Ofcom Communications Report 2010

Some interesting facets have arisen about the use of communications within the UK general public out of this year’s Ofcom Communications Report 2010.

The mobile is clearly the fastest growing communications industry at present, particularly amongst the nation’s next adult generation, the 15-24 year olds.  Over 60% of 15-24 year olds use their mobile phones for social networking and texting, with those 50+ preferring to use their phone for traditional calling.  The use of internet browsing is cited as the most popular mobile internet activity currently occurring with a 240% increase in data volume over the past year.  It is understandable therefore that people are reluctant to give up their mobile when faced with cut backs in spending on communications (Ofcom, 2010:4)

Amazingly, over 100 billion texts have been sent in the past year, equating to 1,700 texts per person in the country!  The UK has become a nation of fast-fingers, with young and old embracing the changing technology of the 21st century.  This is reflected too, in the fall of fixed land line telephone services, and the rise in mobile phone only households and 1 in 4 claims to have a Smartphone.

Smartphone’s are a handy thing to have according to the survey, as users spend more than 8 hours a month browsing the internet on them, as opposed to around 3 hours a month for other more basic devices and the average pages browsed total 83 per user!

Well, the mobile is becoming a handy ‘mobile’ tool to have in your pocket, and protecting that expensive purchase, or the data within, should be a priority in today’s multifarious society.

Be aware of mobile security breaches

The growing incidents of mobile phone security breaches are now reaching more serious connotations.

The UK has had its problems with security this past year, with government officials losing data on hundreds of thousands UK citizens, and it is hoped lessons have been learnt and systems put in place to prevent these occurrences happening again.

Just recently however, the extent of mobile phone breaches has come to attention with stolen mobiles being planted at the site of bomb attacks to deflect blame from the real perpetrator, in India.  http://bit.ly/cVveHd

Additionally, Rahul Ghandi, the Congress General Secretary, had his mobile stolen from his baggage, after check-in by out-sourced baggage handlers.  The perpetrators were only caught after CCTV footage was used to uncover the crime.  It appears, for lesser mortals travelling through some of India’s airports this could be a regular occurrence, but would go unreported due to ‘no celebrity’ status!

What is more serious however, is the amount of information that Mr Ghandi held on his phone – a potential for disaster if fallen into the wrong hands.

UMU Global is at present working closely with Connect InfoTech in the heart of India.  The Mobile Security products available are valuable pieces of software for any mobile user.  Threats of loss or stolen devices, disruption by malware and viruses and annoying spam, can all be reduced by UMU specially developed mobile phone software www.umuglobal.com.

Don’t get caught out, where ever you might choose to travel in the world, UMU works hard to protect your data – be safe, be sure, be UMU.

Losing your mobile phone to thieves is very common, not just to the thief that will snatches it from your hand as you walk along the street, but from the ones who will slip it in their pocket when they find it where you carelessly left it. Unless you have mobile antitheft software in your mobile that will block it and wipe all the information that is held on it, then you are not just losing the phone but all the information contained inside it.

Obviously the theft of a business mobile phone, which may contain sensitive information, can cause problems for both the company that owns the mobile and the businesses they deal with (their information can be on the phone.)  Consequently, many companies are now turning to software developers like UMU Global to supply them with mobile anti-theft security programs.  These programs are not expensive and are very simple to activate.

Naturally it is not just company phones whose loss can cause problems for the owners, so getting some antitheft security on your mobile is sensible.  In the long term it may well be that the manufacturers of mobile phones build in mobile anti-theft which renders stolen phones permanently unusable. When or if this happens, it will make the theft of mobiles a useless action and when you drop your mobile in the street, the person who picks it up will hand it straight back to you.

Mobile phones and mobile technology have become a juggernaut that keeps developing faster. Today, we have smart phones and pocket PCs that have simply become a normal part of our everyday lives.

Everyone is shopping the mobile way, accessing the internet no matter where they are and simply conducting all manner of business on the move. Unfortunately, this also means that unscrupulous and criminal-minded individuals are going to extraordinary lengths to target all mobile devices with viruses.

They find innovative ways to steal your information and hijack your phone SIM cards to use for their own gain. Statistics show that roughly four out of every five mobile users are very concerned about becoming a victim of mobile viruses.

Protect your mobile integrity

The good news is that it is possible to protect your mobile operating systems against attack with effective mobile security software solutions. At UMU Global you have a variety of options such as UMU Scan – which is a mobile antivirus solution – UMU SpamSafe to keep spammers off your mobile devices and UMU StopThief.

The StopThief mobile security solution makes life difficult for the thieves in the event that your mobile phone is stolen. You can remotely, via SMS, wipe your data off your stolen phone to make sure it does not fall into the wrong hands and also lock your stolen phone.

In our modern world, it is simply not logical or wise to close your eyes to the mobile security risks whenever we use mobile technology. Nobody wants to go back to the days before mobile technology. However, nobody needs to be vulnerable either, and you don’t have to be with the correct mobile security solutions on hand.

The mobile phone has come a very long way in a quite short time.  Once the size and shape of a brick and the almost exclusive play thing of the sales representative, they are now small and sleek and most people in the UK over the age of ten own one.  Not only have they shrunk in size, but they have also grown in sophistication to the point where many of them are actually computers in our pockets.

Interestingly, although many of us use our mobiles to access the internet we have not made the mental connection that they are just as vulnerable to hacking as our PC or laptop.  Ask most people and they will admit they have no mobile security or mobile antivirus, but ask them if they have internet security on their computer and it will be a rare that a person says no.  Many will not even realise, until it is too late, that mobile antivirus packages or mobile security packages are available.

At UMU Global, for example, we have some brilliant security software packages available for mobile phones.  The software is inexpensive, especially compared to computer security software and easy to load onto your mobile phone.  Originally this type of program was designed for mobile phones used by businesses or government departments where security was of paramount importance.  However, we are all now aware of how simple identity theft can be and the problems that a virus, let alone a hacker, can cause in our desktop computers, so it is time we remembered the computers in our pockets and mobile antivirus software came to the forefront.