One of the most regular articles I write is advice on keeping your Android phone secure. The reason I cover this topic so frequently is that I find consumers and other user types often need a friendly reminder of how they can avoid falling victim to malicious actors who want nothing more than to either steal their data or drain their bank accounts.
Throughout the years, the advice rarely changes, but it's always important to keep the reminder at the front of every user's mind. I've seen it too many times where a user forgets to follow these best practices and winds up having their phone breached or locked up with ransomware.
Trust me when I say you don't want that. And given it's not all that difficult to avoid such problems, you shouldn't worry that these tips will be even remotely challenging. In fact, they're quite simple to follow.
But follow them you must.
With that said, let's make with the advice.
Only install apps you must have
This first piece of advice is a tough one for many to swallow. However, you should ask yourself if you really need that random, untrusted game found in the Google Play Store. The answer is probably not. I follow a very strict rule of only installing applications that I absolutely must have and I never break that rule.
Why is this so important? Because you never know what kind of malicious code is to be found lurking within an app or an ad framework for an app. In a perfect world, the stock apps found on your device should be enough. Of course, the reality is we all need third-party apps (for work, play, and communication). So when you do have to install an app, make sure it's an app from