How to turn off your phone’s location

A team at Baylor University in Texas found that female students spent an average of ten hours a day texting, emailing and on social media.

A team at Baylor University in Texas found that female students spent an average of ten hours a day texting, emailing and on social media.

Published Oct 18, 2013

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Munich - Just because a smartphone can be an incredibly useful device, doesn't mean it can't sometimes be over-generous about sharing.

It's advisable to turn off functions that routinely transmit one's location, warns German computer magazine Chip.

That's because criminals can take advantage of a smartphone's satellite-navigation system, as well as its wi-fi connections and mobile connectivity, to figure out one's location and save it for possible mischief.

Just as when one surfs from home, smartphone users should be sure to only hand over user names and passwords on https-secured sites, say experts. Aside from Windows Phone, most email programmes can be encrypted with the S/MIME standard.

And all operating systems can make use of apps that activate the PGP mail encryption system. Encryption is most important when working from a wi-fi network, where it's easiest to tap into others' contents.

Be aware of uploading photos, documents, device backups and sensitive data to cloud servers, say experts.

Whatever you do, try to create the most complex password possible, perhaps with the use of apps like KeePass or LasPass.

But be clear: if one uses such a service to synchronize codes across a variety of devices and browsers, that means the software service has access to that sensitive data. - Sapa-dpa

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