How to secure your smartphone from hackers
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.
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 theSIM , 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.
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
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
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
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