Securing your Android phone

There are two main thougts recurrent in my mind when I think about security in my phone:

What if some hacker attempts to steal my data?
What if I lose my phone? or someone steals it?

Probably, you have thought about these questions too. And you'd said to yourself "I need to secure my phone". But, how can you do that? In this article, I'll show you some tips to secure your Android phone. Follow these tips and you'll feel more secure with your phone.

Authentication methods

The first thing you need to do is to set up an authentication method. There are several methods to authenticate yourself in your phone. Some of them are:

Password: The most common method. You need to enter a password to unlock your phone.
PIN: A numeric password.
Pattern: You need to draw a pattern to unlock your phone.
Fingerprint: You can use your fingerprint to unlock your phone.
Face recognition: You can use your face to unlock your phone.

Password manager

Passwords are something we learned since our first access to the internet. We use passwords to log in to websites, apps, and other services. But, how can you remember all your passwords? or you used the same password for all your accounts? Probably you already have known about big companies that have been hacked and millions of passwords have been leaked. As a recommendation, check if your account has been leaked in haveibeenpwned. If you have been leaked, change your password immediately. Actually, you should change your password periodically. If you have an outlook account, you can check all attempts to access your account in account.microsoft.com.

Given the problems with passwords, there is something will help you yo be more secure: Passwords manager are tools that help you to store your passwords in a secure way. You can use a password manager to store your passwords and use them when you need to log in to a website or an app. The main advantage is that you don't need to remember all your passwords. Thus, you can use strong and different passwords for each account. Strong becuase it's hard to guess and different because if someone steals your password, they won't be able to access all your accounts. Or if a website is hacked, your other accounts won't be compromised.

I recommend using Bitwarden, it's open-source and free.

Bitwarden

In progress...

Two-factor authentication

Passkeys or security key

In progress...

Biometric data

Biometric data is a physical or behavioral characteristic that can be used to identify a person. Some examples are:

Fingerprint (This might be the most secure)
Face recognition (This is not secure)

Phone number

I do not recommend using your phone number as a second factor of authentication. Some malicious people working on telecommunication companies can steal your phone number and use it to access your accounts. This is called SIM swapping.

Specific Phone Companies

Some phone companies have some features to secure your phone. Check your phone company to see what features they offer.

Samsung

Samsung has some options to secure your phone. Some of them are:

Secure Folder: You can store your private files, apps, and data in a secure folder.
Samsung Pass: You can use your biometric data to log in to websites and apps.
Samsung Knox: It's a security platform that protects your phone from malwares and other threats.
Find My Mobile: You can locate your phone if you lose it or someone steals it.

Specifics by country

There are some securing options depending on the country you live in.

Brasil

The brazilian government offer the app "Celular seguro". There wen can register our phone and if someone steals it, we can block the phone number and the phone will be blocked in all carriers.

Specifics by Apps

Enable biometric for purchases:
- Google Play Store
- I Food

Malwares

Use some antivirus to protect your phone from malwares. Some of them are: - Microsoft Defender

Other tips

Keep your phone updated
Install apps from trusted sources
Limit the max usage of your credit cards

Configurations pre stealing

Use these configurations to protect your phone if someone steals it:

Setup find my phone:
- Google (setup even without network)
- Samsung (If you have a Samsung phone)
Setup remote access to your phone
Sim card:
- Lock sim card to prevent someone to use your phone number. This is very important because if someone steals your phone, they can use your phone number to access your accounts, receive messages, and make calls. Those messages can be used to reset your passwords of accounts linked to your phone number.
- Change pin code of your sim card
- use e-sim. Thus, if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to remove the sim card and use it in another phone.
Encrypt your sd card. If someone steals your phone, they won't be able to access your files in the sd card.
Setup a secure lock screen
Setup password to turn off the phone. If someone steals your phone, they won't be able to turn off the phone and you can track it and erase your data remotely using Google find my phone.
If you use MercadoLibre:
Setup a trusted person.

Protocol in case of losing your phone or someone steals it

Follow these steps:

Try to locate your phone using Google find my phone or Samsung find my phone.
If you can't locate your phone, lock your phone remotely and erase your data.
Call the bank companies to block your credit cards.
Call the phone company to block your phone number.
Change your passwords of your accounts linked to your phone number.
Based on the apps you have installed, do the following:
- I Food: Logout all devices.
- MercadoLibre: Call the support to block your account.
Report to the police.

I know, it's a lot of work. But it's better to do this than to lose your money and your data.

Specifics by App

I Food: In your new phone, go to security and logout all devices.

Conclusion

Security is something that everybody knows is important but few people take it seriously. I personally am very loose about security. But I'm trying to improve it. In this article, I've collected some tips to secure your phone and prepare yourself in case you lose your phone, someone steals it or someone tries to steal your data. I hope you've learned something new and you can apply these tips to secure your phone. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know in the comments below.

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