Protect your phone from spyware
For millions of Americans, the smartphone has become one of the most important tools in their lives. Your phone tracks your movements, absorbs emails and text messages, and notifies you of every birthday and appointment. Every second, information floods your smartphone. Unless you switch them off, your apps are working round the clock, obeying your every setting and preference.
All day long, your phone is churning private data through its circuitry, and if criminals can break into your phone, they can steal all kinds of things, from banking details to compromising photos and video. Click here to learn how to spot five spyware apps that could be watching and listening to you right now.
These thieves don’t have to steal your actual phone. They may not even be located in the same country.
How do they do it? Spyware.
What is spyware?
Spyware is kind of like a computer virus, except instead of messing up your hard drive, it enables strangers to snoop on you. Skilled hackers can install spyware on your phone without you even realizing it.
Once it’s on your phone, spyware can record everything you do, from sending text messages to shooting video of your family reunion. Once the spyware is installed, hackers may break into private accounts, commandeer email, and even blackmail their victims.
Keep in mind, “spyware” is a vague and multi-faceted term, and it’s not always malevolent. Some parents install a kind of spyware on their kids’ smartphones in order to keep track of their activities. Managers sometimes keep tabs on their employees by watching what they do on their company computers. I don’t endorse this behavior, and I think there are much healthier ways of watching kids and employees, but this kind of spyware isn’t intended to ruin your life.
Don’t click strange links
The easiest way to avoid contracting spyware is this: Don’t click strange links. If you receive an email from a suspicious stranger, don’t open it. If you receive an email or text from someone you do know but the message seems peculiar, contact your friend by phone or social media to see whether the message was intended.
This might sound obvious, but sometimes our curiosity gets the better of us. When a link appears, some of us struggle to avoid clicking it, just because we want to know where it leads. Other times, an authentic-looking email is actually a phishing scam in disguise. If you’re the least bit doubtful, don’t click.
Lock your phone
Some types of phones are more susceptible to spyware than others. (More about this below). But owners can dramatically reduce their chances of infection by locking their phones. A simple PIN number will deter the majority of hackers.
Also avoid lending your phone to strangers. Yes, some people honestly forget their chargers at home and urgently need to call their spouses. A clever con artist only needs your unlocked phone for a minute to cause a lot of damage. In this case, being a Good Samaritan is risky business.
Androids and spyware
The bad news is this: Android phones are particularly vulnerable to spyware. It’s simple to install a spying app on any Android gadget, but only once you get past the lock screen.
To protect yourself, make sure you have the lock screen turned on and no one knows the PIN, password or pattern. You can make it even harder by blocking the installation of third-party apps. To do this, go to Settings > Security and uncheck the Unknown Sources option. It won’t stop a really knowledgeable snoop, but it could stump less-savvy ones.
iPhones and spyware
If you own an iPhone, you probably already know that your phone is far safer from malware than Android gadgets. A recent Forbes report showed that nearly 97 percent of all known malware threats only affect Android devices.
That’s good news for Mac addicts, but it can also make owners overconfident.
Last August, Apple had to release an extremely critical iOS update to patch a security threat. Before the update, an attacker could take over and fully control an iPhone remotely just by clicking the right link.
Investigators learned that this kind of attack was called Trident, and the spyware was called Pegasus. The latest iOS was partly designed to prevent these exploits from damaging your iPhone. This is just one reason you should keep your iPhone up to date.
To get the latest version of iOS, go to Settings > General > Software Update. Your device will then automatically check for the latest version of the Apple operating system.
Windows smartphones
At the moment, Windows Phone 8 and Windows Mobile 10 seem to be fairly well protected against mainstream spyware apps. Don’t rest on your laurels, though; an unlocked Windows phone is still inviting disaster.
Second-hand smartphones
Beware the second-hand smartphone. Sometimes they’re handy, because a jail-broken phone is cheap and disposal and may work with many service providers. But they may also come with spyware already installed.
Buying a second-hand phone is a common practice, especially if you’re traveling in a foreign country or you’re between contracts and just need something for the short-term. If you have any suspicions about your phone, your best tactic is to reset factory settings. It’s inconvenient, but it might save you a lot of heartache down the line.
What about your headphones? Could they be listening too? What about billboards? Click here for three things that could be spying on you right now.
What questions do you have? Call my national radio show and click here to find it on your local radio station. You can listen to the Kim Komando Show on your phone, tablet or computer. From buying advice to digital life issues, click here for my free podcasts.
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Learn about all the latest technology on the Kim Komando Show, the nation's largest weekend radio talk show. Kim takes calls and dispenses advice on today's digital lifestyle, from smartphones and tablets to online privacy and data hacks. For her daily tips, free newsletters and more, visit her website at Komando.com.