Mobile Security in the Apps Era
Author: Eric Everson, MBA, MSIT-SE
Today we are enjoying a flood of new highly anticipated content into the mobile industry. With apps (small mobile software applications designed for a mobile handset) ushering in a new era of mobile communication and interaction, much of the excitement in the mobile industry is underpinned by issues in mobile security.
2010 has seemingly opened the floodgates for new apps into the mobile market. With phones like the Apple iPhone and Motorola Droid standing out as class leaders in this new era, apps are quickly becoming part of our culture. The problem is that not all apps are created equal and some apps may open some unexpected doors.
This has already been the case this year as we have seen mobile banking apps released by the most popular app retailers that turned out to be malware. In these instances, the apps looked like the official banking apps, but instead of logging into your bank account, your information was being sent to a sophisticated network of hackers. While the app retailers were quick to banish these particular apps due to negative press, similar threats are unleashed every day.
As an industry we have gone about security in a way that has created significant vulnerabilities for the apps era. As consumers in this industry we treat our handsets as disposable technology and opt against third-party mobile security solutions, despite that 9 out of 10 people agree that they wouldn’t go online with their laptop without at least a firewall or antivirus solution in place. We do not afford this same level of protection to our cell phones, yet increasingly much of the time we spend online is migrating into the mobile environment. Without antivirus/firewall protections in place on your mobile handset, you are just as likely to contract a harmful strain of code on your phone.
This is not intended to sway users against opening their arms to the apps era, because there is a lot of valuable content of high quality being introduced into the market too. Differentiating the good from the bad remains our greatest conflict to date in this rapidly growing app era. The vetting process for new apps must be improved and a quality standard must soon be adopted to pave the way for a safer mobile experience.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Google Fallen to Bing! The Controversial Google Background Image Service.
Google Fallen to Bing! The Controversial Google Background Image Service.
Author: Eric Everson, MBA, MSIT-SE; Founder, BikerAwareness.com
Within the past 24 hours, the simplicity of the Google Search Engine that you have enjoyed since the beginning has seemingly exploded with color. Google has been making several updates in recent months and this latest blast of color is said to demonstrate some of this capability. For anyone that has visited Bing.com, Google’s up and coming market share rival, it would seem that this update only demonstrates Google’s submission in the search engine cage fight of the century.
Round one seems to have fallen to Bing.com as Google has stepped away from their traditional white background and company colored logo and has given in to the market pressures created by Bing. The biggest issue this introduces for Google is that it creates the perception throughout the search engine market that Google has lost its edge as an innovator by following in the footsteps of a rival, rather than leading.
This kind of thing happens sometimes in business; a company loses sight of its core hallmark and introduces something that is… well, let’s just say not great. “New Coke”, the 1985 catastrophic blunder of Coca-Cola, comes to mind when looking at this product debut by Google.com. Perhaps more modernly, Google could learn from the miscalculation of Harley-Davidson in considering the controversial VRSC “V-Rod” model motorcycle.
For Harley-Davidson, the V-Rod has faced incredible skepticism over the years, though there are a few avid followers that have finally come to accept the bike. The V-Rod was a motorcycle that was introduced in 2001, largely in response to the liquid-cooled cruiser motorcycles that Japanese brands (Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha) had so successfully introduced into the market. At the time of its release, the V-Rod was seen by company officials as the future of The Motor Company, but the public unfortunately did not share the same vision. Despite dismal sales of the model, Harley-Davidson has stood by its investment, which has conjured some support, but nothing like the company had once hoped for.
What The Motor Company did successfully, much like Google is doing, is keep their tried and true hallmark available to those that want it. Just as you can purchase a timeless classic motorcycle from the other Harley-Davidson model families, you can also adjust your Google browser back to the traditional white within the “Change background image” option. Though there may be pockets of Google service where a bug in the change back option is being resolved, sooner than later all can be manually restored to traditional white around the globe.
Are we just resistant to change, or is there something simply comforting about the traditional white background of Google.com in a world where every other website around us seems to be flooded with color? Has Google made a “New Coke” mistake here? There are many questions that this “update” has solicited, yet one thing seems certain, Bing.com has Google in a hold and is showing no signs of letting up. For Google, perhaps for better or worse, the choice to launch this update is as simple as the age old adage, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” It seems evident that with growing market pressures from Bing, Google the teacher has now become the student.
Author: Eric Everson, MBA, MSIT-SE; Founder, BikerAwareness.com
Within the past 24 hours, the simplicity of the Google Search Engine that you have enjoyed since the beginning has seemingly exploded with color. Google has been making several updates in recent months and this latest blast of color is said to demonstrate some of this capability. For anyone that has visited Bing.com, Google’s up and coming market share rival, it would seem that this update only demonstrates Google’s submission in the search engine cage fight of the century.
Round one seems to have fallen to Bing.com as Google has stepped away from their traditional white background and company colored logo and has given in to the market pressures created by Bing. The biggest issue this introduces for Google is that it creates the perception throughout the search engine market that Google has lost its edge as an innovator by following in the footsteps of a rival, rather than leading.
This kind of thing happens sometimes in business; a company loses sight of its core hallmark and introduces something that is… well, let’s just say not great. “New Coke”, the 1985 catastrophic blunder of Coca-Cola, comes to mind when looking at this product debut by Google.com. Perhaps more modernly, Google could learn from the miscalculation of Harley-Davidson in considering the controversial VRSC “V-Rod” model motorcycle.
For Harley-Davidson, the V-Rod has faced incredible skepticism over the years, though there are a few avid followers that have finally come to accept the bike. The V-Rod was a motorcycle that was introduced in 2001, largely in response to the liquid-cooled cruiser motorcycles that Japanese brands (Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha) had so successfully introduced into the market. At the time of its release, the V-Rod was seen by company officials as the future of The Motor Company, but the public unfortunately did not share the same vision. Despite dismal sales of the model, Harley-Davidson has stood by its investment, which has conjured some support, but nothing like the company had once hoped for.
What The Motor Company did successfully, much like Google is doing, is keep their tried and true hallmark available to those that want it. Just as you can purchase a timeless classic motorcycle from the other Harley-Davidson model families, you can also adjust your Google browser back to the traditional white within the “Change background image” option. Though there may be pockets of Google service where a bug in the change back option is being resolved, sooner than later all can be manually restored to traditional white around the globe.
Are we just resistant to change, or is there something simply comforting about the traditional white background of Google.com in a world where every other website around us seems to be flooded with color? Has Google made a “New Coke” mistake here? There are many questions that this “update” has solicited, yet one thing seems certain, Bing.com has Google in a hold and is showing no signs of letting up. For Google, perhaps for better or worse, the choice to launch this update is as simple as the age old adage, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” It seems evident that with growing market pressures from Bing, Google the teacher has now become the student.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Remember When Android Meant Human-like Robot?
Remember When Android Meant Human-like Robot?
Author: Eric Everson, MBA, MSIT-SE
Google’s latest Mobile Operating System (MOPS) dubbed Android, has all but wiped the original connection of the term android – a human-like robot- off the grid. For good measure, simply open a second browser tab and perform a search (on your favorite search engine) and see what it returns when you type in “android”.
As you have now seen for yourself, the days of an android being just a human-like robot are somewhat extinct. For those with a genuine interest (or career for that matter) in robotics or more specifically the niche robotics market of androids, this has made everything from ordering parts to collaborating with like-minded peers a nightmare. Beyond the sheer inconvenience, could this carry a greater implication than what meets the eye?
Consider for a moment that from 2002-present, the android niche has seen explosive growth from the Albert Einstein-like android of Hanson Robotics to the EveR-1 of KITECH. As computing speeds continue to soar and processors continue to drop in price, now is an incredibly bad time to lose momentum (scientifically or otherwise) with regard to this technology.
Android robotics are becoming increasingly infused with modern medicine, opening bionic possibilities that where once only dreamed up for low budget sci-fi films. The truth is losing “android” to the marketing prowess of Google hurts. It does not just hurt those in the software or robotics industry breaking new ground within AI or embodiment machines respectively, but it hurts everyone at large that looks to a future of growth and development for android technologies.
Is this a case of a lesser technology choking the progress of a greater predecessor? I will let you decide, but something tells me the window industry suffers some very similar hurdles.
Eric Everson, MBA, MSIT-SE
Software Engineer, Founder, MyMobiSafe.com
Author: Eric Everson, MBA, MSIT-SE
Google’s latest Mobile Operating System (MOPS) dubbed Android, has all but wiped the original connection of the term android – a human-like robot- off the grid. For good measure, simply open a second browser tab and perform a search (on your favorite search engine) and see what it returns when you type in “android”.
As you have now seen for yourself, the days of an android being just a human-like robot are somewhat extinct. For those with a genuine interest (or career for that matter) in robotics or more specifically the niche robotics market of androids, this has made everything from ordering parts to collaborating with like-minded peers a nightmare. Beyond the sheer inconvenience, could this carry a greater implication than what meets the eye?
Consider for a moment that from 2002-present, the android niche has seen explosive growth from the Albert Einstein-like android of Hanson Robotics to the EveR-1 of KITECH. As computing speeds continue to soar and processors continue to drop in price, now is an incredibly bad time to lose momentum (scientifically or otherwise) with regard to this technology.
Android robotics are becoming increasingly infused with modern medicine, opening bionic possibilities that where once only dreamed up for low budget sci-fi films. The truth is losing “android” to the marketing prowess of Google hurts. It does not just hurt those in the software or robotics industry breaking new ground within AI or embodiment machines respectively, but it hurts everyone at large that looks to a future of growth and development for android technologies.
Is this a case of a lesser technology choking the progress of a greater predecessor? I will let you decide, but something tells me the window industry suffers some very similar hurdles.
Eric Everson, MBA, MSIT-SE
Software Engineer, Founder, MyMobiSafe.com
Monday, February 22, 2010
Venture Capital and Mobile Apps: This is No Small Business.
Author: Eric Everson, MBA, MSIT-SE – MyMobiSafe.com
As the app-driven mobile industry is heating up the sharks of the venture capital market smell the blood in the water! Since last week’s Mobile World Congress event, one of the hottest items on the board room table in the weeks/months ahead for venture capital is sinking their teeth into a piece of the mobile app market.
Venture capitalists are beginning to realize that while there are still many hobbyists in this market, there are just as many young fresh companies that are positioning for market leadership for the app-driven mobile future. Some of these companies are building their own portfolio of lucrative apps while generating additional revenue by building apps for other companies that want to get in on this wave of “App Mania.”
Other companies, like my own MyMobiSafe.com for example, are taking a broader view of the market and are not concentrating on a single Mobile Operating System (MOPS) platform, which is ultimately where the REAL money in this industry stands to be earned. The greatest challenge that App Developers face is that to keep even a single product viable in this market, they must at minimum develop a version of their App for the iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry MOPS’. Compared to developing software for the computer industry, this multiplies the cost of bringing a single mobile product to market, which is not the kind of business model that is quick to attract venture capitalist.
On the other hand, as we have done with MyMobiSafe Verified Services, we have positioned in this market with a minimal upfront cost structure and have introduced an industry recognized product that is equally viable across all mobile platforms; our brand is quickly becoming recognized as the mark of quality across all App distribution portals. As veterans in this industry, we learned the hard lessons of trying to develop for every single MOPS and have leveraged our core strengths as a result to streamline our MyMobiSafe Verified Services business. Just for the record, despite some of the venture capital rumors we have read about MyMobiSafe.com, we have also managed to self-fund our venture; yet we look forward to exploring opportunities with the right venture partner.
In this market, there are still many hobbyists that are making thousands of dollars in extra money by building Apps, yet there are also many companies that are positioning to emerge as the next $100 Million goliath in this space. It is the companies that operate seamlessly across all mobile platforms that stand to generate the most wealth in this industry. As any wireless industry analyst would agree, the history of MOPS platforms has always been one of many islands and has never been known for integrated compatibility. Thus it is the firms that position to embrace the broadest spectrum of this market that are the most attractive to investors.
Will the next Microsoft emerge from this market? It is not likely, but there are certainly companies within this market that stand to change the future and are sure to generate a hefty balance sheet in the process… not to mention might create some attractive merger, acquisition, and potential initial public offering opportunities along the way. What is nice about this market is that with already over 3 billion App Store downloads, this is a market where a small business can grow into a big business very quickly!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Twam: The Reality of Twitter Spam
Author: Eric Everson, MBA, MSIT-SE
Twitter has become a global phenomenon and there is no doubt that everyone from small businesses to the world’s largest corporations have taken notice. While it can be fun to get the latest tweets from your friends and family, getting the up to the minute scoop from companies using Twitter to advertise might not be exactly what you signed on for.
Twam – the new buzz word for “Twitter spam”, coined by Airwide Solutions, is growing in popularity. In fact a recent study indicates that already over ten percent of all Twitter traffic has become “twam” that for many of us is hitting our mobile handsets at an unwelcoming rate. This week the Mobile World Congress event is in full swing in Barcelona, Spain and there is one company taking a pretty major stand against twam.
As far as my research indicates, the phrase “twam” was coined by Airwide Solutions, which interestingly is also the same company that claims to have sent the world’s first text message. How befitting that text messaging is becoming the new wave of tweeting. This very company is giving demos at the Mobile World Congress event that certainly should not be missed. If you want to learn how to really block this surge of twam, it is my humble opinion, that this company has the answers that the industry is looking for.
Though many handsets are being introduced into the market with improved processing capabilities, the overwhelming number of legacy handsets in use today far exceeds the iPhones and Droids of the world. With that realization, it is easy to recognize what a popular role SMS (text messaging) is playing as the world continues to embrace and enjoy using Twitter. What has been fascinating to me lately is the number of people that are tweeting on behalf of the companies they support. MyMobiSafe.com for example does not even have an established twitter account, yet tweets keep getting generated about our new MyMobiSafe Verified services. As a business owner I am fascinated by this, it’s like free marketing just because people identify with your brand.
On the other hand, I realize that even though I have not sent a single twitter message about my company, these tweets might be somebody’s twam. We are entering new territory here where sharing something exciting about an innovative company is contributing to the rising occurrence of twam. It makes me ask, is it really twam or simply the digital version of word of mouth? From introducing new parental controls to manage this kind of content to putting filters in place, the service providers must certainly take notice of this rising new phenomenon too. Until they do however, feel free to tweet about my company too, we love that so many people want to help us spread the word!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Malicious Mobile Code: What You Need to Know.
Author: Eric Everson, MBA, MSIT-SE
The thought of someone hacking into your mobile phone to steal your personal data added to the growing number of mobile threats sounds bad enough, then you come across the industry term “Malicious Mobile Code” and it makes downloading any new mobile app a scary process.
So it sounds like scary stuff, but what is Malicious Mobile Code (MMC) REALLY? If you follow my journal, you know that I’m always knuckle-deep in this kind of stuff, and as a result I’ve lost many good computers and mobile handsets along the way. As threatening as the words may sound, MMC is really an industry catchall phrase that refers to any code that can hinder the operation of a mobile application or device.
Building software is kind of like building a house of cards in that each layer depends on the next to function properly. In software (just as in the house of cards) if you remove or otherwise tamper with a key component it can often corrupt the entire structure. MMC most often attempts to do this very thing by injecting faulty code into a key operating component of your mobile software or Mobile Operating System (MOPS).
Though mobile devices are steadily becoming more sophisticated with added computing power, the reality is that MOPS remain highly vulnerable to such MMC attacks. This is why third-party mobile security software is becoming so important to have on your mobile device. Many of the mobile security solutions on the market today block the MMC similar to antivirus software for a computer.
Additionally, the demand for mobile app-driven handsets is significantly on the rise which is putting many users at greater risk. Often consumers on the most popular app retail portals assume that anything they download to their handsets should be safe. Despite best efforts however, many risky apps from those with harmful embedded source code to those masquerading as legitimate financial services apps are making their way to unsuspecting mobile users.
This issue has created new demand for services like MyMobiSafe Verified, the first service of its kind that offers a formal review and validation of new mobile apps across every platform (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Symbian, Java, Orange, and all others). By creating an environment where developers and the mobile community alike are looking for the confidence of the MyMobiSafe Verified mark, this creates a significant hurdle for unwanted Malicious Mobile Code in the market.
MMC can range from the simplest corrupt code to the worst mobile viruses, yet the phrase and acronym remains as an industry catch all. As a software engineer and one with substantial frontline experience with this kind of code, my words of wisdom are to be cautious of anything that you are loading onto your handset. If it is free, remember that old adage that suggests “nothing good comes free.” In too many cases of mobile apps free means that there is something else behind the curtains. Start looking for verified apps before you buy them as they will often display a recognizable logo. Finally, remember that not all MMC is created equal, in many cases damage is not permanent and can often be repaired by a professional.
About the Author: Eric Everson is a leader in mobile technologies and is the founder of the U.S.-based MyMobiSafe.com. If you would like to contact Eric Everson for interview or with consulting related inquiries contact him directly at EricEverson@Hotmail.com. To learn more about MyMobiSafe Verification simply visit the website email: GetVerifed@MyMobiSafe.com.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Malicious Mobile Apps a Growing Concern
Author: Eric Everson, MBA, MSIT-SE
The phrase “mobile security” does not usually mean much to anyone, until of course they encounter their first mobile attack. For a growing number of App Store and Android Market customers, this is a growing fear that is becoming all too real.
Already in 2010, mobile apps via both the App Store and Android Market, owned by Apple Inc (NASDAQ: APPL) and Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) respectively, have experienced a rise in malicious mobile apps. Often consumers on these popular portals and others like them assume that anything they download to their handsets should be safe. Despite best efforts however, many risky apps from those with harmful embedded source code to those masquerading as legitimate financial services apps are making their way to mobile users.
This rise in mobile threats comes at a time of industry vulnerability as popular app-driven handsets like the Apple iPhone and Motorola Droid are in very high demand. As the app markets are poised for substantial growth in the years ahead, tackling these security issues must remain at the forefront of priorities for industry experts. To combat this problem head-on, MyMobiSafe.com recently launched MyMobiSafe Verified, a service which offers the industry’s first universal verification credentials for app developers. Demand for the MyMobiSafe Verified logo is quickly growing amongst app developers and those shopping for new apps.
App verification is becoming the leading opportunity for legitimate app developers to demonstrate the integrity of their apps in a crowded marketplace that is becoming increasingly at risk from malicious apps. From imposter financial apps to free gaming apps that are phishing for information on handsets, the mobile community is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of such verified services like MyMobiSafe Verified.
As upwards of 10,000 new apps are submitted to these popular app retailers each week, the sheer volume is exposing significant handset-level vulnerabilities. Additionally the growing popularity of the unregulated mobile banking and mobile financial services is attracting an increasing number of hackers into the mobile community.
About the Author: Eric Everson is a leader in mobile technologies and is the founder of the U.S.-based MyMobiSafe.com. If you would like to contact Eric Everson for interview or with consulting related inquiries contact him directly at EricEverson@Hotmail.com. To get started or to learn more about MyMobiSafe Verification simply email: GetVerifed@MyMobiSafe.com.
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