Pop culture imagines portraying hackers as evil geniuses, so it may seem like the average tech user would be completely helpless in front of them. In reality, most hackers look for easy prey and abuse very basic security holes in our systems.
You don’t want to have a computer science degree to successfully protect your Android device from cyber attacks. A little diligence and common sense go a long way in cybersecurity.
Ways to keep your Android device from cyber attacks
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Set Passwords That Are Difficult To Crack
Humans are good at many things, but creating strong passwords is not one of them. In fact, we are so bad that millions of people use 12345678, “password” or 1111111 to protect their accounts. We tend to choose passwords that are easy to remember, like our child’s first name or our date of birth. Unfortunately, these are very easy to decipher and expose you to cybersecurity threats.
Where the human brain fails, technology helps. You can use a password maker to create unique and difficult to guess passwords. A string of chance letters, characters and numbers will protect your account much better than a popular one-word password. It is also important to use a different password for each account. LinkedIn, and Patreon are just a few of the thousands and thousands of websites that have experienced data breaches in recent years.
Leaked email addresses and passwords can be bought wholesale on the black bazaar. If you usage the same password for all of your accounts, it only takes one leak for hackers to have the universal key to your privacy.
Get A Password Manager
Of course, remembering dozens of unique passwords is an impossible task. To keep your passwords safe and prepared, you’ll need a password manager, such as 1Password, KeePass, or LastPass. It will allow you to easily recover all your passwords from any device with a master key. If you want to be more secure, set a calendar reminder to change all of your passwords every six months.
Download Apps From Trusted Sources
One of the most unsafe belongings you can do is download software from unconfirmed sources. An innocent-looking game with rave reviews could give hackers backdoor access to your phone and all of your data.
Malware in apps ranges from less dangerous adware, which places ads on the user interface, to deadly Trojan virus that allows cyber attacks to access, modify, or delete your confidential information. To stay safe, always download software from trusted sources. Google Play, for instance, has a verification process to remove harmful apps. You can also use Play Protect, Android’s built-in malware detection, to scan your already installed apps for malware.
Backup Your Data
In case you fall victim to a cyber-attack where your data is taken or damaged, it’s significant you have all your info backed up. You can use Google Drive or an automatic backup app of your choice. If you’re using a password director, your passwords and subtle information is now securely stored.
Turn Off Suspicious App Permissions
But in the world where greatest people don’t read terms and settings before they click “agree”, request workers are known to sneak in some extra, often invasive, consents to gain control of your datAccess the permissions you should definitely look for are to make phone calls and send SMS / MMS. If an app doesn’t need these features to work, you must be wondering why the developer included them. Some apps use automated calling and texting as a scam to make money.
Other intrusive permissions are your precise GPS position, editing SD, reading and writing your contacts, and full network access. It is up to you to select whether the access permission is really necessary for the basic function of the application.
Get A Good VPN App
Connecting to a public Wi-Fi network exposes your device to a wide range of cyber threats, but you can download a VPN to encrypt your internet traffic. Open Wi-Fi networks, at your Starbucks, airport, or hotel, can be broken, allowing anyone with basic technical knowledge to spy on your online activity and steal your confidential info.
A VPN solves this problem by steering all of your traffic through a secure, encrypted tunnel before anyone can see it. Instead of accessing raw data, the attacker would see encrypted information that masks the websites he visits, what he does there, and the passwords he enters. It is true that with time and effort data can be decrypted, but most criminals are looking for quick payoff.
The bad news is that hacks and cybercriminals have abused the popularity of VPNs. There are hundreds of hateful VPN apps that infuse or track malware on your device and sell your data to advertisers. In particular, free VPN apps should not be trusted – the operating costs of maintaining a VPN service are high, so it is doubtful whether the app is really free. Most likely, you are paying with your details.
Before you download a VPN app, be sure to do your research. As boring as it sounds, reading the terms and conditions is the best way to find out if the provider has any hidden intentions. Look for services that collect and store your information or have invasive app consents. When you get a VPN, you can also checked if it completely encrypts your traffic by running a DNS leak test.
Keep Your Devices Up To Date Against Cyber Attacks
Security updates are extremely important for applications and operating systems – they fix bugs that could put you at risk of cybercrime. With Android, you don’t want to check for new system updates, your device will automatically notify you when one is available. All you take to do is install it as soon as possible.
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