SAN FRANCSICO – As Consumer Reports shows in its annual “State of the Net” report, carrying a modern mobile phone is a heckuva convenience but creates all sorts of problems that go beyond what most people realize.
The magazine interviewed 1,656 adult smartphone users and extrapolated the results nationally, CNET News.Com reported.
? Many users don’t secure their phones. Almost 40 percent don’t take even minimal security measures.
? Malicious software is a real threat. Last year, 5.6 million Americans experienced such problems as sending unauthorized text messages and having accounts accessed without permission.
? Users’ whereabouts can be exposed. One percent said that they or a person in their household had been harassed by someone who used location tracking to pinpoint their phone; 7 percent wanted to turn off location tracking but didn’t know how to do so.
? Apps are too intrusive. About 48 million Americans users had stopped installing an app because it requested too many privileges.
? It’s hard to control your privacy. Blame small screens and lengthy privacy notices.
? Millions of children need protection. Five million preteens use smartphones and may unwittingly disclose personal information.
? Mobility has its risks. As more of us do more daily tasks on our phones (e-mailing, shopping, social networking), a lot more of our private information is on a small gadget that can be easily lost or stolen.
? Home computers are at risk, too. About 3.4 million Americans had to replace an infected computer last year.
