Last updated April 12, 2019
With all of this talk about cell phones being hacked for information, a lot of people have begun to worry about the safety of their own mobile devices. If you think about it; our cell phones are probably one of the most important gadgets we own – storing an incredible amount of personal information in a pocket-sized piece of equipment.
So why is it that, of all of our devices, our cell phone is the one we spend the least amount of time protecting? Ironic, isn’t it.
Here are a few things you can do to keep your cell phone safer:
• Keep it locked via password protection or by using the key lock. It may take a few extra moments to get into your phone, but it also serves as a layer of protection between a hacker and your information.
• Do not make it a habit of listing your cell number on forms when applying for jobs or services. That’s the first number a hacker needs to get to your voicemail and other personal functions.
• Update your firmware regularly. This is easiest done by keeping the auto-update feature turned on.
• Look to see if your phone as a “find my phone” feature. If it does, familiarize yourself with it.
• Be smart with texts. Spam is not limited to email; so be careful about giving away personal information via a text request.
• Do not save your passwords. I advise this for all portable devices. If they steal it, saved passwords are like handing them the key to the castle.