Home Technology How to secure your Android smartphone in 7 easy steps

How to secure your Android smartphone in 7 easy steps

These days, the smartphone has become much more than just a phone. With all the apps it can deal with stores a huge chunk of data. To ensure such data doesn’t fall into wrong hands, here are a few ways that will can hep you keep your handset more secure.

Use the phone’s lock options

Make sure you take full advantage of the phone’s lock options. It is usually set to slide as default, but consider switching that to pattern or PIN alternatives. To configure it on Android handsets, select Settings > Security and Screen Lock. Then you can choose your favorite options from there.

Install Dislock on your phone

By using Dislock,  you can customize your phone’s lock screen and make the smartphone more secure. You can also set your pin or password with it. It can be installed for free on any one of your devices, but for more than one device, a fee of $2.99 in-app purchase is required.

Install App Permission Manager on your phone

Apps usually request permission to data when you add it. However, some apps without root permission don’t always do so. Hence, you need to install the App Permission Manager app to the phone that manages permissions for no root apps.

Ensure the maximum encryption

Android phones now include system encryption options that encrypt data. To select the encryption options, tap Settings > Security > Encryption and Screen Lock. You will need to enter a PIN, and the encryption process can take more than 60 minutes. However, make sure the handset is fully charged.

Install anti-virus on your mobile

You can pick up malware on a phone much the same as desktop. As such, install an anti-virus app to your handset. You could install AVAST or AVG anti-virus to your Android phone.

Use Android Device Manager

The Android Device Manager app locates lost phones. As such, if you lose your handset, it might come handy. With the app, you can also erase your data and reset the lock screen and pin remotely.

Install secure messenger apps

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has stated that only six messenger apps are entirely secure. Messenger apps can use your data. Hence, it’s best to use more secure messenger apps such as Signal and Facebook, Redphone and TextSecure.

These are several steps that keep your phone more secure as listed above. That will keep data a little more secure, and you could also lock your apps with App Lock. If you know any other trick then let us know in comment section. You can also check out our list of 7 apps that can kill your smartphone battery.