It’s a good reminder that not all security apps will make your online movements more secure – and, in some cases, they could be worse than doing nothing at all
Cybersecurity privacy
Cybersecurity privacy- It’s been a busy few weeks for cybersecurity researchers and reporters. There was the Facebook hack, the Google plus data breach, and allegations that the Chinese government implanted spying chips in hardware components.
In the midst of all this, some other important news was overlooked. In early September, Apple removed several Trend Micro anti-malware tools from the Mac app store after they were found to be collecting unnecessary personal information from users, such as browser history. Trend Micro has now removed this function from the apps.
It’s a good reminder that not all security apps will make your online movements more secure – and, in some cases, they could be worse than doing nothing at all. It’s wise to do your due diligence before you download that ad-blocker or VPN – read on for some tips.
Security apps
There are range of tools people use to protect themselves from cyber threats:
- Virtual private networks (VPNs) allow you to establish a secure connection with a remote server and route all your traffic through it so it can’t be tracked by your internet service provider. VPNs are commonly used to access geo-blocked content, and for additional privacy.
- Ad-blockers prevent advertisements from appearing on the websites you visit.
- App-lockers allow you to set passwords for individual apps. For example, if somebody borrowed your phone to make a call, and then tried to access your Facebook app.
- Tor hides your identity while you browse the internet, by encrypting and moving your traffic across multiple Tor nodes.
Know the risks
There are multiple dangers in using these kinds of security software, especially without the proper background knowledge. The risks include:
Accessing unnecessary data
Many security tools request access to your personal information. In many cases, they need to do this to protect your device. For example, antivirus software requires information such as browser history, personal files, and unique identifiers to function. But in some cases, tools request more access than they need for functionality. This was the case with the Trend Micro apps.
Creating a false sense of security
It makes sense that if you download a security app, you believe your online data is more secure. But sometimes mobile security tools don’t provide security at the expected levels, or don’t provide the claimed services at all. If you think you can install a state-of-the-art mobile malware detection tool and then take risks online, you are mistaken.
For example, a 2017 study showed it was not hard to create malware that can bypass 95% of commercial Android antivirus tools.
Another study showed that 18% of mobile VPN apps did not encrypt user traffic at all. And if you are using Tor, there are many mistakes you can make that will compromise your anonymity and privacy – especially if you are not familiar with the Tor setup and try to modify its configurations.
Lately, there have been reports of fake antivirus software, which open backdoors for spyware, ransomware and adware, occupying the top spots on the app charts. Earlier this year it was reported that 20 million Google Chrome users had downloaded fake ad-blocker extensions.
The post When remedy is the problem: Cybersecurity apps could be worse for privacy appeared first on Statii News.
source http://news.statii.co.uk/when-remedy-is-the-problem-cybersecurity-apps-could-be-worse-for-privacy/
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