With high profile cell phone hacks involving private images, passwords, and credit card information over the past few years, we at Roam Mobility felt the need to highlight the importance of security standards on your mobile device. Whether it's confidential information or your own private data, most people probably don’t want the contents of their device to be available to strangers. How can we boost our security habits?
Here are some of our favourite security apps for mobile devices:
GadgetTrak ($3.99 for iPhone/iPad | $19.95 for Blackberry, Android): This app not only tracks your phone’s whereabouts, it allows you to snap a photo with all built-in cameras and locks the phone’s software settings, once tracking is activated. The pricier Blackberry and Android versions also set off an alarm remotely (even in silent mode), securely encrypt your photos and contacts, remotely wipe data on the device and the media card, and notifies you of a SIM card swap.
KeepSafe (Free | iPhone/iPad, Android): Gain control over who sees what photos on your phone. By creating a public and private password-protected gallery, this app allows you to maintain privacy over pictures that you deem unsafe for public eyes. Android devices also have the option to hide SMS text messages in a similar fashion.
Kryptos (Free to download, $10/month | iPhone/iPad, Android): By using a 256-bit AES encryption (using 2048 bit RSA for key exchange), Kryptos keeps your voice communications confidential. The app also provides VoIP connectivity for secure calls over 3G, 4G and WiFi.
1Password ($17.99 for iPhone/iPad | Free for Android): Having the same password for all logins increases your security risk. 1Password is a heavy-duty password manager that generates strong, unique passwords for every site. All you need to remember is the master password. Complete with 256-bit AES encryption, 1Password has an Auto-Lock feature to protect all of your accounts, in the event that your device is lost or stolen. With a plethora of features, this app is definitely worth a look. The Android version is free has a comparitively limited set of features.
NortonSnap QR Code Reader (Free | iPhone/iPad, Android): With the prevalence of QR codes these days, it is very easy for malicious users to lead you to any website of their choice. NortonSnap scans to detect any malicious QR codes and blocks unsafe websites, before they have a chance to harm your device. Trusted websites are also identified, for shorter loading times.
Hotspot Shield VPN (Free | iPhone/iPad, Android): Hotspot Shield encrypts your web session with an HTTPS encryption; protecting you from potential identity theft. This app also secures your IP address, as well as allowing you to bypass firewalls and adjust data compression, for savings on your monthly data plan.
The easiest way to heighten your mobile device’s security is to add a passcode lock to your cell phone. Some don’t like the added step in unlocking your device, but if you have any sensitive data on your mobile device, it could prevent public access to potentially compromising information. Also, check out The New School’s security tips for your mobile device for other ways to stay secure on your device.
So, how secure is your mobile device? Do you have any favourite mobile security apps that we did not mention?
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