Friends, how are you all? I hope you are well wherever you are. Nowadays, we can't go a day without our mobile phones, right? From waking up to going to bed at night - our phones are our companions in everything. But have we ever thought about how safe these phones are? Today, I read a great but thought-provoking article that opened my eyes. I came to share with you a little bit of what came to my mind after reading that article.

Source

The Danger of Android Phones and Our Ignorance

The article started with a terrible piece of information - Android phones have a big problem! Almost half of the users are using an operating system (os) that is no longer supported. Do you know what it means? This means that Google no longer provides any security updates for those old versions. Just think about it, you may be using your phone every day, but there is no security inside it! Then another concern is that Google will soon make the app not work properly on these old phones. I was shocked to hear this! Do we all know which version our phone is running? I checked my phone settings after reading the article.

Not only Android, but also iPhones are at risk!

At first I thought, come on, so only Android users are worried about this! But no, the article informed me that iPhone users are also not excluded from this 'dangerous list'. A report by a company called zimperium says that about 50% of mobile phones are running old OS, and a large part of them are hacked or infected with viruses. After hearing this, I felt how much more careful we should be about security!

The world of apps and security loopholes

There are so many apps on our phones! I am sure that everyone has at least 80-100 apps on their phones. And many of them we may not use very much. But the article says that each of these apps is a potential security risk. When we casually install an app, we may not think that our personal information can be stolen or that there can be other problems inside the phone. Even apps from many large companies lack security! Reading this, I thought, how much risk do we really live in, right?

Source
The article says a very important thing – many people use their personal phones for office work. And when personal phones are not protected, important office information can also be at risk. This is why Google wants to restrict apps to older OS.

My understanding: How to stay safe?

The article not only mentioned the problems, but also gave some very simple solutions, which I found very useful:

1. Checking the phone's OS: This should be done first. You should see if your phone has a software update, or if it is on the support list. If not, you should think about a new phone.

2. Software Updates: It is very important to update apps and OS regularly. Updates do not mean new features, they are actually a shield of security.

3. Be careful while installing apps: You should only download apps from the official store (Play Store or App Store). 'Sideloading' apps from somewhere else can pose serious dangers. Many of us have this habit, but it is really dangerous.

4. Delete unnecessary apps: I also have many apps on my phone that I do not use. After reading this article, I felt that I should delete them right away. Unnecessary apps only increase the risk.

5. Warning: Links and Attachments: Do not click on any unknown links or attachments in emails or messages. We all know this, but many times we click on them by mistake. From now on, we will be more careful.

6. App Permissions: While installing an app, we often 'Allow' without looking at the permissions. But this article says that you have to be very careful before giving access to phone contacts, messages, location – these. If it is not really necessary, then it is better not to give permission.

7. Play Protect for Android: For those who have an Android phone, Play Protect should always be turned on.

Perspective is the real thing

After reading this article, I felt that even though mobile phones are an integral part of our lives, how indifferent we are about its security! We always think, "Something like this will never happen to me." But the dangers of the cyber world do not spare anyone.

Life is very simple, but some precautions can save us from many big dangers. This article made me understand that we should be more aware of the security of ourselves and our information. If we are a little more careful while using mobile phones, we can avoid many unwanted troubles.

I hope these thoughts of mine will be useful to you too. Thank you very much to the author for sharing such a useful article. And you too keep your phones safe!

Posted Using INLEO