Beyond the nonsense of news or gossip, being spied on a cell phone can basically mean two things: the case of a friend picks up the phone while we are distracted and checks for conversations and messages or the case of a virus that creates remote access by a hacker or by a government authority (as actually happened in the case of CIA espionage). In either case, there are at least six recommendations to follow in order not to be spied on on your mobile phone and be sure, at least 99%, that your smartphone cannot be spied on, neither by a friend, nor by the best hacker .
READ ALSO: Securing the data of an Android mobile phone in 10 ways
1) Use passwords that are not easily remembered by heart
It is understood that using easy passwords is more convenient to remember them, but it becomes a big security vulnerability because anyone could easily guess them.
Furthermore, there are applications and software capable of trying to guess, in a few minutes, if the password is one of the words of a vocabulary of known words.
If you don't use known words but combinations of letters, symbols and numbers, then you need to use a password management app or a unique criterion that we only know.
The most effective and simplest trick to generate strong passwords is to use the initials of a sentence, adding some numbers or symbols between the letters, always consistently with the criterion.
2) Lock the screen with PIN or password
The easiest way to protect your mobile phone from friends and those who live with us is to set up a screen lock with a password.
The screen lock must not be done using the PIN of the SIM card, which if it is wrong three times locks everything and it is absolutely annoying, but using the smartphone access security system.
On Android there are several lock screen systems, among which the most effective is certainly the password, the simplest the sequence, the most practical the PIN, the most technological the fingerprint.
3) Update each application and install operating system updates
Any precaution to protect your phone's data can be nullified by software flaws.
Expert hacker groups can spread malware that can exploit the security bugs of old systems and abandoned apps to spy on anyone's cell phone and steal private information.
Here, however, there is the most serious security vulnerability of technology in general, namely the fact that older devices are no longer updated by their manufacturers and therefore remain insecure.
There is talk of smartphones with previous Android versions or even iPhones previous to version 5, which have no longer received the iOS update.
Theoretically, in these cases, you should change your smartphone if you want to be sure not to be spied on.
As for applications, do not forget to access the Google Play stores on Android systems and the App Store on iPhone to check the apps and activate the automatic installation of updates.
4) Be careful of installed applications
Especially those who have an Android smartphone should be careful not to install apps that are not in the Google Play Store and also check carefully, from the reviews, that the apps are functional and safe.
In this regard, read also: How to protect yourself from the security risks of smartphones.
NOTE: Installing an antivirus app can be helpful, but it is not enough on its own to guarantee data protection from those who want to spy on it.
5) Anyone can spy on the unsecured connection from a mobile phone connected to open wifi networks
Finding open wifi networks without a password is nice, to surf for free without using your cell phone connection, but it is important to know that this connection is insecure and can be monitored by the network manager.
Any research and everything written, if not encrypted by the application or the site, can be sniffed (which means captured and recorded) in the clear in a very simple way on open networks.
In this regard, I refer to the article on how to surf safely on public wifi, free or unsecured.
Ideally, even if you are just browsing some website or writing on Facebook, if we care about data privacy, when connected to a free network you must always use a VPN app.
6) Use two-factor authentication
Two-factor authentication helps protect each web or application account with a double check.
In practice, to access an account, in addition to the password, a variable code is also requested which is received as an SMS or generated by an app.
Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Google, banking sites and services allow you to set up two-factor authentication.
In conclusion, let's say that in order not to be spied on, we can consider the security of our mobile phone as consisting of six equally important levels
Level 1: System updates
Level 2: Application updates
Level 3: Network security used to connect to the internet
Level 4: Two-factor authentication
Level 5: Password to access the applications
Level 6: Lock screen
Finally, for complete privacy and to prevent friends and family from spying on your mobile phone in the most private apps such as Whatsapp, there are several ways to hide important data .
In particular we have seen how:
- App to hide private photos on mobile
- Hide photos and apps on Android
- Hide apps on iPhone
