Avast Blog_Tips & Advices: 9 tips everyone forgets to follow on their smartphone

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Follow these handy tips to enjoy your smartphone while still protecting your privacy

Statisticians estimate the number of cell phones in the world to be about 5 billion, with smartphones constituting about half of them. That’s 2.5 billion smartphones in use, which means a good third of the world’s population is texting, FaceTiming, sending and receiving pictures, and otherwise using their phones for more than just talking. Even if you were late coming to the smartphone party, you are most likely using that smart mobile device every day now, accumulating lots of personal data.  So, you may be thinking, “how do I keep my smartphone safe and secure?”

Just follow these 9 tips for mobile protection and you’re on your way to smartphone best practices that protect your privacy in safe and sane ways.

1. Lock your device with a passcode

Without this first layer of security in effect, anyone who picks up your phone can access your apps and the data held within. Set a passcode that only you know, and simply tap it in before you use your phone. For those devices that allow it, you can also set a “touch ID” that opens the phone in response to your fingerprint or set a “face ID” that unlocks a phone when the front facing camera recognizes you.

2. Avoid suspicious links

Any link you receive in an email or text should be looked at with a suspicious eye. If you don’t know the sender, don’t even think about clicking on the link. If you do know the sender, make sure they did indeed send it before you click. False email, text, and message accounts pretending to be a person or entity you know is a common cybercriminal trick, and it’s known as phishing. Don’t take the bait.

3. Update your software immediately

Whenever an update is released for your device, download and install it right away. These updates often include security fixes, vulnerability patches, and other necessary maintenance.

4. Use unique passwords for EVERY account online

Avoid reusing any passwords. When cybercriminals get a user’s password in their grasp, they try that password for every one of the user’s accounts. Don’t give them that kind of skeleton key. Best practice is to use a password manager to create unique, hard-to-crack passwords. The advantage with a password manager is that it remembers all your passwords for you. Another option is to use memorable sentences or “pass phrases” that you can remember.  If you need to write them down, do so, but store them away from your computer.

5. Use a VPN on open Wi-Fi networks

It’s hard to avoid using open Wi-Fi — you’re busy, you’re out and about, and you need to do some online transactions.  Here’s a common scenario: you happen to be at a coffee shop and so you connect your phone to their unprotected Wi-Fi network and make your purchase or do a banking transaction on your mobile phone. We’ve all been there. So, if you must use open Wi-Fi in a situation like this, get a VPN app for your mobile device. It makes you anonymous online, so you can use open Wi-Fi safely hidden from the eyes of lurking cybercriminals.

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