Smartphones and other mobile devices can be vulnerable to cyber-attacks and other threats, how do you protect your sensitive data and information? The following few security tips can help keep your devices safe.
Today’s smartphones are capable of doing so much more than the mobile phones of a few years ago – but this greatly extended range of capabilities has also seen the introduction of some new security risks.
Because we’re using our phones for a much wider range of activities from social networking to online shopping, banking, and surfing the web, we all need to take sensible precautions to ensure our mobile phones and our information are safe from malware attacks and cyber criminals.
Security tips – for safer smartphone use
i. Keep it locked
if your phone have stored important information make sure your phone’s screen is lock at all times so there will be less risk if your phone falls into the hands.
ii. Monitor how apps behave on your phone
Beware of permission access / requests from applications running on your phone. It’s especially important to do this for Android smartphones.
iii. Protect your phone and your data
they are any phone users that would not ever consider running a laptop, PC, or Mac computer without anti-malware software forget that today’s smartphones are powerful computers… and they are vulnerable to the same risks. Make sure you use a reputable anti-malware program on all of your mobile devices and ensure the antivirus databases are regularly updated.
iv. Be aware of the risks of jailbreaking / rooting
Although it might be tempting to root or jailbreak your phone in order to access specific Apps or services, this will strip away the security. To help keep your phone and your data secure… don’t root or jailbreak your phone.
v. Switch off Bluetooth… when you can
If you’re not using your Bluetooth connection, it’s a great idea to switch it off. That way, you’ll make your phone less vulnerable to cyber-attack and you’ll reduce the drain on your phone’s battery.
vi. Choose a smartphone security solution with anti-theft features
Some smartphone security products include a range of anti-theft features that give you remote access to your lost or stolen phone – so you can lock the phone, wipe data from it, and find its location.
vii. Avoid connecting to free public WiFi
Modern mobile phones have the ability to connect to the internet in many ways, probing for wireless networks gives away information about your identity and location, and blindly connecting to unencrypted access points can let your phone leak all sorts of useful things for malicious individuals to intercept and act upon. Configure your phone to automatically turn on/off wireless in certain places using a location-aware smartphone app
viii. Don’t miss operating system updates
Updates to your OS often include system vulnerability patches, so it’s important to install them.