Ok, so if you haven’t heard about Pokemon Go yet.. Be serious, everyone has heard of it.  So with something so popular, of course there are going to be issues.  We have a couple of them here that you need to be careful of.
1. The game makers have taken some liberties to help themselves to some of your data on your google account (if you have signed up with a google account).  Your best bet is to sign up for a trainer account or to create a new google account that has no data in it.
2. The impact on your business can be enormous, and not in a good way. In just 72 short hours after the Pokemon app came out, there was already a version of the app filled with viruses. You can get this version if you download the app from somewhere other than the play store for Android or the App store for Apple phones. What sucks is that they are tying to get people to download the file by adding on side maps or overlays from another game (these can be very helpful). These versions are infected with remote control tools that would allow someone to control the phone. Now the big deal. If that phone is brought onto your company network, it could also allow access to your network resources, basically giving someone access to your network!!! One of our vendors offers this e-mail already created for you to cut a paste and send to all of your employees.

Send this to your employees, friends and family:

You have probably heard about the new Pokémon app. It’s going viral and sends people on the street to catch these little virtual creatures. There are some risks if you have the “gotta catch ’em all” fever.

First, please stick to the vetted app stores, do not download the app from anywhere else. Why? Bad guys have taken the app and infected it with malware, and try to trick you downloading it from untrustworthy websites.

Second, anyone using the app, and especially kids should be VERY aware that they are not lured into a real-world trap which could lead to mugging or abduction. Other players can track you in the real world using this app so be careful.

Third, there are possible privacy issues if you use your Google account to log into the app. Create a throw-away account and use that to log into Pokémon, not your private or business account .

As always, Think Before You Click!

Additionally, if you are allowing your employees to be on your network with mobile phones or tablets, you should be giving us a call right away to go over your mobile device management and show you how we can help you better manage devices on your network (734)288-8327.

Happy Hunting!