Save Your Droid

Attackers are no longer eyeing only your desktops and laptops to steal data. Smartphones, which are loaded with your personal details, are on their radar, too. Apps and pop-ups can have malware and viruses installed on your smartphones, even before you realise it.

iOS and Windows devices are not as much at risk as Android devices. Given the penetration of Android phones in the market - according to research firm Gartner, Android dominates the smartphone market with 80.7 per cent share (in the fourth calendar quarter of 2015) - Google has been working continuously to enhance security for Android users using improved machine learning and event correlation to detect potentially harmful behaviour. According to the Google Security 2015 Annual Report, the company checked over six billion installed applications per day to prevent users from malware and other Potentially Harmful Apps (PHAs).

There is a host of security protections and controls in Android 6.0 Marshmallow, including full disk encryption, Android security patch, verified bootloader and more; but only 7.5 per cent of Android smartphones run on Marshmallow OS. The rest still run on Lollipop and lower versions. Since your safety lies in your own hands (fingertips, actually), here's how you can protect your smartphones from malware, viruses and harmful apps.

Avoid installing apps from unknown sources: Most of the viruses and malware are installed on Android devices through apps. Unlike Apple's iOS, it isn't restrictive in nature. You can install apps from Google Play Store, a third party store or even install .apk files. By default, Android devices have the option of installing data from unknown sources turned off, but can be turned on with a single tap. You should always install apps from Play Store or Amazon App Store because the incidence of downloading malicious apps on these stores is low. You should also avoid downloading .apk files of popular paid games and apps from Torrents and other sources, as there is a high probability of such files being harmful. They can gain access to your photos, contacts and personal information on other apps. You can prevent accidental app downloads from unknown sources by heading to Settings on your device, scrolling down to Security, and locating the option labelled Unknown Sources. Uncheck the box and you are done. A little research about the app developer can avert a possible threat, too.

Do you see messages on your smartphone browser cautioning you about your phone being infected with a virus, directing you to the Play Store to download a particular app or taking you to an unfamiliar web page? It's a ploy to take over the DNS settings on your WiFi router. It makes browsing on mobile almost impossible. When you encounter such a problem, be sure to clear all your cache memory and browser history, reset your WiFi router and reconfigure it. Although there isn't a concrete solution to such a problem, ensuring that your router has the latest firmware installed can be helpful. You can check and install the latest firmware by visiting the website of the router manufacturer. Log in to the router settings and reset. To do this, you can seek help from your broadband company's customer support. Make sure you change the password and the DNS settings.