Your Android phone might not be
some Fort Knox for the US Government, but have you ever stopped to think of
what would happen should anyone get access to your phone’s data?
Now that we are asking, it is
easier to think not much is at stake. Quite frankly, we beg to differ.
What You Stand to Lose in An Android
Data Hack
When you bought your Android
device, you had to set it up with a Google account. The importance of this is
that you get to save and backup all your files in line with such a Google
account so that you can easily port phones later in the future.
At the base of that, there is one
important thing you missed – everything about you might be on that Google
account.
This means a single hack could
grant anyone access to your Google Photos app, and there is no telling what
they would find there. Suddenly, all those pictures you thought had been buried
away will come to the surface again. Even the ones you deleted from your device
might have been backed up on Google Photos before you removed them yourself.
That is putting things mildly.
A hacker could plant malicious
codes on your unit instead, and you might not know until it is too late.
Imagine what would happen if someone installed a keylogger on your phone to record all
your key presses. They could easily use this data to get your passwords into
different accounts, decipher your bank login details and so much more.
Again, we know your phone is not
some Fort Knox, but you do see why you need to protect the data on it anyways?
Protecting your Android device
Fortunately, Google has put some
security measures in place to keep hackers at bay. Unfortunately, these
measures from Google are the bare minimum, and they could be gotten around with
the right skills and motivation.
That is why you should build on the
existing security protocols to make your data safer. Here’s how:
1 Keep Google’s security settings
Like we said above, your phone
comes with some security settings out of the box. It is expected that you leave
them be so that you don’t expose yourself. Some of these security settings are:
●
Prevention of app installations from unknown sources – This functionality is built into your Android phone to
ensure apps from anywhere else than the Play Store doesn’t make it onto your
device. That is because Google has checked the apps it allows onto the Play
Store for malware and certified them, but
won’t be able to help you when you go installing an app from anywhere else.
●
Keeping the device grounded – Your OEM knows how much power and performance you should
get from your unit, and they have worked that into the OS. However, some people
feel the need to root the device to get more speed, power, and performance out of it.
While you would surely get that, know that it is at risk of
voiding your warranty and leaving the system open to attacks it could have
otherwise warded off.
2 Update Frequently
This goes in two ways – system and
application.
Sometimes, you might get a
notification from Google/ your OEM of a pending update you should attend to.
Many either disregard this message or wait a long time before they get the
update at all. The same goes for when you receive notifications to update your
apps to a newer version.
While it is true that updates are
sometimes sent to improve the aesthetics of apps and the system, they are also
there to ensure everything keeps running as it should be. By that, we mean the
updates run a maintenance check to patch vulnerabilities and address security
issues that must have been found.
This is even more common with the
higher end Android phones which get monthly security updates.
Not installing the updates as fast
as they come leaves you vulnerable to attacks from hackers who know how to
exploit the loophole you should have fixed.
3 Install a VPN and
Antivirus
We lumped these two together so you
don't think they are independent of one another.
An antivirus is great for cleaning
out the viruses that must be lurking around in your device while preventing
others from coming in. They could also be the difference between falling for a
phishing scam/ opening malicious documents and not, so you should totally get
one.
That said, they can’t handle the
function of a VPN.
When you install a VPN specially optimized for the
Android OS, you get protection anytime you access the Internet.
Your Internet traffic is no longer everyone’s business, making it impossible
for a hacker to snoop on what you are doing online.
This kind of protection comes in
handy when you are browsing the web and accessing sensitive information on a
free/ public Wi-Fi network.
Wrap Up
Alongside
making sure you have 2FA
enabled on your accounts, keeping a strong password and backing
up your files regularly, your Android device will be prepared to face any
attack that might come its way.
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