Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Smartphones may not be as safe as you think, but there are ways of protecting your personal information from being prey to hackers.
The Better Business Bureau is pushing for consumers to take security precautions on their mobile devices.
"Smartphones can be a treasure trove for hackers," the Bureau said in a recent post on its corporate blog. "Through apps and mobile browsers, people store personal information like passwords, bank account information and credit card numbers in addition to their contacts and other information."
The Bureau offered a number of suggestions to keep your devices safe.
Some of the tips include:
Deseret News:
Security fail: Phones, tablets and other devices vulnerable to hackers and viruses
People may think their shiny new smartphones and tablets are safe from hackers and malicious software, but that isn't the case, Internet security experts say.- Putting a numeric pass code on your phone and set it to lock after a specified time.
- Keeping your mobile operating system up to date.
- Avoiding unsecured Wi-Fi.
- Completely erasing data from a phone before selling it.
Despite the risk, most people aren't thinking about digital security on their mobile devices, according to a Deseret News article.
Mobile devices are not only vulnerable to malware attacks, they typically do not come with virus protection software.
"Mobile phones and tablets are not on the consumers' radar when it comes to digital security," said Robert Siciliano, McAfee's Internet security expert. McAfee is a provider of computer security software and solutions.
