{"id":2414,"date":"2022-07-30T22:25:59","date_gmt":"2022-07-30T20:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.batteriedeportable.com\/guides-et-conseils\/avoid-phone-hacking-protect-mobile-phone\/"},"modified":"2022-07-30T22:25:59","modified_gmt":"2022-07-30T20:25:59","slug":"avoid-phone-hacking-protect-mobile-phone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.batterylaptop.co.uk\/guides\/avoid-phone-hacking-protect-mobile-phone\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Avoid Phone Hacking and Protect Your Mobile Phone"},"content":{"rendered":"

Traditionally a headache reserved for celebrities, smartphone hacking has broken through the blood\u2013brain barrier between VIPs and everyone else, and is now a genuine concern for anyone who owns a mobile phone.<\/p>\n

But is it really a serious problem for us<\/strong>, ordinary people?<\/h2>\n

Are our voicemails really so interesting that someone would invade our privacy just to listen to them? Before getting into the question of narcissism, it\u2019s better to look at what phone hacking actually is, and whether you really need to worry about it.<\/p>\n

The security risks of phone hacking<\/h2>\n

There are many kinds of phone hacking methods, ranging from hacking into someone\u2019s live conversation or voicemail to breaking into the data stored on a person\u2019s smartphone. While fear of the unknown can keep anyone on edge, the person most likely to hack your live conversation or voicemail will be someone you already know, and in today\u2019s mobile world, phone hacking is becoming an increasingly important security issue. As people store ever more sensitive data on their mobile devices, the opportunity to exploit privacy weaknesses becomes more tempting for friends, ex-partners or unscrupulous strangers.<\/p>\n

There is a cottage industry of phone hacking software, ostensibly developed for legitimate uses, but which can easily be used by anyone (the aptly named password crackers John the Ripper and Cain and Abel are two examples). Opportunistic hackers can wreak havoc by deleting data or installing malware that harvests bank account logins and confidential work emails. So how can you make life harder for hackers?<\/p>\n

How to secure your phone against hackers<\/h2>\n

If you want to be proactive, there are several steps you can take to protect yourself from phone hacking, most of which rely on basic common sense. On top of that, there are more advanced methods to make sure your phone is as secure as possible (without losing all its functions). For example:<\/p>\n

Basic phone security tips<\/h2>\n

For casual phone users, sticking to the basics is a good starting point to block simple hacking attempts: Never leave your phone<\/a> unattended. Keeping your phone on you at all times in a public place is the first and best rule to follow.<\/p>\n

Change your phone\u2019s default passcode.<\/h2>\n

Your phone probably came with a simple, predictable default password, and anyone who knows it can use that to their advantage. Change your code to something more complex, and avoid the usual \u201c1234\u201d, \u201c0000\u201d and \u201c2580\u201d codes that are commonly used.<\/p>\n

Manage your Bluetooth security.<\/h2>\n

Avoid using unsecured Bluetooth networks and switch off your Bluetooth service when you\u2019re not using it.<\/p>\n

Protect your PIN and credit card data.<\/h2>\n

Use a protected app to store your PINs and credit card details, or better still, don\u2019t store them on your phone at all.<\/p>\n

Advanced methods to prevent phone hacking<\/h2>\n

If hacking still worries you, you can take further steps to protect yourself. However, if you go too far, you lose much of the point of having a smartphone.<\/p>\n

Avoid unsecured public Wi\u2011Fi networks.<\/h2>\n

Hackers often target high\u2011value accounts, such as online banking, via public Wi\u2011Fi, which is often unsecured because of weaker, or even non\u2011existent, security standards.<\/p>\n

Disable your autocomplete feature.<\/h2>\n

This will help prevent access to critical personal data that\u2019s stored on your device. Regularly delete your browsing history, cookies and cache. Clearing your digital footprint is important to minimise the amount of data that can be harvested by prying eyes.<\/p>\n

Got an iPhone? Turn on \u201cFind My iPhone\u201d.<\/h3>\n

By enabling this feature in your settings, you\u2019ll be able to locate your phone if you misplace it, before hackers can get their hands on it.<\/p>\n

Use a security app that adds extra protection.<\/h4>\n

For Android owners, Webroot offers the all\u2011in\u2011one Mobile Security for Android app, which provides antivirus protection and lets you locate, lock and wipe your phone remotely if you lose track of it. For iOS users, Webroot also offers a free secure web browser for enhanced mobile security on your iPhone and iPad.<\/p>\n

Remember:<\/strong> If the thought of getting hacked keeps you awake at night, you can simply switch off your phone, remove the battery and hide it under your pillow for some sweet lithium\u2011ion dreams. You can also strengthen the security of your mobile devices with mobile security solutions that offer secure web browsing and real\u2011time defence against phishing attacks.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Traditionally a headache reserved for celebrities, smartphone hacking has broken through the blood\u2013brain barrier between VIPs and everyone else, and is now a genuine concern for anyone who owns a mobile phone. But is it really a serious problem for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":751,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-phone"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.batterylaptop.co.uk\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.batterylaptop.co.uk\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.batterylaptop.co.uk\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterylaptop.co.uk\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterylaptop.co.uk\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterylaptop.co.uk\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterylaptop.co.uk\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.batterylaptop.co.uk\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterylaptop.co.uk\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterylaptop.co.uk\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}