Android is an open source platform and that has been the reason as to why it has become such a success. But at the same time, Android has been plagued by a slew of security issues. The Android devices are not considered as safe as their Apple or Microsoft counterparts.
But that does not mean that Android is totally unsafe. Google has listed several ways in which you can protect your Android device on its official blog.
Here are a few tips that you can follow to save your device to some extent:
- Lock your device screen: The first and foremost step that you need to take in order to ensure the safety of your Android device is to setup a screen lock. This can be done for a tablet as well as a smartphone. What this does is that it protects your data from the people you won’t like to share it with. The risk of someone getting access to your data if they pick up your phone is minimized.Android offers the lock screen facility in the form of pin, password, pattern and even your face. You need to go to Settings, then Personal followed by Security and Screen lock to enable the lock screen functionality.
- Protect your smartphone from suspicious applications:Google says that it scans Google play to remove the harmful applications.It also scans the applications if you download them from elsewhere. Once you download the application from a third party store or the internet, a message pops up which asks you if you’d like Google to scan the file to ensure that it is not harmful. You need to tap ‘OK’ after that to let Google scan and prevent you from harmful applications.
- Locate ring and wipe a misplaced device: Google has launched a new application named the Android Device manager that helps you relocate your device. If you lose it between the cushions or in your house, it will ring your smartphone at maximum volume to let you find it.This functionality will be available even if you’ve put your phone on silent mode. If you lose your smartphone or it gets stolen, you can quickly remove all your data from it remotely to prevent its misuse. It will be available later this month for devices running on Android 2.2 or above.
The levels of security may not be the highest on Android but Google surely is trying its level best to make it a safer place.