Hand-Held Hacking: Mobile Devices

Your mobile device holds your entire life: emails, messages, photos, social media accounts, etc. Because your phone is always in your hands, on your desk, or in your pocket, it's hard to believe that it can be hacked. This is a real possibility, however, and one that should not be taken lightly.

Here are 3 signs that will tell you whether or not your phone has been hacked, and tips that will help prevent your device from being exposed.

BATTERY

Your battery life does not keep up with you. You go from 100% to 50% in a couple of hours. While this could be a sign of a simple "bad" battery, it could also be due to a potential hacker. Your battery could be dwindling because of an app that is running in the background that you do not have control of. It's important to investigate why your battery isn't performing well just in case it is due to an unknown application.

 

"GHOST" CONTROLS

If your phone is turning on/off on its own, it may not be a simple glitch in your phone's system. If your device is restarting by itself, if you are finding calls that you didn't make in your call history, or if your device is pulling up applications without your control, there may be a hacker accessing your device.

 

EASE OF USE

Your phone should have the ability to keep up with constant usage throughout the day. If your device starts to slow down, and if settings begin to become unresponsive such as volume or screen resolution, your device may be at risk. It will be easy to tell whether or not your phone is working the way it should be, and a lack of performance may mean someone is trying to access your information. 

There are a few steps you can take to prevent exposing your device to hackers. First, don't join every public wireless internet your phone suggests. They are not always secure and can expose personal information on your phone. If you don't trust it, avoid it. Don't click on random URLs that you don't know, as they can contain phishing scams that will allow hackers to access your device. Finally, keep your passwords safe and don't allow your device to auto-fill your passwords for you, especially when buying something.

 

Your phone contains your most personal information. Keep it protected and give yourself peace of mind that you are taking the right steps to avoid becoming victim to a hacker.