Mobile devices are our most commonly used technological devices on a day-to-day basis. It is imperative that we secure our devices and not have any sensitive information become available. Today, I am going to be discussing how we can make our mobile devices more secure and help us feel safer.
Verify your Apps
- Make sure that you only download apps from your device’s approved app store. This will help prevent unwanted and malicious apps as approved app stores have specifications that app developers have to adhere to.
- Do not download third-party applications as they can cause vulnerabilities to your mobile device and might even be a malicious apps.
- Do not allow apps to access data that it does not need access to. An example would be a writing app asking for your location and photo data. The application does not need that information and you need to turn it off.
- Verify that apps such as weather and traffic apps can have access to your location data only while actively using the app itself. Do not allow other apps that do not need that information to have access to it.
Turn Off Unwanted Services
- Turn off Auto-Join of WIFI and Bluetooth on your devices. You do not want your devices to randomly join other devices without you even noticing or giving permission.
- If joining a public WIFI make sure to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) as it will allow your internet traffic to be secure as opposed to public viewing and have your internet data be publicly available.
- Turn off Geo-Location data on the pictures that you take. Malicious users can take pictures that you post publicly on social media and get information on exactly where that picture was taken. The camera settings in your phone should have an option to turn it off.
If you follow these tips, you will be much more secure on your mobile device and have an easier time on the web as well.