Keep Your iPhone Safe with These 5 Must-Have Apps
Sometimes we forget about our iPhones when it comes to security, but hackers, thieves, and other bad guys don't forget. In fact, criminals would love to get their hands on and in your iPhone. Check out these great security-related apps to help protect your iPhone, its data, and even your home.
Are you super paranoid about your cellphone conversations being intercepted and listened to? Are you in a line of business that requires secure voice communications? If you fall into either of these two categories, then Kryptos might be just what you're looking for.
Kryptos is a Voice Over IP (VoIP) app for the iPhone that is intended to provide military-grade AES-encrypted phone calls (provided each party is using the Kryptos application to make and receive calls)
The Kryptos app is free, but the service costs $10 a month which is a bargain compared to the cost of some other secure voice communications solutions out there.More »
QR Codes, those little black and white pixelated boxes, are on everything from movie posters to business cards these days. The multidimensional QR bar codes are scanned with your smartphone's camera and decoded by a QR Code reader app on your phone. A majority of the decoded messages are hyperlinks to websites. Many QR Code reader apps will automatically visit the link that is decoded. While this is very convenient, it's very bad for security, especially if the link points to a malicious site
Hackers and criminals can easily encode a malicious URL into a QR code using free tools available on the internet. All they need to do is print their malicious QR code onto a sticker and affix it on top of a legitimate one.
Norton Snap is a free QR code reader that allows you to review the URL and decide whether or not you want to visit it. It also checks its database of bad links to see if the link is a known-bad site or not.More »
Find my iphone should be one of the first apps you install on your new iPhone. This free app from Apple essentially "lo-jacks" your phone so that it can be tracked using the GPS-based location-aware features of the iPhone.
If your iPhone is ever lost or stolen, you can track it down via Apple's website or from another iOS-based device. There's no guarantee that savvy thieves won't be able to disable the tracking ability, but your chances of recovery are far better with Find my iPhone installed versus not having it loaded.More »
Have you ever wanted to check on your house while you're away on a trip? The Foscam Surveillance Pro app plus a cheap IP camera and internet connection is pretty much all you need to make this happen.
This app works with a ton of different IP camera models and allows you to have up to 6 cameras on your iPhone's screen at one time. If your supported camera features pan and tilt capabilities, you can use the virtual onscreen joystick to control the camera's movement as well.
If your camera is a Foscam-branded model, you can change nearly all of the configuration details of the camera as well, including setting preset camera positions that can be accessed at the touch of a button.
To learn more about how to setup am iPhone-connected home security camera, check out our DIY iPhone Security Cameras for less than $100 article.More »
Have you ever been on vacation and suddenly realized that you forgot to arm your security system before you left?
The Alarm.com alarm system monitor and control app will let you arm, disarm, check the system's status and other tasks depending on what features you subscribe to. The Alarm.com app requires Alarm.com's monitoring service, which is resold by many home and business alarm system providers.
The Alarm.com app works well with security systems such as the 2GiG Go!Control system. Depending on what level of service and type of security system you have, the Alarm.com app will also allow you to remotely change the temperature on your Z-wave enabled thermostat. Turn on and off Z-wave lighting, view your security camera feeds, and lock and unlock compatible wireless deadbolts (additional fees may apply and vary by provider).More »
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1. Kryptos (for Secure VoIP calls)
Are you super paranoid about your cellphone conversations being intercepted and listened to? Are you in a line of business that requires secure voice communications? If you fall into either of these two categories, then Kryptos might be just what you're looking for.
Kryptos is a Voice Over IP (VoIP) app for the iPhone that is intended to provide military-grade AES-encrypted phone calls (provided each party is using the Kryptos application to make and receive calls)
The Kryptos app is free, but the service costs $10 a month which is a bargain compared to the cost of some other secure voice communications solutions out there.More »
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2. Norton Snap (secure QR Code reader)
QR Codes, those little black and white pixelated boxes, are on everything from movie posters to business cards these days. The multidimensional QR bar codes are scanned with your smartphone's camera and decoded by a QR Code reader app on your phone. A majority of the decoded messages are hyperlinks to websites. Many QR Code reader apps will automatically visit the link that is decoded. While this is very convenient, it's very bad for security, especially if the link points to a malicious site
Hackers and criminals can easily encode a malicious URL into a QR code using free tools available on the internet. All they need to do is print their malicious QR code onto a sticker and affix it on top of a legitimate one.
Norton Snap is a free QR code reader that allows you to review the URL and decide whether or not you want to visit it. It also checks its database of bad links to see if the link is a known-bad site or not.More »
3. Find My iPhone
Find my iphone should be one of the first apps you install on your new iPhone. This free app from Apple essentially "lo-jacks" your phone so that it can be tracked using the GPS-based location-aware features of the iPhone.
If your iPhone is ever lost or stolen, you can track it down via Apple's website or from another iOS-based device. There's no guarantee that savvy thieves won't be able to disable the tracking ability, but your chances of recovery are far better with Find my iPhone installed versus not having it loaded.More »
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4. Foscam Surveillance Pro (IP Camera Control)
Have you ever wanted to check on your house while you're away on a trip? The Foscam Surveillance Pro app plus a cheap IP camera and internet connection is pretty much all you need to make this happen.
This app works with a ton of different IP camera models and allows you to have up to 6 cameras on your iPhone's screen at one time. If your supported camera features pan and tilt capabilities, you can use the virtual onscreen joystick to control the camera's movement as well.
If your camera is a Foscam-branded model, you can change nearly all of the configuration details of the camera as well, including setting preset camera positions that can be accessed at the touch of a button.
To learn more about how to setup am iPhone-connected home security camera, check out our DIY iPhone Security Cameras for less than $100 article.More »
5. Alarm.com Monitor and Control App
Have you ever been on vacation and suddenly realized that you forgot to arm your security system before you left?
The Alarm.com alarm system monitor and control app will let you arm, disarm, check the system's status and other tasks depending on what features you subscribe to. The Alarm.com app requires Alarm.com's monitoring service, which is resold by many home and business alarm system providers.
The Alarm.com app works well with security systems such as the 2GiG Go!Control system. Depending on what level of service and type of security system you have, the Alarm.com app will also allow you to remotely change the temperature on your Z-wave enabled thermostat. Turn on and off Z-wave lighting, view your security camera feeds, and lock and unlock compatible wireless deadbolts (additional fees may apply and vary by provider).More »
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