Four easy ways to protect your Android - PC World

only takes a few simple steps to effectively protect your device against intruders and malware and prevent future headaches. And you need not spend even a penny.

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Your smartphone or tablet Android not only allows you to do almost everything online, but also lets you carry almost your entire digital life in your pocket (or purse). And while having so much information in one place and always at hand is quite convenient, it also makes the devices an attractive target for criminals. But that does not mean you’re helpless: just some simple steps to make sure your data is always safe.

Use a password

may seem obvious, but to protect your device with a numeric password or a pattern is one of the easiest ways to keep it safe. This prevents snoopers, whether at home or at work, spy on their text messages, and makes life harder for criminals to try to “clean up” the device to resell it.

You can set a password (or PIN) or default in the settings screen ( Settings / Security / Lock Screen ), and will have to enter it each time you turn on the screen. Depending on your device and operating system version there may be other options available lock, like a traditional password mixing letters and numbers or even facial recognition. Be careful not to forget the combination you have chosen, otherwise it may be difficult or even impossible to access the device.

^{Standards and passwords are some of the options to protect your phone from intruders}

Note that a standard one (“drawing” on a number of points on the screen by connecting at least four of them) can be easily broken by an intruder determined only by analyzing the trace left by greasy fingers on the screen when you unlock the device. Therefore, a numeric password is a safer option.

a pattern or password you lose some of the convenience of simply connecting and using the unit, but the extra protection worth the hassle.

Only install apps from the Google Play

Defenders of Android always speak of the advantages of being able to install third party software on their smartphones. In theory, this makes sense: we should be able to install and run whatever we want on our devices. But the reality is that download and install apps found “out there” on the Internet can cause problems, even if you are careful.

Although

malicious apps have already been found on Google Play store in the past, Google generally does its part and expels rogue. The store may not be as reliable as the Apple App Store, but you will not feel like a participant in a Russian roulette when downloading a game or client for Twitter.

^{Google Play is the safest place to find apps for your Android}

But

download and install an app found on any website on the internet, especially apps or pirated versions “free” of paid apps, opens its data, and sometimes your wallet, to all kinds of malware. Apps for Android are notoriously easy to “disassemble” and criminals can infect a pirated version of a popular app like Snapchat and use it to distribute malware.

course there are alternative apps stores that are reputable, as the Amazon App Store, but if you stick to Google Play greatly reduces the chances that you will find malicious software.

Keep an eye on the permissions

permissions apps are your first line of defense against malware. Every time you install an app, you see a list of all the features of your smartphone app that needs access. Most people just ignore this list and click Accept to continue the installation, but sometimes it is worth paying attention and see if that flashlight app is not trying to access resources that can cost you money (as realizção calls or sending SMS).

^{Stay tuned for permission to know what the app is trying to access}

Permissions can be difficult to understand, but the latest versions of Android makes things a little easier. You can, for example, touching each list item to learn more about it, and thus make better decisions. Unfortunately you can not choose which permissions to give an app, then you must either agree with everything he asks for, or cancel the installation and find an alternative.

Install a security suite

Follow the advice above will give a good level of protection to your device, but if you’re really worried about malware to install a security package on your smartphone. A search for “safety” on Google Play will return thousands of results, some companies already known among PC users, such as McAfee and Norton. Recommend Lookout Mobile Security or TrustGo Mobile Security as they were well evaluated by AV-Test, an independent security testing software, and resources as much in their ability to detect threats.

^{A security package as the Lookout offers more than virus protection}

addition of malware protection security apps usually offer other useful features such as tools to back up the data on your phone (a feature that is absent in Android “pure”) and tools to locate, lock or erase it remotely lost or stolen smartphone.

Install a security package on a smartphone may sound like something from another world, but it only takes a few taps on the screen to set them up and then they work automatically. And you can rest easy knowing you’re protected if things go wrong.

not be afraid

The most important thing to remember when it comes to security in Android is not paying attention to all the sensational headlines circulating the internet almost daily. Yes, the open nature of Android makes it “less safe” than iOS or Windows Phone, but you can avoid most threats even if you take just one of the above precautions. There may even be a plague that destroys smartphones trojans being spread through an apps store suspected in Ukraine, but with our tips you have nothing to fear.