Android hacks: 12 foolproof tips on how to protect Android smartphones here; http://www.amgoo.com/smartphone-blog/android-hacks-12-foolproof-tips-on-how-to-protect-android-smartphones Your Android smartphone is more than just a gadget. If you're like me then you'll use it for your personal email, work, banking, social media, and streaming music, podcasts,and videos from the net. But with all of this personal and important information on your phone, what happens if it is lost or stolen? That's why in this edition of 'Android Hacks' I'm going to take you through 12 foolproof tips on how to protect Android smartphones! If privacy and security matters to you then keep reading to get started... Android Hacks: How To Protect Android Smartphones

1. Android Hacks: 12 Foolproof Tips On How To Protect
Android Smartphones
amgoo.com /smartphone-blog/android-hacks-12-foolproof-tips-on-how-to-protect-android-
smartphones
May 4, 2015 6:00:00 AM
Your Android smartphone is more than just a gadget.
If you're like me then you'll use it for your personal email, work, banking, social media, and streaming
music, podcasts,and videos from the net.

2. But with all of this personal and important information on your phone, what happens if it is lost or
stolen?
That's why in this edition of 'Android Hacks' I'm going to take you through 12 foolproof tips on how to
protect Android smartphones!
If privacy and security matters to you then keep reading to get started...
Android Hacks: How To Protect Android Smartphones
Android is the world's most popular smartphone operating system, and can be found on all of AMGOO
Telecom's unlocked Android smartphones.
With popularity however comes the chance that your phone could fall pray to viruses, scams,
problems, or even theft!
But don't worry, we have Android hacks for these! Here are 10 tips that will teach you how to protect
Android smartphones:
1. Screen Lock
This may be a rudimentary way to protect your Android smartphone, but it's effective and easy to
implement.
It locks your phone so that it can only be used after entering the right password, and is a strong
deterrent for people who're up to no good, or to kids who happen to pick up your phone.
Set up your lock by going to Android’s Security Settings. You can then set the lock to activate after a
certain time, or when the screen is powered off.
Do YOU use a screen lock?
2. Update Your Android OS

3. Did you know that Google regularly release updates to Android?
If you're familiar with Windows you'll know that updates are important, and the same goes for Android.
These updates can contain important security advances too, so it's worth taking the time to update
your phone.
Got to Settings > About device > System updates and see if there is an update waiting for you!
3. Avoid Using Your Device As The Only Place You're Storing Work Documents
The ability to work anytime, anywhere is one of the beauties of smartphones, however don't make the
mistake of doing work and only storing it on your phone.
As soon as you get home or into the office, make sure that you transfer a copy to your PC, or store it in
the cloud by using Google drive apps!
In this way you're protecting yourself against losing work were your phone to be lost, stolen, or broken.
4. Install An App Lock
You can add an extra layer of security to your Android smartphone by installing an app lock.
What this is is an app which will require users to enter a password in order to use certain apps, or
functions, on the phone.
For instance, you could choose to password protect anything that has your personal information, such
as SMS, Contacts, Gmail, Facebook, Gallery, Market, Settings, and Calls.
There are many options in the Play store, but here's a very popular choice: AppLock.
5. Be Careful When Rooting Your Smartphone
Rooting an Android phone can be good, as it gives you 100% control over what goes onto, stays on,
and gets removed from your Android system.
However, since you're likely to be side-loading apps that aren't from the Google Play store, you need to
be extra cautious that you don't unwittingly upload an app onto your phone which contains a virus!
6. Encrypt All Of The Data On Your Phone
Encrypting the data on your phone is a good idea for those of us keeping very sensitive work or
personal data there.
It's more than just a lock code, as anyone stealing your phone will have garbled unusable data there
unless they can crack your code.
Assuming that you're already using a lock code, you can then choose to encrypt your data. Go to:
Settings > Security > Encrypt phone

4. Now you'll have to enter a password every time you power on your phone, otherwise the data will be
unreadable.
Some people say that this can slow down your phone, so you need to trade off security against
performance in this case.
7. Start Using Android Device Manager
This clever feature allows you to
track your Android smartphone on Google Maps as long as it is connected. You'll also be able to
remotely erase all of the data on the phone, or make it ring on maximum loudness for 5 minutes!
Best of all, this feature is on your phone already!
Find it at:
Settings > Security > Device Administrators
It may be a last resort to delete all data, but it could also help you out if you've mistakenly misplaced
your phone at home too!
8. Use Incognito Mode When Browsing The Net With Chrome
Your default web browser may well be Chrome, and in that case it probably syncs across all of your
devices.
If privacy on the web is important to you, then you may not want your browsing history to be shared
across all devices, especially in the case of shared home or office computers.
Counter this issue by using incognito browsing mode in Chrome.
9. Practice Safe Public Connecting
Public Wi-Fi is awesome, and we probably all use it at some time or another in malls, coffee shops, the
gym, hotels, or airports. But by using public Wi-Fi, your data could be accessed by cyber thieves, and
they're especially looking for passwords to things like your online banking!
So if you're in the bar, stick to browsing the sports news, rather than making that important mortgage
payment!
To protect yourself further you could use a VPN which may hide your connection, or detect and stop
snooping of your connection with an app like net protector.
10. Pay Attention To Apps When Downloading
Actually, the less apps you have on your phone the better, as too many will eat up memory and cause
slowdown.
When downloading an app, you must check what kinds of permissions it is asking for. If you're

5. downloading a game, but it requires access to your address book, or messages, you need to be wary.
Why would it need this?
If in doubt, don't download that app!
11. Install A Security Suite
In the same way as you'd use an anti-virus on your PC, you can do the same on your Android
smartphone. Many of these apps are free, and will seek out any security issues you have, such as
viruses, and destroy them.
One that you can try is Lookout security & antivirus, but actually there are many available and even
from big names such as Norton and McAfee, so take a look at the Play store until you find one that
you're comfortable with.
12. Don't store sensitive data on an SD card
SD cards are easy to put in and remove, right? EXACTLY!
Keep anything that needs to stay private on your phone's internal memory, and then things won't end
in tears if your SD card goes walkabout.
Your Turn To Share Security Android Hacks...
I've shared tips with you as diverse as being careful not to store important data on a micro SD card, to
Android security settings you should be using, through to what kinds of security apps you can use; but
do you have any extra security tips you'd like to share?
Will you be giving any of these hacks a try in order to boost your Android smartphone's security?
Please let us know by leaving a comment below...
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6. Topics: Smart Phones, Android Apps, Android