They're in nearly ever hand and nearly every pocket: smart phones, tablets and other small computer devices.
But these smart devices may be getting a little too smart, holding all our precious data inside like photos, documents, financial information, even our location and other private info.
A new Juniper mobile threats research report shows malware attacks on phones and tablets have more than doubled. Most of those attacks came in the form of spyware---designed to capture your information and send it on to someone else.
Apple's iPhone is touted as being one of the most secure devices out there, but mobile security expert Liran Ma, a professor at TCU, says not so fast.
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"So far, for Apple based iPhones, we haven't seen real attacks yet, but I think it's just a matter of time," Ma said.
And those new iPads? They can get hacked too.
And some mobile security experts say that hackers have become so high-tech that now they can even use the sensors inside the iPad to determine where you've touched and steal your passwords and other information from you that way. But hackers use low-tech tools also, just the smudges from the iPad can give a password.
The bottom line, phones, tablets and other devices are just smaller computers, a lot like the ones sitting on our desks. Ma's advice: don't do any private business on a public wifi network and be careful about those apps.
"When apps try to ask you 'do you allow them to use your information', you may think twice before, oh yeah, I want to use it," Ma said.
