How to keep your Android smartphone safe without using anti-virus

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Bhubaneswar: With the advent of technology, fear of virus/malware/spyware attack has also risen. Additionally, if you are an Android smartphone user you need to more careful due to its open approach and comparatively more users than iOS.

Android is an open platform which is used by hundreds of mobile phone manufacturers across the world. This gives the developers the freedom to mess with the core system files to make it unique and offer never-seen-before features.

When thinking about making our phones more secure, anti-virus is the first thing that comes to our minds. While having anti-virus on your phone does make it more secure, but there are some simple hacks that you can employ for safer internet usage.

Download apps only from reliable sources: This is the first promise you should make to yourself for securing your phone. Be careful from where you get your apps. Always download apps from authentic sources like the Google Play Store.

Keep your Google Play Protect on: Play Protect is a security system offered by Google that keeps your phone safe by scanning the apps you download from the Play Store. You can turn it on by going to Settings > Security > Play Protect.

Watch your app permissions: When downloading an app, read the permissions carefully and grant permission to only those which you feel are important. If an app looks suspicious, don’t grant permission.

Never click on suspicious links and emails: Never click on suspicious emails and links. Many a time clicking on suspicious links can lead to downloading of malware to your phone, without your knowledge.

Keep your OS updated: Make sure to keep your phones’ operating system updated as soon as a new version becomes available. Using an outdated OS weakens your phone’s defence system and puts it at the risk of malware attacks.

Avoid visiting suspicious websites: Web has a dark side to it which should be not visited. Avoid visiting websites that look dubious.

Make sure to log out of app and services: While staying logged in your apps and services makes it fast to access, it also means that someone who has your handset can get inside those services. So make sure to log out of all the apps and services once you are done with it.

Never connect your phone to unknown or unlocked WiFi network: Avoid connecting to those unknown and strangely named WiFi connections. A hacker or cyber-criminal can set up his own rogue WiFi hotspot that appears legitimate but when you use it, the hacker can not only see what you’re seeing, he can also remotely alter what you’re seeing.

Use a VPN: Use a VPN or Virtual Private Network when using free WiFi. It establishes a secure connection that prevents outsiders from snooping. Use this as a must when you are using public Wi-Fi.

Use good and intelligent passwords: Don’t be that person who has the same password for all services. Never repeat passwords and always good passwords to lock your phone or any app

Also Read: How To Re-Issue Your Lost Aadhaar Card

2 Comments
  1. Johan says

    Thank you so much for the tips, it is super useful! I am concerned about my privacy recently. So I am reading all the possible articles about it. First of all, I bought NordVPN provider with this discount code “1YOFFER” – so far so good. And now I am thinking to start using a password manager tool. Maybe you have any recommendations about that?

  2. Kalinga TV says

    Thank you for your positive input. An article on the pros and cons of password manager tools will be published soon

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