10 Common Smartphone Mistakes That Expose Security Risks

By Vijaykumar

| Published: Saturday, November 21, 2015, 16:26 [IST]

Smartphone have became as an integral part of our day-to-day life. Our smartphone houses a lot off information including things from personal email, social media accounts to bank accounts.

Many people are not using their smartphone in a right way, there are many out there, who are often make mistakes in terms of smartphone security. There have been many incidents regarding the data loss of smartphones due to malware or hackers who try to hack into smartphones to retrieve data and destroy it.

Well these problems can be solved if smartphone users follow certain tips and tricks to protect their devices. Smartphones are famous for their flexibility as you can customize anything you want but their remains potential risk at everything.

Today, we have jotted down all common mistakes that users are doing with their smartphone so far. Have a look at the slider below.

Common Smartphone Mistake: 1

Public Wi-Fi networks may be cheap, but they also have major security risk. Information send over the public Wi-Fi network is visible to anyone if they know how to view it. Hackers can easily seal your information and remotely access your device.

Common Smartphone Mistake: 2

Smartphones are prone to malware, and many people ignore when it comes to installing an antivirus application on their smartphone. By installing an antivirus app on your device will help in avoiding virus while transferring files from your computer.

Common Smartphone Mistake: 3

Smartphone makers and app developers regularly provides software update to fix issues and improve functionality and to patch security gaps. In general, you should frequently update the apps and the OS update provided by OEM.

Common Smartphone Mistake: 4

Apps requires some access to the data you have store on your smartphone, which means some apps could maliciously acquire access to your data. So before you download any app, make sure it is from a trustworthy app developer and read the app review or research the app to determine if it is trustworthy.

Common Smartphone Mistake: 5

According to security experts, smartphone users are more susceptible to phishing attacks than PC users. It is harder to spot a fake login page on a smartphone than on a computer. The best way is to avoid clicking on links sent on text messaging or on instant messaging apps.

Common Smartphone Mistake: 6

Rooting Android device will give the ability to access the core of the phone and giving the user full permission and rights to install custom ROMS and even incompatible apps but, voids of the warranty. However, apps with root access gets unhindered access to your device file system which may cause more damage and attract malware to your device.

Common Smartphone Mistake: 7

It may be irritation to unlock your smartphone every time you want to use, and end up not locking the device. Well, one of the easiest ways to protect smartphone information is to lock your device, by either using a pin code or pattern. These days new smartphones are coming with biometirc sensor, which allows you to lock smartphone with your fingerprint.

Common Smartphone Mistake: 8

When your are not using services like GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on your smartphone, it is recommended to turn off them. It not only constantly drain the battery, but also constantly trying to locate wireless networks, other Bluetooth devices and sharing your locations, which can also be a routes for malicious content.

Common Smartphone Mistake: 9

If you are always logged into e-commerce sites like Flipkart, eBay, Amazon and others, where your finances are within easy reach. It is recommended that not to keep your phone permanently logged into such websites. If the device gets in the wrong hand, you might end up with financial risks.

Common Smartphone Mistake: 10

If your are storing sensitive data related to your credit or debit card details, PIN, online password, and other sensitive data on your phone. It is recommended not to add all such sensitive details on your smartphone.