Tips to secure Android against Malware/Ransomware

                           
Security of our smartphone is very much necessary, here are some of the Tips to secure Android against Malware/Ransomware.

> Enable Settings>Google Security>Google Play Protect> Improve harmful app detection.

> Don’t click on any suspicious links or URL coming through SMS or Email until & unless it is from a trusted source. 

> Don’t download apps or any other contents from not so reliable sources. 

> Make sure to update the latest security patch updates that come via a software update that is available to your device it will come via OTA. 

> Check-in System updates & keep your device up to date.

[Note: If your phone is 3-4 years old before installing any major system update always check the details & do research about the update before installing it because it might slow down your phone's performance or may come with lots of bugs & sometimes hardware is not well optimized with the new software update as it is old. In case of security updates it is fine.] 

Secure your data

> Encrypt your device. 

> Go to Settings> Security> Encrypt your phone, you can decrypt your data only by pin, pattern, or password whenever you want to access. It is important because data saved on your device still can be accessed through various tools even you have a lock on your screen. It Might slow your device & you can remove encryption only by doing factory data reset.

> Always store sensitive data in internal storage. As data in SD Card is in Ext/ Fat file format due to which applications on the pc have block-level access to the files on SD card & it does have the ability to plant viruses & any other malicious code. That’s not the case in internal storage as pc files don’t have access rights to such files in internal storage via PC. You can use an adoptable storage feature to use the SD card as internal storage, it encrypts the SD card storage and make it way more secure & fast.

Also Read: Social media safety Tips and Tricks for youth.

Secure your privacy

> Lock up your device with fingerprint & other locking options & disable smart lock feature.

> Create separate user accounts so that you can switch user accounts when you are giving your phone to anyone for any purpose to take pictures or do calls etc.

> You can use Google security check-up, here you can check what permissions different apps & services taking from your Google account.

> Always check each & every permission of apps you install from the play store. Never install any mod apps from 3rd party sources that can be malicious.

> Don’t connect to unknown Wi-Fi networks or Public Wi-Fi networks because whatever you are doing on that particular network is visible to everyone whoever is connected to. If some hacker sitting on that network can get through the privacy of your data. It is also possible a fake hotspot can be created which was saved on your device & your device will automatically connect to that hotspot & can get access to your device & also, phishing attempts can be done & you can also be redirected to some malicious websites, so be very careful while using any unknown Wi-Fi also turn off your Bluetooth at public places if not required it is also vulnerable. You can use VPN services while using Wi-Fi to secure your access.   

How to check for malware on android?

For checking malware on Android you can install an antivirus available on play store & scan your device check if it detects any viruses or malware. If you are using the SD card take it out from your phone & scan it by connecting it on your PC via SD card reader. If antivirus finds something then it will automatically eliminate the malware but in some cases, it doesn't get detected but doesn't worry nowadays antivirus are smart enough to use reputed one. Basically what antivirus does is it has a database of various malware & viruses it scans your memory & checks if any virus or malware that infected your phone matches its database or not based on which you are being reported. The database of antivirus is updated every day to make sure that it can detect the latest viruses or malware.

Although it is not necessary to install or keep an antivirus on your phone every time as it eats up lots of memory & space of your phone. Antivirus also affects your phone's performance. So install when it is necessary after that uninstall it.

If you find that your phone is behaving abnormally, lagging, consuming extra data in the background then at last one option left restore factory reset. If you reset your phone all your data will be deleted including apps everything stored on phone memory which will solve your issue.

Use this factory reset option only if your problems don't get solved or else if you follow the above steps your phone will be secured.

Note: If you want to check any particular file or URL whether it is infected or not then there is a very good website called Virus Total upload your file or enter your URL & scan it You will get reports from all types of antiviruses available in the world as in Virus Total all antivirus works together to scan the particular file or URL, you can check which antivirus has detected & which have not.