In this article we will discuss Smartphone security and vulnerability. I will look at the threats that you face while using your mobile phone and what steps should be taken to protect your it and the sensitive and valuable data.
Smartphones have become an integral part of our daily lives now and for many people it’s almost impossible to spend even a few hours without having access to all the features the smartphone offers. With the ongoing technological advances mobile phones today are more feature rich and offer greater functionality and ease of access than before. A Smartphone today is in many ways our personal computer. Your Smartphone holds your personal data like contact numbers, it saves your daily schedules and also holds your business data. It saves your email addresses, your passwords and pin numbers. So a Smartphone can be illegally used to access your email account, and the attacker may get access to all the information saved in your inbox.
The feature rich operating system of a Smartphone has made it more vulnerable, and applications such as Google maps save the important places that you visited. If someone has unauthorized access to your mobile phone he probably knows which places you have visited. Today most of the banks are providing mobile banking through their websites so anyone who can access your mobile can possibly get into your bank account! Unfortunately, having this wealth of highly confidential and sensitive information stored inside a handheld device makes it an extremely lucrative target for the bad guys.
Below are some steps that you can take to enhance the security of your Smartphone and which can protect your valuable data and information:
1 - The first and most important thing is to understand that Smartphones are extremely valuable now, so you should handle them with care. Always keep your mobile phone with you, never leave it unattend
2 - Always use the lock screen feature of your mobile phone. The leading Smartphone companies such as Iphone (learn more about iPhone security), Blackberry and Android (7 Android Security Tips) all have the screen lock feature. It’s even better to use the auto lock feature. The auto lock feature locks the screen if your Smartphone is kept idle for a specific time and requires a password to unlock the screen.
3 - Enable the password protected start up feature. This feature requires a password before starting up your Smartphone once it has been turned off. Use a safe and secure password. Never save your username and password in the browser of your mobile phone or in any other form. Never use your name, father’s name, company name or any other common name as your password. Never use your birthday as your password. Use passwords that can’t be guessed easily, such as passwords that contain a combination of both alphabets and numbers along with some special characters.
4 - Use standard encryption methods to encrypt the data stored in your Smartphone.
5 - Always use the remote wipe, remote lock and GPS tracking feature. The remote lock feature allows you to wipe off all your stored data in case you lose your mobile phone or it gets stolen. Similarly the remote lock feature locks your phone remotely and the GPS tracking system tells you the location of your Smartphone.
6 - Always keep back up of your data stored in your Smartphone. Use good quality antivirus and security software for your mobile phone.
7 - Never jailbreak your Smartphone, jail breaking the Smartphone causes lost of the factory installed security measures and makes your phone more vulnerable.
8 - Always keep your phone updated with the latest security patches and updates.
9 - Turn off Bluetooth and other remote connectivity features when not in use.
10 - Never connect your Smartphone to an unprotected wifi network.