Important steps to protect phones from spyware attacks
With the widespread use of smartphones and their dependence on many aspects of life, many users are increasingly concerned about how to protect their phones from being exposed to any malicious software, especially in light of the continuous growth in application downloads, whether related to services, games and entertainment.
Kaspersky, the international company specialized in electronic security and digital privacy solutions, advises the need to follow a number of important steps and tips to counter spyware attacks, especially of the types that have increased their spread globally, indicating that there are a set of proposals for users of Android and iOS devices that enable them to protect themselves from the Pegasus program that Globally spread or other advanced malware in the field of espionage.
• It is important to restart your mobile devices daily. Rebooting temporarily cleans the device, which means that attackers will have to constantly re-download Pegasus on the device, which can increase the chances of security solutions tuning an infection attempt.
• Keep your devices updated and download patches as soon as they are released. Many vulnerabilities exploited by malware are being closed, but they still pose a threat to anyone who uses old hardware and delays downloading updates.
• Avoid clicking on any links you receive in text messages.
Some Pegasus customers rely more on one-click exploits than zero-based ones.
These come in the form of a message, either via SMS, via messaging apps, or even via email.
If you receive a message containing a link, open it on your computer using the TOR browser, or preferably using a non-permanent secure operating system such as Tails.
• Do not forget to use an alternative browser to search on the Internet, as some vulnerabilities do not work properly on alternative browsing software such as Firefox Focus compared to traditional software such as Safari or Google Chrome.
• Download a security software that checks your devices and warns you if the operating system restrictions are broken.
If there is a security solution installed on the device, it will warn the user if this happens.
• If you are using iOS, activate the full device diagnostics feature constantly, and store the reports in external storage, some clues may help you later to know if you are targeted.
Kaspersky experts recommend that vulnerable iOS users disable Facetime and iMessage, as having these services enabled by default makes them the focus of a dangerous zero-vulnerability attack.