Think about what is inside your phone right now: your banking app, your private conversations, photos of your children, passwords saved in the browser, the email address you use to recover every other account.
Now think about how much protection you installed on top of it. In most cases: none.
Why Android is the favourite target
Android is the most widely used operating system in the world, and it is also the only one that lets you install applications from outside the official store. For cybercriminals that is the perfect combination: a huge number of victims and a door left open.
The most common threats today are not viruses in the classic sense, but apps that look legitimate and instead read your text messages, record what you type or display fake banking login screens on top of the real ones.
The five mistakes that cost the most
- Installing APKs from outside the store: the number one way to get infected.
- Granting every permission without reading: a torch app does not need your contacts.
- Postponing system updates: every update closes holes criminals already know about.
- Using the same password everywhere: a single breach opens everything else.
- Using public Wi-Fi without protection: at airports and hotels anyone can read unencrypted traffic.
What a security suite does on a phone
A good mobile solution scans every app before and after installation, blocks phishing sites inside the browser and inside chat apps, warns you if your credentials show up in a data breach and protects your connection on public networks.
Complete suites cover phones, tablets and computers for the whole family with a single subscription: the cost per device collapses, the protection does not.
Security settings to turn on right now
Android already has several built-in tools that few people use. Take ten minutes and check:
- Google Play Protect: in the Play Store, tap your profile picture, then Play Protect, and make sure app scanning is on.
- Screen lock: use a PIN of at least six digits or your fingerprint. Without a lock, whoever finds the phone has access to everything.
- Find My Device: turn it on in your Google settings so you can locate, lock or wipe the phone remotely if it is stolen.
- Install unknown apps: make sure no app, especially browsers and messaging apps, has permission to install other apps.
- Two-step verification on your Google account: it is the key to the whole phone.
The most dangerous permissions
Not all permissions are equal. Some give an app enormous power and should only be granted to apps you truly trust:
- Accessibility: lets an app read the screen and tap on your behalf. It is banking trojans' favourite permission.
- Read SMS: lets an app intercept your bank's verification codes.
- Display over other apps: lets an app show fake screens on top of real ones.
- Device admin: makes an app hard to uninstall.
If a torch, wallpaper or game app asks for one of these, uninstall it.
Signs of an infected phone
- The battery drains much faster than usual.
- Data usage rises for no reason.
- Full-screen ads appear even outside apps.
- You find apps you do not remember installing.
- Friends receive strange messages sent from your number.
If you notice these signs, uninstall suspicious apps, scan with reliable protection and change your important passwords from another device.
Scams via SMS and messaging apps
Most attacks on smartphones today do not come through a virus but through a message: a parcel on hold, a fine to pay, a fake relative who has changed number. The rule is simple: do not open links from unknown numbers, and always verify by calling the official number or the person you know. Protection with an anti-phishing filter blocks these links before they open.
What about iPhones?
iPhones are more closed and therefore less exposed to malicious apps, but they are just as vulnerable to phishing. Two-step verification, updates, care with links and web protection matter there too.
What to do now, in order
- Update Android and all your apps.
- Uninstall apps you have not used for months.
- Review the permissions of the ones that remain.
- Install serious protection and turn on automatic scanning.
Our free quiz tells you in a minute which solution really covers your devices and at what price it is worth buying today.