Are you aware of all data and private information that you store on your mobile phone? Photos, videos, your internet browsing history, messages, and even private passwords! Your phone is a very precious commodity for thieves and hackers. But do not worry! Fortunately, there are some things you can do to protect your data cyber threats. Take note because below I will give you 8 very useful tips to keep your Android phone safe. Prepared? Let's go there!
1. Set a very strong password
Wouldn't you leave the door of your house wide open at the risk of anyone entering? Well that is exactly what you would be doing with your mobile if you don't set a strong password. My first advice is to put a first layer of security on your Android phone by setting a PIN or password instead of a sliding pattern, which is easier to crack.
2. Use a VPN
Una VPN for Android it can keep hackers and ransomware attacks away. The VPN protect your privacy placing a tunnel between your phone and the Internet. In this way, any activity you carry out in a public or open Wi-Fi through your phone will be protected.
3. Keep your mobile operating system updated
Updates come loaded with new features for your phone, but also with important security fixes. This is why you cannot allow your phone to be out of date.
4. Beware of downloading applications
The next advice is to pay pay attention to the applications you install on your phone. That's where most of the malware that affects mobile phones. Therefore, I recommend 3 things:
- Install only the applications you really need
- Be aware of permissions What do you grant when you install an application on your mobile?
- Install apps only from Google Play, the official app store for Android.
5. Monitor the permissions you grant to applications
I already mentioned this topic before, but I think it is so important that I wanted to give it an exclusive point. Sometimes we are not aware of the private data that we are transferring a according to which applications just for the fact of installing them on our devices.
Sometimes applications that we never even use or use only occasionally have access to our photos and videos. Being aware of this is essential. If you do not want to go around giving away your private data to companies in exchange for nothing, the best thing is that check the permissions that are active on your Android phone for the applications you have installed.
For that you just have to go to the Settings / Application notifications / Application permissions section. You will see a list with the applications and the permissions they have and you will be able to modify them.
6. Install an antivirus on your mobile
There are some security applications such as mobile antivirus that will allow you to put an extra layer of security on your mobile to keep it free from malware and phishing. Of course, make sure that the antivirus you are installing is safe and from a reliable company. The remedy is not going to be worse than the disease.
There are also security applications that allow you to access your mobile in case of theft or loss to save your data and even locate where it is located.
7. Encrypt your mobile phone
These days it is very common for phones to come with a built-in encryption feature. Through the encryption process what is done is turn phone data into completely unreadable data so that your privacy is guaranteed.
You will have to establish an encryption password and you must be extremely careful with this since in many cases the fact of entering an encryption password incorrectly several times results in the automatic deletion of all the data you have on your phone.
Given this, my recommendation is that you make a backup.
8. Use only Google Play as download store
We talked about this earlier, but this point is also so important that it deserves to be a main point. I recommend you download only apps from Google Play Since downloading applications from unknown or external sites can seriously jeopardize the security of your device.
Conclusion
Vulnerabilities are constantly being found in mobile phones that make them susceptible to attacks, so it is essential to be aware of the news and keep your phone as secure as possible.
How are you guaranteeing the security of your mobile? Do you use any of the options in the previous tips?