Greatson Media Blog

As if IT admins weren’t busy enough securing end-users’ computers, servers, and the network, they now need to come up with ways to protect end-users’ phones. Not only are malicious hackers devising ways to eavesdrop on targets’ private phone conversations, but new research shows that many of the free apps available for the popular iPhone and Android platforms are capable of gathering sensitive user data.

Mobile security firm Lookout analyzed some 300,000 applications for the iPhone and Android and discovered a relatively small — though not negligible — portion of them are capable of determining a user’s location, as well as his or her full contact information, pictures, text messages, and Internet and search histories.

That sort of data could be used for relatively harmless activities, such as marketing, but it also could find its way into the hands of cyber criminals and be used for nefarious deeds.

Broken down between the iPhone and Android platforms, Lookout found:

• 28 percent of the apps in the iPhone App Store are free, whereas 64 percent of the available apps for Android are free
• 29 percent of free applications on Android have the capability to access a user’s location, compared with 33 percent of free applications on the iPhone
• Nearly twice as many free applications have the capability to access user’s contact data on iPhone (14 percent) compared to Android (8 percent)
• 47 percent of free Android apps include code from third parties for mobile advertising and analytics purposes, compared to 23 percent on iPhone

Readmore…

By Frances McInnis, for Mashable

May 31, 2010 10:30 a.m. EDT

Frances McInnis is a journalist and crossword enthusiast based in New York City. She has written about culture for Momentum Magazine, business for Resource World Magazine, and a mess of assorted topics for The Huffington Post.

(Mashable) — Anyone who has sat stymied with their cursor blinking in a “username” field knows that coming up with a name is harder than you’d think.

How do you find that perfect Twitter handle or that ideal epithet for your blog, website or startup — one that’s snappy and memorable, and that you won’t hate by next year?

We talked to bloggers, social media gurus, linguists and naming experts (yes, they exist!) to get the scoop on finding a name that will work on the web.

How Do I Start?

Naming consultant Christopher Johnson, author of the The Name Inspector blog, says you should begin by brainstorming a list of keywords that relate to your blog, website or company. Then hit the reference materials; scan lists of synonyms and etymologies for more options. Friends are useful, too — find the best Scrabble player in your circle and get her involved.

Try to think of all different types of names. You can compound words (Facebook, YouTube), blend together words (Microsoft, Netscape), add affixes (Friendster, coComment), make up words (Squidoo, Odeo) or use phrases (StumbleUpon, GoToMeeting).

Once you’ve got a healthy list, start culling. Ask yourself: Readmore…

Steve Jobs was recently quoted as saying “No one will be using Flash. The world is moving to HTML5” igniting interest in HTML5 and sparking numerous debates online in blogs and forums.

Jobs’ prediction that flash is dead invokes memories of the famous Mark Twain quote “reports of my death are greatly exaggerated“. While the debate rages on over the future of Flash, HTML5′s destiny is assured.

It’s not just Apple pointing to HTML5 as an internet revolution, Microsoft, Google, Opera, Mozilla, W3C and even Adobe themselves agree. In fact HTML5 may become historic for that very reason. It is arguably the only time Google, Microsoft and Apple have ever agreed on anything. Readmore…