HOWTO: Securing Your Smartphone

Smartphone Security - Best Practices

If you carry a smartphone, your contact list, your email, and possibly your online banking information are just a click away. That's fine when the phone is in your hand or your pocket, but what would you do if your phone was left in a taxi, or snatched by a thief?

I recently forgot my phone in a cafe, and didn't realize it until an hour had passed. But because I had prepared in advance, I didn't need to worry about identity theft or exposing my all contacts. I called the cafe, and thankfully the waiter had set the phone aside for me. Even if it had been stolen, I had a plan in place to locate it, and prevent it from being accessed. Here's what I recommend:

Both Android and iPhone devices have a lock screen that allows you to set a pin that must be entered to unlock your phone. You can also configure your phone so that it will automatically lock after a certain number of minutes of inactivity. I strongly recommend that you do this.

On the iPhone, you're limited to a four-digit pin, but some Android phones offer other lock screen options. If your phone offers the option to create a password of any length, obviously that can be more secure than a 4-digit pin.

The "pattern lock" option lets you create a passcode by tracing a line between dots on the screen. Patterns are fast and easy to enter, but unless you're VERY careful to keep your screen clean, the unlock pattern you traced may clearly show up when you view the phone from an angle.

Android phones running the Ice Cream Sandwich (or later) software can use a "Face lock" option, which lets you unlock your phone just by looking into the front-facing camera. The obvious danger here is that someone who looks a lot like you (or maybe someone with a photo of your face) could unlock your phone.

I recommend that you use a PIN or password (not pattern or face lock) to secure access to your phone's home screen. This common sense precaution can protect your contacts, emails, and other data in case a phone is lost or stolen.

More Smartphone Security Tips

If you do lose your phone, there are apps you can install to help you locate it, or even wipe any sensitive data before it falls into the wrong hands. You can even scare the pants of the phone thief. That's a topic I've addressed in my article Find a Lost or Stolen Cell Phone.

Keep your smartphone's operating system up to date. Google and Apple issue security and performance updates for Android and iOS, just as Microsoft regularly updates Windows. Make sure your smartphone operating system is up to date to keep it as hack-proof as possible.

Stick to apps you can trust. The app stores managed by Apple and Google are your safest bet, although some malware occasionally slips through their vetting processes. Stick with popular apps that have lots of positive reviews, and you should be safe.

Be as wary of MMS (multimedia text) messages as you are of files attached to emails. Either can contain malware that is activated when you click to view a file. And keep in mind that when you transfer files from your phone's SD memory card to your PC or Mac, you could be spreading an infected file. Anti-virus software on your desktop or laptop will help to catch and quarantine these files.

Security software for smartphones is available from the same trusted vendors who keep millions of PCs safe. For now, there seems to be no need for anti-virus protection on iPhones. But if you have an Android smartphone, I encourage you to read my related article Do You Need Mobile Security Protection?

Finally, if you carry sensitive data on your phone, you should consider encrypting that data. On Android phones, you can encrypt your Google Accounts, application data, downloaded information, contacts, etc. See this page for instructions on how to encrypt your phone.

What are YOU doing to increase mobile phone security? Post your comment or question below...