An issue that has grown in urgency over the last few years is that of smartphone security. The smartphone market has grown so quickly that many new users are not aware of the risks posed by the devices.
It would take just a few minutes to get to know you intimately, if a stranger got hold of your smartphone. The story of your employment, friends, preferences and routines is told by your apps, messages, address book, calendar, browser history and photos.
If you misplaced your mobile phone, or worse still, had it stolen, what would you do? Where would you begin to retrieve your phone, and what would you do about all the personal information stored on it? You know what a nightmare this can be, if it has ever happened to you.
Sure, it's the most obvious thing to do. But setting a password is the first step to securing your smart phone. On most smartphones these days, you have the ability to create a password and set it to lock automatically if you don't use your phone for a certain period of time. Should you ever misplace your phone, taking this simple step will help keep prying eyes away from your data.
It's too bad that most people find even an elementary password to be a hassle, so they don't bother. Typing in four extra digits before making a phone call or sending a text message is an unwanted inconvenience. Passwords were created to deter cyber criminals from accessing your data.
Enable remote wipe. Remote wipe does what the name implies: it remotely wipes the data on your phone and restores it to the factory settings. This is not something you want to do every day, but should be prepared to initiate should your phone fall into the wrong hands.
Mobile phone users have a tendency to enable their devices to automatically connect to Wi-Fi networks. Cyber criminals may hijack the personal information of people using fake Wi-Fi networks they set up to attract unsuspecting users in popular areas. Without checking if they are secure, consumers will often use any wireless connection available.
The easiest route into your phone for hackers is with downloaded apps. You're already taking the first step toward keeping your phone safe if you buy only from the dedicated app stores, and do not open up your phone for non-regulated software.
Currently, pirated software accounts for most malware found on phones, and comes from free apps that are distributed with malicious code by hackers. So make sure you look for the official versions.
Finally, a lot of apps on a smartphone track your location. You can turn off location services altogether, or choose which apps gain access to location data.
It would take just a few minutes to get to know you intimately, if a stranger got hold of your smartphone. The story of your employment, friends, preferences and routines is told by your apps, messages, address book, calendar, browser history and photos.
If you misplaced your mobile phone, or worse still, had it stolen, what would you do? Where would you begin to retrieve your phone, and what would you do about all the personal information stored on it? You know what a nightmare this can be, if it has ever happened to you.
Sure, it's the most obvious thing to do. But setting a password is the first step to securing your smart phone. On most smartphones these days, you have the ability to create a password and set it to lock automatically if you don't use your phone for a certain period of time. Should you ever misplace your phone, taking this simple step will help keep prying eyes away from your data.
It's too bad that most people find even an elementary password to be a hassle, so they don't bother. Typing in four extra digits before making a phone call or sending a text message is an unwanted inconvenience. Passwords were created to deter cyber criminals from accessing your data.
Enable remote wipe. Remote wipe does what the name implies: it remotely wipes the data on your phone and restores it to the factory settings. This is not something you want to do every day, but should be prepared to initiate should your phone fall into the wrong hands.
Mobile phone users have a tendency to enable their devices to automatically connect to Wi-Fi networks. Cyber criminals may hijack the personal information of people using fake Wi-Fi networks they set up to attract unsuspecting users in popular areas. Without checking if they are secure, consumers will often use any wireless connection available.
The easiest route into your phone for hackers is with downloaded apps. You're already taking the first step toward keeping your phone safe if you buy only from the dedicated app stores, and do not open up your phone for non-regulated software.
Currently, pirated software accounts for most malware found on phones, and comes from free apps that are distributed with malicious code by hackers. So make sure you look for the official versions.
Finally, a lot of apps on a smartphone track your location. You can turn off location services altogether, or choose which apps gain access to location data.
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