Hello friends! Hope you all are doing well. In our recent articles, we have been talking about data security and things to do in case you get hacked. From today, we will be starting a tutorial series on how to push your level up in digital security and privacy in fastest possible time in various areas like mobile security, Wi -Fi security, social media security, security in online transactions, etc.
By saying fastest possible time, you may consider it as, let’s say 2 days.
As we are swiftly moving into a digital era, the day is not far away when the whole world will turn digital. From digital payments to digital document verification to social media, we are there online and using our digital devices now and then by hook or crook. The convenience of going digital is so much that you won’t like to come back to traditional methods once you start using digital mode. However, sometimes we forget to look after the security and privacy aspects of the digital world and only become serious when something unwanted happens with us or our dear ones. If you are a technology geek, you might already know some of these tips. So whether you are an IT pro, or a gentleman from non-IT background, following these tips would definitely help you stay secure in digital world.
To start with, I have decided to take up mobile device security as a first tutorial. I am sure these tips are definitely going to help you push a level up in digital security, so let me get right to the point and present to you a few quick tips to boost your mobile device security and privacy in fastest possible time:
By looking at the usage statistics, we all know the android operating system has taken over most of the smartphone market and the users of android are more than any other mobile operating system in the world. So here are a few quick tips to boost security and privacy in your android smartphone:
1. First of all, I will suggest you to encrypt your whole device; it is very simple to do, just go to settings->security->Encrypt device. It may take a few minutes and sometimes even more time depending on the quantity of data. Encrypting your device will make your data secure and prevent exposing it from unauthorized access. It will also ask you to set a PIN to prevent unauthorized access. You will also see an option for encrypting your SD card if you use it, so do that also.
2. Next, I would recommend that you make your phone password protected right from the lock screen to individual apps. Most of you might be already doing it. So locking your phone with a pattern,password or PIN lock would enhance your phone’s security and privacy at the first level. Make sure that the password is not guessable.
3. Next, I strongly recommend you to download the apps only from the Google play store, strictly do not use third party websites or black market apps that give paid apps for free and are unofficial. Do not get in to temptation as other sources may send malware along with the .apk files of apps. Remember, nothing is free in this world! You may end up compromising your own data security by doing that.
For ensuring this, go to settings-> Device administration->scan third party apps and turn it on. Then it will prompt you every time you try to install a third party app. Note that the options may vary in different devices.
4.Moreover, even when downloading apps from play store, you should have a habit of verifying the developer’s name, as play store is full of many duplicate apps that may look like original but may end up stealing your data and frustrating you rather than fulfilling your purpose. For example, Indian government’s MeitY has recently launched DigiLocker app in which citizens can store highly sensitive digital information (like govt issued id) in the DigiLocker cloud, but there are apps in the play store that look exactly the same as DigiLocker and hence you may end up submitting your personally identifiable sensitive data to such unauthorized apps. Usually Google play store will show you the most appropriate and authentic app as the first search result, but still you need to stay cautious.
5. Now, once you start downloading apps from Google play store, you can be 99% sure that you are safe, but as a user you should always be aware what your app is asking from you. So never forget to read all the permissions that an app asks before clicking on ‘accept’ button. A flashlight app asking permission to read your contacts, SMS or SD card simply doesn’t make sense. So avoid downloading such apps asking weird permissions.
6. Always keep your phone synced with google drive so that your data is always with you wherever you go and even if you lose your device. Also take care to factory reset your phone when you don’t want to use it anymore and plan to dispose it off. For added security, add ample data (videos, images) to your phone before resetting it so that your important data cannot be recovered by any advance data recovery softwares also. You may also repeat this several times, so that your important data gets dumped within newly added rubbish data.
Read Also:
Cyber Security: How to Secure your Data and Why It’s so important??
https://cyberworldmirror.com/how-to-secure-your-data-and-why-its-so-important
7. Last but not the least; you should turn on Android device manager for your device. This administrator helps you to track your device in case if it’s stolen. You can also wipe your data remotely, lock your device and make it ring to the highest volume remotely from your laptop. Just go to https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager from any browser and login to your google account to do all these things remotely. To turn on android device manager, go to settings-> Device administration->Android device manager. Tick mark that option and you are done.
For Windows phone also, most of the steps will be same, like you can set a PIN at lock screen, back up your data to OneDrive, download only official apps, ‘Find my phone’ service, etc. are similar to android. You can login to https://account.microsoft.com/devices to track your lost phone or find IMEI number of your lost phone.
Ios devices, as we all know are much more secure already, but still you can take some care like enabling two-step verification for apple id and icloud, disabling siri on lock screen so that no one else can command it without opening the lock, also disable control center on lock screen, use VPN apps for secure browsing and use some cool apps to track it when lost.
Did you notice that most of the security steps could be implemented just by exploring your phone settings? So keep exploring!
Author : Vivek Desai
