A mobile phone is no longer a simple voice-call device. Today, it is an essential part of daily activities—for checking emails on the go, connecting with friends on social media, reviewing critical work documents, getting news updates, transacting with banks, purchasing groceries, and performing countless other important tasks.
As a result, your Android smartphone contains a large amount of personal data, from emails and message-based conversations to personal photos, videos, downloads, and account login credentials. If left unguarded, it could get into the wrong hands, severely compromising your privacy and safety.
But protecting your mobile device is not only about safeguarding it from physical theft. There are many other ways it could come under threat when linked to the Internet around the clock. Hacking attacks, in particular, can appear in multiple forms. Here are the essential measures to guard your Android phone against them.
Lock Your Screen
The most basic level of protection you can provide your phone is locking screen access. Depending on the phone model, you may have several options for this, from personal identification numbers to fingerprints and facial recognition.
Pin codes and passwords are the easiest to use. But ensure they are unique, complex, and difficult to guess. Avoid using birthdays and similarly significant number combinations, and never reuse them for any other account. Moreover, keep them private without sharing with anyone.
If you struggle to remember pin codes and passwords, biometrics can be easier to use. They are unique to each person and cannot be shared or stolen. However, they are not entirely foolproof. Recent findings highlight various ways hackers could steal them, thanks to modern technology. Even simple videos and voice clips you post on social media could compromise your biometric data.
Having said that, no security measure is flawless. Adopting some kind of protective mechanism is undoubtedly better than having none. Using a combination of these methods would be a smarter option.
Review Your App Use
Malicious apps can sit in the background and watch all your phone activities. They could collect confidential data, including your login credentials, and even launch ransomware attacks.
By using official app stores, you can significantly minimize this risk. But remember, it will not guarantee complete protection. Malicious apps containing adware and malware have even made it to the Google Play Store. Therefore, limiting apps altogether and choosing ones from reputed developers is essential.
Sometimes, regular apps can put you at risk, too, with their intrusive data-collecting practices. A data breach at their end could seriously compromise your safety. So, if an application has excessive app permission requests, it is best to reconsider using it. And if you already have many apps on your phone, reassess their need. Delete ones you hardly use, and remove unnecessary data tracking permissions from the rest.
Review Links and Attachments
Links and downloads can also lead to hacking threats. For example, an email attachment you open on your smartphone could infect your device with a virus attack. Similarly, a link provided via a text message could take you to a malicious site that downloads malware. This is termed smishing in the cyber world.
Be mindful of threats that may appear in disguise. But you can often avoid them by practicing caution. Install antivirus software that can scan messages and emails for malware. And if an unknown person sends you a text message urging you to click a link, search the number on PhoneHistory first to find out more about the sender.
Set Up a VPN
Virtual private networks aren’t just for desktops and laptops. Considering the critical activities most individuals perform using their Android devices, VPNs have become essential for mobile phones, too.
They can mask your IP address and shield your network traffic, protecting you from intrusive cyber spying. This is particularly important when you are using Wi-Fi networks at cafés, shopping malls, airports, and other public places.
VPN facilities are available as part of some search engines and virus guards. You can also find them separately as free and paid services. Paid options usually offer added protection with a larger number of server locations.
Keep Your OS, Software, and Apps Up-To-Date
Software developers regularly release updates to introduce new features as well as patches for security vulnerabilities. The latter can protect your smartphone against cyber threats in a constantly changing tech landscape. Remember, hacking threats evolve each day as technology progresses. So, regular software updates are crucial to strengthen your device’s security barriers.
Avoid Saving Passwords and Personal Data
It is easier to allow your device and browser to save login credentials of the countless accounts you access on your smartphone—from your bank account and Amazon profile to social media and emails. After all, remembering multiple passwords is tricky unless you have a laser-sharp memory. But this is a risky practice that could compromise your data security in the event of a hacking attack.
So, what’s the best way to tackle this issue? For accounts you access frequently, use a password manager to save and organize their usernames and passwords. Log out from accounts when not in use. And make it a habit to upload documents to a cloud storage space instead of keeping them on your phone.
A Final Thought
A remote hacking attack on your mobile phone can lead to costly repercussions. Criminals could access your emails and target your contacts for phishing attacks. Or they may download malware to your device and extract your bank passwords using keylogging techniques. They could even track your location and cause physical harm.
Clearly, protecting your Android phone is crucial to avoid hacking threats. Locking your screen, reviewing your apps, and setting up a VPN can help sidestep many of the risks. Practicing caution with links and downloads, keeping software updated, and removing personal and confidential data from your device is also important.
In addition, learn how to identify possible hacking attacks. Unusually high battery and data usage, poor phone performance, and strange pop-ups and apps could all signal a compromised phone. In instances like these, having a cloud backup would be crucial to avoid losing access to critical data.