In a little over 2 decades both the technology and features available in mobile phones has come a long, long way from the earliest models. It was only a few short years ago that your average mobile phone weighed as much as a brick and if you were lucky you'd be able to send text messages or make calls with it whereas modern smartphones are as powerful as some laptop or desktop computers.
All of this progress has come at a price however because smartphones are now retailing for several hundred dollars which makes them targets for thieves. In fact smartphones are now being targeted in gyms and on the street more than wallets simply because they're more valuable most of the time and they're also easy enough to sell through a few free online ads, very few people want to know or care where that cheap cell phone came from.
So the smart move here is to take steps to make sure your smartphone is as safe as it possibly can be from thieves. You see if you make something difficult to steal then thieves will generally lose interest and look somewhere else for an easier "mark". Sure you might have a pretty comprehensive insurance policy right now but that doesn't mean you should ignore the security basics for your phone.
Your smartphone probably has a GPS feature built into it and if so then it's a good idea to enable it because it can help you quickly find your phone if and when it gets stolen. Most cell phone providers also have the ability to actually track down your mobile phone using the same triangulation techniques (using masts and cell towers) you see in the movies but they won't do this unless you get the police involved.
If your smartphone has a Bluetooth function then it's a good idea to disable this until you actually need it - Bluetooth usually provides a potential thief with a backdoor into your phone to steal information, pictures or other data and they can even use it to locate where your phone is hidden.
You can never be sure when your phone might be stolen so there's never a better time than right now to install some encryption software on your phone. A good example of this is the "Vault" application for Android phones and unless the thief has a fairly high level of technical expertise it means that your sensitive information will be safe.
If you want to get serious about keeping your mobile phone safe then you can choose to install some tracking and remote monitoring software on it which allows you to check call history, text message history and you can even view any pictures sent or received from the phone itself. Also because you have your GPS feature enabled on the phone your tracking software can tie in with Google maps to show you exactly which street the thief is living on, or the person responsible for buying your stolen phone.
Cell phone theft is exploding right now so it's important that you take steps to protect your phone. After all there's no point in waiting until your phone is stolen to try protecting it right?
All of this progress has come at a price however because smartphones are now retailing for several hundred dollars which makes them targets for thieves. In fact smartphones are now being targeted in gyms and on the street more than wallets simply because they're more valuable most of the time and they're also easy enough to sell through a few free online ads, very few people want to know or care where that cheap cell phone came from.
So the smart move here is to take steps to make sure your smartphone is as safe as it possibly can be from thieves. You see if you make something difficult to steal then thieves will generally lose interest and look somewhere else for an easier "mark". Sure you might have a pretty comprehensive insurance policy right now but that doesn't mean you should ignore the security basics for your phone.
Your smartphone probably has a GPS feature built into it and if so then it's a good idea to enable it because it can help you quickly find your phone if and when it gets stolen. Most cell phone providers also have the ability to actually track down your mobile phone using the same triangulation techniques (using masts and cell towers) you see in the movies but they won't do this unless you get the police involved.
If your smartphone has a Bluetooth function then it's a good idea to disable this until you actually need it - Bluetooth usually provides a potential thief with a backdoor into your phone to steal information, pictures or other data and they can even use it to locate where your phone is hidden.
You can never be sure when your phone might be stolen so there's never a better time than right now to install some encryption software on your phone. A good example of this is the "Vault" application for Android phones and unless the thief has a fairly high level of technical expertise it means that your sensitive information will be safe.
If you want to get serious about keeping your mobile phone safe then you can choose to install some tracking and remote monitoring software on it which allows you to check call history, text message history and you can even view any pictures sent or received from the phone itself. Also because you have your GPS feature enabled on the phone your tracking software can tie in with Google maps to show you exactly which street the thief is living on, or the person responsible for buying your stolen phone.
Cell phone theft is exploding right now so it's important that you take steps to protect your phone. After all there's no point in waiting until your phone is stolen to try protecting it right?
About the Author:
If you really like your smartphone then you should be learning more about cellphone security and which applications you can use. Check out some information here: http://cpusecurity.com/blog/