Today, most Smartphone users are attached to their phone and treat them like their most prized possessions. This is because smartphones are used for a number of vital social and economical roles such as emailing, playing games, chatting, phone calls, and photography among others.
Although the benefits accorded by smartphones are vast, the security threats they can introduce in our lives if left unprotected are quite extensive. These threats include; Spam messaging with phone owners receiving all kinds of deceptive messages ranging from claims to have won money and job opportunities, among others. Other security risks include blue jacking which is a Bluetooth security threat, location based threats, malicious applications and identity theft, among others.
Samuel Cris Ayo, Device Services Manager Huawei Uganda shares some useful security tips that every smartphone user should activate in order to ensure their phone’s security.
1. Protect your phone and your data with efficient antivirus
Today smartphones are almost similar to computers meaning that they are vulnerable to the same risk. Just the way users ensure that their computers are protected by efficient anti-virus or malware software, it’s vital to use a reputable anti-malware and antivirus software to protect your smartphone. Leading smartphone antivirus for Android includes Antiy AVL 2.4, Avast Mobile Security 5.1, among others.
2. Be aware of the risks of jail-breaking your smartphone
Many smartphones come with Digital Rights Management (DRM) software protection. This DRM’s protect your phone by limiting the kind of software you can run on your phone. Jail-breaking refers to the process of hacking past DRM in order to install unauthorized software and to make other changes in the phone’s operating system.
Although it’s quite tempting and cool to jailbreak your phone, it’s advisable to avoid this practice as it leaves the phone susceptible to security threats.
3. Be aware of the apps you download onto your phone
Before installing an application on to your phone, carefully read through its permission access/requests. In addition, if an app isn’t available on the Play Store, think twice about installing it on your phone, as well; leave the Verify apps setting enabled to have Android perform regular scanning for any malicious applications.
4. Keep your smartphone locked
Most smartphones provide an automatic screen locking option where the phone automatically locks itself up if not in use over a certain period of time. It’s vital to make use of your phone’s screen lock at all times so that there is less chance for misuse if it falls in the hands of a cyber criminal. Most users don’t bother locking their phones because of the delays associated with unlocking it.
On top of providing enhanced security, the fingerprint sensor on the Huawei P9 for example makes it possible for users to conveniently unlock the smartphone by touching the sensor on the back, which within a fraction of a second recognizes the fingerprint and awakens the phone. Huawei P9 and MATE 8 also have additional Level 4 highest security; fingerprint sensor for secure access and supports biometric recognition to capture fingerprint in 3D for added security, highly sensitive with fast response.
5. Ensure that sensitive information on your phone is encrypted
Make use of data encryption features on your phone. Briefly explained, encryption means encoding and decoding your data, when you encrypt your data it transforms from an original form into a format that can’t be read. The encrypted data can only be decoded back to its original format by applying a specific decryption password.
6. Switch off Bluetooth when not in use
It’s always wise to switch off your Bluetooth if it’s not in use. Using a procedure called blue jacking; hackers can easily obtain data from someone else’s phone at times without their consent through Bluetooth. Switching it off will therefore keep your phone safe from cyberattack and will also reduce on your phone’s battery drain.
7. Choose a smartphone security solution with anti-theft features
Some smartphone security features include an anti-theft features that give you remote access to your lost or stolen phone so that you can lock the phone, wipe data from it, and find its location. For example you can use Device Administrator app on your Huawei GR 5 to allow Android Device Manager to lock or erase a lost device.