In this day and age we often live our lives through our phone or tablet. They are small and portable, making it the best option to not only keep all of our appointments in one place, but also to communicate through email and other methods.
But if you were to lose your phone or just put it down and it got taken, would you fear your personal information getting stolen? There are ways to secure your mobile so you don’t have to worry about what happens if your device gets into the wrong hands.
1. Use a Pin or Password
Preventing someone from being able to get into your device will stop most people from gaining access to your information. All phones have the option of a lock screen and while it might seem inconvenient to have to put in that code on your device all the time, the thought of losing all of that information or having it get into the wrong hands is too great to not lock up your phone. Use a good combination of numbers that cannot be easily guessed. It might be a good idea to change the passcode frequently as well.
2. Be Careful Which Apps You Use
You should only use trusted apps. Bad apps can be loaded with malware which get into your system and can steal your information. Using major app stores like Google Play or Apple iTunes lowers your risk of downloading a bad app. This isn’t as big of an issue for Apple or Microsoft users, but Android users should be careful to only use Google Play to download apps.
Still check the reviews before downloading something even from these trusted app stores. While it’s safer through them, there can still be malicious apps even there. So read those reviews.
3. Stop Advertisers from Tracking You
Your provider might be allowing advertisers to track you. You can go to settings on your phone and adjust this so your information is not getting in the hands of advertisers.
4. Have Remote Location and Wiping on Your Device
If your phone is lost or stolen, you can track your phone with the remote location device. You can also wipe out sensitive information from your phone or device so you don’t have to worry about it getting into the wrong hands.
5. Be Careful on Public Wi-Fi
Being careful on public Wi-Fi is a great way to not use up your data, but the main problem with public Wi-Fi is that it allows your data to be available to anyone. So try to do banking while at home or if you can’t, then use your financial institution’s app. Or you can use an encryption service.
6. Use Online Security Software
You use it on your personal computer, so why wouldn’t you use it on your mobile devices? They are after all just handheld computers. So check with your favorite security software company to see what they have to offer for mobile devices.
7. Wipe Old Gadgets Clean
When it’s time for an upgrade, make sure you personally take care of wiping your device before selling or giving it away. You need to wipe the internal memory too, because just deleting apps can be restored by someone who’s tech savvy.
Keeping your mobile device safe is just as important as protecting your home computer. None of this is hard to do and you don’t need to be computer savvy to do it. You can always speak with your mobile provider about how to set your mobile device up and keep it safe.
