Andriod devices are leading in population in the smartphone market today, Android’s brings various extras for users, with it open source app community which makes It also vulnerable to security issues. As Malicious app makers and hackers use Android’s flexibility to spy on user’s info like password, bank details etc. With people relying on their smartphones to store personal as well as sensitive data, this can be a major issue. There’s also the issue of a lost or stolen phone. Your device in the wrong hands might land you in some serious trouble. however, as they say, prevention is always better than cure, so if you haven’t yet secured your Android device, below are tips you can follow.

1. Encrypt your Android device

Google has taken some steps towards encryption. There’s an “Encrypt phone” feature on Android that can be accessed in Settings->Security. It encrypts your accounts, settings, downloaded apps, app data, media and other files which can only be unlocked by a PIN or Password. You must encrypt your device if you keep sensitive data on your device, if your device is hacked or stolen, your data will not be accessed until the encryption key is entered. There are also 3 party apps that can perform this task if you don’t trust the built in encryption module.

2. Control App Permissions

Andriod devices have iOS like app permissions, which makes sure you can control what info a particular app might be taking. Apps on Marshmallow ask permission when needed and you can deny a particular permission. You still can manage app permission by going to Settings->Apps. There, you can select an app and then tap on Permissions to disable a permission they have, making sure that app isn’t taking any info you are unwilling to give.

3. Set up Find My Device

Android Device Manager is an extremely useful app, it comes pre-installed on many devices and you just have to enable it. You can remotely ring your phone, erase data or lock it. You can enable it by going to Google Settings (Android 5.0 or previous) or Settings->Google (Android 6.0 or later), then go to Security and turn on “Remotely locate this device” and “Allow remote lock and erase”. You can sign in to your Google account on another device over at android.com/devicemanager and take control of the remote actions like erase, lock and find your phone in case your device is stolen or lost. Also, there are apps that offer better “find my device” ability, you can find them on the play store

4. Store important data in internal storage.

An external storage not only affect the performance, it also involves risks of losing your important data. The problem happens because external memory uses a mix of EXT and FAT file system, which is easy to access. Also, when you connect to a PC, the applications on the PC have block-level access to files on a SD card, thus having the ability to plant viruses or malwares.

5. Secure your network

If your network isn’t secure, it can be a gateway for malicious persons to steal your data, so it’s important that you browse the web securely. For that, you can use a VPN to make sure that all the information you send across the web is encrypted and your identity remains hidden. A VPN app is your best bet if you want to conduct important transactions on the web without having to worry about your data theft.

6. Use a Root Management App if you a rooted device

Rooting your Android device brings a lot of advantages but it also comes with its fair share of flaws. Rooting makes sure that your device’s security is open to be compromised, as there won’t be any official updates and apps can go ahead and take elevated permissions. This might result in data theft and apps installing malicious code. While it is not recommendable to root your device if you want to stay secure but if you must, you should install a root management app like SuperSU, which lets you grant or block root access to apps, thus giving you more control.

Stay secure

more cybersecurity awareness at https://bitsecurity.ng