The downside to this is that since these technologies are used by people every day and hold our most important information, they are also extremely prone to attacks. Personal computers can be hacked or could get viruses and spyware, while networks are the target of security breaches, and of course, smartphones can be attacked as well. These technologies are targets for the same reason we use them. they are capable of running our lives. Nowadays, you can do banking from your home or phone. You can transfer bank funds via your network, you can keep the passwords of your utilities in your Smartphone, and you can also keep track of your stocks and other assets through these methods as well.

Attacks come in different forms and target different kinds of information. This paper will focus on one of the above mentioned technologies, the smartphones, it will look at the kinds of attacks that could affect a smartphone, and look at current literature regarding available security options for smartphones.

Before we can get into the details of the attacks and security options for a smartphone, we first need to discuss what a smartphone is. According to cellphones.about.com, a smartphone is “is a device that lets you make telephone calls, but also adds features that you might find on a personal digital assistant or a computer.” This means that technically, a smartphone is a miniature personal computer or laptop that can make calls because according to the article, “A smartphone also offers the ability to send and receive e-mail and edit Office documents, for example.”

These kinds of features allow us to do banking, social networking, communication of multiple methods, and asset management through these devices. This is normally used and abused by business owners and company managers that need to bring their work wherever they go, or by entrepreneurs and free-lance employees and contractors as they may get work orders at any given time.

These functions are very useful for people on the move regularly, and even for people who feel the need to stay connected regularly but as advanced these functions may be, they are also more prone to attacks such as viruses and spyware.