Hello Everyone,
Just a few years ago, cell phone security was the last thing on most users’ minds. But today, keeping your data secure on your smartphones is just as critical as securing your desktop and laptop computers.
Perhaps even more so, given the many tasks people carry out on their mobile devices – often on public, unsecured Wi-Fi networks. For instance, handling banking via your smartphone on a public Wi-Fi network can leave your personal data vulnerable to attack, leading to identity theft, stolen credit card numbers, and more.
Your smartphone is more precious than your wallet, your keys and in some cases, your actual computer when it comes to sensitive information - but we all have that nagging guilt that we don’t do enough to protect our devices beyond perhaps having a four digit pass code.
I have come up with some top-level tips to help make your phone more secure, protecting those all important messages and images that you don’t want falling into the wrong hands.
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Avoid Public Wi-Fi - Wi-Fi in public is not secure. Even though connections to public Wi-Fi will say they’re not secure, not all users notice this alert, and some may not even know what it means. Instead, using a virtual private network (VPN) will significantly boost security for your sensitive data. A VPN service such as Hotspot Shield encrypts all cyberspace transmissions, scrambling them so that hackers can’t make sense of them.
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Encrypt the storage – Most modern devices have the ability to encrypt phone storage. Some of them do it even by default seamlessly without the user even noticing. If your device is lost or stolen, even the more advanced adversaries will have little to no chance of getting to your data. Imagine what would happen if somebody got to your photos, messages, e-mails, and would have ability to log onto your social networking accounts. To check if your phone encrypts your storage, Go-to Settings-Security-Encryption and check if the option is set to “Encrypted”.
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All devices should have a wipe function. If the device is lost or stolen, all the data on it can be eradicated – remotely. This function works best when you have your location turned on. Many of us keep our location turned off and in the event that our device goes missing or stolen we lose everything to the adversary. Follow this step to ensure your device have administrative right to wipe data or locate device. Go-to Settings-Device administration-Device administrators-Enable Find my Device.
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Disable automatic connections to open WiFi and only connect to trusted networks.
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Download phone apps from trusted sources only, like the Apple Store and Google Play. Do not put any unsolicited software on your phone.
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Some apps need permission to access personal information and some don’t, so be careful to check the privacy setting for any app before you install it on your device. A flash light app has no business to request for access to your contacts and messages. Take time to read permissions before granting apps.
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Never underestimate the importance of mobile anti virus. E.g ESET, Avast security e.t.c.
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Turn off WiFi and Bluetooth when not in use. Attacks such as Bluejacking, Blue snarfing are launched against open Bluetooth devices.
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Always factory reset and clear data on your device before you sell or recycle.
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Back up your phone regularly. Make copies of important contents and store them on a computer hard drive or through a cloud-based backup service
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Enable device lock on your phone. A typical four to six digit pin can be easily cracked in seconds, while a strong nine or more character alpha-numeric pass code could take years, or even decades to crack.
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Use Kid/Guest mode. Kid modes, and to a lesser extent guest modes, are also vitally important. The last thing you want is for your child (or your friend) to be messing around on your phone and to stumble across private data.
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Update your software and Operating system.
Are we ready to make a change towards mobile security with these tips?
The dangers of public or free wifi are underrated. many people are even happier when they discover a wifi that isn’t even password protected.