SECURING YOUR IPAD

For a lot of us life has not been the same after acquiring an Ipad. Instead of using the laptop computer, which was the big thing when they came out a little over 10 years ago, people are now carrying Ipads. They are small, light, and fun to use with features you see in technology in science fiction movies. However, one important question remains about them. Are Ipads safer than laptop computers?

No high tech device is fully safe from security breeches. Although the Ipad is safer than most devices of its kind, it does have its weaknesses. Ipads and many other tablet devices lack encryption, which is the ability to scramble data to prevent hacking. Lacking encryption places the devices at risk. To protect your Ipad and yourself try doing the following.

Do not make the Ipad your primary storer of information. For instance do not store: personal information (such as financial records), reports, music, photos, important documents, anything important and irreplaceable. This information is at risk of being copied or wiped out. This sort of information should be stored on a disk or CD- ROM.

Do not use the Ipad to send emails and cheek emails. Only send and read your email from a protected computer.

Do not use your Ipad to do online banking, to pay bills, nor to make purchases. Such information as account numbers, names, passwords, credit card numbers and pin numbers are at risk of being stolen while on line.

Do not download files from your Ipad to your computer. Hackware that may be on your Ipad.

Do not "jailbreak" your Ipad. Jailbreaking is a popular way of expanding the Ipad's capabilities. This involves installing an application that will override Apple's operating system. Jailbreaking applications give the Ipad multitasking capabilities, which unfortunately is the drawback of the Ipad. However, doing this is a bad idea because jailbreaking permanently breaks the built-in security of the Ipad. Jailbreaking also voids the Ipads warranty.

Make sure "Find My Ipad" is enabled. This is one of the security features of the Ipad. If your Ipad is ever lost or stolen, the "Find My Ipad" feature allows the owner to locate and remotely wipe any and all personal information, work, music, pictures, etc. from the computer.

Wait to purchase a later version of the Ipad. The Ipad is a relatively new tech device. Think of it like the telephone when it first came out. It started out as a big heavy box on the wall with a single line for everyone in town to use. The operator had to make the connection. Next it was followed by a phone set with a dial so people could dial their own numbers. The telephone then went cordless so people can have the freedom to use the phone while walking all over the house. Now we have the cell phone. The telephone kept improving over time. The time span it took to improve the early phone took years; however, do to advance technology today the time span to make improvements to the cell phone is only a matter of months. This holds for the Ipad. It is in its infant state like the first phone, but because of advanced technology newer more advanced versions of the Ipad will soon follow. So instead of running out to get an expensive Ipad now, just wait a year or two. A new one will come out with better protection, better features, and a lower price.

The benefits of the Ipad does out weight the risks. The device is fine for just surfing the internet and watching web videos, but not for storing important and personal data. My advice is to continue using a secured computer for that.