Keeping Your Phone Secure

Keeping your phone secure is getting more important every day. With penetration of mobile technology near universal in Europe and America and apps holding users’ personal and financial information, your phone is now a big target for hackers.

Here are some tips for making sure your phone stays safe and you can keep using it as a central organiser for your life.

Password

Make sure you set a strong password or pin for your phone, and any apps that hold your information. Make sure you base your password on something memorable that can’t be connected to you. Not your birthdate, for example, as hackers can find this information elsewhere. Try using the initials from a favourite phrase or quotation. Shakespeare is difficult to connect to any one person, and you’re unlikely to forget 2BON2TB, as it’s based on one of the most famous lines in literature. You can enable a password in your phone’s Options menu.

Keep Updated

One of the most important things you can do is make sure your operating system is up to date. The iOS and Android development teams are constantly working to keep the software secure, and close loopholes used by hackers and opportunists.

If an update is released, don’t delay downloading it to your phone. Failing to do so leaves you open to security flaws that others are protected from.

If you’re travelling when an update is released and you need additional data to download it, relatives at home can use secure online services to send top up to your phone wherever you are in the world. Use Antivirus Software

All the major Antivirus providers you know from desktop computing also have a mobile presence. Some offer complimentary packages, so if you’re paying for desktop protection you may already be entitled to the same for your phone.

This is especially important on Android, as the Google Play store is less tightly regulated than Apple’s App Store, and more open to programmes hiding Malware that could steal your data.

Mobile security packages offer more than simply screening apps and downloads: some allow you to block calls from nuisance numbers, and also offer anti-theft measures that block or delete your data in the event your phone is stolen to make sure thieves cannot use your phone to access your more personal information or financial accounts.

Following these guidelines should keep your mobile phone secure wherever you are in the world.

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