I've recently made the switch from an iPhone to a HTC Wildfire and although I'm very happy with the new phone and OS and I am a little concerned about the security of third-party app on Android devices. With my iPhone I knew I could safely download the Paddy Power sports betting app or the Bwin poker app because I knew they were tested by Apple to within an inch of their lives. Since getting my Droid I've had to enable apps from "Unknown Sources" which makes me a little anxious to begin with. I don't mind installing apps from well known brands like Betfair or Bet365 but there are also some casino apps that I'd like to try but I'm not sure if they're worth the risk. Has anyone here had any bad experiences in terms of viruses or trojans after installing apps from Third party sites?
Providing you only install Non-Google Play apps from reputable companies you shouldn't have any problems. Personally I wouldn't have any concerns installing any type of gambling apps from the large european operators like Paddy Power, William Hill or Bet365 etc. Most mobile casino apps are either developed by PlayTech or Spin/Microgaming. Both of these companies have excellent track records in terms of security so I wouldn't lose any sleep about using their mobile casino games either. If you get any unsolicited e-mails from mobile casinos offering you large deposit bonuses to download their apps then I would be wary. It's best to do your homework before you sign-up with any type of mobile casino. If in doubt, use any of the casinos listed in our Mobile Casinos section. These are completely safe.
I wouldn't worry too much about it providing you stick to well know bookmakers or online casinos. You don't expect websites that you use to be approved by Apple, Microsoft or Google so why should you reply on them to test apps for you. You use your common sense when you make any financial transaction via a website. Use the same common sense when deciding which app you are going to use and you shouldn't have any problems?
The information travelling between your smartphone or tablet and the mobile gambling companies servers is completely scrambled. Just stick to reputable gambling sites and you should be fine
There was a report today about an iPhone poker app called Texas Hold'em that was revealing players usernames and password if they were logging in from an unsecured network. They is pretty worrying in my opinion because I regularly play in Starbucks or at airports. How many more gambling apps out there are not encrypting my personal information.
This is quiet worrying. Even if you are using a free-to-play apps I think it is important to use a different password to your gmail, banking, sportsbook accounts. Otherwise if someone intercepts your username/password via one of these crappy apps then they may also be able to login to the email account you used to sign up and retrieve your bank account details.
If you are really paranoid you would use a virtual Credit Card to deposit fund. These numbers expire after one use so you are always protected. Neteller provide this service for free if you sign-up with them.
Neteller is not available in the United States. Are there any other good temporary debit cards you could recommend for U.S. gamblers?
Unfortunately, neither Skrill or Neteller are available in the United States so they are no use to real money gamblers. One option you could try is Bitcoin which is becoming more widely accepted by the day.
I think the apps would be far more secure if Google and Samsung could introduce fingerprint scanning on the Apple iPhone 5S. It's getting easier and easier for hackers to hack passwords.
Fingerprint scanning has now been introduced to most of the newer Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets. The fingerprint recognition technology can now be used for such things as online banking but unfortunately none of the Android gambling sites have incorporated it yet for logins.
have any internet sportsbooks integrated fingerprint scanning yet with android smartphones or is this a feature on available on iPhone?
I don't think so. At present you can only login and bet using your fingerprint using Touch ID for iOS devices.