For the last two weeks, I have been using our social media postings to support Domestic Violence Awareness Month.  It became very clear to me last year, the tech world had a huge connection to the ugly reality of Domestic Violence, from the dark side of GPS usage to stalk victims, to the bright side of Safety Apps for quicker responses to a victim in crisis.

Every month there is another cause to support, sometimes several of them.  In some ways, the multitude of "cause" issues have rendered the campaigns a bit mundane.  Unfortunately, with domestic violence, the constant reports of abuse from the everyday household to the celebrity keeps this issue in the news and far from being mundane.

For this week's posts on Social Media, I have been focusing on Business Continuity, yet again.  There are several reasons for this, the main being that Tuesday here in California was The Great California Shake Out-an observance developed by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) to remind California residents of the importance of earthquake preparedness.

With such a vast selection of apps available to download, it's hard to decide what to choose, or even know everything that IS available.

So, I decided to research the top 5 Smart phone FREE apps that are really not being used...but should be!  These 5 apps are available for both iOS and Android.

I don't normally open up an article with statistics...but the following are fascinating, I believe, and really speak loudly about current events in the world of cybersecurity...

Concern about identity theft rates slightly higher than fears of job and healthcare loss.

Did you know a whopping 91% of us own some sort of cell phone?  Of that 91%, approximately 64% of us are using a Smart Phone. It's so convenient, isn't it?  We are virtually connected...anytime...anywhere.

Interesting statistics, but how is this relevant?  Because a lot of "On-Line" activity is being conducted via cell phone, that leaves us susceptible to cyber criminal activity on our cell phones as well as our computers.

In researching the information for this article, it occurred to me that quite a few folks still had a limited understanding of what "The Cloud" or "Cloud Computing" really was.  So we'll start off with a basic definition...

In the simplest terms, "Cloud Computing" means storing and accessing data and programs over the Internet instead of your computer's hard drive.

Recently, a friend sent me the following E-mail from Senator Barbara Boxer (D) California...
Dear Friend:
We recently learned of a major data breach at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) that may have put the personal information of millions of current and former federal employees at risk.

Hitting the road with your computer opens the doors to a whole world of potential security problems, both physical and software-based, but don't worry. They're all manageable. Remember, the weakest link in your security will usually be you—as long as you don't put yourself, your computer, or its data at undue risk, you should be just fine even if you have to work from a library or a coffee shop, or connect to whatever Wi-Fi you find to get some work done.

Unless you're a hermit, you are out and about every day, sometimes several time a day.  And each time you venture outdoors, whether it's to a meeting, the grocery store, a concert, sporting event, or on vacation, it's an occasion for something to happen to your mobile phone or the information in it.