Mobile phones have gone from being cordless phones that we could use anywhere, to be real pocket computersin the same way that cars are becoming computers on wheels. In Spain, as in the rest of the world, there has been a boom in this type of compact computers in the last two decades, given that more than 85% of the population uses them. But along with their sales, the dangers involved in using them have also grown.
Many people are not aware of the amount of information we store on these devices, from our address or telephone number to more sensitive data such as that stored in health or banking applications. In fact, mobile payments are becoming more common in many markets. And the problem is that It is possible to attack mobile phones to extract said information.
That is why it is convenient to know what types of attacks we can suffer when using a mobile phone and how we can defend ourselves against them to perhaps not make damage 100% impossible, but at least minimize the chances of something happening. Scams and hacking attempts are the order of the day, but common sense always helps. Obviously, these attacks and scams also occur on other devices, such as computers, but they are used much less than phones and have fewer avenues of attack, as they do not receive SMS.
Public networks
When we are in a foreign country or when we do not have an unlimited data rate, it is common to want to connect to a WiFi network that offers us connectivity for free. Hotels, airports and other public places usually have this type of networksbut there may also be criminals lurking to steal your data.
The best thing is, as far as possible, avoid connecting to these types of networks and, when essential, only use them for applications that do not control relevant information. For example, it is more than obvious that we should not use banking or trading when we are connected to a network of this type, since if they steal our traffic or credentials we could put our money at risk.
Mobile connected to WiFi
The Free Android
When we are connected to a public WiFI network, it is important to use a VPN, a network that encrypts our traffic and makes it much more difficult for an attacker to extract usable information. There are many VPNs, some free, but if we are going to use them a lot it is better to opt for a paid one. They do not usually have particularly high prices and on many occasions we can access great discounts with promotions and offers.
Malware and viruses
Although Google has a protection system in the Play Store that scans applications before allowing them to be downloaded, on occasions we have seen how some programs have been sneaked in that had malware inside. This is difficult to avoid, but if we see a somewhat suspicious application, it is best not to install it.
When download an APK from any website and we are going to put it on our phone, we have to check that the source is reliable, lest we end up putting a virus manually on our phone. There are previous scanning systems to try to avoid this, but it is always good to act with common sense.
Phishing
The social engineering, that which is based on providing trust and playing with fears of people, is what sometimes causes us to fall into scams when receiving an email or SMS, even if it is suspicious. It is important to be aware of the scams that circulate on a daily basis, as well as not to click on any link in a message if we are not sure who sent it.
With artificial intelligence it is even possible that we receive a call from a loved one asking for help, but in that case it is best to hang up and make the call to that person ourselves. Even put a verbal password that we only know in family or friends to avoid possible scams.
Mobile phone theft
In Spain it is not as common as in other countries for our cell phone to be stolen, although it can happen to anyone. We can also lose it due to some oversight. Then, It’s good that we have established a security patternwhether with a gesture, a fingerprint, a PIN or a password. This will prevent the person who finds it from unlocking it.
A thief entering a house.
Creating a PIN or password is up to each person, but it is not good to use obvious numbers such as 1234, 0000 or the birthday of the person in question. These are figures that can easily be deduced. Also You have to be careful about entering your PIN in front of strangerseven when we don’t know if anyone is watching us. In this sense, face unlock and fingerprint are more secure.
Finally, we have to know that, if we lose our smartphone or it is stolen, It is possible to delete all its information remotelysimply accessing another device with a web browser, be it a mobile phone or a computer. In it we will go to the page Find my phone and we can block it from there. It will also be possible to make it ring, in case it is still close to us, or format it completely by deleting all the information from it.
