8 tips to protect data on your smartphone

In fact, your phone can be compromised by many features. Familiar apps can access your device's data even without your permission. This poses a risk of cyberattacks or the leakage of important personal data. Here are 8 tips to protect your smartphone data.

1. Be careful with contacts labeled as relatives.

This scam has actually been going on for quite a while. Hackers steal contact information from relatives and friends, then impersonate and contact the victim. This trick often involves asking for urgent money transfers, buying phone cards, transferring money via e-wallets, etc. If not careful, the victim will quickly fall into the trap because they trust the contact information of the person asking for help.

The advice for these cases is that you should verify clearly before deciding to help. If you encounter a scammer, you should warn those around you so that you are not fooled.

2. Limit charging your phone using public charging stations

Many shopping malls or public places often provide free phone charging ports, which makes you feel very convenient.

However, this gadget can be targeted by hackers by changing the charging cable input since most users cannot see the other end of the charging case.

When connected to the phone via a wire, the bad guys can compromise the data storage or secretly install malware on the user's device. It is difficult to distinguish fake charging stations from real ones, so users should be careful before using.

3. Use a VPN when logging into public wi-fi

Many hackers can take advantage of public Wi-Fi to steal personal information from anyone who uses it. To avoid risks, users should use a VPN to encrypt their data when using a public connection. You can also access the internet anonymously so that no one can track your browsing history.

4. Use a trusted password manager

Many people have the habit of using passwords for multiple accounts, which makes it easy for hackers to find out how to access an account when it is leaked. Some people remember passwords by writing them down on their phones, but security experts do not recommend this.

You should use a reliable password manager app, downloaded from the app store. Not only will it generate strong passwords for your accounts, it will store all your passwords in an encrypted database. The only password you need to remember is the one that unlocks the database.

5. Delete browsing history and cookies regularly

Hackers often use saved cookies to gain access to your device without even needing a password. Cookies also store a lot of personal information such as bank account logins and Google accounts.

Cybercriminals can track you online to send malicious code to your email. These emails often pretend to be login credentials, asking for personal information to access...

Many people can be tricked into providing information to scammers. Hackers can even install malware on attached links to compromise device data. Therefore, you should clean your browser regularly and never use the “remember password” feature.

6. Only download trusted apps from the App Store or Google Play

Many applications are created just to scam, steal information causing great threats to your device. In addition, the most common is viruses because an unverified application can "bypass" the security system on the phone. Currently, many fake applications look exactly like real applications, making it difficult for users to distinguish.

Before downloading an application, you should carefully learn about the developer name and verification unit to avoid downloading malicious applications.

7. Set up remote wipe on your phone

If your phone is stolen or lost, activating the remote wipe app can erase all of your data before it gets to the bad guys. Not only that, this feature can prevent thieves from recovering deleted files, and also return your phone to its factory settings.

8. Do not maintain Bluetooth connection when not needed

Hackers can spread malware and viruses on randomly connected devices. Hackers have tricks to access data without having to pair with your device to perform the attack. All Windows, iOS, Android, and Linux devices can be affected if Bluetooth is always on.

Nowadays, there are many scams and various ways to steal user information. This makes your phone data very vulnerable to loss. So be careful with things that affect your data with the 8 notes above.