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Tech Tip: Mobile Security for Your Tablets & Smartphones Is As Important As on Your Laptop #SmartSecurity #shop #cbias


I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This mobile security shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its client Norton.

Mobile computing is the future. Sometimes I feel like we are already there, our tablets and phones have replaced our computers for so much of our online needs, including online shopping, online banking, and much more. I can say that 80% of my online consumption is done through a phone or a tablet. One aspect that that has been covered at length is protection for our computers, but how much has mobile security been considered? And for that matter, how about Wifi security while surfing on a public or shared hotspot? I would be willing to bet that very few people are considering how their mobile devices and connections are being protected. When you connect to the Wifi at your favorite coffee shop, are you asking yourself if you are safe? The fact of the matter is that a third of mobile devices have been subjected to some form of mobile cybercrime, making tablet and smartphone security and laptop security a prevalent topic.

Norton has been protecting home and business computers for years and is one of the most well-known malware protection companies in the world. It was no surprise to me when I learned about their suite of mobile protection products. I recently installed Norton Mobile Security on my Android tablet and phone as well as Norton Hotspot Privacy on my Windows laptop. I was relieved to finally install some protection on my most used devices.

The Norton Mobile Security installed much like any other app and required very little configuration. I found the default settings to be pretty much what I would have selected on my own. I have always been a stickler for my devices running as lean as possible and I simply hate applications that affect everything on your device and slow things down. Norton installed clean and seems to run silently in the background.

Norton Mobile Security is on by default, you really only need to open the app to change configuration settings or to run an extra manual scan of your device. When you open the application, the default page shows you the security status of your device and allows you to run a manual scan if desired. There are 4 more tabs including Anti-Theft, Backup, Web Protection, and a tab where you can buy and download additional apps to protect your devices. All the services are on by default and each tab houses settings for configuration settings. I ended up changing nothing, the default settings were just fine for my needs.

The last tab is a direct link to a host of other Norton products you can install directly to your device Including a Parental Control app and an Identity Theft app. You can really fine tune your protection right from your device.

I installed the Norton Hotspot Privacy app on my Windows laptop as I use shared Wifi the most on that device. The Hotspot app is incredibly simple to use. In fact, all you really need to do is install it, the application works in the background and loads when you start your device. It is nice to know you do not need to remember to turn it on as it is always on. Norton Hotspot Privacy creates a secure tunnel through the connection out to the web without any work on your part.

I am glad that my mobile devices are protected as well as my desktop computers are now. I really have been ignoring that part of my electronic security and it feels good to address it. The Norton Mobile Security app is available for Android and Apple devices and the Norton Hotspot Privacy is available for Apple or Windows (desktop OS) operating systems. I was not able to install either on my Windows phone or my Windows Surface RT tablet, but it should work for a Surface Pro or a similar desktop OS tablet.

To help bring awareness to mobile security and promote its line of mobile security products, Norton embarked on a truck tour visiting all over the country. The tour will next visit the CES Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada from January 7th through the 10th.