Today, we will show you ten tips to secure your smartphones whether iOS or Android.
You've probably read many articles on how to secure and protect your Smartphones from hackers, however, for reasons best known to them, many people don’t mind all that much about smartphone security.
Possibly on the grounds that it's not like a hard drive where you store all your documents, pictures, videos, apps and so on, yet the present hyperactive Smartphones users store a lot of data that is very delicate and that hackers, would readily appreciate taking while you're surfing the web.
Fortunately, smartphone security is picking up footing and there are many things you can do to help secure your Smartphones from being hacked.
Table of Contents
10 Tips To Secure Your Smartphones
Here are the tips to take in order to secure your smartphones from hackers:
1. Make Use of a VPN
VPN is an online tool for masking your online identity. With a reliable VPN service provider, your actual location can be obfuscated thereby prevent online snoopers or ISPs from blocking your on the internet. Besides that, you can unblock websites or online services which are geo-restricted.
Recommended VPN service providers for smartphones includes CyberGhost VPN, Ivacy, PIA, SurfShark, PureVPN, and TunnelBear VPN.
2. Lock your Smartphone
Of course, it’s easy to keep your Smartphone open constantly so you can easily get to your email, camera, apps, etc. However, think of how you will feel if someone pickup your Smartphone on your office or in a neighborhood and could simply tap on your business applications, contacts, documents, or your banking data. In a case where your Smartphone contains customer data, you could even wind up in the humiliating situation of telling your customers that their data has been undermined, basically because of carelessness.
READ ALSO: 5 Secure Online Payment Services to Consider
3. Use Mobile device management (Small Business style)
If your work Smartphone gets lost or taken, you can contain the damage utilizing basic Smartphone highlights. Both Apple and Google offer ‘find my device services', for example, Find My iPhone and Android's Find My Device, that can find your Smartphone on a guide and automatically crash it. These features can likewise make your Smartphone ring, either disturbing the hoodlum or simply finding a smartphone you have just forgotten about. You can even command the smartphone to erase all data after five to 10 bogus password attempts.
Related; Urgent: Android users warned to delete these Vicious Apps from their devices
4. Mind where you connect to Wi-Fi
The vast majority don't think before hopping on a free open Wi-Fi connection, however, people using smartphones with touchy business data on them should mind the Wi-Fi they use. Business explorers frequently use a hotel or conference center Wi-Fi. Although, this is an OK practice as organizations like well-known hotels and conference centers have a personal stake in keeping up the security of their Wi-Fi services. However, free open Wi-Fi in regions like malls, bistros, airports, parks or exercise centers (gym), is far less secure.
5. Use two-factor authentication where necessary
Two-factor authentication (2FA) is one of the good security alternatives around in light of the fact that. As the name infers, it requires an additional confirmation. However, it offers another strong security layer to get to your private data, and two-factor authentication is a lot simpler to use now (thanks to the invention of biometric scanners and save passcode features) than it used to be. Check out Google procedure to turning on two-factor authentication.
READ ALSO: 5 Reliable Ways to Backup your Android Device and Tips to Secure it
6. Set up A Backup Of Your Data to secure your phone
Another tip to secure your smartphone is to have a strong backup. Picture the most imaginable outcome where your Android or iOS Smartphone authentication where hacked. The exact opposite thing you can do is play out a remote wipe (see #10). Without a backup, you will lose all your data on your Smartphone.
Regardless of whether you could recover your stolen Smartphone; odds are the hoodlums might have figured out how to access to your Smartphone will render it useless. However, if you have your files backed up, you can retrieve your Android or iOS Smartphone back to its unique state. You can decide to back up your data to Cloud, Google Drive, or even to your computer, for protection.
7. Use an App Instead of the Browser
In case you're doing mobile banking on your Smartphone or forex trading or whatever else that passes confidential data between your Smartphone and the Internet, it's ideal to use an official application for that website or company as opposed to using your mobile browser.
For instance, your online banking, sending Bulk SMS (you're exposing your audience's contacts and the message content), Upwork, Fiverr, ScottTrade. Including are a lot of other huge companies have their very own applications for iOS and Android. Secure connections are holdup on smartphone browsers. However your data will be safer if you get a website app that may have additional security features.
READ ALSO: How to Securely Send Sensitive Information Over the Internet
8. Ensure you turn off Bluetooth when not in use
Bluetooth isn't seen as a risk as it has a relative short-range (10 meters approx.). However, hackers and cybercriminals have been known to remotely access people's Smartphones if they connect to it.
Make sure you turn off the Bluetooth when you're not using it. Set the Bluetooth setup to ‘non-discoverable', with the aim that people looking for close by Bluetooth, connections can't see yours.
Any obscure request that springs up through Bluetooth connections. For example, an offer to ‘pair with another phone' should be overlooked or declined. A hacker in range could access your Smartphone through Bluetooth if it's not secure.
9. Be mindful of downloads
The expansion in malware on Smartphones do increase. You should be mindful when downloading applications. Therefore, focus on the permissions any App requires when you are downloading and installing. It tends to be extremely easy to get the app ready for use without looking at its requirements and permissions. However, be cautious about any permission that the app asks you so you won’t permit the app to override your encryptions and security, especially if the app isn't notable.
10. Be cautious when using web browsers
Be cautious when using an internet browser on your Smartphone. You might click ‘Ok' to any message that pops up while on the web. For instance, agreeing to save your details and passwords may make it simple to recall for some other time. However, others can likewise go through these sites without inputting any password if they access your Smartphone.
Ensure you generally take a close look at the URL and ensure the ‘HTTP' has a ‘s' at the end. This guarantees the URL you are going to tap on is secure thus also securing your smartphones . We likewise suggest that you check for any spelling errors in the URL.
Bottom Line
So you are at the point where you have everything installed and all set. However, in everything, you need one last feature. This feature will perfect all other feature on how to secure your Smartphones. It the ability for you to wipe your Android or iOS remotely. This is fundamental, especially when you're sure that you can't get your Smartphone again. There's no need worrying about it again – we can just keep them from accessing our data.
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About the Author:
Amaya Paucek is a professional with an MBA and practical experience in SEO and digital marketing. She is based in Philippines and specializes in helping businesses achieve their goals using her digital marketing skills. She is a keen observer of the ever-evolving digital landscape and looks forward to making a mark in the digital space.
