7 Tips to Keep Your Smartphone Safe from Hacking? 

There’s little rest for your hard-working smartphone. Like many professionals today, you use it for work, play, and a variety of personal business in between. But what if anything goes wrong with that phone, such as a lost phone or a stolen phone? Shorter, what if your cell phone was hacked? 

Around the world, there are many individuals who have to work hard with their cell phones. A survey revealed that 87% of companies have policies that incorporate personal devices in the workplace. This is where the risks of security threats like data breaches, malware attacks, and compliance and privacy issues with data arise. After all, a smartphone filled with business and personal information is a valued and tempting target. One determined hacker (there are plenty of them) can get in through an unprotected cell phone and access the goldmine of personal and company data in the blink of an eye. 

Let’s hope it doesn’t happen to you. This guide will help you understand exactly how to secure your Digital Life!

Why Keep Your Phone Safe from Hackers? 

Smartphone hacking is the process of someone accessing your phone and its trove of personal information without your permission. Needless to say, these kinds of electronic hacks can cause all kinds of real-world drama, like money loss from hacked banking apps, identity theft using your private information, and an all-out invasion of your privacy via your emails, photos, and messages. 

It’s not a thing of the past – mobile malware is ever-expanding, and cybercriminals are getting increasingly savvy at luring unsuspecting users. The great thing is you can put an end to them. The first step is knowing how to safeguard your phone from hackers.

How do Hackers get into Smartphones? 

• Phishing and smishing: Fraudulent e-mail or SMS messages designed to entice you to click on a link that leads to a malicious site or a file that contains malware. You may inadvertently enter your logon information, or you may click on a link that appears to be from a banking or service provider and actually isn’t.

• Fake apps: Cybercriminals design fake apps that appear legitimate or disguise malware in seemingly harmless apps. You could download one from an unofficial app store, and then grant it permissions that enable it to snatch your data behind your back.

• Unsecured public Wi-Fi: If you connect to a public wi-fi network at a coffee shop or airport without a VPN, data on that network can be accessed by other users of the network. All you have to do is use the free Wi-Fi to access important data, such as checking email or financial accounts.

• SIM Swapping: Tricks a mobile company into sending your phone number to an attacker. Often, they take advantage of data breaches to access your personal information, hijack your number, and use it to obtain verification codes.

• Spyware: These are programs that spy on you and record calls, track your location, and steal your passwords. It’s usually installed via phishing links or someone with physical access to your phone.

• Zero-click exploits: These are sophisticated and uncommon types of attack that can contaminate a phone without your interaction, whether it involves a click or not. They are normally targeted at big targets, but keeping the software on your devices up to date is important, as it will close the holes they exploit.

How to Know if Your Phone Is Hacked?

• Sudden drop in battery usage: Malware or spyware can be causing battery drain, as it runs in the background.

• Sudden increase in data usage: If you notice that you’re using significantly more data than usual, there may be a malicious application transferring data from your device without you realizing it.

• Overheating: This can get hot, but if not when you’re using your phone, but when you are using it, then it means that there are some processes running in the background causing your phone’s processor to work hard.

• Apps you don’t recognize: You can certainly find a lot of new apps on your phone that you never installed, so it’s a big red flag if you do.

• Sudden pop-ups: If you are seeing strange and aggressive pop-ups, even when the browser is closed, it is likely that you have adware or other malware.

• Strange activity on your accounts: If people tell you they’re receiving unusual messages from your account on social media or email, you may have been hacked through your phone.

• Slow performance: If your phone is slowing noticeably, crashes often, and reboots itself, this is a sign of malware using the device’s resources.

• Security software is disabled: If you don’t know where your mobile security app or any built-in security settings are and they are disabled, an attacker might be trying to get rid of any evidence.

If you do see any one or more of these signs, do not panic. Do more research and follow the recovery process below. At times, these problems can come from a legitimate but confusing app or an old battery.

What should you do if Your Phone is Hacked?

• Disconnect right away: Go to your phone and shut off WiFi and mobile data. This cuts the hacker off and prevents them from transmitting further data from you.

• Notify contacts: Let friends, family, and colleagues know that your phone has been compromised and that they should be aware of any unusual messages they receive on their number or accounts.

• Run a security scan: Run a scan of your device with a trusted anti-virus app. It is intended to be used to detect and eliminate malware that can be causing the issue.

• Update passwords: Change the security codes for important accounts: email, online banking, social media, and Apple/Google ID, from a secure device such as a laptop.

• Delete suspicious apps: Delete apps that you don’t know and that the security scan identified as suspicious.

• Notify your bank: Contact your financial institutions to alert them of the potential breach. Be careful to watch your accounts, looking for any suspicious activity.

• Try a factory reset: If you are unable to remove the malware, try to do a factory reset. This will clean the phone. Please be sure to have a current backup of important data before doing this.

What are the 7 tips to Secure Your Phone for the Future?

After an attack has been resolved, the next step is to try to ensure that a hacking of the phone does not occur again. Consider it bolstering your digital front door. As a parent and also a professional, I have created a few pointers here that you can take into account to make sure that your smartphone stays away from future hacks and you can keep your private and work life safe:

1. Use a PIN, password, fingerprint, or face lock for extra security

Locking your phone with Face ID, fingerprint, pattern, or PIN is the simplest level of protection – especially if your phone is lost or stolen. This will depend on the device, operating system, and manufacturer. Do some more for added security. 

Make sure the accounts on your phone are protected by a good password and use two-factor authentication when offered on the apps.

2. Use a virtual private network

Avoid connecting to unsecured Wi-Fi networks. A virtual private network (VPN) encrypts your connection, which means you can surf online anonymously on an open network at an airport, coffee shop, hotel, or other free hotspot. A VPN connection will keep your private information, files, and actions secure from snooping. Especially when it comes to business and personal activities, which we conduct on our smartphones.

3. Avoid unofficial and pirate websites

Both Google Play and Apple’s App Store have measures in place to help prevent potentially dangerous apps from making it into their stores. Many malicious apps are not found in the app stores; they can quietly reside in the background and steal your personal information, passwords, credit cards, and much, much more—basically anything you store on your phone! Also, while you are in the app stores, carefully read the descriptions and reviews of any apps before you download them, because you don’t want malicious apps and counterfeits to slip in.

4. Maintain a cloud-based backup of the data

It is never too late to back up your phone, for two reasons:

• First, it will make moving from an old phone to a new phone simple because it will take the backed-up data from the old phone to the new phone.

• Second, it will mean that if your phone is lost or stolen, you can remotely wipe the data and still have a secure copy in the cloud. 

There’s an easy way to back up your iPhone or Android phone regularly.

5. Lock or wipe your phone remotely in an emergency

In the event that your phone is lost—worst-case scenario. Really gone. Either it’s hopelessly lost or it got stolen. What now? Lock it remotely or even delete all of the data. While it seems like a drastic move, your data is secure in the cloud, ready to be restored IF you maintain regular backups as mentioned above. This will prevent hackers from accessing your or your company’s sensitive information and safeguard you and your company. Both Apple and Google offer instructions for their users to remotely wipe their devices in a step-by-step format.

6. Delete old apps and update the ones you use 

It is obvious that the first thing to update for smartphone versions should be the operating system (OS). In addition, you also need to conduct app updates as soon as they’re available, as they contain critical security patches. Make a little time to go through your screen, identify the ones that you no longer need, and remove them from your device and their data. Each additional app is another app to update, or that might introduce a security problem. Remove the app and also the account linked with the application. In case you have some that you want to keep, make sure to update them regularly and enable auto-updates if available.

7. Protect your phone

If you have all your life on your phone, it’s important to get some security software on it, so you and your life will be protected. If you are an Android user or an iOS user, McAfee+ makes regular security scans to keep your personal, financial, and even company data secure.

Bonus Tips: How Can You Limit the Information Stored on Your Phone? 

It’s nice to have everything at your fingertips, but if you store too much sensitive information on your mobile, then you are at risk if you lose it, if it’s stolen, or if it’s compromised. These are a few things you can do to keep your phone from carrying as much data as it would like to carry, and to minimize your potential risk of identity theft, financial fraud, and privacy breaches.

• Do a phone clean-out: Periodically clean out your phone of old, unnecessary files. This includes photos of boarding passes, old photos of important documents, and old photos of event tickets. Each time you delete any piece of data, you are one step closer to thwarting a hacker.

• Do not allow saved payment information: It may be convenient for apps and browsers to have saved your credit card information, but it’s a treasure trove for criminals. Rather, when you’re shopping, use a secure digital wallet that hides your card number by only displaying the last four digits.

• Beware of notes and messages: Do not save passwords, Social Security numbers, or other information in notes or text messages. A hacker who gets access to these is likely to start searching for valuable data that can be leveraged for identity theft or a SIM-swap attack.

What are the Security Risks of Advanced Mobile Devices? 

On a more advanced level, there are some lesser-known settings to make that can help prevent your phone from being hacked. These advanced features provide additional levels of protection to the device.

• Switch Bluetooth and NFC devices off: Bluetooth and near-field communication (NFC) devices that are not switched off can be found and are possible targets for attackers. Secure your phone by switching them off from your control center or settings menu when not in use.

• Remove unneeded permissions: Take away permissions for apps that are unnecessary. This is one of the standard ways of collecting data. If you have an iPhone, check the Privacy & Security settings periodically, then check what type of data apps have access to: (Look under Privacy & Security; on Android, Security and Privacy, then Permission manager. If you don’t need to enable location for a photo editing application, remove the location permission.

• Disable developer options: This is a developer-only menu that offers access to the system in depth. These settings could be exploited by an attacker with physical access or remotely. Be sure to turn it off. The Developer Options that can be turned off are usually found at the bottom of the main Settings screen on Android. Simple yet effective, this is a way to protect your phone from hacking.

• Allow auto-delete of temporary files and messages: Temporary files and messages in your browser history and text messages, and temporary application files, can accumulate and carry sensitive information. Both iOS and Android have settings to automatically delete old messages (e.g., after 30 days or a year). Likewise, you may empty the history and data of your browser and other applications from time to time to get rid of any traces of your virtual presence.

• Use device storage encryption: This is a strong security vault, built into most smartphones, that can be used to encrypt data on the device. Encryption converts your photos, contacts, and messages into an unintelligible code. If you don’t provide a password, fingerprint, or Face ID, it just means nothing to you. The key is to use a passcode that’s more complex than a four-digit PIN and more unique to you. Using a complex passcode, rather than a simple four-digit PIN, makes it exponentially more difficult for a thief to break into the car. 

Final Thoughts

Your cell phone is the cornerstone of your life, and keeping your phone safe from hackers isn’t about being afraid; it’s about being prepared. Keeping your head above the water by taking more proactive and consistent approaches builds a formidable defense against cybercriminals and makes you harder to target. A combination of smart habits and advanced security solutions such as McAfee+ will make sure that your data, privacy, and peace of mind are always protected. Be aware of emerging threats, ensure your security applications are constantly up to date, and reap all the good your connected life has to offer safely and securely.

FAQs about Smartphone Hacking