Smartphone security: How to always be on the safe side.
The Internet has become super common now. A lot of people own smartphones now, last time I checked, a little over half of the world’s population has access to the Internet. As good as the Internet is, it came along with some bad news. One of the biggest pain in the ass is security. How do you stay safe in this wild world? The devices that fall victim, a lot of the times are our phones since we use them pretty much most of the time.
Physical security
We might have anti-viruses and all that but we’re still at some risk. One of the things you learn about security is that physical security is just as much important as virtual security. What is the essence of having the best firewalls if a dude can just access my devices physically and do hi shit? This is where we largely fail as smartphones users, especially here in Africa. We give out our smartphones a lot. One minute your phone is with that selfie lover in your class, the next it’s with that weird dude who’s sideloading an app from your phone. In our defense, it’s our culture to be community people but this might cost us. The whole essence of a smartphone is privacy. This is the only device you can afford to be selfish with.
The whole essence of a smartphone is privacy. This is the only device you can afford to be selfish with. You might be super careful while doing stuff with it but is the other guy doing the same? If you give out your device to other people all the time or are connecting it to any computer you find, it won’t matter what kind of antivirus you have.
Keep WIFI and Bluetooth off
The Internet is super expensive and that leaves us always on the hunt for open public wifi. Free WIFI is good because you can download all your favorite TV shows and all but it might end up costing you. It is super easy to access info from a person who is connected to your wifi network or you are connected to the same network with. One of the easiest ways to get people’s info is to start an open wifi and let the victims bring themselves to the slaughter.
Another point here is that we almost always leave our wifi in search of new connections. Apart from that, we forget to shut off our Bluetooth. How is that dangerous? Some of the most common exploits like Bluejacking work by force pairing with phones in the vicinity. A huge number of people never even change their default Bluetooth name which is usually your phone’s model number. If you leave your BT on, one can be able to know what is your phone model. This will help in planning a more effective exploit against your device.
Do not Sideload
In Africa, sideloading apps is our lifestyle. The Internet is super expensive and why waste my Internet bundles downloading what my buddy already has? Chances are, that the .apk originated from someone you don’t even know. The sideloaded app is usually not scanned for malware as you have to allow your phone to install from unknown sources. You also don’t even know what you’re installing as you don’t get to read the reviews. If you love your phone, get a google play account and make sure to read the reviews before downloading stuff.
Don’t use public charging station
A while ago, I wrote about juice jacking. You can read the article here. If you have to use public charging stations, use secure equipment like gear that blocks juice jacking from happening.
Do regular scans
Make sure that your phone has a reliable antivirus and that you do regular scans at least once a week. Apart from that, regularly update your antivirus and firmware to stay safe from the new malware.
There is no way to be a 100% safe and there will never be. The best thing is to always make it harder for your devices to be exploited.
Originally published at Decode.
