Tag: smartphones

The Importance of Having a VPN at Home

On April 19, 2021

In Blockchain, Chika Wonah, Digital, Internet of Things, Technology, Uncategorized

Anyone who’s been on the internet has heard of VPN services in the past couple of years. However, the average internet user might not truly understand the need to have a VPN. You should consider these reasons why you should start using a VPN service on your internet-connected devices.

Restricted Content

Whether you’re using Netflix or Hulu, you can access a catalog of content that can specific to your country. This means that you could be blocked access from the movie or TV show that you want to watch while another user in a different country gets access to that content. Fortunately, a VPN service can help out with this issue.

To solve this, a user needs to subscribe to a VPN service that offers a server in the country that their streaming content is available. From there, users can watch any restricted content as long as they are using it through their VPN service.

Public Networks

If you need to use the internet while traveling, you might be thinking of using a public network somewhere like an airport or a coffee shop. This might seem simple enough, but you can run into intruders that are on the same network. Having intruders on the same public network as you means that you could have your details and files leaked to them as you browse the internet. Fortunately, a VPN can prevent you from these attacks.

To protect yourself, make sure that you’ve subscribed to a VPN service before accessing your public network. You should then be able to connect to your VPN at any time to create a secured connection on both ends. With a secure connection, intruders won’t get any private details from you since packets coming from your computer and VPN network are encrypted.

Blocked Websites

Getting past restricted streaming content can be great, but you might be wondering more about websites that are blocked in your country. In countries like China, users can go through social media websites like Twitter and YouTube without getting a blocked message. Fortunately, having a VPN lets you bypass this.

You can bypass website restrictions on a VPN because the packets are encrypted in a way that isn’t if you are using a typical network. However, users should find out if any laws make this a criminal offense anywhere they may be living or traveling.

The Risks of Login Codes Sent via Text Message

By Chika Wonah

On April 19, 2021

In Blockchain, Chika Wonah, Digital, Internet of Things, Technology, Uncategorized

Two-factor authentication can seem very useful for securing your essential accounts from intruders. However, more and more hackers have been getting into accounts that use text messages for two-factor authentication. Look into these reasons why you should switch over the type of two-factor authentication you operate away from text messaging.

Routing Messages

When you’re holding your phone close to you, you might be thinking that an intruder will have to get into your phone by getting you to install malware. For the past couple of years, though, intruders have been more clever into how they get into mobile phones. They can do this by going directly to your mobile phone carrier.

The way they do this is by first finding some personal details about you. These can be as complicated as your social security number or as simple as the address you live on. From there, they call up your phone carrier.

Depending on the phone carrier, they can be easily convinced that you’re locked out of your mobile device, and you need your number transferred to a separate phone. Intruders can accomplish this by giving up their details and paying a small fee. If it goes successfully, an intruder will have full access to any phone calls or text messages coming your way, with no way to stop them until you’re able to call your phone carrier again. This all is why you shouldn’t ever use text messaging for your two-factor authentication.

Notifications

Sometimes, an intruder might not even be far away to the point where they can be looking at your phone screen in public. Depending on your mobile device settings, you might have notifications popping up with security codes on any screen of your device. Intruders can come up with a plan to get a security code this way.

For example, you might be live-streaming a game on your phone to the internet. Intruders will use this to their advantage by logging into your account online and checking your stream for when the phone notification appears. After that, they can log in to your account and do enough damage before you even have the chance to change the passwords on your accounts. Notifications are just another reason why you shouldn’t be using text messaging linked to your two-factor authentication.

2021 Cyber Security Predictions

By Chika Wonah

On February 15, 2021

In Blockchain, Chika Wonah, Digital, Internet of Things, Technology, Uncategorized

Many corporations have prioritized cyber-security amid the COVID-19 pandemic. PwC’s recent report shows that 96% of managers have changed their cyber-security techniques, and 40% of them claim that their digitization efforts have increased. Correspondingly, IDC anticipates that global security expenditure will increase by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.1% during the 2020-2024 prediction period, reaching $174.7 billion in 2024. Similarly, Forrester’s 2021 cyber-security forecasts indicate that funding for cyber-security companies whose headquarters are outside the United States will rise by 20% in 2021. Analysis Mason also predicts that between 2019 and 2025, mobile device security will be the fastest-growing cyber-security category and will reach $13 billion with a CAGR of 17%.

In 2020, breaches became a challenging problem that was difficult to stop. For example, the U.S Depart of Health and Human Services (HHS) Breach Portal shows that in 2020, 436 breaches attacked healthcare organizations, affecting 17.3 million.

Here is a list of predictions that apprehend how cyber-security will advance in 2021:

1. In 2021, 55% of businesses will increase their cyber-security budget allocations, and 51% will hire more full-time cyber staff.

2. In The Next Three Years, the most dominant cyber-security technologies will be the Cloud Workload Protection Platform, Passwordless Authentication, and Posture Management. As Gartner’s Impact Radar for Security framework indicates, the Zero Trust Networking will have a significant impact within a period of one to three years.

3. Security services will be the fastest and largest growing security market sector, occupying half of the security budget meant for the 2020-2024 prediction period. The segment will also attain a CAGR of 10.5% in five years.

By 2021, cyber-security IT spending will reach a CAGR of 12% due to the drastic increase in cybercrimes, such as breaches, endpoint security attacks, phishing, and privilege access credential abuse.

Intellectual Property will be cyber criminals’ target in 2021.
The global cyber-security expenditure for small and medium-sized businesses will increase by 10% CAGR between 2019 and 2024, making this segment an $80 billion industry in four years.

4. Business cybersecurity spending will grow at a higher rate in four major industries- healthcare services and systems, financial and banking, technology and media, and social and public segments.

5. Improvements in AI and machine learning will contribute to 80% of devices’ capability to self-secure-and-heal, enabling IT to implement policies and remain confident that their data and devices are safe.

Many companies will struggle to reduce their vulnerability to cyber-attacks in 2021 and beyond.
Over the next five years, cyber-crime costs will increase at an annual rate of 15%, reaching $10.5 trillion per year by 2025.
Security vendors will continue to consolidate endpoint security in 2021.

In 2021, cybercriminals will devise new and innovative ways to attack personal devices to access corporate networks. While the COVID-19 pandemic has forced workers to work remotely, many organizations have not fully protected their employees. As a result, cyber attackers will exploit these gaps, leading to increased cybercrimes.

Understanding if Your Device Has Been Hacked

By Chika Wonah

On February 15, 2021

In Blockchain, Chika Wonah, Digital, Internet of Things, Technology, Uncategorized

From social sites to banking, smart devices are increasingly becoming part of most people’s daily lives. Unfortunately, they are also exposing them to data snatchers, popularly known as hackers. The hackers may gain access to a device in many ways, but we will discuss how to know when that happens.

Receiving Random Pop-ups

Random pop-ups are not annoying, but they are among the most popular signs that a device got hacked. If one is getting random pop-ups from their browser, something has compromised their device with adware. Adware is popular with hackers when trying to force someone to view certain websites to drive revenues through viewership.

Draining Battery without Any Reason

If one notices that a device battery is quickly losing power for no reason, that is a sign that it has malware. This sudden loss of battery power is due to malware or spy-app that is operating from the background. The spy-app uses a lot of battery power to scan the device and transmit it to the hacker.

Poor Performance

One may notice that their device is suddenly crashing all the time or loading web pages much slower. When such happens, first try shutting down the machine, and take notice of what happens. If the device has gotten hacked, it may fail to shut down correctly or not shut down at all.

One can also notice slowed functionality of some operations, such as making calls or receiving text messages. Such things shouldn’t take long unless the device has a spy-app.

Increased Data Usage

Another indication of a compromised device is the exceptionally high data usage. The usage may be a result of a background running app communicating to a third-party.

Contact List Gets Call and Tests That the Owner Didn’t Make

When a device gets hacked, the hacker leaves the malware in the gadget and may use the contact list to spread it. One’s email list, text messages, or instant messages may transmit the malware to his contact through messages with links or attached files. Check out for complaints from the contact list about notifications that they supposedly received.

The Device’s Settings Change

If the hacker physically accesses a device, they may manually change its settings. For instance, one may notice that their device Bluetooth is on, despite them not switching it on. Such settings change maybe a sign of malware interfering with the device settings to spread it to other devices.

There are many ways to know when a device has gotten hacked. To prevent losing data or money, always take preventive measures. For example, one can run a malware scanner on their device.

Technology’s Impact on Hiring and Recruitment

By Chika Wonah

On April 24, 2018

In Chika Wonah, Digital, Technology

Burgeoning tech has been laying claim to multiple industries from real estate to insurance, and more recently technology began to disrupt our hiring and recruitment tactics. In the digital age, it’s no surprise that how people find openings and apply for jobs changed. Now the vast majority start their searches online with sites like Linkedin and Indeed, but the actual interview process itself is also changing. Portfolios all take place online, interviews originally happen via video and personality diagnostics are standard.

One Way Interviews

Interviews are typically two-sided. A few business representatives interview a potential hiree, and while the hiree wants to impress the business, it’s also a chance to field questions and get to know each other.

Tech poses to change that with the rise of video interviews. As Dave Lee describes, “Traditional interviews with an interviewer and interviewee could go by the wayside, too. Rather than a two-way interaction, job candidates will upload video responses to interview questions. New technology will detect non-verbal cues such as those facial expressions and tone while eliminating human bias.” Brands like Red Bull already hopped on board with video interviews. This added step tests the applicant’s ability to think on their feet while also working through potential red flags or false starts eliminating wasted time for recruiters. Then, once the cream rises, formal interviews can take place. As Rajpreet Heir highlights, “Not only does digital interviewing allow candidates and employers to connect earlier in the interviewing process, it also saves time and money. A study by OfficeTeam revealed that 63% of companies are using video interviews vs. 13% from 2011.”

Analytics and Diagnostics

Personality diagnostics are also increasingly popular as an inexpensive means to gauge fit and placement within a larger company. As Chamanpreet Singh says, “Data is critical in the digitisation of recruitment. It allows you to determine the effectiveness of any strategy implemented and will enable HRs to develop future recruitment strategies based on the metrics and measurements received. This data will give an insight into channels that can work for your company which means cutting down on time and expenditure.”

Building a Business-Savvy Brand

It’s important to remember that if you can find them, potential recruits can also find you. As a result, recruiting in the digital age requires a larger emphasis on companies’ online brands. People want to understand the company culture they throw themselves into. Show personality, but also be sure the image you portray is accurate. Top talent is going to do their research, and if your digital presence is non-existent or inaccurate, they won’t want to work with you. As Rachit Jain says, “Building a healthy working culture and employer brand is getting more important day by day. But most importantly, employers and recruiters have to adapt and move to the modern recruiting technology faster.”

Best Smart Devices for your Home

By Chika Wonah

On July 24, 2017

In Internet of Things

Whether your home is already hooked into the Internet of Things, or whether you’re shopping for your first smart device, there are lots of great products on the market for you to try. Here are some places to start:

Amazon Echo: This smart speaker can access Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn, and has great 360 degree sound quality. Its voice-activated AI, Alexa, can make phone calls, check the weather, report traffic, and more. If you’ve never owned a smart device before, the Echo is a fun and accessible place to start. And it connects to many other smart devices, including Hue lights and Nest systems, so you can really start building your smart home.

Logitech Harmony Elite: Great if you like the idea of Alexa but feel silly barking orders at your radio, or if you’ve fantasized about the idea of a truly universal remote. This looks like a regular TV remote, but can access all sorts of smart devices, including your TV, your speakers, and even smart lights. Users also get access to the Harmony App, which allows you to use your phone like a remote as well.

Nest Protect Smoke Detector: The Internet of Things can be fun and convenient, but it can also be used to make your home safer. The Nest Protect senses smoke and carbon monoxide, and can be controlled from your phone.

Kuna Toucan: This outdoor security camera works with Alexa or a smartphone app. It alerts you when a car pulls into your driveway or a visitor arrives at your door, and takes both video and audio, which it stores online for easy access. You can even have it make a siren sound to scare away unwanted visitors.

Nest Learning Thermostat: Not only is this thermostat easy to control through a phone, tablet, laptop, or Alexa, it quickly learns your temperature preferences, and is capable of turning itself down when the house is empty. Plus, by monitoring outdoor temperatures and your preferences, it can help guide you to the most energy efficient temperature settings, and save you lots of money on your heating bill.

June Intelligent Oven: Tell this oven what you’re baking and how you want it, and it does all the work to make that happen. The June Intelligent Oven works great for everything from casseroles to Eggo waffles, but it’s at its most impressive cooking hard-to-perfect meats. At just under $1500, it’s the priciest item on this list by far, but it’s also a great demonstration of how smart smart tech can be.

QardioBase Smart Scale: If you’re watching your health, this scale can give you all the relevant information–not just your weight. This scale can check your BMI, muscle mass, and bone mass, help you set and track fitness goals, and even tell if you’re pregnant. And it’s compatable with iOS, Android, and Kindle.

Binky: The App about Nothing

By Chika Wonah

On June 29, 2017

In Internet of Things

Every app is, at least on its face, “about” something. Twitter is for microblogging. Instagram is for sharing pictures. Snapchat is for silly filters. WhatsApp is for texting. But what about an app that does absolutely nothing?

Enter Binky, the nihilistic app that allows users to go through the motions of a social media app, but offers no real interaction, purpose, or end goal. There are no other users with whom to interact. There’s no accumulation of followers or likes. It’s all utterly meaningless.

Founder Dan Kurtz talked with NPR about why he created the app. One day, he was scrolling through a feed and realized that he couldn’t remember any part of the most recent article he’d read. Being on his phone and flicking his thumb upwards on the screen in a scrolling motion had become “his default state.” The futility of it all hit him like a ton of bricks, and he set about creating Binky, the app that does nothing.

Those who have the app can “swipe” left or right on generic stock photos in a tinder-like motion, but that information is stored nowhere and impacts the user experience in no capacity whatsoever. Users can “comment” by touching a keyboard, but only pregenerated words appear in the comment box.

Many have suggested using the app as a way for social media users to wean themselves off the endless drivel of “real” social media. For many, the simple act of going through the motions will help abate the addiction they’ve developed to scrolling and reacting. Kurtz described it as “the fidget cube of social media,” for people to feel like they’re participating without actually logging onto anything.

Binky provides all the action with none of the cognitive costs of having to plough through a New York Times article or argue in the comments with a political adversary. It’s pure, unfettered nothingness, and it’s making a splash on the App store.

For now, it’s only available on IOS, but it promises to be live on other platforms shortly.

Google Cloud IoT Core

By Chika Wonah

On May 30, 2017

In Internet of Things

As the 2rst century has expanded in tremendous ways, technology has been a big driving factor. The world consists of a myriad of devices from cellphones, tablets, and laptops to wearable devices and more. Through data and the world wide web, better known as the internet, comes the possibility of connecting any and all devices.

In recent news, Google announced the release of Cloud IoT Core, the secure device connection and management system. This system allows consumers to securely connect their devices, along with analyzing data on each device as well. This service allows data to be collected, analyzed and turned into a visualization in real time throughout the globe. When it comes to user experience, Google has an exceptional understanding of what consumers want and will support.

Google is striving to make device data easier among a bundle of technologies. This also provides a rising opportunity to take advantage of this with their own products. The growth of productivity is expected to spike rapidly through the use of these various electronics.

A major trick Google has up its sleeve is the service’s ability to use a tool called natural language processing (NLP). Both consumers and industrial domains will be able to take advantage of the various tools Cloud IoT Core has to offer. This tool means that computers will have the capability to understand both written word and speech, or spoken word. With this advancement in technology, different computers will be able to communicate with each other, thus offering the ability to connect multiple devices through Cloud IoT.

Users of Cloud IoT can expect to improve operational efficiency through this management service. Any device used through the cloud will be connected via data for tracking, analyzing and more. Cloud IoT Core takes a level of complexity and simplifies it for all users. Whether you’re a large or small company, using large or small devices, Cloud IoT is an easy to use tool that takes the data and makes it easily manageable.

Google is also allowing it’s users to bring in third parties, meaning they don’t necessarily have to collect this data and analyze it through Google alone throughout their process.

Although this software is generally most beneficial to companies or even small businesses, Google has opened Cloud IoT Core to anyone who wants a more efficient way to manage their devices and data.

The Return of the Basic Phone

By Chika Wonah

On March 29, 2017

In Internet of Things

All of our devices are getting smarter and more connected. Our refrigerators, our lamps, our cars, and more are all connected to each other and to our phones. Our phones also increasingly connect us to huge audiences of people, from social networks to chatting apps and more productivity apps than we know what to do with. All this connectedness can become easily overwhelming and deprive us of sleep, relaxation, and mental respite from work and the hustle of keeping up appearances.

Whereas many of us have chosen, whether actively or passively, to keep up with the fast pace of smart technology, some have halted it all and returned to something way more simple: A basic phone.

In this day and age, how could someone survive without being totally connected, you may ask. It’s a different lifestyle than the one we’ve all found ourselves living, but for the sake of their sanity and solitude, they have chosen to purposefully disconnect from the Internet of Things. And if you can believe this, there are some tech companies who are creating phones explicitly designed to reduce the amount of time spent on them.

Businesses have a stake in the game when it comes to making sure you spend lots of time on your mobile devices. Cell phone carriers can charge you more for data. Social apps can display more advertising to you. E-commerce apps and platforms want you to linger so that they can convince you to make a purchase. Big data aggregators want to collect as much information about your travels, whereabouts, habits, and decision-making processes as they can to learn about humanity, society, and how to best market to certain groups.

To that end, it’s been in the best interest of most businesses to make sure you spend lots of time on your phone, and many features work to ensure this. Most apps, for example, have a blue interface, which is known to hold your attention for longer and make it more difficult to sleep. Frequent updates fix bugs and adapt to changing desires in the user experience. Apps will often work together to keep you hooked in a loop of toggling among them.

However, there are two particular disruptors who are designing phones designed to help people use their phones less. The first is Nokia, which has long been hailed as an extremely utilitarian and unbreakable device. Their new basic phone, the Nokia 3310, offers a more modern design but with little more than the basic calling and texting functions. Between the multi-day battery life, low cost of minutes, and the relief from the constant binging of app notifications, the new Nokia stands to provide welcome respite from the social network fatigue.

The other device is still in development. Siempo is a smartphone that allows users to simplify their notifications and encourages users to spend less time on it. For example, the phone has options that lock it for a certain amount of time after you wake up so that your first moments up involve exercise, meditation, or reading, not mindless scrolling. The phone also lacks a front-facing camera to cut down on the selfie urge and includes a lot of controls for how often you receive notifications.

Many are rethinking their phone usage and looking for ways to return to a more balanced lifestyle. Perhaps the kinds of phones they chose to use, be it a very simple “dumb” phone, a smartphone with a different purpose, or a total 180 to a house phone, will help users find an equilibrium between constant internet connection and real-world connections.