Dangers of downloading apps

This will alert our moderators to take action. Nifty 17, Adani Transmission 1, Market Watch. ET NOW. Brand Solutions. Video series featuring innovators. ET Financial Inclusion Summit. Malaria Mukt Bharat. How dangerous they depend on the type of vulnerable data criminals can collect.

If you thought ransomware only targeted company networks and computers, you are gravely mistaken. Many smartphone users have financial apps on their smartphones, and hackers know this quite well. They are also aware that most smartphone users tend to become complacent when it comes to mobile online security.

This complacency might be a result of people using their phones so much that they lower many of the security restrictions intended to prevent such attacks. And even those sites that have good intentions can be plagued with malicious links usually in the form of seductive advertisements.

The purpose behind all of the misleading advertisements is to get the user to click the wrong thing by accident—it only takes a single click for a malicious link to download ransomware onto your Android or iOS device discretely.

Really a great detailed and informative video on the privacy issue of downloading the mobile phone applications. Learned a lot from it. Thanks the author for sharing such an useful article with us. Thanks for such a great article. Please keep your great post. Wonderful job:.

This is a great article on the privacy issue of downloading of mobile apps. Mobile privacy is new territory that's beginning to get public, corporate and government attention. Check your existing apps. It isn't quick, easy or fun, but it is helpful to review the privacy policies and permissions given to apps you already own. Android users can review permissions for individual apps by going to the Settings screen and choosing Device and then Apps. Both Android and iPhone let you adjust or totally turn off their GPS location features within settings.

With iPhone, you can see which apps access location and turn each one on or off. Apple plans to provide a similar tool for adjusting permissions to access contacts lists in a future operating system update.

Independent resources for understanding app privacy and security are limited. Common Sense Media reviews games and other apps popular with kids. Concerned users may want to consider security software to defend against mobile malware, including spyware apps like FlexiSPY , which are most often planted by jealous lovers but presumably could be installed by corporate spies.

Lookout Inc. Privacy Advisor provides a list of which of your apps can access private data, along with reports that explain the risks and capabilities of each app. Riva Richmond is a freelance journalist who has covered technology for more than a decade. She focuses on computer security, privacy, social networking and online business and has written for The New York Times , The Wall Street Journal and other national publications.

Why Parents Should Worry: Common Sense Media says Tumblr is "too raunchy for tykes" because users can easily access pornographic, violent, and inappropriate content. Common Sense also notes that users need to jump through hoops to set up privacy settings — and until then, all of a user's photo and content is public for all to see.

Mental health experts say that Tumblr can be damaging to adolescents' mental health because it tends to glorify self-harm and eating disorders. Purpose: This hugely popular photo-sharing site is owned by Facebook, so you may be more familiar with it than with other photo-sharing apps.

Users can add cool filters or create collages of their photos and share them across Facebook and other social media platforms. A user can change the settings to block their location or certain followers, but many users are casual about their settings, connecting with people they don't know well or at all.

Purpose: Look is a free video messaging app. Users can send video of course , test, emojis and gifs. They can also draw on and use filters on their videos. Why Parents Should Worry: With Look, strangers can message kids pretty easily, and because there are no content filters, kids can come across inappropriate content.

Users have reported cyberbullying activity and have found it difficult to delete their accounts. Purpose: These aren't social media apps — and they're confusing — but you should still know about them especially if you have a tech-savvy teen or have had to take away your child's mobile phone privileges because of abuse.

It's hard to say how many teens have jailbroken their mobile device, but instructions on how to do it are readily available on the Internet. Cydia is a popular application for jailbroken phones, and it's a gateway to other apps called Poof and SBSettings — which are icon-hiding apps. These apps are supposedly intended to help users clear the clutter from their screens, but some young people are using them to hide questionable apps and violent games from their parents.

Be aware of what the Cydia app icons look like so you know if you're getting a complete picture of your teen's app use. Do all these new social media apps mean that Facebook and Twitter are in decline? A survey by Pew Internet found that U.

But Facebook still remains the top social media site among U. Your child may keep a profile on Facebook but be much more active on newer platforms.

Meanwhile, Twitter use is rising among teens. The Pew survey found that 24 percent of online teens are on Twitter, up from 16 percent in Twitter is more popular among African American teens than Hispanic and white teens. Sit down with your child and find out which apps she's using, how they work, and whether she has experienced any issues on them, such as cyberbullying or contact from strangers. Not all apps are dangerous, however, there's plenty that are free, educational, and much loved by kids!

Charise Rohm Nulsen. We've compiled the ultimate list of the sites and apps tweens and teens are flocking to in Plus, we have useful tips for protecting your child from cyberbullying and other online safety hazards.

Zoomerang Purpose: Zoomerang is one of the most popular apps right now. Parlor Purpose: Parlor shares that they are a social talking app and that their purpose is for people to have amazing conversations and to talk about the same thing with each other. Chat Master Purpose: This is a unique game where you play as you are texting with someone.

Among Us Purpose: Among Us is an online multiplayer social deduction game. Banuba Purpose: Banuba is an app that provides features such as a face changer, live filters, funny effects, and masks. TikTok Purpose: TikTok is an app for creating and sharing short videos. Some apps are simply collecting information for advertising purposes. In , the Federal Trade Commission settled a lawsuit with a company over its popular Brightest Flashlight app, alleging it transmitted consumers' personal information to third parties without telling them.

Miliefsky said it can be traced to a few blocks from Tiananmen Square on Information Drive in Beijing. Let's shut down all the apps we don't use. Let's delete apps that don't make sense and reduce the risk of being spied on,'" Miliefsky said.