Are smartphones less secure than PCs? The answer to that is, they’re different. They face different security threats. Yet they certainly share one thing in common — they both need protection.
So, what makes a smartphone unique when it comes to security? And how do you go about protecting it? We’ll cover both here.
Apps, spam texts, and other smartphone vulnerabilities
Several facts of life about smartphones set them apart when it comes to keeping your devices safer. A quick rundown looks like this:
First off, people keep lots of apps on their phones. Old ones, new ones, ones they practically forgot they had. The security issue that comes into play there is that any app on a phone is subject to vulnerabilities.
A vulnerability in just one of the dozens of apps on a phone can lead to problems. The adage of “the weakest link” applies here. The phone is only as secure as its least secure app. And that goes for the phone’s operating system as well.
Additionally, app permissions can also introduce risks. Apps often request access to different parts of your phone to work — such as when a messenger app asks for access to contacts and photos. In the case of malicious apps, they’ll ask for far more permissions than they need. A classic example involves the old “flashlight apps” that invasively asked for a wide swath of permissions. That gave the hackers all kinds of info on users, including things like location info. Today, the practice of malicious, permission-thirsty apps continues with wallpaper apps, utility apps, games, and more.
As for other malicious apps, sometimes people download them without knowing. This often happens when shopping in third-party app stores, yet it can happen in legit app stores as well — despite rigorous review processes from Apple and Google. Sometimes, hackers sneak them through the review process for approval. These apps might include spyware, ransomware, and other forms of malware.
Many people put their smartphones to personal and professional use.[i] That might mean the phone has access to corporate apps, networks, and data. If the phone gets compromised, those corporate assets might get compromised too. And it can work in the other direction. A corporate compromise might affect an employee’s smartphone.
More and more, our phones are our wallets. Digital wallets and payment apps have certainly gained popularity. They speed up checkout and make splitting meals with friends easy. That makes the prospect of a lost or stolen phone all the more serious. An unsecured phone in the hands of another is like forking over your wallet.
Lastly, spam texts. Unique to phones are the sketchy links that crop up in texting and messaging apps. These often lead to scam sites and other sites that spread malware.
With a good sense of what makes securing your smartphone unique, let’s look at several steps you can take to protect it.
How to protect your smartphone
- Update your phone’s apps and operating system
Keeping your phone’s apps and operating system up to date can greatly improve your security. Updates can fix vulnerabilities that hackers rely on to pull off their malware-based attacks. it’s another tried and true method of keeping yourself safer — and for keeping your phone running great too.
- Lock your phone
With all that you keep and conduct on your phone, a lock is a must. Whether you have a PIN, passcode, or facial recognition available, put it into play. The same goes for things like your payment, banking, and financial apps. Ensure you have them locked too.
- Avoid third-party app stores
As mentioned above, app stores have measures in place to review and vet apps that help ensure they’re safe and secure. Third-party sites might very well not, and they might intentionally host malicious apps as part of a front. Further, legitimate app stores are quick to remove malicious apps from their stores once discovered, making shopping there safer still.
- Review apps carefully
Check out the developer — have they published several other apps with many downloads and good reviews? A legit app typically has many reviews. In contrast, malicious apps might have only a handful of (phony) five-star reviews. Lastly, look for typos and poor grammar in both the app description and screenshots. They could be a sign that a hacker slapped the app together and quickly deployed it.
- Go with a strong recommendation.
Yet better than combing through user reviews yourself is getting a recommendation from a trusted source, like a well-known publication or app store editors themselves. In this case, much of the vetting work has been done for you by an established reviewer. A quick online search like “best fitness apps” or “best apps for travelers” should turn up articles from legitimate sites that can suggest good options and describe them in detail before you download.
- Keep an eye on app permissions
Another way hackers weasel their way into your device is by getting permissions to access things like your location, contacts, and photos — and they’ll use malicious apps to do it. If an app asks for way more than you bargained for, like a simple puzzle game that asks for access to your camera or microphone, it might be a scam. Delete the app.
- Learn how to remotely lock or erase your smartphone
So what happens if your phone ends up getting lost or stolen? A combination of device tracking, device locking, and remote erasing can help protect your phone and the data on it. Different device manufacturers have different ways of going about it, but the result is the same — you can prevent others from using your phone. You can even erase it if you’re truly worried that it’s gone for good. Apple provides iOS users with a step-by-step guide, and Google offers a guide for Android users as well.
- Protect your phone and block sketchy links
Comprehensive online protection software can secure your phone in the same ways that it secures your laptops and computers. Installing it can protect your privacy, and keep you safe from attacks on public Wi-Fi, just to name a few things it can do. Ours also includes Text Scam Detector that blocks sketchy links in texts, messages, and email before they do you any harm. And if you tap that link by mistake, Text Scam Detector still blocks it.