The smartphone is one of the most used and useful devices today, but also one of the most vulnerable to virus, malware and hacker attacks. These can steal your personal, banking and professional data, in addition to damaging your device and compromising your privacy and security.
Therefore, it is important to protect your smartphone as much as possible against hackers and viruses, especially in 2023, when cyber threats are expected to increase.
In this article, we'll show you some measures you can take to increase your smartphone's protection against hackers and viruses, as well as explain how to remove a hacker or virus from your smartphone if it gets hacked or infected. Follow our advice and keep your smartphone safe and functional.
How to prevent your smartphone from being hacked
Hackers are people who try to illegally access your smartphone to obtain information, control your device or cause damage. To prevent your smartphone from being hacked, you should follow some of these tips:
- Use strong and different passwords for each account: passwords are the first line of defense against hackers, so you should choose passwords that are difficult to guess and that are not the same for all your accounts. A strong password should be at least 8 characters long, including uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. For example, a weak password would be “12345678”, while a strong password would be “XyZ@9#4w”.
- Enable two-factor authentication whenever possible: Two-factor authentication is a feature that adds an extra layer of security to your accounts, as it requires you to enter a code or confirmation in addition to your password to access it. You can activate this feature in your account settings, such as email, online banking or social networks. That way, even if someone discovers your password, they won't be able to get into your account without your consent.
- Do not click on suspicious links or attachments: hackers can send you fake emails, messages or notifications with links or attachments that, if you click or open them, can install malware on your smartphone or redirect you to fraudulent websites. Therefore, you should always check the origin and credibility of senders and contents before clicking or opening something. If in doubt, delete or ignore the message.
- Do not use public or untrusted Wi-Fi networks: Public or untrusted Wi-Fi networks can be used by hackers to intercept your data traffic and access your information. Therefore, you should avoid using these networks for activities involving sensitive data, such as accessing online banking, email or social networks. If you need to use public Wi-Fi, use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to encrypt your data and protect it from hackers.
How to prevent your smartphone from being infected by viruses
Viruses are malicious programs that can affect the functioning of your smartphone, consume its resources, change its settings, display unwanted ads or steal your data. To prevent your smartphone from being infected by viruses, you should follow these tips:
- Install a reliable antivirus on your smartphone: an antivirus is a program that can detect and eliminate viruses that may be on your smartphone, as well as prevent new viruses from being installed. You should choose a reliable antivirus that has good ratings and is frequently updated. Some examples of smartphone antivirus are Kaspersky or Norton.
- Update OS and apps regularly: OS and app updates can fix security holes that viruses can exploit to infiltrate your smartphone. Therefore, you should check that your smartphone has the latest version of the operating system and applications you use, and install updates as soon as they become available.
- Do not install apps from unknown or dubious sources: Apps are one of the most common ways for viruses to enter your smartphone, especially if they are from unknown or dubious sources, such as unofficial websites, suspicious links or messages from strangers. Therefore, you should only install apps from trusted sources like the Google Play Store or the App Store, and check app permissions, ratings, and comments before installing them.
- Don't use fake payment apps: Hackers can develop fake payment apps, which encourage you to submit your bank information and pay for various services that use the apps they advertise. However, these apps are fake and used to steal your payment information and perform transactions on your credit or debit card. Therefore, use payment applications that come from reliable sources, such as PayPal, Google Pay or Apple Pay, and always check the authenticity and security of the applications you use.
How to remove a hacker or a virus from your smartphone
If you suspect that your smartphone has been hacked or infected with a virus, you must act quickly to remove the hacker or virus and prevent further damage. Here are some steps you can take to remove a hacker or virus from your smartphone:
- Back up your data: first of all, you should back up your data, such as your photos, videos, documents or contacts, so you don't lose them if you have to erase your smartphone. You can back up your data using a cloud storage service such as Google Drive, iCloud or OneDrive, or using an external device such as a memory card or hard drive.
- Turn off your smartphone and put it in safe mode: after backing up your data, you should turn off your smartphone and put it in safe mode, which is a mode that prevents hackers or viruses from accessing your smartphone , or perform malicious actions. To put your smartphone in safe mode, you must press the on/off button until a menu appears, and then select the safe mode option. If you don't know how to put your smartphone in safe mode, you can search the internet for how do it for your specific smartphone model.
- Eliminate suspicious or unnecessary applications: in safe mode, you should check the applications that you have installed on your smartphone and eliminate those that are suspicious or unnecessary, as they could be the source of the hacker or virus. Suspicious applications can be those that have strange names, that you don't recognize, that have excessive permissions or that consume a lot of resources. Unnecessary applications can be those that you haven't used in a long time, that take up a lot of space or that are redundant. To delete applications, you must go to your smartphone's settings, select the applications option and then choose the ones you want to uninstall.
- Run an antivirus on your smartphone: after eliminating suspicious or unnecessary applications, you should run an antivirus on your smartphone to detect and eliminate possible viruses that may still be on your device. If you don't have an antivirus installed, you should install a reliable one, like the ones mentioned above, and update it before running it. Afterwards, you must follow the antivirus instructions to do a complete analysis of your smartphone and remove the viruses it finds.
- Restore smartphone to factory settings: if the previous steps do not solve the problem, or if your smartphone is very damaged or compromised, you can choose to restore your smartphone to factory settings, which is an option that erases all data and apps from your device and leave it as good as new. This is a drastic but effective measure to remove the hacker or virus from your smartphone. However, you must bear in mind that by doing this you will lose all your data and your applications, so you must have a backup before doing so. To restore your smartphone to factory settings, you must go to settings from your smartphone, select the system option and then choose the option to restore or restart the device.
Conclusion
The smartphone is a very useful device, but it is also very vulnerable to hacker and virus attacks, which can cause a lot of problems and damage. That's why it's important to protect your smartphone against hackers and viruses by following the measures we've shown you in this article, such as using strong passwords, activating two-factor authentication, not clicking on suspicious links or attachments, not using Wi-Fi networks. Public or unreliable fi, install a reliable antivirus, update the operating system and applications regularly, do not install applications from unknown or dubious sources and do not use fake payment applications.
Furthermore, if your smartphone is hacked or infected by a virus, you must act quickly to remove the hacker or the virus, following the steps that we show you in this article, such as backing up your data, turning off your smartphone and putting it back on. in safe mode, delete suspicious or unnecessary applications, run an antivirus on the smartphone or restore the smartphone to factory settings.
