How to protect your phone from theft or loss. How to protect your phone from theft. Use complex passwords

Mobile phones have long been a popular theft target. Many criminals are interested in accessing your personal information. If you do not want to pay unexpected expenses, buy a new gadget, you will probably want to return it in case of theft or to prevent thieves from taking over your personal data.

Technologies are gradually emerging that make the theft of devices meaningless:

• remote blocking.

Already tested in laptops by Apple - all functions of the device are blocked, its use becomes impossible. Modern programs can be bought in stores, but thieves have already learned to bypass them by resetting the smartphone settings and reflashing it. But the initially built-in kill switch function completely destroys the filling of the device, all personal data and files on unique number IMEI. Samsung also decided to equip all gadgets with the kill switch function;

• fingerprints.

Portable scanners are used by mobile device developers to identify the owner of a smartphone; the user's relatives will be able to use the device if their fingerprints are entered into the device's database. Top models now have a scanner mobile phones, for example, there is such a function in the iPhone, Htc one Max, Samsung Galaxy S5, Motorola ES400 and some other models;

• signaling.

Available for any smartphone model, the application from the application store works even on the cheapest device. Some developers allow you to turn on the alarm remotely - via SMS with a special set of characters or using the Internet.

How to protect your mobile phone from theft?

In case of unforeseen circumstances, rewrite in your notebook:

• manufacturer's name, model;
• color and description of appearance;
• PIN and lock code;
• IMEI number (for GSM phones).

To facilitate the search, you can pre-apply your home address, alternative phone number or address on the gadget and battery Email ultraviolet ink. Remember that they wear off after a few months, so update the labels as needed.

You can also use a lock code, a pin code, which makes the phone less valuable to a thief, protects personal information from unauthorized access. If the device is stolen, you must immediately inform the police and the telecom operator to block the gadget and account. To do this, you need to know the IMEI number. If the operator has blocked the gadget, it will become inactive even if the SIM card is changed. However, the inactive device cannot be used even by you as the owner when it is returned.

Save the information about the call - date, time, name of the operator's contact person, duration of the call, ask to block the device so that the thief does not perform fraudulent actions on your account.

Ways to protect android smartphone

To protect yourself from possible loss or theft of your phone, as well as personal data in it, you need to have:

• acting google account;
• Internet access on the phone;
• enabled geolocation on the device (GPS).

Internet access is needed to communicate with the gadget, GPS - in order to determine and transfer coordinates, Google account - for the "Remote Android control».

If the above is enabled, then you can proceed to setting up the service " Remote control Android ". To do this, go to the menu, item "Settings" - "Security". We turn on the functions "Remote device search" and "Remote lock and reset." Next, we check if the geolocation (GPS) option is enabled through the entrance to the "Menu" - "Settings" - "Location", turn the switch to the "ON" position.

Warnings

It is necessary to immediately conduct a conversation with a representative of the telecom operator in order to avoid conflicts over the balance on the account. The sooner you report the theft to the police, the more likely you are to find an intruder. If a thief calls from your phone immediately after the theft abroad, and you did not inform the operator, you will have to pay a large bill.

Note!

Some operators require confirmation that the phone has been stolen and not lost.

To confirm the fact of theft, you need to contact the police, since a request from law enforcement agencies will induce the telecom operator to cooperate, especially if the issue concerns insurance. If they refuse to block the device, they demand payment for the services that the thief ordered, make it clear that you will file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission, the General Prosecutor's Office, the Society for the Protection of Consumer Rights.

• on the street keep the phone in the inner pocket of a jacket or coat;
• do not leave the gadget unattended, you must keep it in a safe place;
• do not show the pin code or blocking code to strangers under any circumstances, except when requested by law enforcement officials;
• store security code - telecom operators provide only a pin code, but the security code you set on your phone can only be bypassed with a special software phone manufacturer. You will need to visit a service center.

What do you need?

To find your phone, you will need:

• IMEI number;
• information about the manufacturer, model and color of the device;
• information related to UV ink marking.

Note!

To protect your phone from thieves, install anti-theft software that allows you to control your device remotely.

To use IMEI to search for a smartphone, to contact the police, you need to take a check, passport, and other documents for the gadget. In the application, be sure to indicate that the phone was stolen. The police then make a request mobile operator to determine the location of the smartphone. If the device is found in your home, a large fine will be issued. Therefore, contact the police with such a statement only if you are sure that the device has been stolen. Sometimes, at the request of law enforcement, the operator cellular responds for several days, or even weeks, so this method is not always effective.

To prevent phone theft, follow basic security measures:

• use it carefully in public. Do not keep the device in sight, in crowded places, where it is easy to steal;
• if you have a MobileMe account and an iPhone use Find function my iPhone (the same function is available for iPad);
• owners Nokia phones Series 60 (eg E61, 6620) can activate the remote control function, which allows you to block the device by sending an SMS to it. If your model does not support this option, then you will be helped Theft app Aware;
• if you are in the UK go to free service ImMobilise, which allows you to register a device using your contact information. If it is lost or stolen, the police will have access to the information by IMEI.

Note!

IMEI - International Mobile Equipment Identifier - is a unique 15-digit phone number that can be found by looking under the battery or by dialing * # 06 # on most phones.

If the gadget is stolen, or you have lost it, the operators mobile communications may not always help you as they may assume you are a thief. But proving that you are the master is essential. Inform:

• how often you use your phone;

• how do you pay for services;
• information about the phone and number;
• other information that only the owner and operator of the communication can know.

For all questions about the algorithm for stealing a gadget, you can contact our experienced specialists via the website or by phone.

Google, Apple, Microsoft, and many other tech companies have long been dedicated to improving user security. They have created great tools that have improved our security.

The developments of these companies allow us to maximally protect our devices and they allow us to be confident that user data, both on the phone and in the cloud, will be protected.

You also need to understand that the responsibility for the security of personal data is largely borne by the user himself. If you want your personal data to be protected, you need to use all possible means of protection from unauthorized persons. Protected data must be difficult to obtain and also difficult to decrypt. Android smartphones have some cool features that will make you feel safe.

For starters, the simplest thing you can do is put a password on your smartphone. Having a password allows you to restrict access to data on your phone or in the cloud. Whether you've left your phone on your desk, or lost or stolen your phone, a password will help you protect your data. True, in some cases even this does not help.

A six-digit PIN is much more difficult to crack than a four-digit one, but even it can be cracked under certain circumstances, for example if the cracker has special password cracking equipment.

Long alphanumeric passwords give the chance that it will take a very long time for them to guess the password. But at the same time, entering a long complex password on the phone is inconvenient. Therefore, in addition to the password, there are alternative methods of protection.

Encrypt all on-premises data and protect your data in the cloud with two-factor authentication on your accounts.

In Android 7.0 Nougat and newer, we introduced an encryption system that is different from what was in Android smartphones earlier. Now each file is encrypted separately.

Also, all accounts must have a strong password and two-factor authentication, if it is possible to bind an authenticator or SMS notification.

Do not use the same password on multiple sites. But in order not to forget passwords use a password manager (Smart Lock).

Don't follow incomprehensible links

You should never open suspicious links or messages from unknown numbers. If you need to receive a letter from a specific person by email, then before that it is better to ask his email address.

But at the same time, you can open links of verified users on Twitter or VK with peace of mind.

Why you should care about protecting your data

The reasons I will give are not contrived or fictitious. For example, in 2015, the Stagefright exploit could force an Android phone with by SMS freeze and allow intruders to gain access to your file system where the script could install malware without any problems. Later it turned out that a JPG or PDF file does the same on the iPhone.

The exploit was quickly fixed, but there is confidence that another similar exploit will be found, since errors in the code are still found, for example, such as.

Install only trusted applications

For most, Play Store is the only source where you can download applications. If an app or link directs you to install it from some strange place, don't click on the link until you know what the site is.

In addition, you can enable the item in the settings "Do not install applications from unknown sources", but only if you are confident in the reliability of the application.

But if you install applications from Google play, this does not mean that applications are 100% safe, because we remember cases when malicious utilities got into the application store.

If you need to install apps from a third-party source, make sure you trust the source itself. In fact, malware that exploits system vulnerabilities can only appear if you approved the installation. Roughly speaking, everything is in your hands.

***

With the release, Google has released an update for Google play that includes a built-in google antivirus Protect. In addition, the installation from unknown sources has changed, now you can assign one or more applications from which the phone can download files. All these innovations indicate that Google is trying to secure both users and its operating system.

Articles and Life Hacks

2013 became a kind of milestone in the triumphant march of the smartphone across the markets of the planet: the owners of this gadget became 22% of the world's population, overtaking personal computers.

And already during 2015, the PC market collapsed by as much as 10%, while the number of computers sold for the first time fell below 300 million units.

Such widespread use of smartphones has given rise to the keenest interest of all kinds of intruders in them.

These devices are even more attractive to all kinds of crooks because of their relative novelty, the consequences of which are insufficient development of means of protection and low awareness of these means by the majority of users.

If it has long been inconceivable for the owner of a personal computer to go online without an antivirus and a firewall, then everything is not so categorical with mobile devices.

Many people still retain the pleasant illusion that phones "almost never get hacked", or "this operating system is never broken."

The opinion is erroneous and dangerous: mobile devices are hacked on any, and moreover, very often. As the saying goes, if there is demand, there will be supply, so let's try to understand first what cybercriminals need from a smartphone.

What you need to protect your smartphone from

Let's list briefly how crooks can harm the owner of a smartphone who has shown excessive carelessness .

1. Losing money .

   Many financial transactions are performed using mobile devices, and for fraudsters it is an opportunity to directly steal money from the user's wallets and accounts.

2. Loss of identity card .

   In this case, attackers can use a compromised device to gain access to your Internet accounts on your behalf.

3. Identity theft .

   Many consider it permissible to store on their smartphones such important information as home address, passport number and much more, which may interest criminals both for personal use and for the purpose of reselling information.

4. Stealing work-related information .

   Carelessness can "help" not only get your own problems, but also set up your employer.

   Today smartphones are often used as a working tool by employees of many companies, such information also has a price on the black market.

5. Loss of contacts, photos and other similar information .

   If a person is careless, he is careless in everything. So, backup he is also unlikely to carry out his phone.

   The result can be the loss of phone numbers and Skype addresses or e-mails of important correspondents.

The motives of criminals can also differ significantly. For example, it can be theft - "quietly steal and left." Maybe extortion - demanding money for the return of stolen information.

Sometimes spying is carried out using a smartphone. Or, there may be harm, especially if the owner of the smartphone or his employer annoyed someone with something.

Why smartphone protection is so important

As mentioned above, the harm caused by unauthorized access to a smartphone can be large and varied. And it is no coincidence: after all, a gadget today is your window for communication with almost the whole world.

By neglecting safety, you can incur more than financial or reputational losses. Your device can be used for illegal purposes, and you will have problems.

While law enforcement officers figure out the situation, you will have to prove more than once or twice that you are not a camel, wasting your time and irreplaceable nerve cells.

At the same time, it is quite possible to lose a prestigious and highly paid job, especially if the smartphone is, among other things, a working tool.

It should also be borne in mind that a jailbroken smartphone can cause problems in relationships with people around you. To do this, it is not at all necessary to demonstrate to your spouse with a mistress in a nude style.

People who are determined to do nasty things to their neighbors are often very inventive, and access to the enemy's mobile phone opens up a lot of opportunities for them.

Basic rules for protecting your smartphone from hacking and information theft

• Control of connected Wi-Fi networks ... Public Wi-Fi networks- it's just some kind of holiday for the intruders. Create yourself a hotspot with a similar name and catch dozens of gullible Buratin. Ideally, it is best to stay away from such networks altogether.

  And in any case, you should disable automatic search networks in W-Fi settings... It also makes sense to regularly clear the relevant lists.

... It would seem an obvious measure - but many people neglect it. Apps should only be downloaded from trusted sources, while checking with command line the address of the site from which the download is supposed to be.

Phishing sites that mimic the designs of official software manufacturers are common.

You will also have to delve into the settings: uncheck the "unknown applications" box, and "check applications" - on the contrary, install.

Also, make sure you have a reasonable policy regarding the number and composition of applications installed on your device. Do not row whatever you get from the network, and remove unused programs in a timely manner.

• personal information ... The absence of unnecessary information in the device's memory is also the protection of the smartphone. Delete your home address in Google Maps, and also disable sending geodata in the settings of all accounts.
• Install antivirus software ... It should be understood that a smartphone is full-fledged computer, and he cannot do without an antivirus.

  
  The specific choice of manufacturer and product is, of course, the business of the owner of the smartphone, but some kind of antivirus must be required.

• Correct attitude to passwords ... It is obvious that the use of combinations of characters such as "QWERTY" or "12345" sung by numerous anecdotes will not benefit the protection of the smartphone.

  Passwords must be of sufficient length (7-10 characters), contain letters and numbers. Set your device's screen lock. In the settings, turn off the display of the password when entering, you can also select the option to encrypt the phone.

  Also, don't be lazy to change passwords regularly.

• Update operating system ... This should be said separately. Until now, among many users, approximately this way of thinking prevails:

  I am a conservative person, and I do not need all these whistles and fakes that the manufacturer can offer in the update. Everything suits me, and even if it doesn’t suit me, they will not offer anything useful to me anyway. The smartphone works - and great.

  
  At the same time, such a user is unaware: any update is, first of all, not "fakes", but the elimination of identified errors and vulnerabilities.

  The operating system for which support has been discontinued must be removed from the device at a fire pace and replaced with a fresh one.

  Yes, it is often too lazy to update the system, yes, errors may appear during or as a result of the update. But renewal is inevitable, and the emerging problems need to be solved, and not hidden behind their sacred laziness.

  Of course, before updating, you should do backup phone.

• Working with mail ... In no case do not follow unknown links without making sure that the letter, in fact, came from the addressee, and not from a fraudster.

  The antivirus, of course, will almost certainly block the dangerous transition, but it can be “lucky” if it stumbles upon a fresh piece that is not in the database.

  In addition, remember that no self-respecting service will ever, under any circumstances, ask you to provide your account password. A letter with such a request or demand should be sent to spam automatically.

• Disable unnecessary interfaces ... There are many ways to hack phones in public places using or.

  As soon as you do not need these interfaces, do not be lazy to disable them, this will allow you to more reliably protect your smartphone. If a request comes to your phone from a device you don't know, reject it.

Is it possible to protect a smartphone from special services

Oddly enough, this topic is very relevant in our time. In the public consciousness, a stable stereotype of the special services has developed as a sort of Orwellian "big brother" who "watches over you" always and everywhere, right down to the toilet.

However, according to the well-known aphorism, if you are paranoid, this does not mean that no one is following you, does it?

It is believed that the only sure way to stop tracking a specific mobile device is to remove the battery from it. SIM card change and even complete shutdown do not give a result.

Unfortunately, in recent times many popular smartphone models are equipped with a non-removable battery. On the other hand, if you didn’t do anything illegal, then what is the point in fearing surveillance?

To protect Internet access, smartphones use approximately the same applications as in desktop computers such as TOR or Riseup secure mail.

Is there absolute protection for a smartphone from any intruders?

The question is, of course, rhetorical. It should be borne in mind the principle: invulnerable computers, which means - and smartphones do not exist in nature. Everything is determined only by the cost of money and time, which is willing to go to someone who wants to get access to someone else's computer.

And for most of us it is enough to know general principles protecting the smartphone, figuratively speaking, “do not leave the key under the rug”, as our ancestors did during the Soviet era.

Experience shows that any protection is a balance between reliability and usability.

In the simplest case: a long, meaningless password is not easy to crack, but it is very difficult to remember and easy to make mistakes when typing, not to mention the fact that it is corny and annoying.

Each user must work out for himself exactly such a balance that will allow him to comfortably use his favorite gadget, but at the same time will not make him vulnerable to crooks.

It is equally important to work out for yourself and the policy itself. safe use smartphone. So to say, "if you don't have a dog, your neighbor won't poison it." You cannot steal something that simply does not exist.

You only need to store on mobile devices what is actually used regularly. On wallets and accounts, you need to keep an amount that is enough to make current purchases - and nothing more.

And if possible, it is better to pay for purchases from home.

Whenever possible, you should periodically empty the call lists, trash and the "deleted" folder in your mail, and delete unnecessary contacts.

On the one hand, fraudsters will not receive the desired information, on the other hand, if there is order on your device, it is much more likely that in case of unauthorized access, you will very quickly notice it and take action.

Special mention should be made of mailboxes: Immediately after registering an account, delete the confirmation letter that came to the mail, which often contains a username and password.

In conclusion, a few words about a topic that seems to be not related to the protection of a smartphone, but, nevertheless, is most directly related to this issue. Usage home wifi networks have recently become almost the norm.

But the security of such networks is often lame. And, among other things, this state of affairs can cause hacking of devices connected to it, including mobile ones.

This is especially dangerous when running gadgets among themselves. It is best if the setting home network will be carried out by a specialist.

Use screen lock, 2-step verification, and other Android security features. We also recommend setting up Find My Device: it comes in handy if you lose your phone. Take a look at Security Center- in it you will find Additional information on how to protect your device.

Protect your device and data

What to do to keep your phone unlocked in certain situations

With the Smart Lock feature, you can set the screen to unlock automatically under specified conditions, for example, when you are in a specific location. If you are using a device with Android 10 or higher, you can turn it off automatic blocking... On most phones, you need to select SettingsSmart Lock.

How to add contact information to the locked screen

On the lock screen, you can place contact information such as an email address or phone number. If someone finds a phone, they can contact you.

Turn on data encryption

Thanks to encryption, your information is protected. Data on many modern devices is encrypted by default.

If data encryption is not enabled on your device by default, you can activate this feature yourself. This is possible on devices with Android 4.1 and higher. On most phones, you need to press SettingsSecurityAdditional settingsEncryption and credentials Encrypt data... Learn more about data encryption ...

How to stay safe while using apps and the Internet

Some applications can harm your device, so only download software from trusted sources, such as Google Play. All applications undergo security checks before being published to this service.

If the device has a Play Store, then the "Play Protection" function scans all applications from third party sources before and after installation. A warning from this feature means that we do not recommend installing the application.

Articles and Life Hacks

For people who often lose their belongings or are inattentive, it is important to know how to protect your phone from theft and protect yourself from a similar problem.

Ways to protect phones from thieves

If you lose your mobile device, there is the easiest way to find it - by calling your phone and hearing a familiar melody.

but this way not very effective, since telephones are often set to silent mode.

Special stickers that are popular today, indicating the phone number and the amount of remuneration for the return of the find, do not need to be used at all.

Phone manufacturers offer a new option "Anti-theft", which is present in almost every antivirus.

The essence of this application lies in the fact that if the device is stolen (lost), you can send an SMS message to your phone with special code to activate the lock function.

In addition, when you enter such a code, the coordinates of the location of the phone are sent, which are entered into any navigator. Cons of this method:

• the inability to activate the switched off phone,
• inefficiency,
• obtaining not entirely accurate information.

Forgetful people can purchase a special keychain that attaches to a phone or case. Such a keychain should respond to the whistle of the owner.

If the key fob is silent, you should start looking for a mobile phone until someone else finds it.

If the connection with the base is lost, separate wireless headsets remind of themselves - they serve a special sound signal... At the same time, there is no need for the owner of the phone to learn to whistle.

How can you protect your phone from theft using a similar tool? When the person who stole the phone is removed, a siren starts to sound.

The Bill to Protect Phones from Theft

The issue of protecting mobile phones from theft is once again raised at the official level.

If the gadget is stolen, the thief will be able to use the database of the owner of the phone, as well as the money remaining in the account. Issues raised in this law:

1. Stolen phones must be blacklisted and disconnected from cellular network if necessary, when searching for a device by law enforcement officers, it is necessary to implement IMEI control.
2. Classify "wrong" phones (stolen, illegally imported into the country and used for criminal purposes).
3. Disconnection of devices by a court decision or at the request of the owner of the phone.
4. Implementation additional measures control.