We spend a lot on time on our smartphones everyday. From making calls, booking tickets, paying your bills, for entertainment and social interactions as everything is online now. People are using more and more online services by their handheld devices as internet is more affordable than before. Since we use them so much we tend to save a lot of personal and sensitive data related to us like personal photos, important documents and sometimes our account passwords.
So its better to be safe than sorry. Following are some tips that you can use to secure your smartphone.
Use Smartphone’s In-Built Security Features
There are many types of screen locks available such as password, pin, pattern, face unlock and if your device supports it, a fingerprint or eye scanner lock. You can set these up easily by going to settings — security. Even when setting pins or pattern locks, try not to make it easy for hackers to guess your password.
Encrypt Data
Android allows you to encrypt all the data on the smartphone. You’ll need to key in a PIN each time the device is turned on to decrypt all the data. It may seem tiresome but if the phone gets into the wrong hands, there’s no way to access the data without a password or PIN. It can be activated through the Android device’s Security Settings within your phone.
Keep the Android & apps up-to-date
Always keep your android and the apps in it up to date. Most of the time when an update is released it just doesn’t bring new features but also bug fixes and patches to security vulnerability which is found in the android or an app. So always keep your phone up to date.
Always back-up your data
It is a good practice to have the backup of your data so that you can recover it if your phone is lost is lost, hacked or broken. Backing up Android also means things such as your photos and videos are accessible through any web browser signed into your Google account, and that next time you buy a new phone you won’t have to manually download and install all your favorite apps.
Avoid using unknown WI-FI or public networks
Never use any unknown Wi-Fi for free internet usage because it can be a trap to get your personal data and details. Also avoid using public networks as they are not as secure as your home or office network.
Don’t download apps outside Google Play or from Unknown Sources
Default setting on your android phone won’t let you download app from anywhere other than the Google Play Store. But you can change this in settings->Security>Device Administration>Unknown Sources. Google or android don’t stop you from downloading apps outside the play store but you should be careful while doing so by using trusted sources only.
Have an Antivirus Installed
Always install an antivirus software on your smartphone to keep away the viruses and malwares. There are lot of third party apps that you can install.
Set up remote tracking & wiping of Data
Android Device Manager is an excellent tool from Google Inc. for tracking down your lost or stolen device and, if necessary, it can wipe data and personal information of your lost or stolen Android phone. It’s a free app for you from Google Play, but it can also be accessed from any web browser by logging in to your Google Account.
