App-ocalypse

For hours all she does is stare into her phone engrossed. Is she texting? Is she calling? No. She most probably is checking the stock market. With her app Fatima checks the stock market from the comfort of her phone. She is the end user of some 30 apps available in the market from some telling you how much water to drink in a day to south Indian recipes. Application markets provide a plethora of apps from which users can choose.

Applications, more popularly known as apps, have made a huge impact on the mobile phone/ tablet market. Apps of the month are a common site now in not only several technology magazines but also entertainment magazines. Google, Samsung, Apple you name it, all the big names are battling it out in the app market. Each company is trying to get their hand on the next big app sensation. Millions of downloads and celebrity loyalties drive the popularity of the app market. In recent times we have seen apps make cameos in the entertainment industry with angry birds coming out with a movie.

Even though apps may seem fairly harmless they could be linked to your phone not functioning to its optimum. Just like when using your personal computer, your mobile phone/ tablet, are also exposed to certain risks. Viruses and spyware can enter your mobile phone through a virtual back door resulting to your phone/tablet malfunctioning. This can be in the form of Trojans or malware and are fairly hard to detect with an untrained eye. A seemingly innocent app could be the reason your phone is failing to open, hanging or stalling.

 Since apps are usually designed freelance they tend to lack authentication. Checking reviews before downloading apps either consumer or website ones are a good way to steer clear of any suspicious technology. Once an app is downloaded if you feel like there is any kind of glitches after downloading it is better to uninstall the respective app. Though sometimes the damage is already done as the virus or spyware has already entered the handset.

By Madeeha naqeeb