7 ways to protect your iPhone
It’s time to make tweaks to lock down your device
How to beef up your security using iOS 12.
Apple’s latest mobile software, iOS 12, tightens up security and privacy issues on iPhones.
To get the most out of the updates, though, you might have to tweak a setting or two.
Here’s how to make sure you’re keeping your device as safe as you can from hackers and prying eyes. ❚ Take advantage of stronger pass
codes: Hackers often use software to cycle through every possible passcode combination – known as a brute-force attack – and because a four-digit passcode has just 10,000 possible combinations, it doesn’t take long for a computer to break right in.
You can make passcodes as long as you want, and you can set it to use numbers and letters or numbers only. Just know that if you’re still using 111111 or 123456, you’re begging to get hacked.
Go to Settings > Touch ID & Passcode, and enter your current passcode. Then go to Change Passcode, and, from the Passcode Options, set a Custom Numeric Code. ❚ Use automated two-factor au
thentication: Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security to all your logins by asking new devices to confirm that they’re legit. After you log in to an app or site with two-factor enabled, you’ll get a text message to your phone number with a verification code, ensuring you’re the only one who can access the account.
Apple has two-factor support baked right into iOS 12, and it’s so easy to use that it auto-fills the codes for you.
Go to Settings > Password & Security, and then tap Turn on Two-Factor Authentication. Once you do this, your phone guides you through the rest of the setup process. ❚ Turn on USB-restricted mode: One of the most significant security changes in iOS 12 is that Apple made it much harder for iPhone thieves or privacy-snooping meddlers to sniff your phone for information about you.
When you plug your phone into a USB device, it can do two things: get charged and transfer data. In the past, when you connected your phone into a computer, it asked for verification to keep you safe, but there were still tools hackers could use to get around that.
After seven days without being un- locked, iOS 11 would finally lock down the charging port to prevent any attempts at breaching its security. iOS 12 shortens that time window in a big way. Now, it locks down iPhone’s charging port into power-only mode after just one hour after you last unlocked it.
To set this correctly, head into Settings > Face ID (or Touch ID) & Passcode, and then go all the way to the bottom of the list. There you’ll see a toggle for USB Accessories. Make sure this button is OFF (gray, not green). This simple step should prevent any USB devices from trying to break into your phone after just one hour of being locked. ❚ Significant locations: on/off ? Your iPhone tracks everywhere you go so it can make location-based features in apps such as Maps, Photos and Siri work smoothly. Your phone encrypts the information so nobody should be able to see it but you, but it’s pretty creepy the first time you see it, especially if you don’t realize that it’s tracking you in such a way. It’s entirely up to you whether you want to turn it off, or you can clear your saved locations any time.
Head into Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services, and then tap Significant Locations. Here you can see the locations that your iPhone thinks are most important to keep track of and toggle the feature on or off.
❚ Use Safari: There are approximately a million web browser options in the App Store, but Apple’s own built-in Safari browser comes packed with new features in iOS 12 to help keep your browsing habits more private.
Safari now protects against cookies that track you across the internet, potentially revealing your browsing habits to companies trying to learn more about you. Social widgets on websites – such as Facebook logins for comment sections – can sniff out what you’re doing even if you don’t interact with them. Now, Apple blocks all of those by default and even masks your phone’s unique identity so that advertisers don’t flood you with targeted ads. ❚ Change your copycat passcodes: Your iPhone’s password manager has a somewhat hidden feature to keep you even safer.
Go to Settings > Passwords & Accounts > Website & App Passwords, and you’ll see a long list of all the passwords that iOS knows you use. But it doesn’t just list them for you; it compares them against each other to see if you’ve been reusing the same password for multiple apps or websites. If it notices a duplicate, you’ll see a little warning icon next to the URL or app name.
Go to Settings > Passwords & Accounts > Website & App Passwords, and enter your passcode. You’ll see a small warning symbol next to each account that recognizes a reused password. Then tap the Change Password on Website button and change away.
Rather than thinking of dozens of different passwords, this is a good time to enable a password manager such as 1Password or Dashlane. Or use a quick trick you can easily remember, such as using a similar password, but with a specific add-on for each unique site.
❚ Enable auto updates: Every now and then, a privacy or security bug slips through the cracks. Apple is among the best at patching these holes quickly, and if your phone is in auto-update mode, you’ll get those patches as soon as they’re released.
To enable automatic updates, head to Settings > General > Software Update, and make sure it’s set to ON.