How to Protect Your Android Phones From Viruses
Viruses on phones aren’t as common as viruses on PCs. Regardless, it’s important to keep in mind that your phone is still vulnerable to viruses, malware, adware, and more. Cybercriminals can steal your data and credentials by exploiting the vulnerabilities on your phone’s OS, browsers, security patches, and networks.
The following procedures and security products can help keep your online data safe. Most importantly, know your privacy rights and remember to regularly update your software’s security.
Update Your Android Version
The world's highest-selling mobile system, Google Android, is an open OS. This permits the smartphone manufacturer to change the source code. Consequently, it is more susceptible to malware and other threats. The good news is that protecting your mobile device is straightforward. Here’s how:
- Ensure your device is connected to the internet
- Open settings within the device and choose the about phone option
- Check for updates
- Install new software and restart the phone
Security and privacy are the two essential updates that are rolled out consistently. They restrict APIs that enable third-party apps to access your device and data. Additionally, these updates provide users with advanced functionality.
Be Careful About What Apps You Download
All necessary applications should be downloaded from the Play Store itself. Google validates and runs frequent security checks on all the apps hosted in their store. It’s very easy to synchronize and manage your apps from the Play Store. Therefore, the apps are clean from any malware. By comparison, apps downloaded from third-party websites have higher chances of being injected with malware.
Read More: Best antivirus android apps
Understand Your Privacy Rights In The App's T&Cs
Despite the nuisance, it is very important to read an app’s T&C’s before installing it. Privacy policies disclose what information is collected from the user by the app and the reasons for collecting the data.
It’ll also tell you if you’re allowed to request the deletion of data or a change in personal information. Furthermore, you’ll be able to learn about data privacy and the permissions that the app will need from your device to operate properly.
Use An Antivirus
Antivirus software helps ensure individuals can browse the internet safely while keeping devices up-to-date. It’s main purpose is to detect or eradicate malware from the device including camouflaged files that are built to access a device without the user’s knowledge.
In order to protect your device, start looking into the various free and paid antivirus solutions available.
In our opinion, the three best Antivirus software for security include Bitdefender, Norton, and Avast Mobile Security.