Proposal

     The problem that will be addressed in this proposal is the issue users have maintaining their cyber hygiene. Cyber hygiene is defined as the “steps that computer users can take to improve their cyber security and better protect themselves online” (Cyber Hygiene, 2012). In this day and age, not many people know how to maintain their safety online or on social media. A lot of people make themselves vulnerable by not following the basic steps to protect themselves from hackers and intruders on the web. Even though some hacking situations may be inevitable, it is still best to take daily precautions when online. According to statistics, hacking continues to be a major problem. Cyber hygiene and hacking do have a correlation between one another. As mentioned in NBC News, there are several reasons why people keep getting hacked and most of them are due to the lack of cyber hygiene that computer users have online. Some of the statistics reported in an NBC News article called “The Surprising Reason Why You Keep Getting Hacked”, are that 76 percent of users are aware that they must protect themselves however, they still share their passwords online, 44 percent of users said they feel “overwhelmed” by the amount of information they are responsible for protecting and 35 percent have reported having at least one unprotected device (Weisbaum, 2016). Based off of these statistics and data results, it is clear that the lack of cyber hygiene for computer users is a major problem that needs to be addressed. Cyber hygiene is not a popular topic, or one that many people are concerned about. Therefore there are not many things that will help people with their hygiene. Some of the very few things that does help is antivirus software, and some browsers and websites take extra steps to make sure that their websites are secured so the users do not have to worry when online. Some browsers also have built in security to protect against “sketchy” websites.

     In order to address the lack of cyber hygiene, I want to propose developing an application and/or program that will assist users and remind them about their cyber hygiene on their devices. There are different ways that the app could help today’s computer users. The app will be something that can be installed onto a device. Once the application is installed on the computer/device, it will start off with reminding the user of basic cyber hygiene habits and steps. It will remind the user of things such as the importance of having antivirus protection if they do not already have one installed. It will also give safe browsing advice before going online. The app will take additional steps to the aid the user with their computer or when browsing online. The app can scan the computer and possibly the network to confirm there are firewalls in place to filter out things like spam. The app will also be able to make sure the user has a password vault that encrypts the passwords just in case a potential hacker tries to access them. The application will be able to ensure that the users’ passwords are being hashed when going to across or to another network. Some of the reasons for the big company hacks is due to users not having strong enough passwords or a company/website is storing their customer’s passwords in plain text. Another important function of the app will be to remind users that it is important to update all software on the device. Updating the software on a computer seems like a simple thing to do however, it is very essential to the productivity and the safety of the device. Some of the other topics that the application will give advice and help with once installed is to ensure that websites are secure, tell the user not to open “sketchy” emails, and do not use an open Wi-Fi on a router. Using an open Wi-Fi makes devices more susceptible to being hacked.  The application once developed and installed will act as a safety net and enforce good habits online.

     After doing research about the lack of cyber hygiene online, it is evident that there is going to be some barriers that I would expect to come across when developing the app; or some barriers when the app is already on client’s computers. Being a first time app developer also has its risks. People may have their doubts about if the app will make it. Even though I would be just starting, people will have high expectations due to how competitive application development is. Some of the barriers that I expect to confront when developing the application is incorporating everything that it is intended to do. The app can be complex with all of its various components. Getting the right technology to support the application can be a complicated task. Device compatibility can be something that is faced in the development process. The developers have to make sure that the app is fully compatible on mobile devices, desktops and laptops. Having the flexibility of being on more than one type of device can benefit and possibly increase the chances of being successful. Not only is compatibility on different devices important, it is also essential that the application is compatible with some third party services as well. There may be times when the integration of third party services is necessary. Using a third party service could potentially lower the costs and be beneficial to the life and future of the app.  Marketing is an obstacle I will face when attempting to start the app. App marketing is a competitive area and it might be difficult getting the application to stand out from the others. I will have to get a marketing team that can professionally sell my app without having it get lost with the other apps that has similar functions. The performance of the app is also something that could be a hurdle that comes up. The app performance will play a major part in how the app will sell. It is essential that the app design acts well on all platforms. Writing the right code that will support all layouts could become complicated. Another barrier that I expect to confront is funding. In order to get the app to take off, I will need adequate funding to get the project started and this may be an issue at first. While developing the app, security problems could arise. It would have to be made sure that the app is properly secured and not vulnerable to malware attacks. Especially since the application could potentially hold personal data about the user. Another thing that could be an issue when developing the application could be the battery consumption. Since the app will have, many functions, it is important that it does not drain the battery of the device that it is on. Many people think about how much an app might be draining their device. If the application has high drainage than the chances of the user deleting it increases. Another obstacle that I expect to confront once the application is developed is maintaining a good amount of users. It is important to keep the users informed on how unique and helpful the app is. In the past, others have not made something specifically made for helping something with their cyber hygiene habits; this way, with an application, it is easier for a user to practice and maintain good habits.

     There are some things that I could do to see if the application is successful or not; or improve the success rate. After the app is developed, I could form a test group that would give feedback and tell what I could do to improve it. Getting feedback from the intended audience could help the application become successful in the future. I would also be able to tell if I am successful or not due to the amount of users that has the app downloaded. To be successful the app will need to have a steady increase of the amount of downloads in order to receive a profit from it. It is not all about the money when being successful with a project. If there is a sense of accomplishment then me as the entrepreneur, is successful despite what the outcome of the app may be. Another way that I will be able to tell if the app is successful is with the amount of engagement that the application receives. The amount of downloads is not the only thing that matter for the app. Users should be opening/ logging on to the app every time that they are using the computer in order for the app to serve its purpose. If most of the users are opening the app daily then this is a sign that the app is going in the right direction. The engagement of the users is in correlation with the retention rate as well. The retention rate refers to how many times the user may go back to open the application since the first time they went on. Something to also look at when determining how successful the app is, is how long the session is of each user. The longer a user stays on the app, the more it benefits. There are third party services that could help with tracking the analytics and data of each user, this would make it easier to determine how successful the application is. Other factors play a part in determining progress and success of the app. Some of those factors are how aware people are of the app and return on investment (ROI). How “popular” the application is can play a part in making it successful. As mentioned before, the profit of the app does not necessarily determine how successful it is but having a return on investment is a benefit. Overall, these factors help me determine if the application is successful and me as an entrepreneur as well.

References

Cyber Hygiene. (2012). Collins. Retrieved from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/submission/1930/Cyber+hygiene

Weisbaum, H. (2016). The Surprising Reason Why You Keep Getting Hacked. NBC News. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/hacking-in-america/surprising-reason-why-you-keep-getting-hacked-n689081