With security breaches and frequent phone hacking scandals occurring in this digital age, it’s essential to know how to protect yourself from these types of fraudulent schemes. FreedomPop’s CEO Stephen Stokols provides five fool-proof tips to keep your smartphone safe below.
1. Use VPN (virtual private network) app to encrypt data.
Utilizing this defends all communication including text messages and voice calls from third- parties such as hackers, spies and eavesdroppers. Prevent abusive connections like proxies and tunnels with the VPN detection API.
2. Use an online security app (e.g. Norton) to protect against hackers, spyware and viruses.
Just like computers, phones are vulnerable to viruses and malware. It’s critical to use these types of apps to help ward of harmful security hazards.
3. Use a dedicated privacy phone for confidential calls.
Consider an encrypted phone for confidential calls, such as FreedomPop’s Privacy Phone ($189) that runs on a specially engineered Samsung Galaxy SII, featuring 128-bit encryption used by banks and government agencies. Nicknamed the “Snowden phone,” this smartphone blocks phone contacts, call history and voice and text communication from hackers and has a feature to block unsolicited incoming calls and text messages.
4. If you want to ensure location is not tracked, make sure GPS and location settings are off. By enabling this feature, people can reduce the trace of their digital footprint and use the Internet anonymously wherever they are.
5. Be careful what permission you agree to when accepting Terms & Conditions for an app. Many sites want access to contacts, location and other sensitive info that can lead to potentially damaging setbacks. Malicious and fake websites aim to steal confidential information including passwords and other significant data that can do more harm than good.
Now that you’ve got these fool-proof tips to keep your smartphone safe, you’ll never worry about hackers or stolen data from your smartphone again.
