Understand the Alert Ready service
Alert Ready is a service designed to deliver critical and potentially life-saving emergency alert messages to Canadians. The Alert Ready system was developed in partnership with federal, provincial, and territorial emergency management officials, Pelmorex Corp., the broadcast industry, and wireless service providers to ensure you receive emergency alerts immediately and know when to take action to keep you and your family safe. Beginning in April 2018, all wireless service providers will have the capability to distribute emergency alerts received from alerting authorities directly to consumers’ WPA-compatible wireless devicesusing Cell Broadcast distribution. The list of the compatible devicesis constantly updated, and can be consulted here. Wireless service providers will only receive and relay messages that are issued for threat-to-life situations. Emergency alerts intended for wireless devices are issued to a defined geographic area, which can be as small as a few city blocks, so that only people in the defined area receive the emergency alerts. The defined area is selected by the alerting authorities. Compatible wireless devices in the targeted area will receive the emergency alerts within seconds of alert issuance, provided the phones are powered on and connected to the LTE cellular network. You cannot opt out of receiving threat-to-life emergency alerts. Emergency alerts begin with a distinct sound, known as the Canadian Alert Attention Signal. Emergency alerts sent to compatible wireless devices may also cause the phone to vibrate. On compatible wireless devices, the emergency alert will display an “EMERGENCY ALERT/ALERTE D’URGENCE” banner, followed by text that describes the situation and provides instructions on what actions to take and where to find more information. At the top of each emergency alert, the issuing government agency will be clearly indicated. The questions you may ask... Who sends emergency alerts? Federal, provincial, and territorial governments are responsible for issuing emergency alerts. Federally, emergency alerts are issued most frequently by Environment and Climate Change Canada. Each provincial or territorial government decides who will have the authority to issue alerts within their jurisdictions. For example, emergency alerts could be issued by provincial or territorial emergency management offices or in some cases by municipal emergency management offices or local police and fire departments. Media companies, including television, radio stations, cable and satellite distributors, as well as websites receive these emergency alerts and relay them to their consumers. Beginning April 6 2018, wireless service providers will be capable of distributing emergency alerts received from alerting authorities directly to their consumers’ compatible wireless devices connected to LTE networks using Cell Broadcast distribution. What types of emergency alerts are issued via Alert Ready? The Alert Ready system allows alerting authorities from federal, provincial and territorial governments to issue a wide range of public safety messages. However, broadcasters and wireless service providers are only required to distribute emergency alerts for situations that pose an immediate threat-to-life. Government officials developed and agreed on a specific list of the types of alerts that are considered a threat-to-life and should be distributed immediately, interrupting radio and television broadcasts. These “Broadcast Immediately” emergency alerts have the highest level of severity, urgency and certainty. For a full list, visit the Alert Typessection of the website. Issuing alerts outside of this list (for example heavy rainfall or blizzard warnings) is at the discretion of each of the broadcasters. Wireless service providers will only receive and relay messages that are issued for threat-to-life situations. Will emergency alerts be for my specific area? Yes. The alerting authority determines what areas are affected by an incident, weather or environmental situation, and uses a standard system that will typically correspond with municipal, regional or provincial boundaries. The standardized system will allow participating radio, television, cable and satellite companies to broadcast the emergency alerts that are most relevant to the communities they serve. Emergency alerts intended for wireless devices are issued to a defined geographic area, which can be as small as a few city blocks, so that only people in the defined area receive the emergency alerts. Compatible wireless devices in the targeted area will receive the emergency alerts within seconds of being issued, provided the phones are powered on and connected to the LTE cellular network. Will all wireless devices receive emergency alerts? No. In order for emergency alerts to be received on a wireless device three conditions must be met. The wireless device must be: An LTE-device like a smartphone (LTE is commonly referred to as “4G LTE”); Wireless public alerting (WPA)-compatible- see question #5; Connected to an LTE cellular network at the time the emergency alert is issued, or joins the network while the alert is still active. What does it mean to have a wireless device that is WPA-compatible? A wireless device that is WPA-compatible is: an LTE-device, and has special software embedded in it which allows for messages sent by your service provider, via Cell Broadcast, to be received in the standard Alert Ready format. Emergency alerts that meet the Alert Ready format allow you to know when an alert is received (because of the sound and vibration), and also provides confirmation that it is issued by a legitimate sources. Visit the Wirelesssectionof AlertReady.ca to find a link to the section of your wireless service provider’s website that provides information on compatible devices. Are these emergency alerts sent as a text message? No. While the emergency alert may look like a text message it is not a text message. Emergency alerts are sent via Cell Broadcast distribution. Cell Broadcast is a mobile technology that allowsmessagesto bebroadcastto all compatible wireless devices within a designated geographical area.Cell Broadcastis designed for simultaneous message delivery to multiple users in a specified area, and is not affected by network congestion because it uses dedicated part of the network, different from that used for traditional voice and data traffic. Cell Broadcast can be compared to radio broadcast. Radio towers broadcast music to people in defined geographic areas as long as the individuals can pick-up the broadcast signal and have their radios turned on. Similarly, Cell Broadcast messages are delivered to those compatible wireless devices that are within range of cell towers and antennas in the designated area. Are other mobile devices (e.g. tablets) capable of receiving emergency alerts? Wireless service providers are required to distribute Emergency alerts to compatible smartphones that can access LTE (cellular) networks. Additional wireless devices – such as tablets and wearable accessories (e.g. smartwatches) – may be capable, from a technical perspective, to receive some form of the message, but it will not necessarily be received on the device in the Alert Ready format. For information on compatible wireless devices offered by your wireless service provider, visit the Wirelesssectionof AlertReady.ca. Will emergency alerts interrupt or end a voice-call or another activity in progress? Emergency alerts will not end or terminate a voice call or data session in progress. If you are on a voice call when the emergency alert is received, you will be made aware of the alert by a notification tone (similar to call waiting). When your call terminates the alert will be displayed on your wireless device. If you are on a data session, the emergency alert will briefly interrupt your data session will continue but it may be briefly interrupted by the emergency alert appearing on your wireless device screen. Will I receive an emergency alert if my wireless device is off or set to silent? A compatible wireless device that is turned off, or is in Airplane Mode, will not display an emergency alert. If the emergency alert is still active when the wireless device is powered on, and the user is still in the alert area, the wireless device will then display the alert. A compatible wireless device that is set to silent will display an emergency alert, but you might not hear the emergency alert sound. The emergency alert sound will usually play at whatever the current volume setting is on the wireless device, so if your wireless device is set to silent, no sound will accompany the emergency alert message. However, this behaviour can differ depending on your wireless device and in some instances the alert sound may override your user settings. If my wireless device is off for an extended period of time, will the emergency alert appear once I turn my phone back on? If the emergency alert is still active when the compatible wireless device is turned back on, and you are within the emergency alert area, the emergency alert will be displayed. If the emergency alert is no longer active or if you have travelled outside of the alert area, it will not be displayed. Will I receive an emergency alert if my phone is connected to Wi-Fi? While on Wi-Fi, if the compatible wireless device can still communicate with the LTE cellular network, it will receive emergency alerts. If the wireless device is not within reach of the LTE cellular network (or is set to Wi-Fi only) it will not receive an emergency alert. What should I do if I receive a test alert on my wireless device? Test alert messages will be identified as such. These messages are intended to “test” the functionality of the system, and inform consumer of wireless emergency alerts, and do not require the consumer to take steps to secure their safety. You may be required to acknowledge receipt of the emergency alert in order to allow for your wireless device to resume normal functioning. In the event that you cannot acknowledge the alert, the alert sound and vibration will continue for 8 seconds. Depending on your specific wireless device, additional reminders may occur. What should I do if I receive an emergency alert on my wireless device? Upon receiving the emergency alert it is important to take action safely. Stop what you are doing when it is safe to do so and read the emergency alert. Government officials will include, within the emergency alert, the information you need for any action you need to take. This could include but is not limited to: limit unnecessary travel, evacuate the areas, seek shelter, etc. What should I do if I receive an emergency alert on my wireless device while driving? It is important to take action safely, especially if the emergency alert is received while operating a vehicle. If you are driving, it is important to remain calm and pull over at your earliest opportunity to view the emergency alert. Will I be charged if I receive an emergency alert on my wireless device if I don’t have unlimited texting or data within my mobile plan? Wireless alerts are sent on a specific cellular channel that is separate from normal text and data traffic. While the alerts may look like text messages, they are not text messages and are not billed like text messages. Also, emergency alerts are sent to wireless devices in a specific geographic area and do not require the phone numbers of those devices. As such there is no ability to identify or bill for the messages that are received. Can I opt out of receiving emergency alerts on my wireless device? No. Emergency alerts received on your compatible wireless device are relevant to you and require immediate attention, and government regulations mandate that all compatible wireless devices receive all relevant alerts. Unlike radio and television broadcasting, which often has broad areas of coverage; wireless public alerting is geo-targeted and can be very specific to a limited area of coverage. As a result, if an emergency alert reaches your wireless device, you are located in an area where there is an imminent danger. Will I receive emergency alerts on my wireless device if I’m travelling to or from another province or jurisdiction within Canada? Yes. Emergency alerts are issued to a defined geographic area, such that only people in the defined area will receive the emergency alerts. If you are travelling and happen to be in another province when an emergency alert is issued, your compatible wireless device will receive the emergency alert within seconds of being issued, provided your phone is powered on and connected to the LTE cellular network. Will I receive emergency alerts on my wireless device relevant to where I live while I am travelling away from home? No. If you are travelling, you will only receive emergency alerts that occur where you are. Canadians can keep track of emergency alerts occurring in specific areas (e.g. where they or other family members live) through a number of available apps and online services. Will I still receive emergency alerts if wireless device towers are affected by the situation? Emergency alerts are broadcast from cellular towers and antennas within the area specified by the alert issuer. Compatible wireless devices connected to the specified towers/antennas will receive the emergency alert. The towers/antennas therefore must be operational to send emergency alerts. If you are in an affected area but your wireless device is unable to connect to any towers/antennas because of the situation, you will not receive the emergency alert on your wireless device. Will alerts sent to my wireless device be used to gather data about me? No. Emergency alerts are sent using Cell Broadcast distribution. Cell Broadcast can only transmit information to your wireless device. This means that no data is being gathered about you, your wireless device or your location when emergency alerts are sent out. More questions? Ask them on our forum, we will answer you!Mobile data backup 101
Last update: January 25, 2024 Getting ready to change cell phones? Is your current phone showing signs of aging and may soon die on you? Here are various ways you can transfer data from one phone to another or save it in a secure location—and enjoy peace of mind, no matter what happens to your device. What is a data backup? Backing up a cell phone means transferring data (photos, contacts, call history, settings, etc.) from your device to a different location for storage. Different backup methods allow you to save different types of data. The purpose is to have an extra layer of security that allows you to recover the content on your phone and transfer it to a new device. It's important to choose the best method for your specific needs. 1. Cloud backup In addition to providing a convenient backup solution, the cloud lets you sync your content across multiple devices. Simply create an account on the platform of your choice, based on your mobile device: iCloud (Apple) Samsung Cloud Google Drive Then, depending on the platform, determine what you want to save to the cloud and how often. Pro tip: Find out how much free storage you get. It may be worthwhile to purchase a subscription for more storage capacity. 2. Backing up data directly on a computer A traditional backup technique is using a USB cable to save your phone’s data to a computer. Here’s how you do it: Connect your phone to your computer using the USB cable that came with your mobile device. This will give you access to your phone’s storage and allow you to transfer photos, videos and even songs directly from your cell phone onto your computer. The procedure is very similar to using a USB key. Once the USB cable is connected, your computer should recognize your phone as a new hardware device. Now you should be able to access the files on your cell phone. To complete the backup, simply save copies of your photos and videos onto your computer. Pro tip: This technique allows you to transfer photos, videos and music only. You won’t be able to transfer other information, such as your contact list. 3. Backing up data using transfer/backup software If you want more options for phone-to-computer backup, your best choice is a software solution. The new phone you purchased is the same brand as your previous device? The software allows you to transfer more content such as contacts, photos, apps and sometimes even more. It’s important to note, however, that transferable content varies from software to software. Most cell phone manufacturers have a program that you can install on your computer. The steps to follow can vary from one company to another, but the basic principle is the same. Download and install the transfer software. Apple Samsung LG Huawei Once the software is installed, connect your phone to your computer. Follow the instructions to back up your data or transfer content to a new phone. Essentially, using software is a better solution if you want to save more than just photos and videos. It also guarantees a faster transition when you switch phones of the same brand. Pro tip: Consider backing up your phone data every time you add new content that’s important to you. After all, data saved on your computer six months ago will not contain any new contacts or photos added since then. Make it a habit to back up your data regularly! We’ve seen some of the different ways you can transfer data from your phone to your computer. Have questions about this topic? Feel free to ask in the Community Forum!Choosing Password Management Software
If there’s one problem we all experience, it’s having too many online accounts and passwords to remember. To solve this problem, we’ve developed a very bad habit: using the same passwords all the time. But there’s a much better solution: using a kind of software called a password manager. By Marc-André Gagnon, information security specialist. The way a password manager works is that you enter all your passwords into a database that itself is highly secure—a kind of digital vault. There are two kinds of password managers: local and cloud-based. Local password managers Local password managers save your passwords in a local database on your own computer. Your information never leaves your computer, and you are responsible for backing up your database manually at regular intervals. The two big players in this category are KeePass and Password Safe. Both of these software packages are open-source and free. KeePass for Windows was audited by the European Commission's EU Free and Open Source Software Auditing project (EU-FOSSA) in 2016, and no critical vulnerabilities were found in it. This represents a good guarantee that the source code is free of any major flaws or “back doors”. Because both KeePass and Password Safe are open-source, there are dozens of clones and derived versions of them, for all platforms (Windows, Linux, iOS, Android). But you have to be careful, because these clones do not provide any guarantees against vulnerabilities. If you’re concerned about security, use only the official versions. Local Password Manager Price Platforms KeePass free Windows (Linux/OSX: use the KeePassX clone) Password Safe free Windows Cloud-based password managers Cloud-based password managers save your database of passwords in the cloud. They represent an interesting compromise, in terms of ease of use and security. If well implemented, cloud-based password managers are considered secure and offer some additional benefits: they support all browsers; they let you access your passwords on all your devices at any time; they let you share certain passwords with other users, such as your spouse or your children; they let you monitor attempts to access your account, define trusted devices, and so on; some of them let you define an emergency contact who will be able to access your password database if anything happens to you. Like all other cloud-based services, cloud-based password managers charge an annual fee (although LastPass does offer a worthwhile free version). Cloud-based Password Manager Price Allows two-factor authentication? Platforms LastPass free or $US 24 per year Yes Internet Explorer/Edge Mozilla Firefox Google Chrome Apple Safari Opera 1Password $US 35.88 per year No Chrome Firefox Safari Opera Dashlane $US 39.99 per year Yes Internet Explorer Chrome Firefox Safari Can the software provider (or a hacker) access my passwords? The provider cannot read your database, because it is encrypted with your master password. All of the encryption and decryption operations are performed locally on your own computer, and your master password is never transmitted to the provider in any way. If this complex technology is properly implemented in accordance with best practices, it is considered impossible for the provider or potential hackers to decrypt your passwords without your master password. Essential advice Choose a master password that is complex and unique. Try to have 15 characters or more, including letters, numbers, and special characters. This password is going to protect all your others, so you can’t afford to be lazy! One good method is to use the first letter of each word in a sentence that will be easy for you to remember. For example, you could set your master password as “ta12aitb, ok?” and remember it with the sentence “There are 12 apples in this bag, OK?” For more details on this method, I recommend anarticle by Bruce Schneier. You’ll have to remember your master password, because there is no way to recover it. Some cloud-based password managers may offer options to make it easier to recover, but these options are still limited, because the provider can’t decrypt your information and doesn’t know your master password. Activate two-factor authentication For cloud-based password managers, two-factor authentication involves associating your account with your smart phone or other smart device (there are other options as well). Once you activate two-factor authentication, you will be allowed to access your database only if you enter your master password AND you demonstrate that you have physical access to the smart device that you have associated with your account. Thus, even if your password is compromised (by a virus, for example), the attack will be blocked by a second factor. I think this is the best way to make your account secure with the least effort. By the way, that’s true not just for your cloud-based password manager but for all your other cloud-based accounts—Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, etc.!Your mobile content is precious—protect it.
According to the2017 CEFRIO survey, 62% of adults in Québec own a smartphone. These devices we use to communicate, navigate, take photos, make financial transactions and even gather data on our health also tend to carry a ton of other valuable information, not to mention documents. That said, not only is it totally normal to want toprotect your device from physical damage, it’s become a downright necessity with all the sensitive information the thing contains. If your phone falls into the hands of someone who’s less than honest, you could fall prey to fraud or even identity theft. Here are some tips to protect the data on that precious phone of yours—share it with your parents, friends and workmates. Don’t make it simple for scammers When your phone is unlocked, most of your apps, photos and other personal data also become more easily accessible . . . and more easily shareable! That’s why it’s so strongly suggested that you keep your device on auto-lock. Selecta solid passwordfor added security. We know that you know that 1-1-1-1 and 1-2-3-4 are not exactly unhackable password choices… The auto-lock setting may annoy several amongst you given how common it is to check our phones several times over the course of a day. The fingerprint scanner and facial recognition options are slightly less annoying, but remember that their effectiveness varies with the device and technology you’re using. It’s also best to limit your app downloads to known ones that are available on Apple’s App Store, Amazon’s Appstore or Google Play. Apps coming from other sites are not regularly verified and are therefore more likely to come with viruses. Before you install any app, take a few minutes to make sure that it’s regularly updated and beware of ones with very few comments on the download page. Update your apps, close them when they’re not in use and delete any you’re no longer using. Finally, don’t forget to download and install software updates on your phone—it makes it harder for hackers to gain access to your device. Also, remember that hackers like to useBluetoothto pirate phones and access your personal information. So make sure you always turn Bluetooth off to make your device undetectable, unless you need to use it, of course! Refrain from activating Bluetooth in busy public spaces, which are common scenes of cybercrime. In general, it’s always good to exercise caution when connected to a public network whose security settings you can’t control. You have the right to privacy Would you let a stranger follow you wherever you go? That’s what ends up happening, though, when you don’t take the time to configure the location services on your smartphone. Only authorize access to your location for apps that absolutely require it. The same goes for access to your camera, microphone and contacts. Limit the damage when you lose your phone By the late 2000s,surveyswere already indicating that the majority of respondents would rather lose track of their wallet than their mobile device. Does the same go for you today? Losing a phone comes with all kind of fuss. The consequences become more dire if your phone falls into the hands of a dishonest person. Besides auto-locking your phone, it’s also recommended that you activate the option that allows you to erase your device’s content remotely. On iPhone, for example, youcan erase your deviceon iCloud.com if you activatedFind My iPhoneprior to the event. In the event your phone is stolen, this precaution will at least prevent the thief from accessing your personal data. Getting rid of your phone? Last July, a young Ontario woman who thought her iPhone was garbage-worthy traded it in for a new one in-store in exchange for a rebate of a mere few dollars. Her phone was refurbished and resold to a man living in Dubai. The young woman was unpleasantly surprised when the new owner contacted her to compliment her on her personal photos. Remember this story when you’re thinking of repairing, exchanging or selling your phone—back up your personal data and then erase it completely. Regularlybacking up your contentusing your computer or the cloud is a good reflex to develop. What to do when you become a victim of cybercrime Unfamiliar service charges on your monthly invoice? Seeing messages or emails that you didn’t send on your phone? You might be the target of cybercriminals. If, despite taking all the necessary precautions, you do fall prey to cybercrime, act fast. In such a case, or if your device is lost or stolen, inform your service provider immediately and contact theCanadian Anti-Fraud Centreif need be.
