How to secure your smartphone from hackers

How to secure your smartphone from hackers

General security tips

There are some simple steps you can take to beef up your security considerably.Make sure you have your password lock enabled, and more importantly that it’s set to engage soon after any period of inactivity. Set a pin code too on your voicemail so only you can access your messages.Set up a tracker app like Find my iPhone or LocateMyDroid so that if your phone is lost or stolen you can track, remote lock and if necessary remote wipe it. And if any of your apps or security settings is hacked or breached, remember to change your passwords straight away.Your security may still be at risk after you’ve sold on your smartphone. Before you sell, back up all your data and then do a full phone factory reset. How to do this differs for each phone so check online for your model.Make sure too that when you finish using an app – especially those containing sensitive information like banking apps – you close it completely rather than just exiting it. If it’s open, and your phone is stolen, it can mean thieves have access to sensitive information.In iOS this is a simple case of exiting the app, double pressing the home button and doing a long press on the icon in the apps that show in the bottom menu until the ‘close’ x appears before tapping on it.Android is a little trickier, as you have to navigate the Applications tab, then settings and applications menus and then tap Manage applications. Here you can select an app and tap ‘Force stop.’

App security

Apps represent the biggest vulnerability to your security on your phone. Free apps in particular often share your data with advertising firms – meaning unwanted ‘targeted’ adverts that pop up on your phone.Recent study by Appthority shows that free apps for iPhone pose a greater privacy risk than free apps from Google Play, with 60% of the former and 50% of the latter’s top-10 selling apps sharing data with advertising networks.Be extra vigilant about what apps you download and from where. Check out the app’s privacy policy and terms and conditions to see what data it will mine and share and what permissions it requests, if you’ve already downloaded it you can still check in the app settings menu or website.A simple rule of thumb here is that if there is no privacy policy, give the app a miss and if it’s free, the chances are the creator is looking to recoup its costs and make money by passing on your information to third parties.Make sure to always download the latest software updates for your apps as they become available. Many of these updates contain bug fixes and security upgrades that help protect you from the latest malware, although in some cases it may also mean an update to the privacy policy and T&Cs. To be on the safe side, always read what the new update delivers.

Staying safe from fake apps

Fake apps are also rife on marketplaces such as Google’s Play Store.‘Clones’ of popular apps such as Angry Birds instead infect your phone with malicious software.The only defense is to be wary about downloading apps – particularly free ones – from the store.Some simply serve you annoying adverts. Others though are far more sinister – adding huge amounts to your bill by dialing foreign numbers or using premium SMS services.

Use Passcodes Everywhere:

Whether you have an Android phone or an iPhone, you can prevent access to your device by adding a passcode or a lock pattern on Android. This simple security measure can save tour sensitive information This is especially important if you have a bunch of apps installed where personal data is stored like financial apps (Mint, bank apps, etc), note apps etc. The home screen passcode is important because a lot of the email apps (Mail on iPhone and Gmail on Android) don’t even have an option to passcode your email. Emails can contain a lot of private information and since most people go to partiesand leave their phones on tables and counters. Sp passcode is necessary 

Protect Your i-Cloud & Google Account: 

The second thing most is that if someone can access into your i-Cloud or Google account, they can gain
access to a lot of data that you might be creating and editing from your smartphone. In these times, it’s
a necessary to enable 2-step verification on both of these accounts. Your Google account basically logs
you into all Google services from YouTube to Gmail to Google Play to Google Maps to Google Calendar
to Picasa to Google
 Avoid Jail-breaking or Rooting Your Smartphone:

If you are jailbreak or root your phone for fun and enjoyment, then good for you. But you have to avoid this because it can mess up your phone and cause you more grief than happiness. Secondly, you won’t
 be able to update your phone with the latest updates to the OS since it’ll be in an unsupported mode.

 Be Careful With the Apps You Install:

This is especially important on Android devices. Google recently removed 50,000 apps that were
suspected containing viruses. There are a lot of apps that contain malware, viruses or other sneaky software to steal your data or damage your phone. The Apple app store also has this problem. So, be careful about installing apps.

 Use an App Instead of the
Browser:
If you’re doing banking on your phone or stock trading or anything else that contain personal sensitive
information between your phone and the Internet, it’s best to use an official app for that site or company rather than opening using the browser on your phone. For example, Chase, Bank of America and lots of other big financial institutions have their own apps for i-OS and Android.Control What an App Can 

Access:

You’ve probably seen the following message on your iPhone a hundred times already. There are all types of these “App Name Would Like to Access Your Data” messages. Data can be photos, location, contacts
etc. Don’t just click OK all the time. If you click anything all the time, it’s better to just choose Don’t Allow and if you really can’t use the app later on, you can manually go back in and change it to allow access.Keep 

Data Backed Up:

It’s not only a good idea to keep your smartphone backed up in case if it gets stolen and you have to remotely wipe it clean. Apple users can install the Find My iPhone app, which will let you remotely lock a
phone and remotely wipe it if you know it’s been stolen. If you don’t have your data backed up, you’ll
lose it all if it’s stolen. If you back it up locally or in the cloud, you’ll be able to wipe your phone and get all your data back on your new phone. On Android, there is a built-in backup tool, but it doesn’t backup
everything on your phone like the iOS does it.

Report Your Phone Stolen:

There has been a stolen phone database created that is shared between the major wireless carriers
You can report your phone stolen and that will prevent anyone from connecting to the carrier and using
data or minutes. If they try to wipe it, replace the SIM, etc, it still won’t allow them to activate on any of the carriers because of the serial number.

 Update the OS:

Just like you have to constantly install Microsoft security updates for your PC, it’s a good idea to install
the latest updates for your smartphone. If there are no major issues with the update like degradation of battery life, etc , but if nothing stands out, then update the phone. In addition to updating the OS, it’s also a good idea to update the apps installed on your phone.

Wireless & Bluetooth:

When you’re not at home, it’s best to try to disable the wireless and bluetooth altogether and use your 3G or 4G connection if you can. The moment you connect to an untrusted wireless network, you’re open to hackers scanning for victims over the network. A hacker try to connect to your smartphone and steal data, etc.If bluetooth is enabled and discoverable, it gives hackers another way to possibly see the data
 being passed between the Bluetooth device and your phone.

                                                      TAKE CARE

Tips For Protecting Your Computer From Hackers

Tips For Protecting Your Computer From Hackers

Use protection software anti-virus and keep it up to date

Antivirus or anti-virus software is software used to prevent, detect and remove malware such as computer viruses,malicious bhos,hijackers, keyloggers, rootkit,Trojan horses,worms,malicious LSPs, dialers, fraudtools, adware and spyware. Computer security including protection from social engineering  techniques, is commonly offered in products and services of antivirus software companies. This page discusses the software used for the prevention and removal of malware threats, rather than computer security implemented by software methods. Make sure you have anti-virus software on your computer! Anti-virus software is designed to protect you and your computer against known viruses so you do not have to worry. But with new viruses emerging daily, anti-virus programs need regular updates, like annual flu shots, to recognize these new viruses. Be sure to update your anti-virus software regularly! The more often you keep it updated, say once a week, the better. Check with the web site of your anti-virus software company to see some sample descriptions of viruses and to get regular updates for your software. Stop viruses in their tracks.

Do not open e-mail from unknown sources

Many unsolicited emails were received by having deceptive email subject lines to lure in people to open the e-mail. People will open the e-mails unwittingly and majority of web crime (such as stealing code, spreading virus, transplanting Trojans and stealing computer information...etc ) will occurs. The University's host computer does not automatically send notify e-mails to ask colleagues to reset his/her webmail password. For those Colleagues who received unidentified or unsolicited e-mails, please delete them immediately and do not open them by curiosity. A simple rule of thumb is that if you do not know the person who is sending you an e-mail, be very careful about opening the e-mail and any file attached to it. Should you receive a suspicious e-mail, the best thing to do is to delete the entire message, including any attachment. Even if you do know the person sending you the e-mail, you should exercise caution if the message is strange and unexpected, particularly if it contains unusual hyperlinks. Your friend may have accidentally sent you a virus. When in doubt, delete.

Use hard-to-guess passwords.

A secure, memorable password is easy for you to remember, and hard for others to guess.Everywhere you turn you've got to come up with a password to register for something or another. Whether it's the dozens of web sites that require you log in to use them, or your ATM card PIN, or your wireless network login, how do you decide on a new password? More importantly, how do you remember it?. Passwords will only keep outsiders out if they are difficult to guess! Do not share your password, and do not use the same password in more than one place. If someone should happen to guess one of your passwords, you do not want them to be able to use it in other places. The golden rules of passwords are:

1.A password should have a minimum of 8 characters, be as meaningless as possible, and use uppercase letters, lowercase letters and numbers, e.g., xk28LP97.

2.Change passwords regularly, at least every 90 days.

3.Do not give out your password to anyone!

Use firewalls

Equip your computer with a firewall! Firewalls create a protective wall between your computer and the outside world. They come in two forms, software firewalls that run on your personal computer and hardware firewalls that protect a number of computers at the same time. They work by filtering out unauthorized or potentially dangerous types of data from the Internet, while still allowing other (good) data to reach your computer. Firewalls also ensure that unauthorized persons can't gain access to your computer while you are connected to the Internet. You can find firewall hardware and software at most computer stores nationwide. Do not let intruders in!Firewalls can be used in a number of ways to add security to your home or business. Large corporations often have very complex firewalls in place to protect their extensive networks. On the outbound side, firewalls can be configured to prevent employees from sending certain types of emails or transmitting sensitive data outside of the network. On the inbound side, firewalls can be programmed to prevent access to certain websites (like social networking sites). Additionally, firewalls can prevent outside computers from accessing computers inside the network. A company might choose to designate a single computer on the network for file sharing and all other computers could be restricted. There is no limit to the variety of configurations that are possible when using firewalls. Extensive configurations typically need to be handle and maintained by highly trained IT specialists

Do not share access to your computers with strangers. Learn about file sharing risks.                                 

Your computer operating system may allow other computers on a network, including the Internet, to access the hard-drive of your computer in order to "share files". This ability to share files can be used to infect your computer with a virus or look at the files on your computer if you do not pay close attention. So, unless you really need this ability, make sure you turn off file-sharing. Check your operating system and your other program help files to learn how to disable file sharing. Do not share access to your computer with strangers!

 Disconnect from the Internet when not in use.

Remember that the Digital Highway is a two-way road. You send and receive information on it. Disconnecting your computer from the Internet when you are not online lessens the chance that someone will be able to access your computer. And if you have not kept your anti-virus software up-to-date, or don't have a firewall in place, someone could infect your computer or use it to harm someone else on the Internet. Be safe and disconnect!

Back up your computer data.

Experienced computer users know that there are two types of people: those who have already lost data and those who are going to experience the pain of losing data in the future. Back up small amounts of data on floppy disks and larger amounts on CDs. If you have access to a network, save copies of your data on another computer in the network. Most people make weekly backups of all their important data. And make sure you have your original software start-up disks handy and available in the event your computer system files get damaged. Be prepared

TIPS TO INCREASE YOUR INTERNET SPEED TODAY

TIPS TO INCREASE YOUR INTERNET SPEED TODAY

How to know your current internet speed

The first thing you will need to do is test your current internet speed. This will let you know whether or not you are getting a lower rate than you should be. You can do this by going to SpeedTest.net and running a test. Now, this won’t be as fast as some people. A lot of European and American cities have super fast cable internet. And with Australia unvieling the world’s most expensive National Broadband Network, we should be getting speeds of up to 10GB per second. Yes, 10 GIG! Currently the maximum you can get on ADSL2+ in Australia is around 3MB.

So, back to the point, I managed to speed up my internet to 11Mbps from around 9Mbps. It made a significant difference to me. I’ll show you how in a minute.

NOTE: If you want to test your speed in MBps then go here and go right click > save target as and observe the download or transfer rate.

What do MBps and Mbps mean and why does it matter?

Okay, so, some boring but important stuff here. People often say megabytes when they mean megaBITS. And visa versa. But there is a big difference.

MBps = megabytes
Mbps = megabits

So, if you refer to my speed test above you will see that I am getting 11.53 Mbps per second. To find out how many megabytes that is you just divide by 8 which equals 1.44 MBps.

Now, 1 MB is equal to 1024 KB (kilobytes) so if you want to know how fast you are going to able to download a song or movie you should refer to the KB or MB per second rate as that is usually what they are measured in.

For example, if you are downloading a 50 MB file at 1 MB per second it will take you just under 50 seconds. Got it?

Once you know those things then we can move on towards getting your speed increased up towards it’s potential.

1. Check for on-system interference
Sometimes your virus scanner or other programs can interfere with your internet speeds. This is really frustrating but you can figure out by simply switching things off one at a time and then running a speed test again. Please note I won’t be responsible for any viruses or spyware you pick up whilst doing this. You should always have good virus protection.

2. Scan for viruses
The next thing you need to do is make sure that no virus itself is causing you to slow down. Sometimes viruses can live on your computer and suck resources away from what you are doing thus slowing down your speeds. I usually recommend AVG as a good free anti-virus software.

3. TEST A DIFFERENT MODEM/ROUTER

The biggest cause of slowed down internet is a bad modem. For ages I was using a Billion modem that I thought was absolutely fantastic. I was having frequent internet drop outs and blaming them on my ISP. Finally I changed to a new NETGEAR N150 modem and speeds went up and the drop outs stopped. The problem? The old Billion modem wasn’t equipped for ADSL2+. Rookie mistake. Make sure your modem is suited to the internet plan that you are on.

4. Check your filters
If you have your internet connected to a phone line that also has a telephone on it then you will need to make sure you have good quality filters installed on your line. These are little plugs that you attach to the phone line and they help filter out the disturbances. Here is a photo of one of mine.

Now, these also need to be different for the different types of internet. If you have ADSL2+ or cable make sure you have the appropriate filter.

5. Try getting rid of your cordless phone
Some people disagree with this but I have found that cordless phones slow down or interfere with my internet even with filters. It is worth doing an isolation test by removing your phones and replacing them with different ones (borrow a friend’s) and see whether you get better results.

6. Plug in
Wifi is nice but wireless internet is often a tad slower than if you plug in to your modem. Try getting that chord out of the box and plugging straight into the modem, especially if it is your desktop computer and you don’t need to move it around very often.

7. Check for external interference
I bet most of you have an iPhone, iPad, sound system and at least one other form of electronic device in your modem area. Am I right? Well, if so, then you need to check to see whether these things are causing electromagnetic interference. Try moving speakers out of the way and getting other electronic devices out of your modem space.

8. Check for Foxtel or other types of TV
Old Foxtel boxes can cause interference for your internet, even if you aren’t using them. If your net speed is slower than it should be and you can’t figure out why, it might be an idea to go for a walk around your house and see if you have a Foxtel (cable TV) box that you didn’t know was there. It could be from a past owner. If so, call up and make sure it is disconnected totally.

9. Shorten and replace cables
The length of your cables and their structure can affect speeds. Try replacing old phone cables, sockets and lines and instead use shorter and newer ones. This can often make a big difference.

10. Have you tried turning it off and on again?
The last suggestion is often the most powerful one. Turn off your modem for one minute and turn it on again. It is called power cycling and can often flush out a bunch of problems that affect your speed. If you are really brave you can even reconfigure your modem with a new password as this can often refresh your settings at the end of your ISP and refresh connections.

What have I missed?

Do you know any other ways to increase your internet speed? I would be really interested to hear them. I’d also really like to know what speeds you are getting and what country you live in. Please visit SpeedTest.net and let me know your results in the comments.