Cell Phone Security: Ways to Protect your Cell Phone from Hackers

Published: 07/14/2011 by Home Alarm Directory

In the wake of the phone-hacking newspaper scandal, people are extremely concerned about cell phone privacy.  Hackers can get your information in a variety of ways to access data transferred to and from your phone such as images, sms messages and even voice mails.  For the best cell phone security, there are several things you can do to make sure your personal information is not compromised.

First, make sure your cell phone is password protected and even encrypted.  If you store bank details, passwords and other personal details on your cell phone, and that cell phone is lost, someone could easily access sensitive information.  If you do lose your cell phone, contact your cell phone provider right away and discontinue service to avoid any unwanted charges. You can also get tracking software that will help you keep tabs on your phone if it’s lost or stolen. 

Secondly, for proper cell phone security, make sure your voicemail is password protected.  Most cell phone providers have a default password for voicemail until it is changed by the user.  If you don’t have a password, or haven’t changed the password, you are opening the door to thieves who can steal information from your voice mail system.  They can easily do this with an online service called “caller ID spoofing” which hackers use to access someone’s voice mail messages by fooling the system into thinking the call is coming from the owner’s cell phone.  Even if you don’t think your voicemail is important, password protect it as an extra security precaution. 

Thirdly, be careful about accepting downloads from an unfamiliar source.  Hackers often send a download with a Trojan ghost or spyware program installed that can monitor all voice communications.   These programs can be so non conspicuous that often times users don’t even know they are installed.  Android phones are the most susceptible to downloaded Trojan apps so exercise extreme caution when downloading anything to your cell phone. 

Next, be careful not to use your cell phone with WiFi or Bluetooth over an unprotected network.  External networks that aren’t secure are just a playground for data thieves. If you aren’t using your Bluetooth, turn it off.  This way, you can prevent anyone from ‘phreaking’ via Bluetooth.

Lastly, just like you would for your computer, get anti-virus protection for your cell phone. Companies such as Norton have cell phone security that will protect your phone from spyware and malware just like on the computer.  By taking a proactive approach to cell phone security, you can stop would-be thieves in their tracks before they wreak havoc on your phone and in your life.