Protecting Yourself Online – Cellphone Apps Security

There are roughly 2.4 billion cellphones in the world, 300 million in this country alone, almost one for every man, woman and child. Our phones do so much more than call these days, applications (apps) turn that pocket-sized PC into an enormously powerful accessory, and men 50 and over want to capitalize on that convenience! The reality of today though is that with unlimited accessibility comes risk to our identity. And while we can use our cellphones to run everything from our personal lives to our businesses, we need to be careful about what we allow on our phones. In our continuing series of online and digital security, we hope to help you understand better in Protecting Yourself Online – Cellphone Apps Security.

It’s an interconnected, online world now, and we increasingly rely on the internet to keep things orderly. Of course, apps are a huge opportunity for cyber-criminals to exploit and there’s never a shortage of news reports that confirm the breaches. Luckily, we can take some basic steps to prevent our identity from being stolen and we’ve compiled the most often repeated measures to keep yourself safe when it comes to cellphone apps security.

Do you really need to download another app?

This may seem like an unusual question to ask yourself, but there’s a good chance your phone came with the app your looking for, or something similar. Rather than download a new, third-party app that you must keep track of, wonder what data it’ll collect, and what permissions it would ask for, see if it’s already on your phone. Most come with a multitude of functions built-in, do you really need another weather app? Or another traffic app? Remember – Any time you bring a third-party app into your phone, you increase your susceptibility to outside attacks.

Be careful where you get it from

So, you’re surfing the web and this app promotion pops up and claims that this version of Widget Collector is the best thing since sliced bread. You decide, “Yeah, I can see a purpose and use for this app…” so now the question becomes; where do you download it from? This one is important because knowing that some measure of security standards and accountability has been imposed on the app’s company or developer can be the difference between a clean download or not.

Apple and Google both provide stores for the millions (yes, millions) of apps available for use and each maintains strict guidelines for anyone wishing access to their consumer base. Besides providing the native applications to your OS, they check the apps for malware and other vulnerabilities. You may come across companies that offer discounts to download from their stores, but realistically and for our purposes, stick with the big names! (Here is a good read from Norton on third-party apps. We are NOT affiliated with Norton, it’s simply good information to pass on.)

Look at the trade-off between permissions required and use thereof.

If you decide the app has merit and it’s available from the apps store(s), you still must take that final step and determine whether the trade-off is worth it. (We talked about this one before in our Internet of Things blog.) Yes, it hurts to read through the long list of End User License Agreements (EULA), but until we as consumers demand an alternative, we must know what these apps will be doing with our phones. Granted, they are getting better at explaining use, but it can improve in my opinion.

It’s not unreasonable for an app to ask for certain things; location services for things like travel, traffic or weather apps are perfectly logical. But an app that wants your contacts, control over your phone, monitors your calls and messages, access to your storage and the like, needs to be evaluated carefully! There is a chart from the Pew Research Center we found that explains a great deal of cellphone apps security and permissions (for Android anyway) that you might want to look at.

Other security measures/features you can check for are:

Check if the app uses secure methods of communication.

Hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) is pretty much the standard practice these days. Most websites can’t get access to search engines without the https protocol, so your apps should do the same. Anything without this should be treated with skepticism.

Use Two-Factor Authentication whenever possible.

We’ve talked about this as well in our Internet of Things blog. Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) requires you to confirm any access to your account through a second form of communications. You can set up 2FA on most mobile apps with either your cell phone number or an email address. It’s a safe way to ensure you are communicating with the intended source.

Utilize your phones built-in security features.

Both Android and Apple offer multi-layered security and settings built within your phones and devices. Things like Google Play Protect and Apple Platform Security are there for your benefit, so read through and understand the implications of disabling these settings.

Check out digital protection for your devices.

You can also secure your phone and devices through popular security apps. When adding a security app to your phone, always make sure the app itself has legitimate reviews to ensure you’re not just adding another possible security breach. Sticking with name brands, such as Avast, Trend Micro or McAfee or Norton, (None of which are affiliated with The 55 Lifestyle) are a great way to ensure the security you use is dependable and actually does what it claims to.

Final Thoughts – Protecting Your Personal Data

The availability of so many apps for our benefit is really astounding. Time, money and effort are all obtained by the swipe of a finger, and that convenience is one of the great things about living in the 21^st century! But care and due diligence with our digital lives is also important if we want to keep our identity and credit ratings in a good place.

We hope that you find this article helpful in addressing you concerns on cellphone apps security and can use it in your daily lives. As always, if you don’t see something here you want, please reach out directly to us through our Contact page or leave a comment below. Stay safe and all the best ~ Glen.