Mobile Security Is About Protecting Your Data, Not the Cost of your Device
When it comes to mobile security, it can seem overwhelming in the number of things you are told you just HAVE to do. Many people are so overwhelmed that they instead opt to do nothing. Passcodes, anti-virus, anti-malware, insurance, backups, tracking, recovery, data delete… With dozens of choices for each these options, just where do you start?
First, you prioritize what it is you're trying to accomplish with mobile security:
- Protect your data from being used for identity theft & fraud
- Protect your data from being lost permanently
- Avoid the cost and trouble associated with a lost or stolen device
When it comes to data protection, you must think of both physical security (what happens in the event of loss or theft) and what happens if your data is made vulnerable from using your phone (phishing, viruses, malware). Knowing your goals, tackle your security step-by-step and you'll be done in no time.
- Most devices will already have passcode and back-up options that you can easily enable, making this easy to set up. Set your back-up to happen daily.
- Choose an anti-virus/anti-malware option to protect you while using your phone and follow our basic smartphone safety tips.
- Choose a device tracking service that offers data-delete and remote locking to prevent identity theft and fraud. LoJack for Mobile Devices is the only mobile theft recovery solution that can survive a factory reset and is backed by a team of professionals to support recovery.
- Decide if insurance is right for you. Insurance covering damage can be useful; some offer issuance for stolen devices, though this insurance does not help recover your phone
When setting up your options, always keep your goals in mind and ask if the services you have set up are going to do enough to protect you and your data. For example, if you choose insurance but not device tracking, your data is not protected in the event of a theft and you have no chance of device recovery; while it may seem nice that you have some cash for a new phone, the solution hasn't satisfied your goal.
