These days, more and more people are starting to use their phones as a central hub for their digital lives. Whether it’s mobile banking, staying in touch with friends, logging into websites or even unlocking your garage door, we use our smartphones for a plethora of things. Our lifestyles are becoming intertwined with the digital world and our smartphones are becoming increasingly important to our lives. Unfortunately, our smartphones are a lot more vulnerable to hackers and malware than you might think, which can compromise our phones and personal information stored on them.
Imagine if you suddenly lost access to your phone – what would you do? Would you still be able to chat with your friends and family members? Would you be able to pay for goods without cash? Would you even be able to get into your home without a key? More and more people are starting to think about phone security, especially considering how fast hackers are at creating malware and viruses that not only affect your PC now but also your phone.
Currently, Android devices are responsible for around 47.15% of all observed malware infections with iPhones accounting for less than 1%. This might give you a sense of relief if you’re an Apple user, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore mobile phone protection, as everyone is susceptible. In this post, we’re going to discuss some of the best security tools for your mobile device so that you can protect it, prevent your data from being stolen and have peace of mind knowing that you can always access your device.
Antivirus Software
Now that cybercriminals have a better understanding of smartphones and how to exploit them, we’re seeing more and more malicious applications being released in the wild. In some cases, these applications can even be found on app stores, disguising themselves as games or trying to mimic popular applications like Instagram and Snapchat.
Most people think that antivirus software is only for computers and laptops. In the past when smartphones were still new, very few viruses and malware programs existed. However, there are now an array of choices for antivirus software for your devices; We highly suggest that you get yourself one of these types suited to your needs. You have lots of different choices, each with their own pros, cons and prices. Some of the most popular options include:
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Avast Mobile Security
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Bitdefender
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Trend Micro Mobile Security and Antivirus
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Norton Security and Antivirus
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AVG
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McAfee Security
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Malwarebytes
Most of these antivirus programs do the same thing. They scan your phone for any potential threats, block malicious traffic and also quarantine files that they find suspicious. This makes an antivirus program your first line of defense and a solution to clear up any potential malware on your phone.
While they’re referred to as antivirus software, you may notice that they also have attributes which make them fully featured firewalls. A firewall is the part of the software package that helps to block or limit incoming and outgoing connections. This gives you full control over your internet connection, meaning you can choose which apps to block and even monitor which apps are using a lot of network data.
Virtual Private Network (VPN)
You may have heard a lot about VPNs lately because they’re advertised on many YouTube videos. A VPN is an extra layer of security that helps to protect you from encountering anything malicious in the first place, but it also provides you with additional security that obscures your network address. A VPN routes your connection through another server, typically somewhere that is already safe and secured with cybersecurity software, before it reaches your phone.
This actually has a surprising number of uses and isn’t limited to just security. However, since it’s effectively masking your location and anonymizing the data that you’re automatically sending, it’s essentially making you invisible on the internet. This makes it extremely hard for anyone to track you and only the most dedicated of cybercriminals could even locate where you really are. In most cases, this isn’t worth the time and effort for a cybercriminal, meaning that you’ll be left alone and no attempts to hack you or steal your information will be made.
There are lots of VPN options such as:
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Private Internet Access
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Hotspot Shield
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IPVanis
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Surfshark
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ExpressVPN
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NordVPN
Not only does a VPN allow you to hide on the internet, but it can also make you appear as if you’re accessing the internet from another country. This has a couple of niche uses, such as accessing websites or content that are region restricted. However, the main focus of a VPN is to provide an additional layer of security to help protect your phone.
Peace of Mind Apps
Lastly, we’re going to talk about some miscellaneous apps that can help provide you with some additional peace of mind. These are fantastic for their individual purposes and are brilliant to have on your phone regardless of who you are.
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LastPass is a great way to help you create and remembe tricky passwords. This is excellent for people that often forget their passwords or have the same password for every service. Once one of your passwords has been released, cybercriminals will try to go through all of your services in an attempt to break into your account. If you use the same passwords, you’re asking to lose everything! LastPass will help provide an extra layer of security if you use your phone on a regular basis for security purposes.
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Two-Factor Authentication Apps such as Google Authenticator and LastPass Authenticator are absolute must-haves for people who have the option to log in to services with 2FA enabled. This provides you with an extra login step that involves entering a code that is generated on your phone. This means that even if a cybercriminal has access to your account name and password on a service, they still won’t be able to login with your 2FA code.
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Find My Device is a useful little app that helps you find your device should it be lost. Some advanced device finding apps will also broadcast their location using Bluetooth or WiFi, meaning that you’re less likely to lose your device.
We hope that this list of helpful security tools for your phone will help you protect your device from cybercriminals in the future.