Is your smartphone safe from hackers? Here’s how to check…

These days, smartphones are potentially no less precious than anything as they contain important personal information about their owners, and stealing them is no small thing. Criminals target smartphones because they often contain valuable information that can be hacked or stolen easily. The following tips will help you protect your smartphone from intruders and hackers in order to keep your phone and contents safe.

• Make sure your apps and OS are up-to-date

Software companies regularly update apps and operating systems to address bugs to help safeguard phones from vulnerabilities and hackers. Maintain the most recent software updates on your phone.

• Two-factor authentication is always recommended

Even though two-factor authentication is annoying, as it requires extra steps from users, using passwords twice offers an extra level of security if someone gets their hands on both passwords.

• Utilize strong passwords

It becomes tedious to change passwords over and over again, but keeping a strong password can make it harder for hackers to crack. To prevent hackers from cracking passwords, they should contain 16 to 20 characters and include letters, numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as symbols.

• Don’t fall victim to spam emails

Hackers can easily gain access to information via email inboxes. Emails with suspicious attachments and promotional links should not be clicked.

• Use built-in device protection

Today, most smartphones come equipped with tracking services, so just in case something goes wrong, you can easily make use of Find My iPhone or Google’s Find My Device services to locate the phone.

• Avoid unsecured public WiFi

Cybercriminals often target public WiFi networks that are not secure, such as those used by banks, in order to hack into important information or bank accounts.

Put in place proper safety precautions, and rest assured that you are doing everything in your power to keep your information from being compromised. The chances of thieves stealing your identity, hacking into your personal life, siphoning off your money, or manipulating your phone are much lower.

This story is attributed to Omar Abdulla, Content Developer at TECHx Omar Abdulla is a university student with a passion for business, artificial intelligence, and technology. He is also knowledgeable about digital marketing, content creation, financial management, and coding. Omar is a team player, an active thinker, and an open-minded guy who approaches work with a problem-solving attitude. He possesses technical skills in programming and design.