How to protect your personal devices

According to a survey by the Pew Research center, 44 percent of phone users said they would experience “a great deal of anxiety” if they lost their phone and couldn’t replace it within a week.

The reason for this is not far-fetched, mobile devices have quietly crept into the core of your everyday life – from becoming your daily planner to managing your to-do lists; from enabling you to track where you’re spending money to reminding you when the next bill is due. Your mobile device has etched itself as a reliable partner, easing the task of daily living.

Little wonder you got hooked!

Hence, theft, damage or virus infection of your smartphone could affect you in more ways than one – you may find yourself: struggling with your productivity; feeling disconnected from your contacts, and even experiencing bouts of depression.

Therefore protecting your device has become a top priority. To help you in this regard, we’ve listed several actions you can take right now to protect your smartphone while also minimizing its vulnerability:

Protect your smartphone from scratches, shattered screen, and dents

You’re more likely to get your smartphone damaged from falling than from any other incident. In fact, according to a report from Motorola, 50 percent of smartphone users have cracked their phone screen at least once.

Follow these tips to protect your device:

  • Use phone casing: A sturdy phone-case can save the day for you. Whether you inadvertently dropped your phone on a hard pavement or got it knocked off your desk, a robust phone cover can protect your device from scratches – keeping it looking as new as ever.
  • Use a shatterproof display: The odds are not in your favor – you could drop your phone right now and get the screen shattered. In fact, there’s data about smartphones’ screens cracking every two seconds – it’s that bad.

To protect your device’s screen use shatterproof display.

Secure your smartphone from malware, data loss, and identity theft

You’re under siege from a barrage of malware and hackers seeking to access personal data on your mobile device. These malicious attacks are on the increase – and you’re not immune to them.

To ensure the safety of your personal information and improved security of your device, we’ve listed below several precautions you can follow:

  • Invest in anti-virus software: these programs prevent malicious codes from embedding onto your phone. It also scans your files and if it detects malicious codes, works hard to either remove or disarm it.
  • Create and use strong passwords on your device: passwords are your first line of defense – against unauthorized access to your data; hence make it as formidable as possible.

Use a combination of several characters – upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters to create strong passwords that are difficult for hackers to guess. It’s important also to have different passcodes for each app on your mobile device.

  • Don’t open email attachments: You already know this right? But, what if the email is coming from a known account?

The rule in such situations is: never open email attachments even from known sources – unless you’re sure it’s from them.

Melissa Thompson writes about a wide range of topics, revealing interesting things we didn’t know before. She is a freelance USA Today producer, and a Technorati contributor.