"There's an APP for that but is it safe?"

PLEASANTON, Calif., July 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 85 billion apps have been downloaded as of October 2014, according to Statista. Here's the problem: apps can also include malware and are the playground for cyber criminals around the world. It's the perfect place to take advantage of cell phone users like you and me in a booming app market that shows no sign of slowing down. What we need to realize is that our phones aren't just phones, they're complex computers that receive, store and transmit our digital data over the unsecure internet making them susceptible to cyber-attacks just like our home and office computers.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150726/244222

"Being app smart and using a good VPN should be part of your overall strategy to defeat Hackers and Cyber-Criminals from taking over your life," says  Francis Dinha, CEO at OpenVPN Technologies Inc.

Nowadays our smartphones store a lot of personal information and for many users, their entire digital life. Cyber criminals know this and are developing malicious apps to target vulnerable consumers and their phones.  Ironically, while all this mobility increases convenience, downloading or clicking a malicious link can allow a Cyber thief to track our movements on Google maps, monitor our shopping and banking, and even listen in on our conversations by hijacking the phone's microphone.

Protecting our privacy and confidential digital information requires all users to be app smart and follow a few simple common sense rules:

• Keep your phone operating system and software up to date  
• Only download apps you can trust and from a reliable source. Google Play offers a default "Verify App" feature that performs 200 million security scans a day and re-checks downloaded apps once a week.  If you receive a "do not install" warning from Google, do not download the app!
• Be wary of free services or apps that insert advertisements which may contain tracking codes or malware
• Research the developer. When selecting any security app, make sure you download or purchase from a reliable resource, preferably one that is backed by a reputable company  

Remember to complete your "App Smart" strategy by using a VPN. OpenVPN Technologies Inc. provides the core software to nearly every VPN provider in the industry backed by a solid reputation of trust making this company the de facto standard in the industry. We have developed the Private Tunnel VPN service www.privatetunnel.com that encrypts your data, hides you device IP address, blocks malware using OpenDNS, and lets you access content safely from anywhere in the world.

OpenVPN Technologies Inc. is a privately held company based in Pleasanton, California, integrating a suite of leading-edge networking and software technologies. OpenVPN, our award- winning open source VPN product, has established itself as a de-facto standard in the open source networking space, with over 10 million users since inception. OpenVPN is the provider of next-generation secure and web scalable communication services, implementing its business plan by offering its enterprise software product targeting businesses of all sizes and Private Tunnel product targeting all consumers around the globe.

Forward-Looking Statements

Forward-looking statements made in this release made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provision of the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements made by OpenVPN Technologies, Inc. are not a guarantee of future performance.

SOURCE OpenVPN Technologies Inc.