A Free Educational Resource Created by Carnegie Mellon University to Empower You to Secure Your Part of Cyberspace

The Trend of Tablet PCs

Take a closer look at the latest portable computer.
Tablet PC

A tablet PC is a portable computer that the user controls with a touch screen interface. It was designed to be operated by a single user for personal computing, rather than shared among a group. In addition to touch screens, users can make use of virtual keyboards or a digital pen to interact with them. Microsoft introduced the concept of a tablet PC in 2001. Today, a tablet PC refers to any portable device with a touch screen interface.

Most of today's tablet PCs offer WiFi and 3G/4G for connecting to the Internet. Several software applications such as web browsers, office utilities and games can be used with a tablet PC. The tablet PC is battery operated for most of the time, and therefore it is not ideal to use it with applications that demand a great deal of power.

Popular Tablet PCs

There are several brands of tablet PCs available today. The follow list is an example of the most popular:

  • Advent Vega
  • Apple iPad
  • Asus Eee PAD
  • Blackberry Playbook
  • Dell Streak
  • ExoPC Slate
  • HTC Flyer
  • HP TouchPad
  • LG Optimus Pad
  • Motorola Xoom
  • Notion Ink Adam
  • Samsung Galaxy Tab
  • ViewSonic ViewPad

Beneficial Features of a Tablet PC

  • Portable: Tablet PCs are usually lightweight and can be carried around, with even greater ease than a laptop. They can be tucked under an arm and moved from place to place.
  • Powerful: The devices are powered by some of the latest mobile processors, which allow users to run several applications at faster speeds.
  • Easy to use: The interface of tablet PCs is highly intuitive for users to navigate. The users can generally navigate through the tablet and access the tools and features easily. Advanced training is not necessary.
  • Touch screen: The touch screen offers a unique way to interact with the tablet. This allows the user to take down notes in a classroom setting or even draw figures easily with a digital pen.
  • Useful applications: Tablet PCs have several customized applications developed for them. They can be used for reading books, playing games, using educational tools, and watching movies and other videos. Some include features such as a camera and microphone that can be used for video calling.

Potential Security Risks

  • Data security: The data encryption techniques used on tablet PCs have not yet been proven. Some of the experts have shown that the encryption techniques can be easily bypassed and the data can be stolen by a hacker.
  • Little research on Tablet PCs Security: New tablet PCs are released often on completely different operating systems. These new operating systems may not have been tested rigorously for their security and stability of data.
  • New ways of gathering data: With increased accessibility and new ways of interacting with the user, tablet PCs present numerous ways in which hackers can gain access to data. This leads to potential security issues.
  • Applications: The third-party applications that users download to their tablet PCs can be useful, but also they may pose problems. It is possible for these applications to carry malware that is hidden from the user and bypasses security tests. The malware can allow a hacker to gain control of the device and perform illegal actions or steal user data easily. Also, because many applications require personal data, they make it possible to spam the user or steal the user's identity.

Steps to Improve Tablet Security

  • Take care when giving out personal information: Please make sure that you provide personal information only to highly trusted parties. Providing information to untrusted applications or websites can increase that chances of identity theft. You may also start to receive spam messages.
  • Verify the information requested by applications: Several applications ask for administrative permissions on the device and for control of hardware devices. Before allowing this access, verify that the application's function actually requires access to the hardware. For example, if a weather reporting application asks for permission to access device's camera or microphone, be suspicious. It is likely that the application contains malware.
  • Use banking applications that are officially released: Please verify that the applications you use for financial or banking purposes are officially released by the bank or the financial group. Using unauthorized third-party applications can be dangerous because they increase the chances of identity theft.
  • Regularly update your tablet PC: Updating your device with the latest software from the manufacturer is one of the most important ways to protect it. These updates will usually contain fixes to some of the security problems that may have been present on the phone earlier.
  • Turn off various wireless features such as GPS and WiFi when not using them: When you are not using GPS or WiFi, it is advisable to turn these features off to make sure that malicious entities and rogue applications are not able to take advantage of these features.
  • Use Bluetooth with caution: When you are not using Bluetooth, turn it off. If you are using Bluetooth then make sure that it is in "non-discoverable" or "hidden" mode by changing the settings of your device. Read the manual for specific instructions for doing this task.
  • Download trustworthy content only: Download content from trusted websites and official application stores. For Apple iPad, the AppStore is the official application store. For Android based tablets, it is Google Market.
  • Avoid jailbreaking the device: Most tablet PCs can be jailbroken, which is a form of hacking into your own device in order to allow it to perform advanced tasks or access additional features. Jailbreaking poses a very high security risk as the phone access is also available to other, potentially malicious, applications.

References

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