How to protect your smartphone from hackers
With all the reports about malware attacks and data breaches, no one can blame you for wanting to protect your smartphone from hackers. The worst case of phone hacking is that the threat actor gains access to your online accounts, such as your social media, email, online shopping accounts, or worse, your banking information.
This would force you to go through the headache of changing a ton of passwords, having to lock your credit, contacting your bank and online shopping vendors, and trying to pinpoint everything else the hacker had access to.
It’s always better to be proactive instead of reactive. Don’t wait until you get hacked to care about your privacy and security. In this tutorial, TheGhanaTech.com will be showing you simple precautions you can take to remain safe and secure from would-be hackers.
How to protect your smartphone from hackers
- Use a passcode lock or Face or Touch ID
Your mobile device’s first line of defense is your passcode lock or face or touch ID. While this technology isn’t 100 percent foolproof, having a password or other authentication measure enabled will certainly keep a large percentage of people out if they somehow get a hold of your phone.
- Frequently back up your phone
Keeping frequent backups of your phone is good for several reasons. Even if your phone doesn’t get lost or stolen, having a complete backup of your phone makes the transition to a new phone so much easier. But, if your phone does get lost or stolen, you can wipe the data on that phone remotely while having the peace of mind that you still have access to all of your data.
- Don’t store passwords (or other sensitive information) on your phone
it’s best not to store passwords or other sensitive information, such as credit card details or personal identifying information, on your phone. If your phone gets hacked and the threat actor has access to that information, it will cause more than just a headache.
- Download apps from an official app store
This mostly applies to Android users, as Apple’s app-vetting process is much stricter than Google’s. Additionally, you can download third-party apps with Android, allowing for the potential to download a malicious app.
- Keep your phone and apps updated
it can be easy to postpone updates, a lot of these updates provide critical security patches and/or enhancements. If there are known vulnerabilities in an OS or app, you can bet that threat actors are going to take advantage of them. Keeping your apps and phone systems up to date will keep you one step ahead of the would-be hackers.
- Use a VPN
When browsing the web on public Wi-Fi, always use a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN masks your IP and encrypts any data you send, making it difficult for threat actors to intercept or understand. This makes doing things like purchasing something online a bit more secure.
