Keeping your smartphone safe has become a great challenge for the users – it is not just one item that needs to be secured, in fact it is a lot more. The contents inside the phone are more valuable than the phone itself – losing a phone means that you have lost all your information and data – if fallen in wrong hands can be misused and can be a potential threat to your security. For example, apps like OVI or Google maps reveal lots of information about the user – they can give the details of your residence, your current location and your past travels.

External and Internal threats

Smartphones face threats in various forms, including threat to the device, infiltration in the software. This form of threat is more vicious, as the user gain access to the deep secrets of the information stored in the phone. Easiest way of obtaining data is by installing a cell phone spy or a keylogger into the phone, from where data can be accessed and information can be breached.

The most obvious way of securing both your phone as well as all the data stored in it, is by protecting it physically – make sure it doesn’t get lost or gets into the hands of a dodgy person. Such precautions could make it harder for the intruder to gain access to your information on your phone from a remote stand point, but if the phone lands in hands of a thief then there is absolute threat to the user.

Phone lock – old, but useful technique

Assume that your phone has been stolen and your entire data is at the mercy of the thief. How will you save yourself from being harassed and threatened? The only option that works in this scenario is phone lock. It works much like the keypad lock in symbian phones – the cell phone lock in smartphone comes into action when the phone is left idle for some time. A password or code is set to unlock the cell phone and make the functions active – the phone lock system is available on every smart phone operating system, however, the lock depends on the type of phone software. iPhone require four digit code to unlock the device, on Android phones a password is assigned, based on a pattern of 3×3 grid and Blackberry sets a unique password.

Remote wipe comes in handy

Remote wipe is another useful device which comes in handy when the phone is already stolen. Between the times the phone has been stolen and thief trying to unlock the phone, remote wipe will come to rescue. Through remote wipe you can wipe of all data from your smartphone if it goes missing – this will delete contacts, messages, pictures and almost all the data stored in the device. The flip side to this precaution is that if you manage to find your phone back, you would have lost all your precious data. The only consolation is that your data is safe from getting into the hands of dodgy people.

Sent to us by Natalia David.