Smartphones contain a lot of personal and sensitive information.
Malware can be installed stealthily by hackers to steal them.
However, a very simple manipulation can limit the risks.
The French spend an average of three hours a day looking at their phone. It is more of an accumulation of small glances, more than 200 per day, according to a British study. Suffice to say that smartphones are rarely turned off. Many consumers leave them on at night. During the day, it is difficult to do without them as they are so useful in various areas of daily life (communication, payment, transport, photos, applications, etc.). However, it is recommended to turn them off regularly. It is not so much a question of battery, but of security against hackers and malware.
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Protect yourself from malicious applications
The instruction to turn off your phone for a few moments, or even just restart it, was given in 2020 by the NSA, the famous American security agency, and validated by many cybersecurity experts. This approach helps limit the risks of hacking. Indeed, smartphones contain a lot of personal and sensitive information. However, fake message or identity theft scams are not the only methods to steal them. Hackers can also install malicious software or “malware” that works and collects information without the user realizing it.
These systems cannot continue to function once the phone is turned off. Turning them off in the middle of their task may be enough to prevent hacking. This method also works against applications that display intrusive advertisements. Finally, it will turn off classic applications that we do not always think to stop, and which consume energy and reduce the performance of your device. There is no precise rule as to the frequency to respect. Some recommend turning off the phone once a day, others once every two weeks.
What other tips are there for protecting your cell phone?
There are other tips and reflexes to protect your phone. To avoid malicious applications, you should only download them from trusted sites or platforms and remember to accept security updates. You should also check the authorizations for these different applications (camera, contacts, location data, etc.). Most consumers install an antivirus on their computer, but do not do so on their phone, which often contains just as much, if not more, sensitive information. Most smartphones also offer to activate data encryption, which reduces the risk of data being stolen.
