Feature
» Secure your phone
App permissions exposed
Make sense of what app permissions can really do
Good Permission Bad
Access secure settings
Only first-party apps from Google will ask to use this
permission and use it to make sure that your device can
run all the processes that each app requires.First and foremost, only first-party apps need to use
this permission. So any third-party app that requires
access to this should instantly be discarded.Modify SD card
Most media-based apps will use this feature to save
additionalfilestoyourSDcard.Thisismostcommonin
apps that predominantly use video files.Any app that has access to the contents of your SD
card will be able to install malicious content onto it.
There’salsopotentialforthemtodeletestoredfiles.Use location
This isn’t used very often, apart from by the likes of Google
Maps and other navigation apps. Apps will want access to
yourlocationtoinformyouofnearbyplacesofinterest.Malicious apps will gather information about your
locationandtheplacesyoutravelto,totargetyour
device with location-based ads.Device ID & call info
The main use of this permission is to read your phone
status and identity, which is ideal when accessing various
social networks or email accounts.This permission also gives access to your phone
number, which could be used by a malicious app to
constantly send you spam.
Make calls
This is a common permission for any apps that require you
to make voice calls within them, which are separate from
the default Phone app on your device.Certain apps will use the ‘Make calls’ permission to
dial premium rate numbers. These can cost users up
to £2 per minute, which can amount to a large sum.Stay safe
in the cloud
Stop hackers getting access
to your uploaded fi les with
these essential tips
Two -factor
authentication
By adding two-factor authentication to
your cloud account, you’ll receive a
text with a code needed to access
your account. It’s a useful system
that’ll alert you if someone’s trying to
access your cloud fi les.Security questions
It’s of paramount importance to keep
details of your security questions
well away from your cloud account.
These questions are often the last
gate of security between your fi les
and a hacker.Phishing woes
Hackers have started sending out
emails pretending to be from various
cloud services. Although these emails
are sophisticated, pay close attention
to the email address it was sent from
to spot a phishing attempt.What to upload?
We’ve all seen the recent iCloud
scandal, so it’s important to
remember that you should be
selective with the fi les you choose to
upload. The golden rule is to never
upload something that you wouldn’t
want to see in the public domain!Store your passwords
If you’ve got a selection of cloud
accounts, use an app like
PasswordBox to keep an offl ine vault
of all your passwords. You could also
use this vault for several offl ine
passwords as well.Beware of public Wi-Fi
Public Wi-Fi certainly has its benefi ts,
but it can be dangerous to use if you
plan logging in to cloud accounts. Any
transfers over public Wi-Fi aren’t
encrypted, so hackers can gain
access to fi les fairly easily.Benefi ts of VPN
If your cloud account is fi lled with
company fi les, a VPN can be a great
way of making sure that no one can
track your usage with said fi les.
Download the Hideman VPN app from
the Play store to try.Block automatic
uploads
To stop people from potentially
intercepting your fi les as you’re
uploading them, make sure to disable
the Automatic Uploads option from
within the Settings menu on your
device. Only upload when connected
to a secure Wi-Fi network.