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No fingerprint sensor? No problem! How to "lock" smartphones to foil thieves
For those of us without Apple’s flashy new handset, there are still plenty of ways to ensure that your phone is locked down - even if it DOES fall into the wrong hands.
By Chris Hall | Yahoo! News
Reuters/Reuters - A journalist tests the the new iPhone 5S Touch ID fingerprint recognition feature at Apple Inc's announcement event in Beijing, September 11, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Lee
The fingerprint sensor in the new iPhone 5S has created headlines around the world - and security experts have praised the extra “biometric” safety it offers.
But for those of us without Apple’s flashy new handset, there are still plenty of ways to ensure that your phone is locked down - even if it DOES fall into the wrong hands.
According to the Norton Cybercrime Report, nearly half of mobile users in the UK don’t use a password to lock their mobile phones.
Just enabling that function is a good first step - but whether you use iPhone or Android, there’s a lot more you can do.
[How to avoid being "phished" by hackers]
Switch to using a longer password
You can “lock” your iPhone (or Android) more securely by using a longer passcode - go into settings and set “Simple Passcode” to “off”. If you can’t face typing in a big alphanumeric password, just go for a longer PIN. Even an eight-digit PIN is far more secure than a standard four-digit one.
Change the “timeout” on your screen
Many smartphones and mobile devices have a default setting of two or three minutes before the screen “locks” - change it to the lowest amount of time possible. This gives thieves less time to “get in” before the screen auto-locks - this foiling quick grabs in the street - and gives you time to remotely wipe data, or track the device.
Don’t have a passcode that’s easy to guess
Not having a PIN protecting your smartphone is a huge error - but having an easy-to-guess one such as 0000 or 1234 is just as bad. Some smartphone models will allow up to 10 “guesses” before locking out a user - and if your passcode is obvious, that can let cybercriminals in.
Track your phone if it gets lost
Services such as Apple’s Find My iPhone are useful, offering GPS tracking and the chance to remote-wipe your phone if it’s stolen - but for a full suite of security, choose apps such as Norton Mobile Security or Norton Tablet Security, which safeguards personal information on your device, helps remotely protect it should it be lost or stolen and also scans for malicious apps. Norton can track stolen devices via GPS, lock devices remotely, and prevent thieves making use of their loot.
Use “cloud” apps so the really important stuff isn’t on your phone
Don’t store important documents on your smartphone - use Dropbox or another online storage system, then the documents are safe, even if you lose the device. Change your password after you’ve lost the phone, and thieves won’t be able to access photos or documents.
“Use the Cloud for storage and access your data from different devices,” a Norton spokesman says. “This way, you can retrieve files as needed from any device and have an online backup as well, just in case something should happen to your local hardware.”
Use different passwords for all your apps
The Norton Cybercrime Report reveals that 6 in 10 people store or access sensitive information via mobile devices, mostly via apps. Try to create a unique password for each app/account on your smart device, so that if it should fall into the wrong hands, cybercriminals would have a very difficult time accessing the sensitive information on each app. Norton advises consumers to download the free Norton Identity Safe app which safely stores each individual password for you.
Turn on Erase Data on iPhone
On iPhone, the phone will lock if a thief guesses the password wrongly ten times - but that data may still be accessible, for instance if the thief breaks into the firmware of the handset using a PC. For cybercriminals data can be just as valuable as the handsets themselves. Lock it down by enabling Erase Data in settings, which will wipe the phone so the thief can’t access your email, private documents and photos.
Clear out your web browser
If you’ve accessed webmail services such as Gmail via a browser - or shopping sites such as Amazon, the details could still be saved there, including your password. Clear your browsing data to ensure you don’t hand thieves a free “pass” into your Inbox or Amazon account. Webmail services often offer a service where you can “log out” other users from your account - use it, then change your password.
