mobile phones arund the world

Making mobile payments has been touted as the easiest, most convenient way to make payments. Using a mobile phone, money can be sent to pay a variety of bills with just the click of a few buttons. It's supposed to be much like sending payments from your home PC, but it can be done from anywhere you happen to be. Making mobile payments is easy and it is convenient, but it's certainly not a safe way to send money.

Most cell phone transactions are simply not being sent with the kind of encryption that will keep their users' data safe. Many of the access points being used to send wireless payments are completely unencrypted. About a quarter of them use no encryption while many of the remaining access points are using poor encryption methods that leave customers' data vulnerable. Vulnerable data means a loss of crucial financial information that can then be used by anyone who has it.

When you use your credit or debit card at a store's point-of-sale payment terminal, the data from the card is often stored in the terminal. How that information is transmitted back depends on what system the store itself is using. Often it is not the safest method, but stores generally have some type of security in place. Most physical retailers use some type of security method to keep credit card data safe. Some of those systems aren't as powerful as they could be, but there is protection in place. The same can not be said for many of the wireless payment methods. Data is often left completely vulnerable to anyone who wants it. Some methods of protection, such as GSM, provide a small layer of protection. But, many if them can be cracked easily by someone who knows how. GSM is known to take just a few minutes to penetrate.

When searching for data to steal, many thieves look for chinks in a retailer's security armor. This is often an access point that has not been configured correctly. Often when a wired payment network has wireless functions added, this can lead to data being leaked to anyone out there seeking it. The result can be either identity theft or the customers' financial data being sold to countless people who all use it for their own purposes.

Mobile payments have become an enormous part of the cell phone industry. A high percentage of consumers are moving to phones and service providers who offer mobile payment service. In a recent study, the majority of consumers said they were willing to drop a service provider who didn't offer this service.

While stores themselves have stepped up their own physical security to keep up with advances in technology, they don't seem as willing to do the same to keep their customers' data safe. Anyone considering making mobile payments should be aware of the risk they are taking each time they take advantage of that convenience. The results of stolen data can be far less than convenient.

Choosing a Cell Phone
by: jignesh parmar

Considering the innumerable varieties of cell phones in the market, it is quite a challenging task to choose the best one. However, the basic criterion of selecting the best cell phone is to be absolutely clear about what your needs are. The best cellular phone is the one that is absolutely right for you. And, of course, you can only have the best cellular phone when you pay for what you want.

Tons of offers are also available. There are free cellular telephone offers, prepaid cellular, digital, mobile, web enabled and many more. No one can tell you which cell phone is best for you because every one has different needs when it comes to their cellular telephone. Some people want absolutely basic features while others want a lot of totally fantastic features. Some need a cellular telephone for e-mail, faxing and surfing the Internet. Many people want it to be top of the line while others prefer simplicity.

The process of buying a cell phone is so confusing. There are simply so many different handsets, networks, deals and call costs to consider that buying the right phone for your usage and budget can be very difficult.

Here are a few tips to help you choose the best cell phone. First of all, decide how much you want to spend and be clear on the features you need. Remember that the more the features, the higher the cost.

Purchase a battery with a decent battery life and judge the mobile phone by the talk time it gives. The bare minimum should be 2 hours of maximum talk-time plus 90 hours of maximum standby time.

Shop and compare for pricing and service. These days, quality phones are very cheap. There is a proliferation of cell phone makers including Nokia, Motorola, Ericson, Siemens, Samsung, Sony, etc. More importantly, cellular plans have come down enormously in overall price with some caveats.

Some standard features include caller ID, phone book with fast dial, call waiting, voice mail and auto-answering. Some also have other added features like your first incoming minute free. The high-end cell phones will have voice-a ctivated dialing, SMS, 2-way paging, games, scheduling calendars, digital organizer and all the standard features. The main thing is to see what fits into your life style best and also to be sure when and if the features expire.

While making a cell phone and service plan decision, remember that everybody's needs are different. So what's good for your friend may not be the best choice for you. Your best bet would be to search online for websites with good cell phone comparisons in order to get a quality cell phone offer.

To make sure that your cell phone comparisons are complete look at Nokia cell phones, Ericsson cell phones, Sprint cell phones, Motorola cell phones and Samsung cell phones. Research the different free cell phone offers, prepaid cell phones and service plans from brand names like AT