Last Updated on November 24, 2018 by Larious

I would like to thank Larious for posting this article to lowkeytech.com, one of the best blogs for new information and tips on technology. After reading this article, readers might be particularly interested in this article on protecting your devices from hackers.

If any device or operating system has a level of popularity, then cybercriminals are making malware for it, hoping to make a profit or cause you nothing but grief.

Android is an incredibly popular platform, and despite some reports of it being a relatively safe system (at least compared to Windows), it is indeed vulnerable to malware and, therefore, all of the consequences that malware can bring to the owner of a device. Doing nothing isn’t going to be enough to protect you, so you need to make sure you are doing whatever you can to secure your device.

To do so, take into account the following tips:

Beware of Unsecure Apps

The app store has a great deal of amazing selections, but not every one of them is safe. Some apps might compromise the security of your Android phone or device, and others still will cause endless waves of spam to cripple your device.

A lot of protection and prevention depends on knowing where you get the app from. Many pirated apps either contain malware or pretend to be a well-known app while actually malware, so under no circumstance should you use pirated apps on your Android device. In addition to this, make sure there are good reviews for the app in the app store you are using. If there is nothing to be found or said about an app, it might be a good sign to hold off.

Get Security Apps

While there are apps that will encourage malware to come your way or just simply be malware, there are many other apps that will help you stay protected, and you should absolutely use them. You might want to browse some of the best before you make a choice, but any good app is better than no app at all. Just make sure to update your device and any apps you use so that you can fight off new threats.

You should be especially sure that you aren’t using a fake security app that is just malware in disguise because this is a common scam that many people are easily susceptible to. When you are looking around, be certain to read user reviews (people are happy to leave angry reviews of malware applications) as well as do a quick search online to make sure that everything is okay.

Use a VPN

There is a strong likelihood that you take your Android smartphone or device out on the road with you on a daily basis, and so this means you often use public networks to access the web and utilize other applications. This is a very convenient thing and part of the reason smartphones exist. Yet this is also a very dangerous thing when it comes to hackers and malware getting into your system.

The reason for this is, when you use a public Wi-Fi network that has little to no protection (which is most of them), then you are effectively broadcasting all data you send or receive over that network and anyone with the right receiver (which isn’t that hard to set up) can “listen” in to whatever you’re doing, including passwords and methods that can be used to get into your accounts and services. This way hackers can set up malware in your device or set up gateways or tunnels to get malware onto your device.

You are going to want a Virtual Private Network, which will effectively connect your Android device to an offsite secure server over an encrypted connection, and that means there is no more “broadcast” happening for hackers to pick up on. This is a wonderful line of defense for travelers and is extra useful for those who want to stay private because a VPN, by its nature, masks your IP address. I recommended you get one of the best VPNs for Androids.

Adjust Your Settings

The settings on your Android device matter more than you may think, and they do more than regulate power consumption and make cosmetic changes. The settings on your device might be the difference between letting malware in and keeping it out. It might also be the difference between keeping it quarantined to your device and letting it run loose on your computer as well.

One thing you should specifically check right now, if you can, is whether you are automatically connecting to any networks public or private, or whether you have your device automatically connecting to any networks within range. If so, change it to not connect to anything other than your home network automatically; it is worth the extra two seconds compared to the security risks of an unknown network.

Thank you for reading. I hope these tips help you secure your Android device from every possible cyberthreat

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Author: Caroline

This guest post was written by Caroline on behalf of Secure Thoughts, your best source of information for internet security and services