Are you Concerned About Android Security | The Communication Blog

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Are you Concerned About Android Security

By Farah Frafali


From hacks to trojans, mobile phone security is starting to be a concern that companies are striving to contain. As the steady rise in people purchasing smartphones continues, so does the amount of criminal groups and computer hacks looking for a method to crack or acquire data from your cell phone.

Viruses can not only interfere with a variety of capabilities on your Google Android phone but might furthermore create a backdoor providing various types of snoopware (programs which look for private data to send to the hacker) to be installed and jeopardize your mobile phone.

Google has taken numerous precautionary security measures while building the Android OS which provided the capability to push upgrades and patches to Android mobile phones but without the consumer being forced to request it. This function was really a lifesaver for many Android users when in March '11, Google published a security update which prevented rogue programs from getting at personal information, thus effectively providing a kill switch for these unwanted applications.

The malicious software responsible for the problem has been known as the DroidDream Trojan which was discovered to be included in well over 58 software programs. Through sending out this remotely triggered enhance, Google managed to execute virtual surgery on Android smartphones throughout the world. This is one among the many ways your smartphone is protected.

You could also make your Android smartphone safer applying a several straightforward strategies.

First of all you'll want to lock the phone's password to prevent low-level malicious software from getting installed. To do this open the Settings - Location & Security Settings - Select the password of your choosing. Next, set a low Timeout option with Settings - Display - Set a value (preferably less than a minute).

A second security measure is to apply the permission mechanism that enforces restrictions on what processes an app can carry out. It also defines what files it is allowed to access. This protects your phone so even if a malicious software package finds its way in to your phone it is constrained to what it may carry out. Without defining permissions there's a possibility that malware applications can quietly acquire all of the data from the smartphone.

Finally, there are a number of 3rd party security apps available like Norton's Mobile Security software which can accomplish many beneficial functions such as stopping unauthorized applications from being installed in the first place. Furthermore it can also remotely lock down the smartphone if the SIM card has been taken out. This is incredibly helpful if your phone gets swiped!




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