By default, Android devices block installation of apps from any source other than the Play Store. you can check to make sure your device only allows Play Store apps by looking in setting > applications > unknown sources. If the checkbox is checked, non-Play Store apps can be installed. Uncheck this.
5. Check the apps’ permission requests
Whether you’re downloading from the Play Store or other sources, make sure to read the app’s list of requested permissions
The ones that typically raise eyebrows due to security or privacy concerns are:
• Make phone calls
• Send SMS or MMS
• Your location
• Your personal information
If the permissions requested seem excessive or unrelated to the app’s purpose—for example, a casual game asks to send SMS messages—you can check the developer’s references for more details, as reputable developers usually explain why the permissions are needed. If the use appears justified to you, then you may elect to download the app.
5. Scan apps with a mobile antivirus
Once downloaded onto your device, use a reputable mobile antivirus to scan the app. you can think of this as a check on the app’s ‘silent’ behavior—permissable actions that are implied in the app’s permissions list (for example, sending the device’s details to a remote server) but may cause users concern. If the verdict from the mobile antivirus is acceptable to you, then you can proceed to install the app. We, of course, recommend our F-Secure Mobile Security, which you can try for free.
6. Use web browsing protection
To avoid stumbling onto a malicious site while surfing on a mobile device, use web browsing protection (available from most antivirus solutions including F-Secure Mobile Security) to block known harmful sites.
7. Use a VPN
“We have seen an increase in the misuse of wi-fi, in order to steal information, identity or passwords and money from the users who use public or insecure wi-fi connections,” Troels Oerting, head of Europol’s cybercrime centre, recently told BBC Click.
If you rely on public wi-fi connections to get online with your mobile device, you should definitely use a VPN — a virtual private network, says Security Watch‘s Fahmida R. Rashid.
“It doesn’t matter where you are, whether it’s a public venue like the Olympics, a major conference like SXSW, or a local Starbucks. You should have your own security mechanisms in place instead of trying to pass the buck on the person operating the network.”
Freedome by F-Secure offers VPN protection for your mobile along with other ways to protect your data from hackers, crackers and trackers.
Cheers,
Sandra
[Photo by Sarah Van Quickelberge |Flickr.com]