A smartphone can be a liability too

A smartphone can be an invaluable asset to streamline your busy lifestyle. Besides accessing your email on the go, smartphones nowadays offer applications to view Excel and Powerpoint presentations, access content from a cloud-based server, schedule your appointments and other obligations and let your family know where you are at any point of time. What is more, with the advent of mobile banking, you can pay your bills or send money to your loved ones in a jiffy. Add the functionality of share trading to your smartphone and you have a solution for all your on-the-go financial transactions. But these can also be a liability. Your phone could be taken over through a malicious SMS or email attachment by a savvy hacker, who could then use it to mine your contacts and other sensitive information, conduct bank transfers without your knowledge or use it to cyber-stalk you. Your identity could be stolen and used to commit crimes that you would not know about until the policeman comes knocking on your door.

Expensive smartphones are also the target of choice of pickpockets and burglars. Even leaving your phone in a car is unsafe, as criminals see fit to shrug off the danger of being caught with the lure of making a lucrative sale in the gray market for goods.

Once the device is in unfriendly hands, the more features you have activated on it, the bigger the risk. Such cases are on the rise and the authorities seem unable to curb the incidence. But rather than eschew the use of these extremely functional devices, we take a look at ways in which you can safeguard your information and your purchase.

Anti-virus software

Though not a foolproof method to protect your phone, installing an anti-virus software can help prevent attacks by hackers. The software will scan all emails and attachments and warn you from clicking on suspicious links or navigating to Web sites with harmful content.

It should be noted that if you download harmful content by mistake, the software may be unable to rectify the problem. In such cases, a factory reset and fresh install is warranted.

Remote wipe

Applications such as Mobile Defence enable you to erase all data in your phone’s memory in case it is ever stolen. To do this, simply download the software and register yourself and your phone. Then, in case you ever lose your phone, you can immediately safeguard your precious data and passwords by logging on to the software Web site and issuing a report wipe command that will erase all data.

Some smartphones already have remote wipe technology built into them. Many anti-virus software also offer the option. However, while these phones and software often offer the option to track your stolen phone using GPS, this option is not available in India. As such, always make it a point of filing a complaint with the police and inform your service provider in case you lose your smartphone. This will prevent the possibility of being implicated in a crime involving your phone.

Phone insurance

In case you have lost your smartphone, buying another one of the same specification can be cost-prohibitive. But if you had taken an insurance cover on the smartphone, you could file a claim to receive compensation equivalent to the purchase value of the stolen device. Nevertheless, this can be a tedious process and the insurers often rebuff claims if they can ascertain that your own carelessness was responsible.

> arvind.jayaram@thehindu.co.in

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