The capabilities of modern mobile phone handsets and the software they run on is ever advancing and this brings with it constant challenges to overcome. Since the demand for internet capabilities on mobile phones has become so great, a few pitfalls have come to the fore.

One of these pitfalls is that mobile internet users suffer the same spam problems that regular internet users have come to dread. Mobile spam is on the rise as spammers learn of new and more innovative ways to continue spamming anyone and everyone in sight. However, this does not mean that you have to settle for being inundated with mobile spam. What you need is our mobile antispam protection.

Protecting your best interests

At UMU Global we only have the best interests of our clients at heart and that is why we bring you UMU SpamSafe. Our products will stop mobile spam in its tracks and keep you safe from virus harassment and the dangers it entails. So many viruses and hackers can easily piggy back a ride into your most private and sensitive information on spam messages and communications.

Don’t let that happen – let us protect you. Our mobile antispam products works much the same as a top-notch spam filter on a computer would. It filters out unsolicited communications from both unknown and specific users, keeping your phone and privacy safe.

Why take the chance; keep spam at bay on any phone from one for personal use to those used for doing business. Apply our mobile antispam products to your children’s mobile phones to keep spam with unsavoury content off their phones and away from their eyes.

UMU is supplying antivirus software pre-installed on Acer handsets to be shipped by 20:20 Mobile, the UK’s largest distributor of mobile phones.  This new collaboration sees the Skelmersdale-based company forging ahead to protect mobiles from viruses, malware and other threats.

CTO Peter Harrison said the partnership will ensure growth for the company in new markets as the increasing threat to mobile phones is an ever present threat.  “Many people go to extreme lengths to protect the data on their PC’s or laptops and yet leave the same data on their smartphones completely vulnerable.”

James Browning, 20:20 Mobile Managing Director said: “By bundling UMU Mobile Security with the Acer devices our partners will be able to generate extra revenues by offering a handset that is fully secure and reduces the chance of lost data due to malware or viruses.”

With over 10% of mobiles now infected by viruses or unwanted malware UMU mobile security solutions will ensure that data is kept safe and avoids the risk of infection.

The new Acer smartphones are powered by a 1Ghz Qualcomm processor, and Windows Mobile 6.5 OS. The handsets include a 5 mega pixel camera, up to 2.8 inch WVGA screens and high speed 3G connectivity. The UMU mobile security software is pre loaded on a 2GB Sandisk memory card.

See http://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk/News/398886/2020_strengthens_acer_portfolio.html

The biggest social networking site on the internet is Facebook with millions of members throughout the world.  Social networking is now so popular that it has fuelled a massive increase in the numbers of internet-enabled mobile phones and now all the UK mobile phone companies are offering monthly prepaid packages that do not just offer free talk time and texts, now they can also include web time.  Where finding information on the web via your mobile failed to spark, the collective interest social networking has succeeded.

However, it would be interesting to ask all the people who connect their personal mobiles to the web whether they have internet security or mobile security on their phones.  Try asking the question for yourself and the answers will range from a blank look to people believing that because they have the right software on their PC or laptop it somehow gives their mobile antivirus protection.  Of course that is not true and the more we use the web through our mobiles the more we need mobile security.

Here at UMU Global, we have some great solutions to keep your mobile security up to date and at affordable prices.  Every day a new virus is found and then a solution to stop it infiltrating your computer or your mobile phone or pocket PC, so you need to make sure that you have the right software on your devices.  Make sure you have the most effective and up-to-date mobile security before it is too late.

15 January 2010

The growing threat of malware to mobile phones is once again making front page news http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8459898.stm. Swapi.B, also known as RedBrowser, is code named for ‘let me dial premium numbers off your phone and let you pay for them’, and has surfaced as a Trojan dialler that infects the mobile, causing huge phone bills.

Many diallers, including Swapi.B, are contracted from porn sites which disguise themselves as software, video clips or helper programs and are sent to the phone via a text. This is how mobile malware can just instantly steal from you by making premium-rate calls or messages.

Whilst this threat is currently on the increase, there is a way to fight it and to protect yourself. Skelmersdale-based UMU offers a mobile security package that effectively deals with threats to your mobile by processing the malware and zapping it to oblivion.

CTO Peter Harrison said the increasing threat to mobile phones has enabled UMU to grow to international status, selling it’s product worldwide. “Many people go to extreme lengths to protect the data on their PC’s or laptops and yet leave the same data on their smartphones completely vulnerable.”

Will they become obsolete?

So, with the advent of the new super duper mobile phone with more and better applications, will there be a decline in our ‘taken-for-granted’ household / leisure items leaving them obsolete?

Items such as the clock radio, plugged in ready across the bedroom to ensure you get up in the morning…this is now being replaced by the next to the bed mobile phone which does the same job.

What about the radio itself? Many mobile phones now come complete with a radio, necessitating the demise of the good old portable.

And the CD player? I still carry my CD player around with me, comes in handy for playing the Susan Boyle CD I got for Christmas. However, the trend for iPod’s and now music phones such as the Sony Walkman take precedence over this old-fashioned contraption, which must be smaller, neater, and of course, the latest one available!

Finally, to the camera. Whilst Canon and Nikon fight diligently to retain their customers, even to diversifying into assisting mobile phone manufacturers with their technology, will this become a foolhardy exercise? The specifications on mobile phone cameras are increasing with each new product, and, with the increase of social networking such as Facebook, instant uploading of photos has become one of ‘THE’ things to do!

And what’s the future then?

Striding into 2010 sees more and more mobile users using their phones for storing information previously kept handy on their laptop or PC.

The verdict is left open…the advance of the mobile is imminent into all aspects of daily life!

When you read statistics on mobile theft and realise the high incidence of mobile phone, pocket PC and PDA device thefts that happen every single day, it makes one wary. We live in such an incredibly technological society. We simply cannot function optimally anymore without our mobile devices.

We are connected to the rest of the world with our mobile phones, pocket PCs and PDAs. This also means that we are all incredibly vulnerable to thieves that are forever on the lookout for making a quick buck from your expensive mobile devices.

Be safe and secure

Individuals can do much to safeguard their mobiles such as never being negligent and always making sure that you keep your mobile out of sight when in public. Too many people walk and text or talk, they forget to focus on what is going on around them. Of course, we can sit and preach all day about mobile security and being wise. However, mobile phones especially do get stolen. When that happens your whole world comes to a screeching stop.

Not only have you lost your address book, contacts and all your personal data, some stranger now has access to it all. The answer is mobile antitheft software. At UMU Global we offer our clients StopThief mobile antitheft software. This mobile antitheft software protects your personal data in the event that your mobile is stolen. With this application you have the option to lock your mobile remotely via SMS or whenever the SIM card is changed.

You can go a step further and make sure the thief does not get hold of your personal data by remotely deleting the data on your mobile via SMS. An extra perk is that when the thief changes the SIM card, you will be notified and the current location of the phone is also provided using GPS.

“UMU Fights Mobile Phone Cyber Bullying”

There have been numerous reports produced over the last couple of years about cyber-bullying and threatening behaviour by and to children via their mobile phones (GMTV, 2005; NSPCC, 2008; Cyber Bullying UK, 2009). These are additionally, worrying times for parents when they don’t know where their children are. One of the major concerns presented from an OECD report was security and children. Parents like their children to have a mobile phone so they can check where they are – however, the child’s inability to detect spam SMS and premium rate call numbers is causing increased mobile bills (OECD, 2007). In addition, mobile phone theft is at it’s highest for the younger age groups ‘around a quarter (24%) of victims of mobile phone theft were aged between 10 and 17 and nearly half (46%) were aged between 10 and 24’ (British Crime Survey, 2009).

Text Message Bullying – You can control it

Recent reports suggest children are increasingly victims of cyber bullying through the onset of digital technology and the more frequent usage of mobile phones (bullying.co.uk, 2009). According to a report by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, ‘cyberbullies use their mobile phones or emails to send sexist, homophobic and racist messages, or they attack other kinds of difference such as a physical or mental disability, cultural or religious background, appearance, or socio-economic position’ (dcsf, 2007). Unfortunately, ‘a key aspect of cyberbullying is that the victim has no place to hide from the perpetrator’ (anti-bullyingalliance.org, 2007), and therefore you, or someone you know, thought you were unable to escape the damaging effects of cyber bullying.

If you become aware this is happening, there are steps you can take to block messages and calls received on a mobile phone.

UMU’s SpamSafe is a simple to use application for filtering unwanted messages from both unknown and user specified numbers. The application puts them in a folder on your phone, and if it is necessary to involve the police in the bullying issue, then these are stored as evidence – without causing unnecessary distress.

For further information on how to deal with mobile phone bullying, please see Mobile Phone Bullying by www.bullying.co.uk and http://www.connexions-direct.com.

Using evidence presented by Gartner and Canalys, leading analyzers for the high-tech industry, Nokia are still the market leaders in selling mobile phones and look set to continue into the future. Nokia phones are predominately run on the Symbian operating system and with Symbian having the majority share of the marketplace, they are set to continue being the market leader.

Windows mobile operating systems look to see a rise in sales in the coming years. Therefore this can only be good news for UMU Global, who offers solutions on both these platforms. UMU are currently covering around 54% of the market.

Table 1 – Worldwide Mobile Terminal Sales to End Users in 3Q09 (Thousands of Units)

Source: Gartner (November 2009)

References:

http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1224645
http://www.canalys.com/pr/2009/r2009112.htm

When you have computers in a company building, it is bad enough to be under the threat of an invading virus that might worm its way into your system. These days, computers and laptops have been replaced by high-tech business oriented mobile phones and pocket PCs.

There are so many advances in business mobile technology that a business mobile phone offers you your office, the internet and a mobile phone in your pocket. However, these technological miracles are not invulnerable to the evils of the criminally minded and they are susceptible to viruses.

Mobile viruses are a pretty recent phenomenon and have been the cause of many a mobile virus protection plan. At UMU Global, we offer you UMU Scan. UMU Scan is our mobile antivirus protection that really works.

M-commerce and viruses

Viruses are so crippling when you have your life on that mobile phone, but they are even more so when you run your business on it, too. Many businesses are starting to peddle their trade on the internet for mobile phones, also known as M-commerce.

If a virus were to infect your phone, all your data could be wiped out or, even worse, it could end up in the hands of the wrong people. A good mobile antivirus application like ours can prevent such problems and let you sleep soundly at night, knowing that your business is protected by the best. Can you afford to take the risk of running your business on your mobile phone without mobile antivirus?

According to the Engineering and Physical Science Research Centre, mobile phone technology is set to make life a lot easier in the future. Ideas such as….

“….One day our mobile phones may be able to broadcast our identities and preferences to wireless chips embedded, for example, in a hotel room, allowing us to check-in automatically and get local information that suits our needs.
We may also be able to remotely control electronic devices in our homes, such as the DVD recorder or the heating, by punching commands into our phone. Each device would contain a wireless chip allowing them to ‘talk’ to each other and to our phone.

Many UK groups are working on making these futuristic possibilities a reality. Researchers at the universities of Edinburgh, Southampton and Bristol are working on wireless technologies with data transfer rates of 100Mb/s over the air. At the University of Strathclyde, research is focusing on getting the software right to support easy-to-use personalised services. Other major efforts are underway at the University of Surrey and Kings College London.”

With these advances, security issues are becoming more prominent. That’s why here at UMU, we take the risk of attack very seriously and our research and development engineers are constantly updating and upgrading our protection systems. In addition, groups like those at Royal Holloway, University of London and the University of Bristol are working on encryption technologies to protect our privacy and secure the networks from attack.

(Adapted from EPSRC, 2009 http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/ResearchHighlights/Timelines/MobilePhones/TomorrowsTechnology.htm )