My last post was about the power that smartphones possess and the opportunities that it provides the owner. As we know that with power comes responsibility and with smartphones that responsibility is in securing it.
Smartphones contain all kinds of information about yourself, friends and family. Since we also use it to connect to external platforms and sites that information is extended by a tenfold. If not secured your device is at risk of becoming your greatest liability. Which is why securing your smartphone is probably the first best thing you could ever do with it.
Everyone loves smartphones for what they can do such as make calls to anywhere in the world, shoot a video or connect to the web. But one thing we seem to take for granted is that each of these benefits brings with them new threats. For instance, calls are at risk of being recorded or listened to by a hacker or a bug installed to do just that. Usually, that may not be a big problem at all but when that call is information sensitive, then that could prove costly - the walls have ears.
As technology advances so do our smartphones and more emphasis is put on them. They can do more, access more services and now they've become a form of decentralized banks. To reiterate the previous statement, with power comes a responsibility, and that power is becoming greater each year. We are now able to store money on our phones and make transactions with it at the touch of a button wherever we are.
We no longer need banks to do daily transactions such as online shopping or transferring money to a friend. This time the power is in our own hands. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 - 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘐𝘯 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵. We are our own banks and as such we have decided to no longer entrust third-parties (or at least banks) with the security of our money.
We have heard of people losing their money due to hacks in the crypto space and surprisingly, these are usually people with knowledge of how crypto works and the importance of security. If it can happen to them, then it definitely can happen to any of us.
More often than not these losses could have been prevented (not condoning the act of theft) but usually, the losses are a result of negligence on the victims part. Either they exposed some information online or they failed to add a 2-factor authentication on their exchanges/wallets. Other times your device was simply hacked by someone who knows you possess something of value with little security.
How do you go about securing your device from thieves?
- The first thing to set up is a strong alphanumeric password for your device and different passwords for different wallets and accounts.
- Secondly, you need to constantly update your operating system and your wallet to newer versions because updates mean that patches have been made to vulnerabilities in the software
- This one is very important and I know that it's something which many people are guilty of, so was I before. It is to delete apps that have access to your email, camera, mic, contacts, messages. Unless it's apps where it makes sense like Skype, Gmail or Youtube. Some even have access to things like your notepad, other apps, and wifi. Clearly, these apps are toxic and whatever they are, they probably don't have your best interest.
- Lastly, install a good security software for all your devices and make sure it too is constantly updated for security patches and to handle new threats
There are many other ways to protect your device even further but in my opinion, these are the most important and the more effective steps you can take right now. Oh and avoid using public wifi for sensitive tasks such as online shopping and banking as they may be a lurking hacker near you. Taking these 5 simple steps will already ensure you're more protected than 90% of the population.
Your device is your device and no one else should have access to it without your permission. It is the one thing we have beside us 24/7 and has become an extension of ourselves. Keep it private, secure and up-to-date because after all, it is your next best friend that knows everything about you.
I hope this post found you in time and you apply this advice for years to come. Please resteem this to your followers, you could be helping them out against future losses as I have hopefully done for you.
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Until the next one, have a great day!
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