This Security App Will Email You Pictures Of Who Stole Your Phone

This past Wednesday, Lookout added some new features to their mobile security app. These are features that you won't find on most other mobile security apps. With Lookout, you can now protect yourself from malware and spyware, and with the newest version of the app you can even protect yourself against theft. Now, the app will send theft alerts just minutes after it detects suspicious activities.

That moment when you realize you haven't checked your phone in a bit and you decide to grab it from your pocket just to find out that it isn't there is one of the most terrifying experiences anyone can have. Especially if your phone is a really expensive one that would cost a lot to replace or if you have a lot of personal information on it. The goal for Lookout with their new features is to help put your mind a little more at ease in those dark times of fear and desperation.

The way it works is pretty awesome. You can set up a custom list of actions that will trigger alerts. For example, you could make it so that your phone triggers an alert when someone removes the SIM card, enables airplane mode, turns the phone off, or if someone enters the wrong passcode.

When one of these things happens, it triggers an alert. When an alert is triggered, your phone will immediately snap a picture with its front facing camera and will record the exact location of the device. Once the picture has been taken and the location has been recorded, it will send you an email with a picture of whoever has your phone and give you its location so that you can go track down your stuff and beat someone up for stealing your phone. Or, you know... just ask nicely to have it back or call the cops. The email it sends will also give you the resources you need to file a police report on the spot if you want.

The app itself is free for either Android or iOS. To get the theft alert feature you'll need a subscription that costs $3 a month or $30 a year. It seems like a very small price to pay for any business travelers out there who find themselves in different places and situations more often than most people. If you already have the app, you can use the theft alert feature for free until September.

Theft and violence have been growing problems that surround smartphones and smartphone users recently. It has become such an issue that some states are even passing new laws to combat those issues. In California manufacturers are even requiredto give customers a way to remotely disable their phones and wipe them clean in order to prevent as much damage as possible.

This isn't the 1950's, and crime seems to be affecting everyone these days. You might as well protect yourself with one of the coolest security apps out right now.

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Keeping Your Data Safe During Travel

Usually, when you are on the road traveling, the last thing you are going to think of is keeping your data secure. But either way, the data contained within your mobile devices is extremely vulnerable to security breaches whether you're thinking about it or not. When you connect to Wi-Fi hot spots while you're at the airport and dealing with important business over unsecure wireless connections, you are actually taking a pretty big risk. There are a few things that you should always keep in mind while you are working on the go in order to make sure that you and your information stays as safe as possible.

1. Make Sure Your Passwords Are Strong

I would hope that this would go without saying. We get it pushed down our throats all the time, and now even when you sign up for something it requires you to create a strong password. But surprisingly enough, "12345678" is still one of the most commonly used passwords of all time. There is actually very efficient password cracking software out there that uses the 1,000 most common passwords, and it is proven to crack 8 percent of users passwords. You should always make sure you have at least an 8 character password that includes one uppercase letter and one number. Those type of passwords are hard for programs to crack.

2. Unencrypted Connections Are Sketchy. Treat Them As Such.

Free Wi-Fi at fast food places or coffee shops seems like a good idea. It's free, and it convenient. Although you should always keep in mind that public connections don't require a password or authentication. This means that they are open for anyone to access them, even hackers. If a connection requires a password or some type of authentication, that means that it is encrypted and generally at least a little bit more safe.

3. Just Because You Pay For A Connection Doesn't Make It Secure

Just because a place charges you money to connect to their internet does not mean that it's secure. They don't care about you or your information, they are just happy you gave them money. After that, everything else is your problem. It's hard to tell how safe any connection is unless it's your own, so just make sure that you use caution when you have to do this.

4. Use Software To Locate Your Device

Mobile Device Management software is used to locate your device in case it gets stolen. In the event that something does happen to your device, you can log into your account with a computer or a different device and delete everything on your lost phone. You can also generally track it via GPS and get a good idea of where it is at. Apple products like the iPhone come standard with this type of software, and it is an absolute life saver. Most other manufacturers at least offer something like this, and if not, there are lots of third party apps that to do exact same thing just as good.

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Keeping Your Laptop Secure Outside of the Office

Professionals are traveling outside of the office more and more these days and they are taking their laptops with them. Whether working at another location, visiting a client or simply having lunch at a local cafe, one thing that is often overlooked is laptop security. If it's your personal laptop, a work laptop, or even a laptop rental, chances are it's loaded with files that are important to your life and your business. Whether you are looking to prevent a snoop from gathering your personal information or preventing a thief from taking your entire laptop, there are several good measures everyone should take and a few good habits you should develop.

Starting with the basics that every laptop owner should know, if you're worried about being hacked or robbed while visiting a public Wi-Fi spot, you are right to be paranoid. There are so many different ways criminals can get into your system these days; one of the first things you can do is turn on your firewall. By turning on your firewall, you block unwanted intruders whenever you are in a public place. This is such a simple way to keep yourself secure and everyone should know how to do it. If you are a PC user, simply click on Windows Firewall. If you are using a Mac, go to System Preferences, then Security, and find the Firewall tab.

Another important thing that everyone can do is password protect or unshare your shared folders. Folders of documents and photos that you may want to share with other computers on your home network, might not be something you want everyone on a public network to have access to. Fixing this is simple. See to it that your folders are password protected when you are in public or better yet, turn off any sort of sharing you have enabled on your laptop.

Other ways to protect yourself involve what you do when you visit various websites. Whenever you're visiting a website, use a secure connection if it's an option. This means using "https://" instead of "http://." This option is usually available when checking your email on the web (Gmail and Yahoo Mail for example) or using any type of personal calendar program. Several other site have the option, as well. Another tip is to don't save your passwords in your browsers. Sure, it makes life a lot easier, but if your computer gets into the wrong hands - whether it be a thief or even a co-worker, they will be able to see everything you may not want them to see.

Of course there are several more obvious options. Most people are aware that anti-virus and malware software and programs are an important part computer ownership. And it's important to keep a back-up of all your important data. Whether your computer is stolen or you just spill your coffee, having all of your important files backed up can save you time and agony. If you have to leave your laptop unattended for any reason, a laptop lock is inexpensive and will keep your computer stuck to any table or desk.

If these tips don't ease your mind, there are always a few extra precautions for the tech-savvy. With a number of tools, you can encrypt your hard drive or just a few files which essentially means scrambling it up so it's unreadable to anyone who does not have access via a master password. To do this on a Mac, you can do this by creating an encrypted disk by using the disk utility application. Windows Vista and 7 also offer a data encryption application. There are also a number of free programs such as TrueCrypt that serve the same purpose.

Securing your network with an SSH tunnel is also an option, but again, this is usually reserved for the most tech-savvy of laptop owners. An SSH tunnel is a secure connection to an outside computer to connect to the internet. An outsider trying to break in would think you are sending encrypted information to a single destination when in reality, you're using a trusted remote server as a proxy.