Secure Android smartphone

With a computer, a good password and an antivirus program is only normal. So why is it that people think less about the security of a smartphone? A smartphone is basically a small computer. Moreover, you are collecting more and more on it: complete personal conversations, quite a few private photos, all kinds of personal data and passwords. In other words: a whole lot of information that you want to protect well. You do this by ensuring that the device is properly secured. This can be done in a number of ways.

An important foundation is a secure operating system. Android regularly releases new updates, which also fix possible vulnerabilities, and where some security is further tightened. It is recommended that you do not miss these updates. Check if you have the latest version and update if necessary:

• Open the Settings.
• Tap on software update.
• Tap on Download and install.
• If it says ‘Your software is up to date’, you don’t need to do anything. If an update is available, tap Install now. The installation starts immediately. This can take quite some time.

Password protect your phone. That may sound logical, but there are still plenty of people who don’t. There are several forms of security on Android smartphones: a PIN code, a password, a pattern and, depending on the phone model, sometimes a fingerprint or facial recognition. Read more about the different forms in the article ‘Which login methods are there?’

A pattern or PIN is easy to remember, but also easier to crack. Fingerprint and facial recognition are quite secure, but can also be cracked. Moreover, those forms are not always user-friendly. Actually, it’s best to have a decent password, but it can’t be set on all Android devices. If you can, choose enough characters, a combination of letters, numbers and characters and something that is not easy to guess or figure out. Read more about this in the article ‘Creating and remembering a secure password’.

Customize the password or unlock form easily. These steps were tested on a Samsung smartphone with Android 10.

• Open the Settings.
• Tap on lock screen.
• Tap on Screen lock type.
• Choose one of the options.

Keep a few things in mind with apps. First of all, only download apps from Google’s Play Store. Those programs are checked and are safe to use. Still, it is good to be critical yourself. Some apps require all kinds of permissions. Just think of a game that also accesses your contacts. Or a weather app that also wants to record sound. Not necessary, and a more than justified reason not to install those apps.

In addition, it is important that the apps you use are up-to-date. This increases the chance that you are using the most secure version of the app and that possible vulnerabilities have been fixed. Update apps as follows:

• Open the Play Store.
• Tap the three horizontal bars at the top left.
• Tap on My apps and games.

There is an overview of apps that can be updated and apps that have recently been updated.

• Tap on Update all. If it isn’t there, everything is already up to date.

Would you like to check the device even more carefully? Then use a virus scanner. To do this, you must first download an app. Just like on a PC, there are free and paid scanners. Some well-known options are:

• Avast Antivirus
• AVG Antivirus
• Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus
• Malwarebytes Security