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FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE seven steps and you
can lock down any Android phone or tablet.01
USE A LOCK SCREEN
Let’s start with the obvious: make sure
you have the lock screen turned on. Pattern
locks are simple to remember, quick to input
and relatively hard to crack. For maximum
security, however, you can choose a password
of random numbers and letters.
To turn on the lock screen, go to ‘Settings >
Security > Screen lock’ (or ‘Settings > Device >
Lock screen’ on Samsung) and change it to
a pin, pattern or password.02
SWITCH ON ENCRYPTION
Unlike Apple devices, most Android
devices don’t have encryption switched on by
default. Having device encryption switched on
means that no data on the device can be
accessed without first passing the lock screen.
Without it switched on, the flash memory
can be removed and read easily.
Turn on encryption in ‘Settings > Security’
(‘Settings > General > Security’ on Samsung)
and tap on Encrypt phone/tablet/device.
It may take a while, so do this when you don’t
need to use you phone for a bit.How to secure an Android device
WITH MOBILES — ESPECIALLY ANDROID MOBILES — BECOMING MORE OF A TARGET THAN EVER,
IT’S TIME YOU TOOK SOME STEP TO PROPERLY PROTECT YOUR MOBILE DEVICES.
[ NATHAN TAYLOR ]03
ENABLE ANTI-THEFT
Google provides anti-theft for all
Android devices linked to your Google
account. In a browser on any device, go to
http://www.google.com/android/devicemanager.
You’ll see the devices linked to your Google
account. As long as they’re connected to the
internet and GPS is enabled, you can see their
location on Google Maps. You can also make
the device ring (useful for finding it) and lock
or erase it remotely so that any thief can no
longer use it or access your data.04
INSTALL ANTI-VIRUS
The virus threat on mobiles is real, and
you should install anti-virus on it to protect
yourself, just as you would on a PC. There are
plenty of free solutions available, and currently
we prefer Avast! Mobile Security & Antivirus,
which provides more features than most free
solutions, including a privacy advisor, app
locker and web shield.05
PERFORM PERMISSION CHECKS
Privacy advisors are useful tools for
Android; they check app permissions for
suspect applications that represent potential
privacy threats. There’s a privacy advisorbuilt into Avast! (see Step 4), but as a stand-
alone product we like Bitdefender’s Clueful
Privacy Advisor, which checks on online
database as well as app permissions.06
LOCK INDIVIDUAL APPS
There are tools that can be used to
provide an extra layer of protection for certain
sensitive apps. An app locker adds a lock
screen to chosen apps, and can be very useful
if you store important information on your
phone. There’s one built into Avast!, but for
a standalone app, you can look to AppLock,
which supports more features including
pattern locks.07
BACKUP YOUR DEVICE
Phones need backing up to, and there
are good apps made for it. We really like App
Backup Restore — Transfer from Apex Apps,
which backs up apps (including the actual
APKs), app data, photos, videos, SMS and call
logs — pretty much everything. It can also
back up to cloud drives.Pattern locks are a nice compromise between security
and convenience.AppLock is an excellent stand-alone app locker that
Most Android devices are not encrypted by default. supports pattern recognition.SUPERGUIDEHOW TO SECURE AN ANDROID DEVICE