Smartphone Security, Safety, Privacy

Smartphone Security should be a top priority if you one of the millions of mobile phone users. With the advancements in mobile phone technology, nowadays, there is much can one can do using their mobile devices.

Stats show an ever-growing number of smartphone subscribers, including tweens and seniors. With this increase in subscriber-ship and versatility of smartphones today, we've seen increased activity of cyber crime.

Given that today's wireless technology allows us access to the internet, while on the go, people are doing much online including shopping and banking over the internet, using smartphones. No doubt, security on apps and web browsers is much better than it used to be, however, cyber criminals continue to find ways to penetrate and hack into smartphones getting access to sensitive and private data.

Although many of us understand the dangers lurking, we are not about to give up our smartphones. However, there are simple steps one can take to protect their smartphone and avoid becoming a victim of internet fraud and identity theft. Here are some Smartphone Security Tips:

• One of the simplest things you can do is password-protect your mobile phone. It doesn't take much to do it and you don't require any special app either. It can save you a lot of hassle if you lose your phone or it's stolen.

• Once you've setup your mobile device, make sure to backup the data. This can be achieved by syncing your mobile phone with any of your other devices like your tablet or laptop. Your smartphone may include a backup app as well. Alternatively, you can use one of the many security apps that have this backup feature.

• Taking about security apps, it's a good idea to install one on your smartphone. Some people may think that they don't require to install one of these apps. However, if you use the internet to browse websites and use social networks like Facebook, it's imperative that you have a security app installed.  These apps will help protect your mobile phone from viruses, malware, and spyware.

• Also, one of the cool features of many of these security apps is that they have remote tracking features which allow users to locate and track their lost or stolen mobile phone. You can even remotely delete your data on your mobile phone if you can't manage to physically find it.

• Treat your smartphone like your credit card. Don't leave it unattended because it maybe stolen and your sensitive data will fall into the hands of unscrupulous individuals. This could lead to stolen identify or internet fraud.

These are just a few simple things that you can do to secure your mobile phone. You can find lots of more informative and practical advice on smartphone security at my Smartphone Security Squidoo web page which includes videos and information on many other aspects of mobile phone security, safety and privacy.

Mobile Security Apps | Smartphone Wallet | Mobile Location Privacy | Smartphones & Kids

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Review

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a Google Android smartphone which provides a "pure Google" experience to its users. Released in late 2011, it is the 3rd generation Galaxy series Android device which runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

There have been some significant improvements over the earlier Google Nexus S Android phone. I've used Samsung's Nexus S mobile phone and though I like it overall, I much prefer the Galaxy Nexus.

Let's review some of the key improvements as we compare the Galaxy Nexus vs Nexus S:

• First off, the Galaxy Nexus has a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor which along with the improved 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, provides a much faster and smoother Android experience.

• Though, both the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus have Super AMOLED displays, the latter has a larger 4.65 inch screen with a much higher resolution.

• In terms of memory storage, both these Android devices come with 16 GB storage with no memory expansion slot. However, the Galaxy Nexus has 1 GB of RAM compared to 512 MB compared to the Nexus S.

• The Samsung Galaxy Nexus supports 1080p HD quality video and has a slightly better resolution front-facing camera. Also, the camera app, in the Galaxy Nexus, has the zoom feature.

• As far as battery life, the Galaxy Nexus has a longer-lasting battery. However, the battery life will depend on usage, especially when using it on a 4G wireless network and the higher resolution screen of the Galaxy Nexus.

As you can see, overall, the Galaxy Nexus is a far superior device compared to the Nexus S. Below is a comparison chart of the specification of the Galaxy Nexus vs Nexus S:

If you'd like see how the Galaxy Nexus stacks up with Apple's iPhone 4S, including a video overview, visit: Galaxy Nexus vs iPhone 4S.  

Firefox 12 Review

Mozilla released Firefox 12, its newest web browser upgrade on April 24, 2012. In keeping with their Rapid Release upgrades, since March 2011, this is the tenth Firefox rapid release version. We will continue to see new Firefox updates every six weeks or so.

During these rapid release updates, Firefox has changed tremendously. In some of the updates, we saw many new features, cosmetic changes, faster performance, and many new tools for Web Developers. Also, during these updates, thousands of bug fixes and security vulnerabilities have been implemented, making Firefox a better browser, in most cases.

Firefox got a cleaner and uncluttered look, tab groups, faster speed, and some cool features for Web Developers like HTML5, WebGL, and Web Console with Firefox 4. In subsequent updates, we saw the introduction of the "Do Not Track" feature which enabled users to opt out of tracking behavioural type advertising. In Firefox 5, there were improvements in CSS animation, improved canvas, memory and JavaScript.

In Firefox 7, Telemetry was introduced which allowed anonymous and accurate opt-in tool. This update also made significant improvements in the way Firefox managed memory, for a speedy browser experience. In Firefox 8 and 9, we continued seeing bug fixes, security and stability improvements, including the introduction of Type Interface (TI) to improve JavaScript performance.

In Firefox 10, some improvements were made in terms of minimizing the issues due to add-ons incompatibility, as well as the introduction of Firefox ESR (Extended Support Release). There were several enhancements for Web Developers like anti-aliasing for WebGL, support for CSS 3D Transforms, and full screen API support.

In Firefox 11, a feature for importing of bookmarks, history, and cookies from Google Chrome was introduced. As well as users were able to synch add-ons across all devices. We also saw the introduction of Page Inspector 3D View allowing developers to get a 3-dimentional view of web pages.

And finally, in Firefox 12, over 1,800 bug fixes were implemented. Though there were no new features, other than the simplification of one step in the upgrade process, there were several improvements for developers in areas like Page Inspector, Web Console, Scratchpad, Style Editor.

I've used all of the above mentioned Firefox Rapid Release versions. Overall, I've found positive improvements in terms of performance and speed. I ran browser benchmark tests on many of these Firefox upgrades and saw improvements. However, Firefox has been losing ground to Google Chrome which is better in terms of overall performance based on my experience and results from the browser benchmark tests. Also, since upgrading to this latest version, I've experienced several Firefox crashes which I've seldom experienced before. I've reported this to Mozilla, so hopefully they can resolve this issue.

You can check my detailed Firefox Reviews on each of the above Rapid Release updates. This last Firefox 12 update is not the best one that I've seen. Based on the Peacekeeper Benchmark test results (see below), it fell short when compared to the performance of Firefox 11 and lacks compared to the performance of Google Chrome.

Video Communication Online

The use of Video Communication online has increased tremendously in the past few years. As per stats, people prefer watching videos rather than reading long text messages and print.

This rise in the popularity of using video to communicate with one another has brought about many useful video communication platforms.

Whether you want to video chat with friends and family, or send video email; create YouTube video tutorials or music videos to showcase your pictures, there are many cool video applications available to use.

Many of these online video communication platforms are free to use. Over the past few years, I've used many of these video communication platforms, some of which are:

• iWowWe for video email and video conferencing;
• Skype for video chatting and instant messaging;
• Animoto for creating music videos and greetings;
• CamStudio for uploading video tutorial on YouTube;
• Window Movie Maker for creating and editing videos.

The above video applications can be used, both, for personal as well as business purposes. I've written a review of each of the above mentioned video platforms on this Squidoo web page. It includes video overviews of each of the above applications.

I've enjoyed using these videos communication platforms. Video is here to stay, so learn how to use these video tools to effectively communicate online.

Top Tablets in 2012

Tablets have continued to increase in popularity in 2012. Since Apple first unveiled its iPad tablet in early 2010, there has been an increased appetite, from consumers, for tablet devices. Apple followed up with an improved version, the iPad 2 in March 2011 and subsequently the New iPad in March 2012.

In 2011, Apple's competitors jumped on the  tablet PC bandwagon and unveiled their tablets. Some of the top tablets include the Samsung Galaxy, Amazon Kindle Fire, Blackberry Playbook, Motorola Xoom, Toshiba  Thrive, and many others.

If you are in the market to buy a tablet and wondering which one is right for you, check my Tablet PC Comparison Guide. You will find relevant and useful information, specs comparison charts, videos and reviews on the top tablet PCs in the market. You will also find a guide on how to choose the best tablet based on your needs.

Firefox 10 Review

Mozilla released its latest version of their web browser, Firefox 10.0.2 on February 16, 2012. Keeping with their Rapid Releases, it is Mozilla's 8th upgrade since March 2011.

Though there were over 1,400 bug fixes implemented in this new Firefox release, there are no significant changes especially in terms of new features. Most of the changes in Firefox 10 are to do with web development: WebGL, CSS Style Inspector, CSS 3D Transforms, API support and the like.

One of the major issues that Firefox users face with Rapid Release updates is the incompatible add-ons. Firefox is making the Extended Support Release (ESR) for companies. These releases will be maintained for a year or so which gives companies some time to work around add-ons.

This time when I upgraded to Firefox 10, I had no problems with my add-ons, most of which were compatible. However, my Hotmail still seems sluggish and I think it has to do with conflicting add-ons. If I run Firefox in Safe Mode, Hotmail seems to run just fine.

Check my Firefox Review, for a more detailed look at what's new including platform improvements, bug fixes, and Firefox release notes. Based on the PeaceKeeper browser benchmark test (see below) results comparing Firefox and Google Chrome, the latter still outperforms overall. I still find Google Chrome much speedier and less prone to hangups. See which internet browser is leading in terms of World Wide Usage.

Top Ultrabooks in 2012

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in January 2012 saw many top computer manufacturers unveil their ultrabooks. Some of the ultrabook models are already available and many more in the pipeline to be released later in 2012. If CES is any indication for setting trends, ultrabooks are set to trend in 2012.

For those of you who are new to this term, ultrabooks are lightweight, slim, and portable laptops with fast processing speeds. They are great for people who like the portability of tablets, yet want the power of a laptop. Intel will be launching one of its biggest marketing campaign later in 2012 to promote ultrabooks.

Companies like Toshiba, HP, Lenovo, Dell, Asus, Acer, Samsung, and Sony have already joined, what seems like a competitive race to get a piece of the pie. I believe this competition is healthy and great for the consumer given that it will provide a range of choices depending on specifications, quality, and pricing.

Some of the ultrabook models that have already been released are the Toshiba Protege, Asus Zenbook, Lenovo IdeaPad, Dell XPS, HP Folio, to name a few. I've reviewed many of the top ultrabooks in the market as well as some of the upcoming one which you can check out at Intel Ultrabooks 2012.