It appears that everyone is part of one social network or another. Facebook alone has reported to have 955 million monthly active users and 543 million monthly active mobile users. Engagement online has become a must, with social networking prompting users to share every detail of their existence, from their hometowns to their favorite quotes.

However, frequent use of these networks could skew our judgment when it comes to deciding what and what not to post online. A Trend Micro study found that 63% of users post their birthdays and another 61% post their schools. Meanwhile, 51% list down their family members and 48% share their hometowns. While these details seem harmless by themselves, users should know that these details often serve as answers for security questions to online accounts. Should cybercriminals read these details, they could be one step closer to hacking your accounts.

Posting too much information could lead to undesirable consequences such as identity theft. Trend Micro found that 1 in 3 people know someone who became victims of identity theft. In the same study, 13% admitted to being victims of identity theft as well. These numbers prove that users need to be vigilant about their online privacy. For more information about others risks of sharing information online, check out our latest infographic, “Public or Private? The Risks of Posting in Social Networks.”

Privacy remains a hot topic in the digital age. We’ve previously discussed certain aspects about online privacy such as the Do Not Track function in browsers and personalized advertising. However, it appears that a lot of users are still unaware of how to keep their information private. For instance, according to Consumer Reports, 13 million users have never set Facebook’s privacy tools. A Pew Research report found that only 38 percent were aware of ways on how to limit the amount of information they put online.

Keeping your personal information private is important because your data is valuable. Users are well aware that cybercriminals want data related to financials, such as credit card information, online banking credentials, and Paypal accounts. However, they may not know that seemingly harmless or useless data (e.g., gender or likes) is also important —to marketers. Marketers need user data to make sure that the right message is sent to the right demographic.

But how do cybercriminals and marketers get your data? What happens once data is made available publicly? To know the answers and for additional information about your data, check out our latest infographic, “Hot on Your Trail: How Much is Your Data Worth?”

Coming Soon: The TrendLabs Security Intelligence Blog will be the new Malware Blog

With only a few days until the start of the Olympics, the sports craze has reached a fevered pitch—for cybercriminal activity. We have been reporting on the various threats and scams that Olympics fans might encounter online and while the lure might be Olympic-centric, the threats remain the same.

In these Olympic-themed threats, the payload can be information and/or infection. Information is the new currency and cybercriminals want your data. Previous incidents of Olympic-themed spam shows that cybercriminals will use any ruse, such as fake contests or lotteries, just to get your personal information. While some spammed messages limit themselves to requesting recipients to reply with their contact details, other messages go the extra mile and urge recipients to contact and give their personal details to a specific person.

Infection is also a possible result for these Olympic-themed threats. Spam may contain attachments that are actually malware in disguise. To lure users into clicking (and thereby executing) these malicious attachments, cybercriminals use lures such as winning notifications or even supposed official advisories from the Olympics committee.

There are other methods for users to become victims of cybercriminals during this Olympic season. Users in search of Olympic updates or video streams online may end up accidentally visiting malicious or compromised sites which host malware. Olympic fans may also wind up receiving messages that supposedly offer big perks such as free tickets or discounts in exchange for their money.

For complete information on the latest Olympic-themed threats—including quizzes and safety guides, you can visit Race to Security, the Trend Micro security guide to major sporting events such as the Olympics, by clicking the banner below:

Other Olympics-related threats were discovered days/weeks before the Games’ opening. Read more about them:

• Illegal TV Cards Allowing Free Olympic Viewing Sold Online
• Bogus London Olympics 2012 Ticket Site Spotted
• Spammed Messages Attempt to Cash In on London 2012 Olympics
• Bogus Olympics 2012 Email Warning Blindsides Users With Malware
• Cybercriminals Race to the 2012 Olympics

Do you know how much data is in your smartphone?

Few of us could easily answer this question, what with the amount of activity we conduct using our devices. But while we give little thought to our data, there are cybercriminals and hackers who do. Cybercriminals want your data because they want to make money off of it. After all, information is the new currency.

Some might think that it will take a lot of effort to have their data stolen. However, that is not the case. Often times, cybercriminals take advantage of common smartphone activities and typical user behavior to steal data. For instance, you might find no trouble sharing information through your social networks but that’s one method for cybercriminals to get your data. Downloading apps might be norm but malicious apps could find their way onto your mobile device.

Some of these apps don’t even bother to disguise their intent. We recently spotted a beta version of a spytool which has been available in Google Play since March. This spytool gathers SMS messages from the infected mobile device and sends them to a remote FTP server. This means that affected users are at risk of having their sensitive information stolen by malicious users.

Users can also lose their information—and more—through vulnerabilities in their devices. ZTE recently acknowledged that there was a backdoor vulnerability in one of their smartphone models which could be exploited by attackers to gain full control over the device.

We’ve put together an e-guide to address all the concerns you might have about your data. Our latest TrendLabs Digital Life e-Guide, Are You Protecting the Data Packets in Your Pocket?, contains information, as well as tips, to on how to ensure that your data remains with you and not with cybercriminals.

When it comes to traveling, conventional wisdom dictates to pack light. While this usually refers to clothing, the same rule could very well be applied to devices. Lugging around numerous and bulky devices can effectively slow down any traveler. Enter the smartphone. Smartphones have become indispensable to the user on-the-go, offering mobility without sacrificing functionality.

However, constant use of the apps in a smartphone can take its toll on its battery. In fact, majority of smartphone users find their devices with little battery left at the end of the day. And since traveling means infrequent charge sessions, users need to be smart about using their smartphones.

Our latest infographic, Getting Extra Mileage from Your Smartphone, shows that most common activities done while traveling require a steady connection to the Internet to function. These activities can drain the battery. Users should assess if they really need to constantly sync online accounts, such as those for social networking sites and for email. If not, turn off any Internet connections unless needed.

Users should also scrutinize the apps that they download. Malicious apps often have routines which run in the background, consuming processing power. Ad-supported apps can also become a source of battery drain. These apps often download notifications and ads in the background. Consider investing in an app that can identify and stop battery-draining apps and tasks, as well as offer solutions to extend battery life.

You can view the full infographic by clicking on the thumbnail below: