How to Keep Your Android Data Safe from Hackers

We can do practically anything today, as long as we’ve got internet connection. And while that’s an amazing perk that we can’t imagine our lives without, this kind of luxury comes with a number of dangers and responsibility we need to be aware of. No matter how you access the web – through a PC, tablet or smartphone, dangers are always there lurking, waiting for an opportunity to jump in and wreak havoc.

Today we’ll talk about how you can protect your Android devices and all the data on them from hackers and all other malevolent forces on the dark side of the web. Funnily enough, all you need to keep your security in check is to be informed and have some common sense, and we’ll cover the information part on how to keep your Android data safe from hackers.

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Your Phone Number Isn’t for Everyone

It’s easy not to give your phone number to a person that just doesn’t seem trustworthy to you, but sometimes internet services and websites require our phone numbers so that we could create accounts. Fortunately, you don’t have to do it everywhere, so whenever you can bypass the option to leave your phone number, do so. The less information about yourself you leave on the internet, the better, and this especially goes for your phone number, because hackers can use it for different forms of scams, the most dangerous of them being SIM swap scams. You should use your phone number for two-step authentication process to secure your email or your social media accounts, but for everything else, keep your phone number close to your chest otherwise you’re exposing yourself to a sea of potential problems that can arise from hackers getting a hold of your digits.

Smishing

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There’s a good chance that sometime in your life, you got a strange text message on your Android smartphone and hopefully you didn’t reply nor click any link that was in it. Smishing is a hacking trick that cybercriminals use to easily get to your personal details, which they can then use to hack into all internet accounts you’ve got, even when you’ve got two-step authentication. If you ever get a suspicious message with an even more suspicious link from an unknown number, simply delete it and forget about it. If you try to call that number or reply, hackers will have the doors open to get into your smartphone and do with your private data as they please. Smishing as a term comes from the words SMS phishing, so whatever you do, keep an eye on this security mishap that can transform into a full blown security problem.

Public Wi-Fi Is an Omnipresent Danger

We’ve all been in a situation when we needed Wi-Fi desperately, but what we often forget that using unsafe public networks can come with a price. You can find public Wi-Fi practically anywhere these days, but you need to be aware that no one really takes care about the security of these networks, which results in hackers using them as a tool to get into your devices. Unless you’ve got adequate protection against these threats, you’re exposing your confidential information and privacy to peril, so make sure that you’ve got tools to keep you safe. We always suggest using virtual private networks (VPN) to protect your privacy on open networks, because they encrypt all your data and if you get a good provider, then you’ll have many great features that come with the advanced privacy protection. VPN will not only grant you protection, but it can help you with bypassing geo-blocking and if your provider has got plenty of servers like it’s the case with Nord VPN servers, then you’ll be able to access any website and content that you need.

Update Your Operating System

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Your operating system is the alpha and omega of your Android device, which means you have to keep it in optimal conditions at all times. Updating your OS regularly will prevent any holes in your device’s security that leave place for cybercriminals to get into your phone, plant malware and then steal your confidential information. Though system updates can take some time, it is necessary to do it as soon as it shows up otherwise you’re leaving all your sensitive data out in the open, which is not advisable. It would also be wise to update all the apps you’re using frequently and get rid of everything you don’t use because apps are also a keyhole through which viruses and other pests can crawl through.

The data on your Android will be safe as long as you’re informed on what you should do and how to prevent problems before they occur. The good news is that Android is always working on improving the security system of their devices and all you have to do is be smart and get around any trap and scam that hackers plant all over the internet.