Smartphones make life more interesting. Can you even remember a time when you couldn’t call your mom, text your brother, take a picture of your puppy and play a video game simultaneously? Smartphones have arrived and other than possibly changing our brains, killing off dozens of gadgets, and keeping us inescapably to work and relationships, it's all positive, right?
Unless, of course, your phone is hacked. Well, in that case, you could lose those puppy photos, have private messages published, banking information stolen, and more. What's worse, it may have been that new game you downloaded that opened the door to that hack in the first place.
While that would never happen to you (right?), other mortals make the mistake of not securing their mobiles. But for you, your smartphone is an extension of your right arm. You prevent your phone from hacking schemes by never letting it out of sight. Good enough, right?
Protect Phone Hacking with These Tips
Don’t be a phone-hack victim yourself. There are several simple things you can do to protect your privacy:
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Password-protect your mobile device and lock it. Avoid using personal information when creating your password, which should be at least six to eight characters long. Also, do this for your voicemail. For more information, see our article with tips for creating a strong password.
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Don’t leave your phone lying around for others to play with. It only takes a minute for a crafty rascal to infiltrate your device. Add to your device's physical security by turning on its "Find My Phone" feature, when available. For non-iOS devices without that feature, check out Webroot's offerings for mobile security for Android.
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Vet your apps. Not all apps play nice; many of them will worm their way into your system and escort you to Danger Land. Make sure to read the app’s user rating and comments. And always read the permissions before clicking "accept." You’re looking to see whether the app is asking to access data that strictly relates to the job it will perform. (e.g., A chess game app shouldn’t need access to your contacts information.) Webroot analyzed millions of new or updated apps in 2017 alone and found a full 32% of them to be malicious in nature.
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Consider turning off autocomplete features. Sure, they're convenient in the rare instance they make an actual correction. But they give criminals a head start on compromising sensitive personal information. Worth it?
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Remember Bluetooth Security. Unprotected Bluetooth networks can be an open door for hackers. Think twice about what you sync to and turn off Bluetooth when not using it.
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Refrain from joining unsecured public WiFi. Coffee shops, airports, and hotels are expected to offer public WiFi these days. Secure WiFi, on the other hand, is not something we always pay attention to. And hackers know it.
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You have security software for your computers. Extend the love to your mobile devices.
Mobile security to protect phones from hacking attempts will only continue to rise in importance as these devices become more involved in our work and social lives. Make sure they're accounted for in the device count of your internet security solution.
