How to secure your Android device
LOCK DOWN YOUR DROID
OUR SMARTPHONES AND tablets are providing us with more and more financial and private access while on the go, but how secure is this? We take a lot of precautions when logging into our bank account or other financial services on a computer, but often treat our smartphones like they’re immune to hackers, phishers and scammers.
In reality no device is immune, but fortunately Android has a strong range of security features, and it is not difficult to implement them.
Probably the most important step is to stop any unauthorised person from accessing your device in the first place. While it would be very convenient to just have your phone on and unlocked all the time, the security issues of doing so can be huge.
Current Android devices give you a range of authentication options to unlock them, including fingerprint scanning, iris scanning, facial recognition, pattern drawing, and entering a PIN. Of these, the old standby of entering a PIN is considered the most secure, but the least convenient.
At the level of accuracy used on a typical Android device, fingerprints and facial recognition are not that secure, although facial recognition is improving with every generation of hardware. If yours includes 3D recognition and iris scanning you have the latest technology and a high level of security.
Drawing a pattern on the screen is quick and easy, but there are a few traps. The pattern needs to have a bit of complexity because it does not take long to check all the simplest ones.
If you are using a pattern to unlock make sure you keep your screen very clean. To see why, just hold the phone so it is reflecting some light off the screen – it’s often possible to see where the finger swipes have been.
All this means that the venerable PIN is the fall back option.
SMART LOCK
Android 8 (Oreo) introduced Smart Lock, which makes life somewhat easier. Look for Smart Lock under Settings/ Security and set you options. Smart Lock lets you define locations such as Home, as trusted places where your device will be automatically unlocked. It can also remain unlocked when paired to trusted Bluetooth devices, such as your car, or when constantly moving, such as in your pocket. Some phones can also be unlocked by recognising your voice.
We have found Smart Lock convenient, but inconsistent in that it sometime locks anyway, even when at home or in the car. Android 9 (Pie) has a number of security enhancements, including Lock Down, which lets you disable all access except via pattern and PIN. Just remember that you need to set it up on your unlocked phone in advance. You can then simply activate Lock Down without unlocking your phone should the need arise for tighter security.
APPS WITH A SIDE OF MALWARE
Apps can contain malware, and the surest way to
avoid that is to only download and install apps from the Google Play Store. It is not perfect, sometimes suspect apps slip through, but it is much better that “side loading” an app that has not been verified as safe.
GOOGLE PLAY PROTECT
Google Play Protect is built in to your Android device, and includes a feature called “Scan device for security threats” that check your installed apps and watches for suspicious activity. The feature is On by default, and you can confirm this by opening Settings, going into the Security section, tapping on Google Play Protect. Make sure “Scan device for security threats” is activated, and it will run in the background and let you know if it finds an issue.
APP PERMISSIONS
Every time we install an app, it asks for permission to access parts of your data. Of course you want to install the app, so you will usually grant the permissions and proceed. But even if the apps falls into disuse, if it’s still installed it still has those permissions. If you are not going to use it again, uninstall!
It’s easy to revisit the permissions you have granted, and there may be surprises. Just go to Settings > Apps > App Permissions (this may be on a drop-dawn menu) for a list by Permission type. Tap on any of them to see a list of apps that potentially use that permission, and whether or not you have granted it. If anything looks odd or unnecessary you can revoke the permission.
Don’t do this on anything fundamental to the operation of your phone, just on lesser apps that you want to keep, but keep under control. If the app really needs that permission to function it will ask for it next time you open it.
APPS ACCESSING YOUR GOOGLE ACCOUNT
Among the permissions you have granted will be access to your Google account, assuming your phone is normally logged in to a Google account.
To see what you have authorised and what areas of your Google account it can access, go to this webpage:
Click on any app for more details, and a REMOVE ACCESS button is available if you decide to remove its access.
TWO-FACTOR IDENTIFICATION
In most cases your Android smartphone will be closely linked with your Google account, and when you secure one you really should secure both. Two Factor Identification makes your Google account logins much more secure – activate it from the Settings menu in your Google Account.
Check your sensitive logins like bank accounts too – most have Two Factor Identification available.
FIND YOUR LOST ANDROID
As long as Location is enabled in your Android device (in Settings > Google > Location) and the device is switched on, you should be able to locate it through Google’s Find My Device:
Samsung provides a similar Find My Mobile function, plus there are many apps available to help secure your phone or tablet.
One app we use is Lockwatch - Thief Catcher, which secretly takes photos with the front camera and emails them to you along with GPS coordinates and a location map.
All of the above services also give you options to lock or erase your phone remotely, and Find My Mobile also has an option to send last known location just before the device shuts down due to a low battery.
CHROME SAFE BROWSING
Provided that you are using Chrome – the default in Android – you probably have Safe Browsing activated. You can check this by opening the settings menu in the Chrome Browser and looking in the Privacy to make sure that Safe Browsing is switched on. Safe Browsing works to prevent you accidentally opening unsafe web pages.
SCREEN PINNING
Android features a “Guest Mode” style of security where you can lock an application so the user can’t access any other part of the phone – perfect for when someone borrows your phone to do something urgent, or some snooping.
DEVICE ENCRYPTION
To be doubly secure, you may be able to encrypt the data on your phone or SD card. Go to Settings, search for “Encrypt”.
ANTI-MALWARE APPS
If you avoid black market apps, the chances of getting malware on your Android device are minimal. But some extra protection never hurts - go to the Google Play store and search for ”Android” security, you will have plenty of choices available.