New technologies to guard your smartphone credit transactions

Smartphones provided by AT&T and Verizon will soon double as credit cards, and will be able to be used to make purchases anywhere. Along with the convenience of this technological development comes increased security risks, however. Phone manufacturers are creating new security measures to handle these new risks, which can range from thieves stealing a phone left behind at a park or on a store counter, to hackers breaking into the phone to steal your personal information.

These new measures must go beyond the basic encryption of of credit card transactions, since encryption won't help in the event that someone physically steals your phone. Many of the security features deal with the phone itself, rather than protecting the software.

One of the most important means of securing smartphones will be remote-wipe applications. These programs will let you erase the memory of your smart phone from any computer in the event of losing it. While these applications have long been available for the BlackBerry, they are expected to increase in popularity, and spread to the iPhone and other devices as well. Remote-wipe applications will also likely be accompanied by mobile backup programs, so that you can restore your data onto your new phone if you had to wipe your old one. Adding a complex password to be able to use your phone's features can also deter many potential thieves.

Downloading applications is a popular feature of smartphones, but in the future you'll have to use caution when deciding on games and programs to put on your phone. Viruses and malware could soon not only ruin your electronics, but also drain you're money if you're not careful. Antivirus and firewall programs will be a must for any smartphone user, but websites that provide applications will also have to step up security to make sure that they aren't unwittingly featuring programs that spread malware to users.

In Europe and Asia, smartphones are already commonly used as credit cards. With a bit of extra security and heightened user awareness of potential dangers, there's no reason this practice could not be safe and popular in the U.S. as well.

-Seth Berger