The average person spends about 5 hours a day on their phone, and most people around the world start their day by checking their cell phones.
In a report published by the American website "hackernoon", writer Davibria Sunilkumar said it is time to understand that our mobile phone is a superb key that can open any door to our life, be it virtual or physical.
The first thing we check at home is if the door and locks are working properly to secure our personal space, but do we have the same concern about using our cell phones?
The explosive rise in the use of mobile devices has rapidly increased the number of malware.
You may see yourself as the "customer" when you surf the Internet or use an online service, but you actually don't know that your data is bought and sold, as there is nothing for nothing in life.
Be careful of app permissions
Recent studies have found that more than 1,000 Android apps steal your data such as location, passwords, and other personal data.
Therefore, never approve unnecessary app permissions.
And if the shopping app requires permissions like storage, contacts, and microphone, think about why the shopping app needs to access your storage space.
By giving this permission, the app can access anything on your phone's memory, and if it is requesting access to the microphone, it can listen to your voice chats and calls.
A legitimate app only requests permission based on its functionality, and to control app permissions, go to settings, apps, then select the app and click on Permissions.
Some apps can be used to make tracking your phone more difficult (Shutterstock)
Mandatory password rules
Always use a long password of at least 8 characters that is a mixture of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols.
Maintain the habit of changing your password every 60 days.
Never repeat the same password for multiple accounts.
Some sites may make these rules mandatory while others ignore them.
Have you ever thought about why we need to adhere to the above rules?
It is the first rule to protect your accounts from blind force attacks on the password.
What is a blind force attack?
The attacker tries to use different combinations of letters and symbols to match your password.
Now, that we have computers with more computing power, the blind force attack can be easily executed with any of the normal passwords you use.
Haveibeenpwned.com allows you to check if your email ID or password has been stolen anywhere on the Internet.
Also, "howsecureismypassword.net" will inform you of how long it might take for a hacker to break your password.
Uninstall if there are any unused apps. Think of the apps as windows to your home, the fewer the number the more secure you are.
Avoid apps from third-party websites
Download your apps only from the Google Play Store or the Apple Play Store.
Always set up multi-factor authentication
The number one factor for authentication is something you know, like passwords and a PIN.
If the attacker gains access to your password and tries to access your account, he will be asked for a second agent and something you own, such as a token or a variable password.
This token is set with time restrictions so that it changes every minute, so even if an attacker gets your password, he must have access to your phone.
In addition, he must have the PIN from the authenticator app or token that you received.
Use a safe browser
Make sure you are using a safe browser, because browser safety is important, the browser knows a lot more about us than anyone else in our life.
It knows what to look for, the passwords you enter, your medical history, the people you talk to, and where you are.
When it comes to browser security, choose one that focuses on privacy and security.
Mozilla Firefox and Brave are known for providing adequate levels of privacy and security.
The difference is that in Firefox we have to manually add components such as "NoScript" and "Ghostree" to ensure privacy and security, but in the "Brave" browser there is a built-in tracker, ad blocker, and browser fingerprint blocker.
Always use a long password of at least 8 characters, which is a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols (Shutterstock)
Use a virtual private network
Always use a VPN when browsing from a public Wi-Fi network, as a public Wi-Fi hotspot is a haven for all hackers and intruders because the open network does not have any standard security practices.
Using a regular tracking tool, an attacker can steal all data such as the passwords that you used to log in, especially in social websites, bank account, e-mail, etc.
A VPN can send your network traffic through a secure encrypted tunnel, making it difficult for others to steal your data.
The VPN comes with many great features such as allowing access to region-restricted content, it also maintains the privacy of your browsing from Internet service providers and encrypts the network's traffic over the Internet.
Be skeptical about links
Do not trust any link blindly.
Always hover over any link you receive in email or social media to see if it takes you to the right page.
Attackers can use social engineering techniques to steal your data.
You can use the "verrostotal" site to analyze suspicious files and internet addresses, or add the "unshorten.link" site to the Chrome browser, which can reveal the exact internet address of any shortened links, and also lets you know whether the site is classified as malicious or not.
Download anti-malware programs like "Malwarebytes" into your mobile device.
And if you download a malicious application or open a malicious attachment, a mobile malware protection program can prevent the spread of the threat.
Activate the "Google Play Protect" service by going to Settings, then Security, and clicking on "Google Play Protect".
Switch your device to safe mode if you find any kind of performance issues such as frequent crashes of apps, annoying pop-up ads on your screen, and unusual drops in speed and performance.
The writer concluded that malware can steal sensitive data, control your device and damage your system. If your phone was damaged by a recently installed app, Safety Mode allows you to test if the app you just installed is causing a problem on your phone.