With the era of technology upon us, smartphones are one of the must-have item’s on the list of most people. From using them to stay productive at work to connecting socially with friends and family, smartphones are versatile and important tools for anyone.
Unfortunately, in recent years, there has been an increase in the rate of cybercrime and smartphones have become an easy target. This is because many people minimize the importance of protecting the data stored on their phones or worse still, don’t even recognize that there is an importance in protecting their phones. Note that no one is immune to hacking attacks, however, people can protect themselves from such attacks with some effort.
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How To Prevent Smartphone Cybercrime with Simple Protection Tips
Cybercriminals have adopted a number of means to hack phones and they include: sending email and text attachments to introduce malware to your phone, embedding viruses in sites you visit and so on, you have to take steps to prevent cybercrime. Some steps you can take are:
Stay up to date:-
The first and very important step is to install software updates immediately they are made available to make sure your phone is always protected. both Android and iOS periodically provide security updates of the operating system which are available for free.
Lock your screen:-
It is important you use a PIN, password or fingerprint security to lock the screen of your phone as this helps to defend your device from being hacked.
Do regular backups
It is not strange to store personal data on your smartphone but you should backup any personal information to a location that is secure and you can access. we are recommended you to create a backup on your personal computer and you can also make an online backup on Google Drive and OneDrive.
Be careful what you install
Before you install an app to your phone, make sure the source you are getting the app from is a trusted one. Also, don’t download anything from a site you are unfamiliar with. never download an app through a link or by a link provided by social media, this is one of the main reasons for cybercrime.
Review the apps on your phone
Once in a while, go through the apps on your phone and see what permissions they are using. This helps you to identify if there is any strange thing going on. If you feel that a particular mobile aap does not need this permission, then close that permission. For example, a calculator app does not require your location permission.
Be able to track your phone
In the event that your phone gets stolen, you’d want to ensure that your data is safe. You can turn on the ‘find my device’ option on your phone to make it easy to locate your phone on a map.
Lock individual apps
You can lock each app separately to ensure that if by chance your phone is snatched while it is unlocked, a hacker would not be able to open your apps without a password.
Be wary of open wifi
An open wireless network always poses a risk as anyone around can easily find out what you are doing online. To protect yourself, don’t connect to networks you don’t trust.
Install trusted security software
This will help in detecting and preventing harmful files from accessing information on your smartphone. You should install mobile antivirus in your phone, because it will protect you from spam app and also protect you from cheating internet content.
Be careful with the links you open
Don’t open emails or attachments from unknown sources. Be certain that you trust the source a link is coming from before opening it.