2019 8th International Conference on Modeling Simulation and Applied Optimization (ICMSAO)

People and Mobile Computing:

Architecture and Concerns
Omar Abahussain Fawzi Albalooshi
Department of Computer Science Department of Computer Science
University of Bahrain University of Bahrain
Sakhir, Bahrain Sakhir, Bahrain
20110708@stu.uob.edu.bh falblooshi@uob.edu.bh

Abstract— In modern society, mobile devices have become

an essential part of our life to do many things from anywhere
at any time. This paper aims to show the importance of mobile
computing and its impact on people. Then it discusses the
architecture of mobile computing. Moreover, the paper Factory controlled
Remote Connect Server Virtual Device
Computer
highlights different risks of mobile computing and the bad by mainframe
practices that should be avoided. As technology advances, risks
increase if left unresolved or the people are unaware of such Firewall
Firewall Firewall
ongoing risks.
mainframe Virtual Server
Keywords—mobile computing, 3 tier architecture, mobile Firewall Firewall
computing concerns, mobile computing users, bad practices in
mobile computing Firewall
Firewall Printer & Fax

I. INTRODUCTION Cloud Storage Drive

Firewall Firewall
People have tasks and things to be carried out on desktop
computers which were difficult to reach anytime. Not to Web Server

mention whether the accessed desktop computer has the

Remote video access
requirements for the task to be done or not (such as hardware Firewall Play a video on a
and software compatibility). The emergence of mobile projector

devices made life much easier alongside the internet and

cloud services. Simply put, accessing services and
performing tasks has become within the grasp of the hand
rather than sitting in front of an immobile device to do Antenna

whatever is required.
It may seem to be great having such mobile devices PDA Tablet Laptop Handheld Slate
which have simplified our lives but there are consequences
Mobile Devices
of such devices. Since it is a mobile device, it can be
snitched by a thieve who would sell the device or data or
both. Mobile devices have limitations compared to big ones
in terms of capability to defend against a cyber attack [1]. As
we keep our mobile device active all the time compared to User

fixed devices that we power off, data will be stolen slowly

and eventually fully stolen. Fig. 1. Mobile Computing and what can be done from anywhere anytime.

One of the solutions is spreading awareness to the people

of such risks. Security of these devices must be taken care of
by their owners or by being aware of the good practices and
understanding the rights and wrongs. As many people are not
aware of what the device could provide as security protection
or service.
The paper will go through mobile computing, the
architecture, go through related works, discuss the concerns,
suggest a solution, and at last a conclusion.
II. MOBILE COMPUTING
Fig. 1 shows what a user could possibly do with a mobile
device. To understand mobile computing, it has been broken
to several points [2,3] to understand it properly:
A. Definition
Mobile computing is the terminology used for describing
the human-computer interaction between a variety of devices
that are portable to transmit and receive data at ease (such
devices are smartphones, laptops, tablets, wearables, Etc.) It
involves mobile communication services as well as hardware
and software. Each of these components has a limitation.
B. The communication of mobile computing
Communication has the network infrastructure, ad-hoc,
properties, concrete technologies, and transmitted data
formats. As for the Hardware, simply would be the mobile
device components itself, each device has different hardware
than others.

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 2019 8th International Conference on Modeling Simulation and Applied Optimization (ICMSAO)

C. The hardware of mobile computing
Hardware depends mainly on what services and features
the mobile device will provide to its user. Whether it needs
high RAM (random access memory), high storage size,
antenna strength, etc.
D. The software of mobile computing
Software simply deals with mobile application
requirements and characteristics. Mobile computing gives
users the ability to access data and services from everywhere
and anywhere. The data could be video, voice, and data
transmitted over the network through the mobile device
communication service.
E. The impact of mobile computing on people
Most defiantly, mobile computing has made things very
simple and people are more dependent as the technology
advances. Statistically speaking [4,5], mobile computing is
continuously inclining.
F. To conclude
The reason behind the growth and dependence on mobile
computing is due to the most benefits of mobile computing
which are Connectivity, social engagements, and
personalization. Despite the worst drawback which is data
theft and depending on the stolen data, it can be assessed on
how critical the situation is.
III. THE ARCHITECTURE
The mobile computing architecture section has been
broken to several points [6, 7, 8, 9, 10] to understand it
properly:
A. Definition
Mobile computing is a three-tier architecture which
consists of the Presentation tier, Application tier, and Data
tier. The architecture is explained in Fig. 2 explains
furthermore about the architecture.
Mobile Computing – Three-Tier Architecture
Tier-1
Network layer
Presentation Tier
This layer deals
Also known as the
only with the
user interface tier,
Deals with the user
communication as
data to be
Definition
reusability of components and scalability management. All
these benefits and characteristics made the three-tier
architecture very popular choice when developing an
application inter or new-centric. As mentioned earlier, it is a
three-tier architecture which are Presentation tier (user
interface), Application tier (logic), and Data tier (data). If the
user interface changes, the logic, and data remain the same
unaffected and still functional. It is more suitable and
effective specifically network client/server design.
C. Drawbacks of the Architecture
The architecture may seem to be perfect but the
drawbacks of such architecture are great due to its
complexity. Thus, harder to maintain as the whole
architecture as it grows bigger and may get corrupted/broken.
Additionally, the high cost of implementing such architecture
and the server performance degrades due to having the
application tier server wise dependent.
IV. RELATED WORKS
According to the International Journal of Research in
Computer Application & Management [11], discussing the
bad practices of users using their smartphone. A research
study was conducted to find out the user’s knowledge of the
security threats that lurk the smartphone, understand the
importance and the level of the security the user prefers and
advise what should be done. The research study was a
mixture of both contained Quantitative and Qualitative
Research. The results of the study came back as many users
have important data on their smartphones, preferred screen
lock was a pattern which is considered as a medium to low
security. Shockingly, not many have a SIM lock nor even
know what SIM lock means. Users also by 95% install from
unknown sources which can lead to installing a gateway for
information theft, spam, etc. And the majority do not have
antivirus installed nor Anti-theft application. The study also
showed that users do not read what permissions the
application request rather they simply grant access. At last,
the majority did not know what IMEI is or its purpose. IMEI
is an abbreviation for International Mobile Equipment
Identity [12]. It is a unique number to differentiate each
device from another. It also helps in tracking the device if it
Tier-2 Tier-3 is stolen and to verify that it is your phone by comparing the
Application Tier Data Tier device’s IMEI number with the IMEI written in the receipt of
The business logic
of the application,
The transmitted purchase or on the box.
data is stored in the
the functions and
services, the
database and
retrieved,
On the other hand, Symantec Corp (the world leading
language used and CyberSecurity) in their patent papers (Inventors: Kevin

requests, inputs additional provide

transmitted needs the server/
and interactions.
network verified. database
other data web Alejandro Roundy, Michael Hart, Christopher Gates) [13],
service.
communication. discussing ways of detecting security threats by generating a
Window Business logic
security incident report and storing them in a database. The
Network
Cloud Database database serves the purpose of providing statistical data that
protocols, can be accessed on Symantec Corp website [14] for all the
Browser proxies, Language Used
Local Database
bad practices and threats as such data help users in knowing
protocols, the rights and wrongs. The idea is to prevent users from
etc.
Application User
Services Web Services
falling into cyber traps as well as push them away from the
bad practices of using default passwords or short simple
Contens

Interface

Etc. Etc. passwords and so on.

Certainly, there are many related works in terms
Fig. 2. The Architecture of Mobile Computing
understanding the importance of mobile computing field
alongside the concerns from each perspective. Therefore,
B. Advantages of the Architecture many have discussed different points of the mobile
The reason behind such architecture would be a computing mainly focused on cloud computing as the
performance boost, more flexibility, maintainability at ease,
 2019 8th International Conference on Modeling Simulation and Applied Optimization (ICMSAO)

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