Norton warns of summer festival smartphone risks

A new survey by Symantec reveals that people are more and more reliant on their smartphones at concerts, events and music festivals. But as usage of phones increases so do the security risks.

According to the research when people are out at live events phones are now more common than lighters (only 7 percent carry those anymore) and cameras (42 percent). This has led to the rise of some new phenomena such as "phone hogging" where audience members hold phones above their heads to take photos and video. Some 51 percent send texts or make calls to brag about the show and 38 percent take to social media to do the same.

Whilst 89 percent of people take their phones with them when going to concerts and festivals, 36 percent don’t have any form of security protection on the device. The most basic protection -- taping your contact details to the phone in case it's lost -- is followed by 10 percent. Perhaps surprisingly the under 30s are more likely to take precautions to protect their phone than older users and they're more likely to leave their expensive devices at home if there’s an increased risk of damage, loss or theft.

Richard Clooke, Mobile Security Expert at Norton, says, "Your phone's security is probably the last thing on your mind at a festival, but there are some easy, preventative steps you can take even before you leave home. There's simple software solutions available now which allow you to track your phone via GPS if you drop it in the crowd, or if there’s no hope of finding it, you can wipe all the data remotely in case it falls into the wrong hands."

Norton Mobile Security Lite is available to download free for Android smartphone users. Amongst other features it lets you lock your phone via an SMS command and find it using a remote location feature. So when your friend phones you from Glastonbury to brag about how he's enjoying the show you can suggest that he installs it.

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