposed a global network of computers in 1962, and moved over to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in late 1962 to head the work to develop it. Leonard Kleinrock developed the theory of packet switching, which was to form the basis of internet connections. Lawrence Roberts connected a Massachusetts computer nwith a California computer in 1965 over dial-up telephone lines. In 1966 Roberts developed his plan for ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network). These Dreamers and many more are the real founders of Internet.
E-mail:

                 E-mail was developed for ARPANET in 1972. The @ symbol was chosen from the variable symbols to link the username and address. The Internet matured in the mid of 1970's as a result of the TCP/IP architecture which was developed throughout the 1970's.
 in 1989 another significant event took place in making the internet friendly and easier to use. Tim Berners-Lee and others proposed a new protocol for information distribution. This protocol which became the World Wide Web in 1991, was based on hypertext- a system of embedding links in text to link to other portions of text.
As the Internet has become ubiquitous, faster and progressively accessible to non-technical user communities, social networking and collaborative services have grown rapidly; enabling people to communicate and share interests in many more ways. Sites like Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, YouTube, Flicker and many more allow people of all ages to rapidly share their interests with others everywhere.