How to protect your phone from cyber threats - KTUU.com

ANCHORAGE (KTUU) We've all seen the annoying pop up ads that re-direct you from your daily browsing, but cyber security consultant Leon Jaimes says the security threat to our phones is on the rise.

“I think the mobile threat vector is increasing as it, you know, largely goes unprotected," Jaimes said.

More and more, people are finding vulnerabilities and designing malware to target phones, but he said there are a few things you can do to protect yours.

“Most of the major vendors of anti-virus programs have a mobile application,” he said. “Some of those are looking at the links in messaging applications that you get, so it'll look at your SMS, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, things like that to make sure that if somebody sends you a link, that link isn't redirecting to a malicious site.”

There are some free anti-virus options, as well as others that cost money, but there's also another safety measure you don’t have to pay for.

“If you are making sure that your device and your applications are kept up-to-date, that's free, and that goes a long ways,” Jaimes said.

It sounds simple, but it can keep you one step ahead of potential hackers.

“The vendors might discover a vulnerability before it becomes public and they might patch it, hopefully before the attackers are exploiting it,” Jaimes said.

He also recommends keeping away from apps installed outside of your phone's main app store, giving the example of apps pushed by shady streaming sites offering normally paid content for free.

“Those might not be going through the same security scrutiny as the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store," he said.

In the end, there's only so much one person can do to improve their security, which is why Jaimes recommends encouraging others to do the same.

“Right now, I think we're at an unprecedented time in history as far as the amount of threats that we're facing,” he said. “You know both in enterprises and personal computing, so it's really important that you advocate for businesses to increase their cyber security efforts, and governments, or anybody that has your personal information."

2020-01-27 06:52:18Z
https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/How-to-protect-your-phone-from-cyber-threats-567318381.html