FINAL WORD

To answer the question, a duo from University of Connecticut conducted a survey on 543 people. These people were given fictitious social networking websites to join. In terms of services there was a clause, which said sharing the information with NSA and the employer and providing first born child as a payment. 98 % of those who responded agreed to Terms of Service as they skipped this part. You can find all the details on the published paper, The Biggest Lie On The Internet.

I am extremely confident about myself that I would have done the same. This made me realise that there are various terms of service related to mobile applications, which threaten security and expose us in the Internet world.

My first choice here is Pokemon Go, in which the application’ s terms of service raises some questions, as it collects location, data, and information about the operating device. Application owner says that they need to improve services, but it can also be passed onto third parties, as long as they seek your approval first. The risk increases if you have downloaded an unofficial version of Pokémon Go launched in your country, beware of malware.

Tinder, the application itself was fixed and patched multiple times to fix

Mayank Verma is Assistant Manager of Consulting Services at SecureLink

I will suggest there is no need to panic or delete everything, just be more cautious when you install an application from Play Store or Apple Store

the issue about the vulnerability that lets hackers track user locations to within a 100-ft radius. You do not want someone to keep spying on you. Unlike Twitter, Tinder does not provide verified account. Unfortunately, malicious bots use Tinder profiles and force us to follow fake links which captures age, personal details and credit & debit card details.

Snapchat, we love snapping using Snapchat. Snapchat assures that messages are encrypted, and we have seen similar assurance from Whatsapp lately. However, the MacAfee team claims to have read encrypted message including pictures, while they were testing the services. Now that is scary as we also cannot trust encryption now.

As someone quoted, when I use something for free, I am not the customer, I am the product itself.

I will suggest there is no need to panic or delete everything. Just be more cautious when you install an application from Play Store or Apple Store. You are always presented with the list of permissions the application requires in order to work. It is tempting to just skip past it, but resist doing so.

You should at least look over them so you are aware. Try to answer following questions before you click Install.

• Check the application whether it is from a trustworthy developer

• Check why the application needs these permissions

• Check the explanation by developers as to why they need these permissions and try to map it with services

I am sure such self-awareness would help to mitigate the risk impact in the longer run.

69