{"id":2995,"date":"2018-06-26T13:16:39","date_gmt":"2018-06-26T13:16:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clickfor.net\/?p=2995"},"modified":"2018-06-26T13:16:39","modified_gmt":"2018-06-26T13:16:39","slug":"4-tips-to-secure-mobile-devices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clickfor.net\/4-tips-to-secure-mobile-devices\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Tips To Secure Mobile Devices"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are around 2.5 billion latest smartphones<\/a> in the world at the moment.Smartphones contain more varied information about us than any other device but, unfortunately, every one of these handsets is at risk from increasingly sophisticated cyber criminals, whose sole aim is to extract your personal information and use it maliciously.<\/p>\n

Your personal security is probably at least as important as your wallet and you should treat it with the same level of concern. Your mobile has features which can be used to uniquely identify you and your most personal private information \u2013 these days, most of us even perform banking operations on our phones, regularly.<\/p>\n

In a recent Checkpoint Survey<\/a>, 20% of companies surveyed had experienced an instance of their mobile devices being breached y an outside agent. Perhaps even more alarmingly, 25% of respondents to the same survey had been hacked and not realized it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not all doom and gloom. There are some simple steps that everyone can take, to lock their devices down and some, more complex device security measures that small businesses can look to their IT departments to perform. Lets take a look at 5 achievable tips you can use to secure mobile devices.<\/p>\n

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  1. If you only do one thing: Use Anti Virus (anti-malware) software<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Individuals themselves may not know whatbehaviors make them vulnerable online but they do know that there is software out there designed to solve this problem.<\/p>\n

    The industry has been effectively carved up by the brands you know, including Trend Micro, AVG and Sophos Mobile Security. Many of the software produced by these companies is designed specifically to address this need \u2013 securing the mobile computing assets of non-technical people. And AntiVirus software, often also includes a host of other features, including device backup and restore and often \u2018where\u2019s my phone\u2019 functionality, can help them. They\u2019re as easy to install as any other app in the Google Play and iOS app store. If you\u2019re in any doubt at all, install one of these.<\/p>\n

    Also bear in mind. In the event of an emergency, (for example, you think you\u2019ve downloaded a virus) these providers will let you download a trial license which can help you diagnose a problem to see if your phone has been hacked or if something else is the root of the problem.<\/p>\n

    Finally,if it\u2019s question of money, the free versions (I used AVG \u2013 which is free for a long time) are every bit as good as the paid for versions, although you might have to put up with some ads along the way.<\/p>\n

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    1. Use your phone\u2019s password, keylock or fingerprint scanner<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      There are many reasons to set a password on your mobile, from avoiding pocket dials, to preventing snoopers, and, of course, to secure the device just in case it is stolen.<\/p>\n

      Adding a password or fingerprint scanner is a simple step most devices let you set a Personal Identification Number (PIN), use Facial Recognition or allow a password right out of the box.<\/p>\n

      Unless you would be happy for the entirety of your mobile phones contents to be available to others, it\u2019s one you should definitely take. If you work for a company, they should insist on this.<\/p>\n

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      1. Use Mobile Device Management (MDM) features built in to the phone<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Lost your phone? Had it stolen? All is not lost. As long as your device currently has a cellular data connection\u00a0<\/a>and a battery charge, you can exert some control over it and its contents.<\/p>\n

        There are a host of application and service providers, from VMware to IBM which can provide your IT department with Mobile Device Management (MDM) software. Even BlackBerry \u2013 the company which essentially defined the current scope of device management software with their BlackBerry Enterprise Server tools 15 years ago \u2013 have a product you can use.<\/p>\n

        Any of these more significant investments in to securing your mobile assets will help enormously. There is a never endingly diverse array of technology being connected to your network and these tools will help you track and manage that list.<\/p>\n

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        1. Regularly update your operating system and patches<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Even the Federal Communications Comission (FCC) understand the importance of updating your phones<\/a>\u2019 built in software \u2013 something you can usually do for free from your phone manufacturer\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

          You\u2019ll often receive a message on your phone, telling you it\u2019s time to upgrade the software, if you filled in your warranty card, or from your telco if you signed a contract. (Telcoshave to test the software too,as well as the device manufacturer, in these circumstances so getting the update through your phone company could take longer for it to come through.)<\/p>\n

          Updating the operating system on your phone is probably a step too far for most end users but again, the IT department can assist, where required. They can also, likely distribute this sort of software update using the MDM software they have.<\/p>\n

          Covering the basics may well be all you need to do<\/strong><\/p>\n

          Hackers, like many criminals, are opportunists. If it\u2019s too hard to attack one individual\u2019s device, they\u2019ll just move along to the next, who hasn\u2019t covered these basic security steps.<\/p>\n

          Adding a password to your phone is one thing. Upgrading the operating system regularly is quite another. These are reasonably technical tasks for the complete novice and there are a number of overlapping exposures which a normal user would face. This says something about why Trend Micro has so many customers for their antivirus software \u2013 it\u2019s the first, effective, practical step that most users will take. Beyond non-technical individuals, IT departments have to become involved in considering mobile device security.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          There are around 2.5 billion latest smartphones in the world at the moment.Smartphones contain more varied information about us than any other device but, unfortunately, every one of these handsets is at risk from increasingly sophisticated cyber criminals, whose sole aim is to extract your personal information and use it maliciously. Your personal security is … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[946],"class_list":["post-2995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech","tag-data-connection"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clickfor.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2995"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clickfor.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clickfor.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clickfor.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clickfor.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.clickfor.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2995\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clickfor.net\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clickfor.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clickfor.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clickfor.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}