Security measures are one of the most important tips for protecting your personal and financial information from intruders. Securing your Android phone from hackers should be your number one priority. Information about you is on your device, from the credit/debit card you use for payments to the documents you’ve recently viewed. In this guide, we’ll show you how to secure your Android phone from hackers.
If you’ve been using Android and reading the news you would know that the Android operating system is always followed by malware or one virus that steals your financial details and all that. This is because of the openness of the platform; Android is open source and it’s flexible when compared to other OS, that’s why it has led to much more security issues and vulnerabilities over the years.
Now is the time you need to know how to secure your Android phone, and you need to put in the work to secure your device. We’ll cover what you need to know in other for you to secure your phone from hackers. This guide will show you how to secure your device.
Use a phone lock to secure your Android phone
The first thing unwanted users should see in your Android device is a phone security lock. Setting up a security lock is one step toward protecting your device from hackers. This is just one of the basic and most recommended for protecting your Android phone. Using a phone without a security lock can see more threats expect of course the phone is empty.
Why this may seem like a common way of securing your device, it’s what most people do and leaves the rest of the device to secure itself. But that’s not it, there’s more to it. For example, if your phone is missing or someone somewhere stole it they won’t be able to quickly gain access to your device.
During this time you’ll have to take security measures in other to secure your Android phone, and one of these is through the Google Find My Device app.
Use a strong password for your account
Use a stronger password for all your online accounts. Know that when setting up a password, you shouldn’t use only the alphabet or number, instead use both with special characters and symbols. This will help more than just using only letters.
Using a combination of lower and upper case letters with special characters and symbols, and making it 8 characters long. If you’re using the Chrome browser when creating a password—chrome will automatically generate a strong password for you if you allow it.
Use a password manager
When you use a password generator, you won’t be able to remember the password, and that’s why you should use a password manager. A browser like Chrome generates a stronger password for you but you need the help of a password manager to remember or use the account with the password.
Update Android OS, and apps
Keeping your Android outdated is one step to making your device prone to hackers. If you want to make your device secure and far away from malware, you need to update your Android OS anytime an OS has a stable update. And most especially never forget your apps, that’s is your daily drive.
In older Android versions vulnerability can be found, and it can be used against you since you’re still using an older Android version. Updating your OS keeps your device safe and far from any security threat.
Even your daily drive application must be updated when the release is stable. Updating apps can reduce the risk of malware from unauthorized access to your device. This alone can drop the virus and bugs from gaining access to your device.
Read Also: The password game against hackers
Use a VPN
Using a Virtual Private Network is an interesting way to secure your Android phone. VPN helps to encrypt your internet connection but you won’t be protected from internet malware, that’s why you’ll need an anti-virus when using a VPN.
A VPN encrypts your internet connection by adding additional security layers to your internet connection. To use a good VPN provided, just don’t have to get all buzzing about it. A good VPN like; Express VPN or Nord VPN will do. We’ll get our list coming soon.
Backup your device
Back up your files to an external hard drive, or cloud storage every week or month. Backing up your data helps you avoid data loss if it ever comes. Lost data can be a pain, that’s while you need to backup your device and documents for safekeeping. While your device can be affected by viruses and compromise, you can still retrieve your data.
You can backup your device on any cloud storage like Google Drive, One Drive, or an external hard drive. Backing up your Android device will enable you quickly restore your data if you upgrade your Android smartphone.
Use an anti-virus application
Nevertheless, your device is not yet complete without an anti-virus application. Anti-virus helps protect your device from malware and many system viruses. Anti-virus has helped save lots of Android from being corrupt, using the app is most appealing and make sure you download one from a trusted source.
Use two-factor authentication
Setting up two-factor authentication is a two-way step to getting access to your account. This feature adds more protection and secures your account from hackers. It adds an extra layer of security by requesting a security code after entering your password. You can receive the code via text, or with an authentication app. When you type in the code you’ll be able to get access to the account.
Once you enabled two-factor authentication any intruder won’t be able to get access to your account, even if they got your email and password. When anyone tries to get access to your account you’ll always get the code. This isn’t just available for Google accounts, the most application now support two-factor authentication.
Read more
- Set up Google Account two-step verification process
- How to set up Twitter two-factor authentication
- Enable Instagram two-factor authentication
Enable Find My Device to secure your Android phone
Google Find My Device allows you to track, and locate your device if the phone is nowhere to be found. The app can let you lock, play sound, locate the device and even erase the entire device if you know you can’t get the device back. Having this feature set up is a must and you might never know when you need it.
By activating this feature, you can track your smartphone from anywhere. The only thing you need is to visit www.android.com/find from your laptop and log in using the Google account that you have used on the phone. Or you can download the app on another device and use the application to track your smartphone.
Always use HTTPS website
Websites or blogs that don’t use HTTPS are exposed and are not encrypted, and thus the site is not secure with customers’ credentials. A site with HTTPS is said to have a secure connection and your information is private.
Set device lock automatically
Set up your device to lock automatically after a display period. The feature is available for all smartphones, this also prevents someone from accessing your personal information physically when you’re not around.
Don’t use the same password
Never use the same password for all your online accounts, the habit is way too bad. If a hacker gets your password, then he has access to all your account and you know what that means. If you persist to use the same password you could get lockout of your account.
Hackers won’t stop trying new methods, they’ll keep trying the latest vulnerabilities against you, so it’s up to you to keep up with them. And that’s the more reason you should always update your software at all times when it is available and know how to secure your Android phone from hackers.
