5 Best Ways to Protect Your Smartphone
Smartphones have become an integral part of people’s lives nowadays. Statistics show that worldwide smartphone users reached more than 4 billion in numbers. It is almost unimaginable to think about going through every day without one of these portable mini ‘computers’. But since these devices make life easier and more practical, they inevitably contain a lot of personal data that has to be kept safe. Luckily, smart thinking as prevention from any possible theft or data misuse is simple enough for anyone who wants to be responsible with their personal information.
- Always lock your phone
When it comes to protecting your phone, the first obvious thing to do is to keep it locked. That way, if someone happens to steal it, they will not have immediate access to your data and information and content of your phone in general which will give you time to take other possible safety steps that can be done remotely. When locking the phone, the best possibilities involve using a PIN, password or pattern as a security measure. Of course, it is important that you are able to remember how to unlock your phone.
- Use a security app
It is very useful to have one app ‘to rule them all and keep track of any possible malware that may lurk in the shadows of the Internet and Play Store. There are many apps that can provide you with this service so choose the one that you find best and, of course, read the reviews and do your research if you have trouble deciding which one to choose for your phone protection. Even though it can be annoying, keep your cool and allow updates for a security app so that it can fight any unwanted attention your phone might receive through the web.
- Read before you accept
Even if you find them in Play Store, not all apps are completely safe. Therefore, always take time to read app permissions. You might have gotten used to ticking ‘Agree with terms and conditions without reading them, but this is different. First of all, app permissions can be read in no time and with your critical thinking as well as comments on the particular app, you will be able to see for yourself whether or not some app permissions really make sense compared to the tasks of the actual app.
- Backup your data
If you are prepared to protect your personal data and information from possible thefts why not create an opportunity to get all the data, files and pictures of sentimental and professional value back to you? This way, even if your phone happens to be stolen, your stress will be a little relieved. You can safely store your backup on a computer and flash drive, or a virtual drive, preferably one with good encryption such as pCloud.
- Remote Wipe to the rescue
In order to prepare for the worst case scenario where your phone really gets stolen, remember to enable remote wipe feature. If you know then your phone is gone for good and especially if you have all your data backed up safely, there is no use to spend time lamenting your material loss. With remote wipe software you can access your phone from any computer or device with Internet connection and restore your phone to its factory setting, thus erasing any data and information that could compromise you in any way.
As you can see, taking necessary precautions to protect your Smartphone are not that troublesome to deal with. Therefore, do not wait for unfortunate events to happen in order to start thinking about securing your phone privacy.
