By Scott Aurnou
Get a new smartphone or tablet? Awesome!
Unfortunately, hackers, cyber criminals and real world thieves won’t wait for you to break it in before they start making trouble. In addition, it could be said that the device manufacturers and wireless carriers haven’t taken advantage of some currently available measures to safeguard the smartphones and tablets they sell. With that in mind, here are nine basic (and relatively easy) steps you can take that will go a long way towards securing your new device:
1) Set a passcode or password. A passcode is a basic four-digit code required to use the device. Without one, anyone holding your device only needs to turn it on to access everything on it. Most new devices also offer the option to use a longer alphanumeric password (which is considerably more secure than a passcode).
If you have an iPhone 5S (or HTC One Max), you can use a fingerprint scanner, though hackers found a way around it within days of its release and numerous users have had problems with it.
2) Turn on the auto-lock function. Right after you set a passcode or password, you should enable the auto-lock function on your device and set it to as short a time period as you’re comfortable with (1 to 5 minutes is good). Aside from saving a bit of battery life, a shorter period makes it that much less likely that someone will stumble upon your phone or tablet while it’s still turned on.
3) Update the software. Updates to your mobile operating system and any apps on your smartphone or tablet often include security fixes and should be downloaded as soon as they’re available. And yes, there may already be some available when you first take it out of the box. There are significant differences between the various mobile operating systems and their respective updating procedures. It’s a good idea to be familiar with them, so you know what to expect.
4) Use mobile security software. While security apps won’t protect you from everything, they do offer helpful features, including device tracking and protection against some mobile malware. Among others, Lookout Mobile, Avast and Sophos offer good free versions of security apps for Android devices (and Lookout has an iOS version, too). There are also a number of strong paid mobile security apps that offer additional protections. The Top Ten Reviews website reviews a number of them, including a comparison of their respective features.
5) Set up data backups. Backing up the data on your smartphone or tablet is fairly easy and it’s the kind of thing you’ll REALLY wish you’d done if it gets lost, stolen, or just stops working one day. A number of security apps include data backups among their features. You can also use automatic online backups or – if you’d rather not have a copy of your data in the cloud – back it up by syncing your device to your computer or a work network.
6) Enable remote wiping on your device. In case of loss or theft, personal and business data can be protected from prying eyes. A remote wipe is like a ‘factory reset’- it erases all data on a smartphone or tablet. If the device has been backed up, the information can be restored on a replacement (or the original, if you get it back). A number of mobile security apps, as well as Apple’s Find My iPhone/iPad app, can be configured to enable remote wiping. On new Apple devices running iOS 7, Find My iPhone includes an ‘Activation Lock’ feature that makes it more difficult for anyone who finds or steals your device to actually use it.
Many devices can also be set to do an automatic factory reset after a number of incorrect attempts at guessing your passcode or password. Meantime, a number of security programs react to too many wrong guesses by snapping a picture of whomever is using the device and sending out a ‘ping’ to give away its location to police or a predetermined web address.
7) Change the default settings on your phone or tablet. The privacy and security settings on your device will have a big effect on how exposed you will be to data theft or cyber attack. For example, a lot of programs will track you if they can, so you should disable general location tracking. You can enable it for individual apps that actually need it, like mapping programs or apps that help you find movies, restaurants or other services nearby. You may also wish to disable the automatic geo-tagging of your photos with location information (which will be included if the photos are subsequently posted online).
Disable Bluetooth and NFC (Near Field Communications) anytime you aren’t using them. They allow for cool features like wireless keyboards and payments via swipe, but hackers can use that connectivity to access your data or the device itself. Also turn off the device’s automatic Wi-Fi connection – it broadcasts information about your identity and location and can easily connect to an insecure network while it’s running in the background.
Check the device’s cloud storage settings. Many phones and tablets will automatically store your documents, pictures, videos, etc. (and possibly even post them) online unless you change the settings.
If you have an Android phone or tablet, make sure it’s set to only download apps from the Google Play store. Third party stores are far more likely to offer apps laden with malware and other unwelcome surprises. Speaking of apps…
8) Check app permissions (and read reviews). Why would a game need access to your address book? Whenever you download an app, it will request ‘permissions’ that allow it to access the data and use different functions on your phone or tablet. It may seem be a little tedious, but you really need to check them before downloading any app. Apps requesting unnecessary permissions are particularly likely with free versions of normally paid programs and apps purchased from third party app stores, though familiar apps can also try and sneak ridiculous permissions by you.
In addition to data pilfering permissions, bad apps can also come with mobile malware, so make sure to read the reviews before downloading an app. If there are just a few or a lot of bad ones, skip it.
9) Don’t jailbreak or root your phone or tablet. ‘Jailbreaking’ and ‘rooting’ both refer to overriding manufacturer settings – including security settings and any related future updates – on a mobile device, allowing it to download and use apps and other features that are normally not enabled on it. Jailbreaking refers to the process as it applies to an Apple iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad and rooting is much the same for a smartphone or tablet running the Android mobile operating system. The vast majority of mobile malware affects these devices since their security systems are badly compromised by the jailbreaking or rooting process and they should never be connected to a business computer network.
No system or protective measure is completely foolproof, but the steps outlined above will make your device much safer. That way, you can focus on enjoying it.