Can Apps Be Hacked?

Posted on March 25, 2022 | updated: March 22, 2023

Are the apps on your phone secure?

Security today is a huge concern and has been since the technological shift from Y2K. There is often a false sense of security when it comes to mobile and web applications. They can be hacked. So what can you do to prevent your apps from being hacked? Whether it’s your own product that you’ve created you’re concerned about or an application on your phone there are measures you can take that will make your applications more secure.

Applications on Your Phone

Be mindful of your surroundings

When using your phone in public there are most likely people within your close proximity. Think airport, on a train, on a bus, or any other setting where you might have someone close to you. Your phone’s screen can be seen. If the screen can be seen then what you are typing and the application that you are using can be seen as well. Ever thought about why some banking apps allow you to hide your credentials and account balances? Because the sheer fact that they can be viewed may put you at risk (especially if you’re fortunate enough to have a lot of zeroes!). Just be aware of your surroundings and keep your phone away from prying eyes.

2. Password Security

It goes without saying that password is not a password. While they may be difficult to remember, using a password similar to the secure passwords that Google generates are probably the most secure types of passwords out there. Even two-factor authentication these days is questionable. Many apps require some form of email sign-in. As a user when you put your email credentials into an app, how can you be sure that the application developer/owner isn’t able to view those? It actually is a pretty big concern. We recommend using apps that are reputable as far as having a good track record of users and reviews. If you question it, don’t your info out there. Going with your gut can save you a lot of heartaches.

3. When it’s out of your hands

Application developers are supposed to put in certain securities that can keep hackers out (we’ll discuss this more below). When apps are not secure in the backend you as the user may have no idea. You might have the most secure password in the world that no one knows except for you. If the backend of the app is not secure and you enter your information it could become compromised at no fault of your own.

Product Security For Your Own App

How can a product owner know if the app is secure?

Pentesting is a shorter term for penetration testing. This is a test to find vulnerabilities in your applications or network. Developers will create simulated attacks on the app to expose where the cracks are in security. If the app doesn’t keep the intruders out in the test (considered a fail), the developers can then view what information by the “user” was accessed and potentially stolen.

Without doing these vulnerability tests, no one can use an application with confidence that their information is safe. The app stores do an excellent job of vetting application developers but to say the process is perfect would be inaccurate. There will always be someone trying to hack software which means they believe that there is a way in.

If you want to learn more about application security consider chatting with one of our developers today!

Drop us a line at (208) 344-1115

Owning Your Application Take Possession

Posted on January 26, 2016 | updated: March 22, 2023

Intellectual Property

Owning Your Application Take Possession

If you are a manager whose business relies on a website, apps or other software in order to function, the location and ownership of those assets (your application) is important.

As a Software, Website and App development company Matraex, Inc often comes across company managers that have built great applications and are looking to do something new with them. However, they are unfamiliar with how they can enable us to do that.

As we attempt to gain access to their source of their application we find several scenarios which may be familiar to you:

The manager does not the access to the source, and they must to request it from the original developer
The manager is not familiar with where the source is or which components used to make it run
The manager does not know how to confirm whether they have all of the information they need

In general, many client rely on a third party to maintain possession of their Intellectual Property to be able to give us access.

For this reason I have decided to ‘propose’ a very general Intellectual Property Ownership concept that we recommend for these small business owners:

In order for your business to have true ownership of your assets, you need to be able to “WITHOUT HELP FROM YOUR EXISTING PROVIDERS” switch your providers.

In general this could mean that you have credentials and access to every single provider or repository, with the ability to give those credentials to a new provider. This information could be collected, encrypted and stored by you, or it could be spread out through out your network, But the important things is that you have it and your business is NOT permanently beholden in any aspect to any single provider

To understand what this short statement means, we have to define what we mean by a provider:

A provider is your current website host, your application developer, the vendors that provide you services.

I have a bunch of scenarios which highlight the needs a company for full ownership.

Any one person is hit by a bus! – This is a favorite, if your company is not able to get access to your application source, website, software or other assets without a one person, you do not have possession. Most of the time this happens when a freelancer or small company built your application, you have confirmed that the application is working, but you have not had it transferred to you. You still must call your provider any time you need work.
If the building where our applications server blew up, we will have to rebuild – keep backups, and make sure you can access them
You know you have multiple servers or components, but you are not sure how they connect and you will need to make a couple calls to get that information.
Your current developer is heading out of town and you need us to talk to them to understand the application in case something happens while they are gone.

In each of these cases, you would be able to remove these as issues if you had full knowledge of your systems. Even better, you had documents which you could point at, which had all of the knowledge in them. This is really emergency preparedness for your application.

If you need help collecting, identifying, documenting and truly owning your application, Matraex can help you with that – 208.344.1115

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Michael Blood

Quiz App For Dentist Offices Celebrity Smiles

Posted on November 10, 2015 | updated: March 22, 2023

Branding Dental Web App

Matraex Dental has developed a customizable quiz app for dentist offices Celebrity Smiles.

Our latest web app for dentist offices has several features to assist in up selling your dental services. Your patients can test their skills in recognizing the smiles of popular male or female celebrities. This drives the marketing of the “celebrity smile” for the patient. In this case, the button is foremost in the user interface.

I WANT A CELEBRITY SMILE

“I Want A Celebrity Smile” is a prominently labeled button in the web app and can be customized to your needs. The text of the button can be altered as well as the target landing page of the button. Do you want to promote your Dental Implants? Cosmetic Teeth Whitening? Crowns and Bridges?

Custom Logo Branding

The content and branding will be completely customized for your dentist office. Here is an example customized for the Norwalk Dental Center. Your brand logo can be integrated throughout the web app as well.

Interested in obtaining a custom version for your practice? Get a free quote today!