Basic smartphone security

We’ve come a long way since the days when a mobile phone was just a device for making calls or sending texts. The rise of smartphones means we’re essentially carrying mini PCs around with us. Sure, phoning and texting are still important functions, but more and more people are using them to work, we use them to send emails, watch films, organise travel, do our shopping, manage banking - to name but a few.

All of which are tremendously useful, of course, but they do mean that your phone now poses certain security risks. For example, if someone got hold of your phone, they could go through your email, potentially getting access to sensitive information. Or someone could look at your web browser history, gain access to social network accounts, or even use mapping applications to see where you regularly travel, or even where you live.

And, unfortunately, as handsets get closer to home computers, traditional computer security threats become a problem. Smartphones are susceptible to viruses and other types of malicious software, which can steal personal information or disrupt your activities if you don’t take measures to stop it.

In short, it’s important to be mindful of how secure your phone is. Fortunately, it’s not difficult or expensive to keep your mobile safe - you just have to remember to do it. Here are some basic safety tips you might want to keep in mind.

1. Lock your screen with a passcode

You should always make sure your phone is set to lock when you put it on standby or if you haven’t used it for a while. Operating systems offer a range of different access keys, from a four digit personal identification number (pin), to passwords, to patterns you have to draw to unlock the phone. What’s available will depend on what your phone is, but pin and pattern are the most common.

Most handsets allow you to set access settings via their general settings menu. When you’re setting up, consider how difficult it would be for someone to crack the code. For example, when setting a pin number, don’t put something like “0000” or “1234”. Those are the first two numbers people are likely to guess. You should also avoid any number that people could work out with some research. For example, your passport or drivers license contains your date of birth, so don’t use that.

The same logic goes if you’re using a password - don’t use your own name or the name of your family because it’s too obvious. And for the love of Jobs, don’t use “password” as a password.

If you’re using an Android phone with pattern recognition, make sure the symbol is sufficiently complex and crosses over itself at least once - otherwise you risk all those fingerprint smudges on your screen giving the pattern away.

2. Keep sensitive information OFF your phone

You should never store your bank details, phone banking security answers, credit card pin, and other such information on your phone. It sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people scrawl their account details in a “notes” application, for example. If you do have this, or similarly private, data unprotected on a phone that gets pinched, you’ve basically handed it to the criminals on a silver platter.

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3. Watch what you download

One of the best things about the Android platform is that it’s an open system. What that means is application developers face fewer restrictions than on the Apple and Windows Phone 7 platforms, making Android a hotbed of innovation when it comes to third-party software.

The downside of that is that it puts a lot of the onus for quality control on the user community, who play a big role in weeding out apps that are broken, buggy or pose a security risk. Before you download an application, you should always look at the user comments and ratings system. This will give you an idea of the quality of the application.

You should also check what information an app wants access to when you install it, and why it needs it. All applications need to access some data, be it your location, your contact details or something else. When you install an Android app, it will ask for permission to access this information. If you don’t understand why it needs a specific type of information, then don’t give it access.

Dodgy apps are less of an issue on iOS and Windows Phone 7 devices, where Apple and Microsoft respectively apply very stringent rules and regulations on third party apps. Even so, it pays to read the user reviews, and do some research before downloading the software if you’re unsure about it.

4. Install anti-virus software

Even if you’re careful about what you download, you should still make sure you have an antivirus programme installed. Using an Android phone without an antivirus app is a bit like going out in on a cloudy day without an umbrella - it might not be raining, but if it happens, you’ll be ready for it.

Antivirus apps will scan apps for potential threats, detect malicious software on your phone and take appropriate action to remove the problem. There are quite a few programs available - some free, such as AVG Anti-Virus Free, Bitdefender Mobile Security and Norton Mobile Security Lite - so it’s worth taking a browse through the Google Play store (formerly the Android Market) to see what’s available.

Anti-virus software is harder to come by on iPhone. Apple’s attitude seems to be that it’s stringent quality control policies on its App Store will keep out malware. Even so, it still pays to exercise care when browsing the internet or opening emails attachments, where viruses can lurk ready to cause trouble.

5. Keep your phone updated

Anyone who’s used a smartphone will be used to reminders popping up, encouraging them to upgrade to the latest version of the phone’s operating system. Annoying as they can be, they are important.

Developers are constantly tinkering with mobile operating systems to plug security holes and deploy new safety measures. The only way to benefit from these improvements is to download and install the update. Some phones let you do this directly onto the device, others require you to plug them into a computer. Either way, make sure you have a stable Wi-Fi connection available to download the software.

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