How to Protect Your Smartphone from Viruses

Gone are the days when they were used only as a means of communication. Nowadays, everything in our life — be it big or small; be it entertainment at home or an office-related job; it all essentially relies upon cell phones.

You might be hooked to your phone day and night but do you know that they intrude your privacy? Cell Phones have indeed made our lives easier and simpler, but they have introduced us to the dangers lurking in the dark — cybercrimes.

These tech devices don’t come without a piece of baggage; they carry huge security risks and viruses. To make thing even worse, most of the cellphone users are unaware of such cybersecurity risks. As such, it is important to learn how to protect oneself from such privacy and data breaches.

Just as you would never dream of using your Windows PC or Laptop without using antivirus protection, you should apply the same concern while using your cellphone by not leaving it exposed.

Think twice before you add your credit card number into your smartphone when doing online shopping.

Ways to Protect Your Phone from Viruses

Fortunately, protecting your cellphone is easy and straightforward. It can be done in a few easy steps mentioned below.

Installing Anti Virus

Nowadays, smartphones are becoming more susceptible to viruses. It is important to have security software that can protect your phone against malware and viruses. Although there is no defense software which can completely protect your phone from all malware, viruses, phishing scams, a reputable antivirus can keep your phone protected at least from a few of them.

Not only would an antivirus create a back up for your phone, but it will also identify any of the apps or software that are misbehaving or can compromise the security of your smartphone. The choice is then yours to go further with downloading such apps or not.

Stay Clear of Illegitimate Apps

There is a good reason for not installing apps that are not in the Google Play Store or App Store, in case you have an iPhone. Since apps in the Play Store are safe to download, it is advisable not to download apps online on the Internet, unless you know that they are safe.

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People who practice piracy do not care when they upload those apps on the Internet, which can then be tampered with and contain malware. By the time you realize it’s a virus, it would be too late to do anything. The best thing is to stay away from pirated apps in the first place.

Beware of Pop-Ups

You will be shocked to learn that successful account hacking has more to do with the action of the user than anything else. If a pop up compels you into submitting your email ID and password, then you only have yourself to blame because you handed them your personal information.

The information gets fed to a bot which attempts to log into everything on your behalf that might cause you trouble later on. The only solution to avoid this problem is to look before you tap. You need to be careful when filling any form or giving away your personal details to anyone.

Carefully Read the App Permissions

Remember to note that every app that you download should show what type of data, including your personal information it is gaining access to. The information is shown before you download the app and if you carefully read it, you can decide whether to treat the app as malware in order to protect your information or do otherwise.

This step can potentially save your phone from coming into contact with viruses. In case of any query, you should not be shy of asking questions as to why some apps need specific permission for accessing your data which would enable you to acquire the app without putting yourself at risk.

Option to Download from “Unknown Sources” Should Be Disabled

There is a good reason why every cellphone’s custom operating software bars downloads from third-party apps or “unknown sources” automatically to the users, even though most of the cellphones have the ability to use this feature. There is a big reason for it, as leaving such features enabled and accessible to users comes at a huge cost.

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This is a door which should never be left open no matter how tech-savvy you think you are. From stealing the password to recording the bank details to absolute access of your phone and the data stored in it, all your personal information can be leaked through your smartphone.

These are just a few of the issues that users face when they try to access or run these third-party apps. So, you must completely restrict your downloads with a password.

The Wrap Up

All in all, cellphones are smart devices which we cannot live about. It is good to be cautious especially at a time when hackers are getting smarter and technology is changing at a rapid pace. As such, protecting your personal data and information should be your number one priority if you’re into downloading apps and visiting websites from unauthentic sources. You must be implementing the above preventative measures for it.