CAPE TOWN - Having your cellphone stolen or being a victim of cybercrime is the worst possible thought any smartphone user would want for themselves.
However, there are many tips available to help you keep your smartphone safe and hack-free.
Here are a few tips to help keep your smartphone hack proof:
1. Take note of the type of apps you install
When you install a smartphone app, you may be asked to grant it various permissions, including the ability to read your files, access your camera or listen in to your microphone.
There are legitimate uses for these capabilities, but they’re potentially open to abuse.
2. Review what’s already on your phone
Review all the apps on your smartphone, and see which permissions they’re using: on iOS, you’ll find lots of relevant information under Settings and in Privacy.
Android also lets you install apps from third-party sources. However, try to avoid installing apps from an unfamiliar website.
3. Make sure you have a virus detector
There are many different types of security apps such as Avast and McAfee you can use.
These tools can also jump in and alert you if you’re trying to install an app that’s known to be malicious, and warn you if a “phishing” attack is trying to trick you into entering a password into an app that is not trusted or a web page.
4. Use your security options
Ensure that your phone is always locked when not in use.
Your device will offer many different types of security options such as fingerprint scanner, facial recognition or a password.
5. Don’t leave online services unlocked
Many people use auto-login to avoid having to continuously type in their password when logging into an application.
However, when making use of auto-login you are giving a hacker the advantage of gaining access to all your online accounts. Use a password manager app that requires you to regularly re-enter a master password.
Try not to use the same password for all your applications. Hackers use online services to steal user credentials, which they will use on other websites.
6. Be prepared to track and lock your phone
Plan ahead, so even if your phone is stolen, you know your data is safe. You can set your phone to automatically erase itself after a certain number of incorrect attempts of entering the password. If you have an Apple device or on an Android you will have to use Google and use the “find my device” service.
This service will help you locate your phone on a map and it allows you to lock the device or erase the data on it.