Today, smartphones have become so common and widely spread that the majority of people can’t even imagine their lives without using them. We keep a lot of personal info in our phones, not only messages, photos and all the logged-in social accounts, but even other apps that are connected with credit cards and stored emails with personal data. If you lose your phone, all this precious information may be easily exposed to the thieves who will not only use your phone, but bring even more damage to you. Today we will talk about all the means of your smartphone security.
Always use a lock screen password and touch ID
Having a password to lock your screen is a must, regardless of which type of smartphone you are using. We highly recommend iPhone users use TouchID to avoid anyone sneaking into their phones without their permission. This is a very easy yet strong way to protect your phone from trespassing.
As for Androids, go with the Alarm Anti-Theft Screen Lock. As soon as you activate it, your phone is protected in the following way: if the wrong unlock code is inserted, the app will turn on an alarm notifying you that someone was trying to break into your device.
Don’t trust unknown Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth devices
Unprotected Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth connections are a gold mine for smartphone criminals as they can easily send a virus to your smartphone and bring damage to it or even lock it altogether in order to blackmail you and take your money to unlock it. We recommend not connecting to networks that you don’t know are secure, disable file sharing if connected, and use firewalls, for example NoRoot Firewall. Remember, the only free cheese is in the mousetrap; be very picky if it comes to unknown connections.
Install apps to lock other apps
To protect some of your private folders or apps, it’s always better to restrict access to them with a password. Try Folder Lock (iOS), AppLock (Android). In this case you can be 100% sure that those who are not supposed to see anything will not sneak around your private phone content. Simply select which apps and folders you would like to password protect and set new passwords to access them.
Do the backup
Simply do the backup. Trust us, in the case something happens to your phone (you drop it into water, lose it, damage it so it can’t be repaired), you are sure to regret it as at that point there will be nothing you can do. Just trust us, we have been there and definitely regret it. If you are an iPhone owner, you can back up your phone fully using iTunes or iCloud. If you are an Android user, turn to Super Backup: SMS & Contacts. It will not only back up apps, but your messages, call logs, calendar, bookmarks and contacts as well.
Install antivirus apps
To prevent any unauthorized access to your phone, just install an antivirus app that you can trust, for example Avira (iOS), Dr.Web (Android). Even with iPhones that are claimed not to catch viruses at all, there is still a possibility that you can get a malware or some sort of trojan that can damage your phone’s content or lock it altogether. To avoid becoming a victim of any type of criminals, simply install a reliable antivirus and remain calm.
Install tracking Apps
If your phone was stolen, you can still find out where it is if these apps are installed. Take a look at Find my iPhone and Where’s My Droid. By enabling these apps through your account, you can get access to your smartphone’s location by GPS. If your phone was stolen, you can remotely lock it. You can send out messages to whoever has your phone and they will be seen on the screen in both of these apps. Where’s My Droid for Android is more advanced and it offers more settings to users, but in general, the concept of how they both work is pretty much the same. If you discover you will not get your phone back, both programs have the functionality to completely remove all the content of your phone. Lockwatch Mobile Security is an app for Android with a very useful feature in case of theft – if the wrong unlock code for your device was inserted, it will take a picture of the user so you know what the criminal with your phone looks like.
Following these simple tips will not take too much time or effort, and they might help you from getting into a bad smartphone situation. You can thank us later!