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When we think about privacy in the digital world, we all suddenly feel anxious. Are we truly safe from privacy invasion? Are our phones especially equipped to keep our bank details, emails, phone numbers, etc free from hackers and digital thieves?<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve heard enough stories from people who lost their money because of email phishing and of those whose private videos got exposed and never got their peace again. It\u2019s adding up to the anxiety people are burdened with nowadays, even after the extraordinary layer of security technology has to offer.<\/p>\n
Mobile phones<\/strong> in particular, is one of the most vulnerable gadgets that is prone to hacker attacks. It gets especially hotter nowadays, since more and more people are using their mobile phones to buy things online, and even purchase products right off the shelves at Walmart<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Although mobile phones have become the best boon for humankind, it could also be the source of our greatest bane. With all the threats that\u2019s going on around us, what can you do or what do you need to know to keep yourself safe when using your phone?<\/p>\n Well, let\u2019s delve deeper and discover what you should know and what you can do to protect your privacy and essentially, your life.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Did you know that you are being stalked by Google<\/strong>? Google<\/strong> knows almost everything about you. It can predict with absolute accuracy what you want to buy, what you want to search about, and even tell you where you\u2019ve been last.<\/p>\n Google\u2019s AI<\/strong> helps them know what ads to suggest based on your search behavior. And on your phone, there\u2019s a default Google app<\/strong> that lets them know your location so they can suggest the best restaurants, places to visit, and report accurate temperature.<\/p>\n Ever since GPS<\/strong>, it was possible for anyone to follow us around or stalk without us knowing, and of course, this is a government initiative through NASA<\/strong>. Your mobile phone picks up signal from your mobile phone service provider towers and they can predict with almost perfect accuracy where you are at the moment just by using that data alone.<\/p>\n By default, Android<\/strong> and iOS<\/strong> users have GPS<\/strong> trackers enabled, but there\u2019s no need to sulk, you can disable these location trackers just as easily. Here\u2019s how to stop your phone from logging your location:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To Disable location<\/strong> reporting on Android<\/strong>:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Note that by disabling these services you are essentially limiting Google<\/strong> on suggesting information that may be of help to you. Nonetheless, you can leave Location Reporting<\/strong> on when you think you need it.\u00a0You can also block Google from seeing your location through the help of a VPN app for Android devices<\/a> from services like ExpressVPN. This not only blocks Google, but also your ISP from seeing your location.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To Disable location<\/strong> reporting in iOS<\/strong>:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Note that with iOS<\/strong> you can\u2019t erase the location history, so you have to log on to a web browser for you to do that. Choose the days<\/strong> you want to delete location history<\/strong> and you\u2019re done.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bet you\u2019ve probably seen how phishing emails<\/strong> look like, and hopefully it wasn\u2019t successful on whatever its scheming to do. Email phishing<\/strong> disguises itself as a trustworthy organization aiming to gather important information from people who aren\u2019t suspecting. They can disguise to be your bank, a famous brand, Google<\/strong>, and even your phone\u2019s manufacturer!<\/p>\n Even Facebook<\/strong> has had this incident and a lot of accounts in so many countries had been infected. If you suspect your computer or your phone had been infected or hacked through Facebook<\/strong> or any other website, you can run a malware scan and immediately log out from the internet.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, hackers and phishers evolve fast and they are extremely creative. Nonetheless, it\u2019s easy to outsmart them if you know how they really do it. Now, take a look at these examples:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Remember that phishing doesn\u2019t only use one medium of communication. It can disguise itself as an unsuspecting text message from your daughter about your credit card information, or it can be through a call. When you receive a phone call from a company XYZ<\/strong> and they are asking personal information about you (including your birthday<\/strong>) that\u2019s already one form of phishing.<\/p>\n There are other ways to prevent phishing and we\u2019ll go through them in the next sections.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As mentioned earlier, hackers and phishers have created ingenious ways to install extensions on your browsers with a single click. These extensions are triggered by certain websites, especially those where you enter login information. Although it would be easier for you to keep your passwords saved or \u201cremembered<\/strong>\u201d by your browser, it would be unsafe for you to do that.<\/p>\n Google Chrome,\u00a0<\/strong>for example, isn\u2019t a secure place to store your passwords. Anyone with access to your browser can keep your login credentials and save it for their own use. Although the hacker has to have physical access to your computer for them to steal your login information, you surely don\u2019t want them to discover something you want to hide or keep for yourself.<\/p>\n Your phone\u2019s browsers are also flawed the same. You can keep your social media logins to yourself if you allow people to use your phone or borrow it. You can stay unsuspecting but better be safe than sorry.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you have way too many passwords for you to remember, you can install a password manager like Lastpass<\/strong>. You need only one master password for the software login and you can keep all of your passwords in there safe and sound.<\/p>\n You can set a two-way authentication as well, so that when you login using a computer, you will need to authenticate it using your phone or another gadget of your choice. There are a lot of free password managers out there, so go get one now!<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Talking about passwords, it is necessary that you change your passwords on a regular basis, especially for those which concern your privacy and your banking logins. Even Apple Pay<\/strong> has its own flaws, so never trust yourself enough to keep these passwords and PIN’s<\/strong> just the same for more than 6 months.<\/p>\n It is advisable that you change your credit card pins on a regular basis to protect yourself from card skimming. If on the other hand, you use your phone to purchase, you need to make sure that your phone is locked enough that when someone steals it, it would be practically useless.<\/p>\n Jailbreaking a phone<\/strong><\/a> is something that even a grade-school kid can do nowadays, so to help protect yourself from this kind of disaster, you need to add an extra layer of lock to your phone which we will discuss next.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adding an extra layer of lock or security to your phone is going to help you not only secure your phone\u2019s private data but it also prevents other people from using your information illegally.<\/p>\n There are a lot of free App Locks<\/strong> you can download from Google Play<\/strong>. With an extra lock installed you can lock certain apps and programs using a 6-digit PIN code<\/strong> and a simple toggle and voila, your Facebook<\/strong>, Gmail<\/strong>, or banking app<\/strong> is safe with another line of security.<\/p>\n Mobile phone manufacturers understand this necessity that\u2019s why they always pack your devices with biometrics<\/strong> such as iris scanner, Face ID<\/strong>, fingerprint scanner<\/strong><\/a>, etc. However, no technology is perfect and there are still flaws in the system.<\/p>\n In an iPhone X<\/strong><\/a>, for example, your identical twin brother (if you have) can open your phone without any problem. In China<\/strong>, a lot of people had been in an uproar against Apple<\/strong> lately due to its racism in producing iPhone X<\/strong>.<\/p>\n A woman had discovered that her son can unlock her iPhone X<\/strong><\/a> and when she got to the store, she was told that there was a problem with the camera. She later discovered that everyone else can actually unlock her phone using their face with no problem and so was every other iPhone X<\/strong> in the store!<\/p>\n This major flaw had been denied by iPhone<\/strong> and of course, they denied the accusation of being racist. This had happened a month later iPhone X was released<\/strong><\/a> in the market.<\/p>\n1. Google is collecting data about you through your phone.<\/h2>\n
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2. Phishing comes in so many forms.<\/h2>\n
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3. Never trust your password to anyone, not even your phone.<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n4. Use Password Managers.<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n5. Change your passwords regularly.<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n6. Add an extra layer of lock to your phone.<\/h2>\n
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