Droid

CLNC^® consultants know how colds are spread, and thanks to my Tuesday Tech Tips, know that there are more germs on your smart phone than on a toilet seat. But did you know that no matter how clean you keep your legal nurse consulting smartphone, it can still spread viruses? I’m really talking about malware. One of the newest areas of computer insecurity is the smartphone because the miscreants who write malware and Trojan horses are now targeting the growing smartphone market. Phones running on the Android^® platform are more susceptible than iPhones^®. If you think of the amount of data related to your CLNC^® business and your personal life that’s stored on your phone, not to mention passwords for your Facebook and other apps, you should be very afraid of having that data compromised. If you’re using your phone for mobile banking or micropayments, you definitely need to read this entire Tech Tip.

So far, iPhone users have been the safest. That’s good news. Part of what protects iPhone users is the centralized Apple App Store (although the occasional bad app does get through). The few iPhone viruses that were out there in the wild attacked jailbroken iPhones. So, as long as you haven’t jailbroken your iPhone and you only download your apps from the Apple App Store, you’ll be safer than the average bear. At the same time, there are no true antivirus apps that will run “in the background” protecting your iPhone as you roam, so just be careful.

However Android users are in a different world because Android-based phones are more often under attack by the bad guys. Android phone users: before you finish reading this blog, you should buy and install an antivirus program like WaveSecure from a reputable company like McAfee. If you’re cheap, oops I mean budget-conscious, you can download and install one of two free products: Lookout Mobile Security or Norton Mobile Security.

There you have it. Smart, Android-using Certified Legal Nurse Consultants now have three ways to protect their smartphones. Vickie likes to say “You can thank me later,” but you can thank me now (or after you’ve protected your phone).

Keep on techin’,

Tom

Last month I gave you some low-tech tips for finding a lost cell phone. Today I’ll fill you in on some high-tech ways to find a phone that’s gone walkabout. Interestingly, they all have similar names, beginning with “Where’s my….” which is a tip-off to what they do. Remember the biggest danger of losing a phone is having some miscreant gain access to all your email, contacts, calendar, racy photos, Facebook, etc.

Let’s start with iPhones^® since that’s what’s clipped to my Bat-Utility belt. Your best option if you have an iPhone 4 is to download the free “Find My iPhone” app. This cool app will not only locate your missing iPhone using its built-in GPS locator, but also gives the you the ability to send a text message of your choice to the phone begging who ever has it to return it to you or, if you’ve simply misplaced it in your home or office, to “ping” loudly until you find it. You can even erase the iPhone’s contents or simply lock it down so nothing can be accessed. If you have an earlier version of the iPhone, you’re not out of luck. Lifehacker.com has instructions for a workaround to use “Find My iPhone” on that earlier device – but you didn’t read that here.

Alternatively, if you’ve insured your iPhone against loss and aren’t worried about getting it back, simply set up a passcode on your iPhone and set the iPhone to delete all content after 10 failed log-in attempts. This is slightly dangerous if you have children who might play with your phone and accidentally trigger the eraser.

If you’re using an Android^®-based phone, download the free “Where’s My Droid” app from the Android Market. This free app lets you create a passphrase that you can send to your phone and, if your phone is on when you send it, will cause the phone to ring at its loudest volume, hopefully allowing you time to find it under the backseat of your Prius. It also has a GPS option in case you left it somewhere more remote, such as the juice bar at Whole Foods.

If you’re the last Blackberry^® user on Earth, you can download “Where’s My Phone” from Blackberry’s App World. There’s a free version which sets off the phone’s ringer when you send it an email trigger. There’s a paid version that, like the Droid app, also has a GPS location option to help you stalk whomever has taken possession of your precious device.

Finally, for those of you who just can’t bring yourself to give up the self-torture of having more than one Windows^® device and are using a Windows Mobile^® phone try WaveSecure from McAfee^® which provides all of the above services, including the secure wipe but with the cool addition of backing up your phone data! WaveSecure also works with Blackberries and Droid phones, but not iPhones.

Whichever high-tech phone recovery solution you select make sure you don’t just install it, but also test it so that in the event you do need to use it, you’ll be ready.

Keep on techin’,

Tom

Some time ago I blogged about privacy concerns for legal nurse consultants and using a frameless privacy filter on your CLNC^® business’s laptop screen. A privacy filter keeps people (like your spouse or some other nefarious villian) from looking over your shoulder while you’re working (or not) and seeing what you’re working on (or not). I spend a lot of time on airplanes and am amazed at the things I see on people’s computer screens, things that make me blush!

I’ve noticed that more and more people use iPhones^®, BlackBerrys^®, Droids^® and other phones to view video, html email, etc. Studies show people spend more time texting and emailing from their cell phones than they do talking. The result? Now, while I’m waiting in the checkout line at Walmart^®, I can often see what a person is doing on their phone and sometimes even read what’s on the screen! 3M^®, maker of the nifty privacy filters for computers, now makes a Mobile Privacy Film for Blackberry and iPhone phones.

Yes Virginia, I did say iPhone phones. Because of the amazing ability of the iPhone to display on either a vertical or widescreen frame, you’ll actually need two different Mobile Privacy Films! Using your iPhone as a phone (and who really does?) requires a phone film and using your iPhone in horizontal mode, requires a different film.

As your ace tech tipper, my advice for Certified Legal Nurse Consultant iPhone users is fuhgeddaboudit! CLNC^® consultants using a BlackBerry, could give one of these filters a try, or, keep your money and just check your immediate area for rapscallions, miscreants and other blackguards (like insurance defense attorneys) before you use your phone, then use it discreetly.

Keep on techin’ (under cover),

Tom

Time for another CLNC^® sound off! Not having learned my lesson from last week, once more into the unknown I go, my CLNC^® amigos. Vickie and I have been Blackberry users for so long I can hardly remember a time without omnipresent email, calendar and contacts. So, it’s with a certain amount of fear and trepidation that I bring up the fact that we’ve outgrown our current Blackberries and are looking for the next best thing.

That’s where Certified Legal Nurse Consultants come in. I’ve heard raves about the Blackberry Bold^®, seen the myriad of zombie-like minions tapping and sliding away on their iPhones like Alice-the-Goon from Popeye while muttering, “I love Steve Jobs, I love Steve Jobs.” I even listened to a friend describe his Droid with a near-religious fanaticism. This has left me up in the air about what I should choose for Vickie and my next phones.

The Blackberry tends to be the smartphone of choice for many business users and even regular people. Go to a Little League^® game here in our hood and just about every parent there is busy emailing each other their schedules and updates, but the Blackberry Enterprise software has a propensity to cause synchronization problems for business users who live and die by their calendars.

iPhones stubbornly refuse to multitask, are slaves to AT&T coverage area and have such a high “cool” factor that they’re rapidly becoming “uncool,” but that doesn’t stop me from wanting one. Droids seem to have been adopted entirely by the “geek” class which, believe it or not, includes me out. That’s why I’m asking you for your help.

Let me know what smartphone you use and why you like it or dislike it. Do you use it to surf the Internet or not, do you email, text, keep your calendar on it, etc? Tell me how the sound quality is when you’re making a phone call. If you’ve had issues that have caused you to switch phones, I’d like to know what they were. I don’t want to hear any complaining about a particular carrier, their customer service or anything else. I only want to hear concrete and real advice regarding the iPhone, Blackberry and Droid or another choice. Remember I’m counting on your feedback for making my purchasing decision.

Hurry! Here’s your chance – ready, set, go!

Help keep me techin’,

Tom