Your cell phone contains some of your most sensitive and personal information. Things like your passwords, account numbers, emails, text messages, photos, and even videos. If your phone fell into the wrong hands, a bad guy could steal your identity, shop with your money, or hack your email and social media accounts. Find out what you can do to protect the data on your phone.
How to protect the data on your smartphone?
Here are some tips to better protect your cell phone data and warn you about cybercriminal practices. Cybercrime also targets smartphones more easily because we always have them with us. They are, therefore, privileged targets for a large number of pirates.
If you don’t have a mobile device, make sure your laptop is also password protected or locked with a passcode or fingerprint.
Think about the cloud to save and protect your data
Only store information on your mobile device that you need to access quickly and frequently. It is indeed very easy to lose your phone or have your memory emptied remotely by a hacker.
Fortunately, there is a simple solution to remedy this: The Cloud! It allows you to secure the information stored on your phone and find it from any other device. You can therefore save your data where it is really safe: in the Cloud!
Beware of unsecured WiFi networks
Whether it’s a smartphone or tablet, be very careful about using WiFi networks. Next-generation tablets, which are considered real computers, can also be widely used by professionals and individuals. Tablets allow perfect mobile use in the same way as laptops;Â browse the web, send emails, browse social networks, etc …
You must keep an eye on the security level of the WiFi networks on which you will connect. If you get a WiFi network you want to connect to, and it’s not secure, avoid it! You will be informed of the level of security. Otherwise, these are WiFi networks that do not require a connection password. For example, WiFi at McDonald’s or certain networks accessible from terraces of cafes or restaurants.
If you absolutely must connect to this WiFi network, do not log in to your bank accounts, social networks, or anything requiring a password to be entered by hand. Hackers use this insecure access to capture your information and thus recover all your codes and passwords. They usually use software or sniffers to achieve this and know very well how to hack a phone.
Also, don’t trust third-party apps that can collect all kinds of information without your knowledge, especially your personal data. It is best to use apps that are verified. If you have an iPad, Apple is normally very vigilant about the security of user data. In this case, check the editor, but always be careful and especially if you have an Android tablet.
Install an antivirus on your tablet or mobile
Having a good antivirus will most certainly be useful against external threats, and at the same time to protect you against possible malware or other attacks such as phishing, etc … As said above, smartphones and other mobile devices are prime targets by hackers.
Use a complete antivirus that will protect your Internet browsing as well as external attacks, phishing, or other malware that would seek to settle on your device.
Beware of jailbreaking and unidentified SMS
Such practices can expose your phone to viruses and internet scams without your knowledge. At best, you may not be able to use your phone until you perform a full factory restore. In the worst case, it is a click on a link shared by SMS, which will trigger the installation of a small virus capable of taking control of your phone and recovering all your data.
Restoration will not change anything because these viruses can be installed in the ROM of your mobile, and everything is transparent without realizing anything. It is a form of remote jailbreaking, which will cause you to lose control of your phone for the sole purpose of recovering all of your personal data.
Protect your contact list
One of the most sensitive pieces of data on your computer, tablet, or phone is the list of your contacts. This list is very important because it contains the names, first names, telephone numbers, and sometimes the email addresses of your professional contacts, friends, and family.
Mobile numbers can thus be used to contact them by SMS. The first thing to do to secure your contacts is to define at least one password on your phone. In addition, there are apps available for free that can help you protect the data in this contact list.
In case of loss or theft of your device
If your mobile devices are lost or stolen, follow these simple steps:
- Call your telephone company to report the theft.
- File a police complaint (if you know it was stolen).
- Place fraud alerts on your credit reports.
- Block your credit cards if you have them on your cell phone (to be on the safe side).
- Change sensitive passwords for your emails, social accounts, etc …
Quickly check your social accounts to see if any information has been posted or shared without your permission.
Trigger the search by geolocation and delete your phone remotely
Mobile operating systems have special programs to locate lost phones. For Android, Google’s “Find My Device” geolocation feature can provide you with the current location of your phone, if enabled.
Beforehand and in prevention, update your software. Enable automatic updates for your operating system. Open your email app and click options> Advanced settings. Activate automatic data update or online email storage (cloud). In the same way, activate “Find my iPhone” from iCloud for Apple phones and devices.
These features also allow you to delete data from your phone remotely.
Conclusion
In short, the most important thing is to always keep your phone on your person or not far in sight. Never leave your smartphone unattended. It is also very important to make regular backups of the phone data, which will allow you to keep a certain number of them in case of loss or theft, and to be able to restore them to a new device.
Finally, think about unsecured WiFi networks to be avoided, install an antivirus, and resort to coded access or via password on your important applications.
