Take Small Steps Towards Encryption While Protecting Your Smartphone
From your Christmas party photos you took last year to your tax return filed (thank goodness for the renewal, right?), Your details are in more locations than you think, which means protection as much of them as possible is vital. But the idea of encryption can be intimidating to the inexperienced and often involves discussion of more esoteric topics like PGP , decryption keys, and other terms that you may not be familiar with. Fortunately, iOS and Android make it easy to keep your data safe and secure from malicious hackers and anyone else who wants to extract personal information.
Why encryption at all?
With data such as your credit card information, passwords, embarrassing messages, and even more embarrassing photos, encrypting the data on your device keeps your very personal information safe by essentially encrypting it. Encryption makes it incredibly difficult, if not impossible, for hackers to break into your device using methods such as brute force attacks (attempts at all possible password combinations). You can try, but unless you have a few billion years to spend trying every password combination, you won’t get far.
Your first line of defense against nosy authorities and hackers in an Eastern European country is your password, so try to come up with a good one . The longer the password , the stronger the encryption key. It is very easy to add a password to your smartphone, it is required for encryption and is the first line of defense for your smartphone from intruders. You might think that setting password protection on your device is common practice, but according to a study by the Pew Research Center , more than 25% of smartphone owners live on the brink of extremes, preferring not to use them on their devices. If you are one of the 25% no password on your device, do me a favor and pack yourself.
Encrypting your iOS device
First step: password. You will have the option to enter a four-digit or six-digit access code. You can (and should) use an alphanumeric password if you want to improve security. It’s harder to guess the whole phrase than the passcode, which, frankly, is on your rabbit’s birthday. Adding a password automatically turns on Apple’s encryption feature, known as Data Protection.
After adding your password, go to the bottom of the Touch ID & Passcode page and look for the phrase “Data protection enabled.” You can further protect your data by enabling the iOS version in self-destruct mode. Turning on Erase Data (on the Touch ID & Passcode page) automatically erases data from your phone after ten unsuccessful attempts to access device data.
You can also encrypt your iOS backups, whether you’re using iCloud or iTunes. ICloud backups are automatically encrypted, while iTunes requires you to manually enable encryption by checking the “Encrypt iOS backup” checkbox on your iOS device’s summary page.
Encrypting your Android device
Android device encryption, like iOS encryption, requires adding a password to the lock screen. It will take a while to encrypt your Android device – more than an hour in most cases, so grab a bite. (Google Pixel phones and smartphones running Android 6.0 or later are usually encrypted by default, protecting your emails, texts, contacts, Google account information, app data, photos, media, and downloads.)
Open the Settings app on your Android device, select Security and select Screen Lock. From there you can add a PIN, alphanumeric access code. You can also use a template, but it’s easy to guess from a few feet away by casual observers (or nerds like me who like to stare at other people’s phones). Back in the Security section, you can select Encrypt Phone and start the process.
You should start encrypting your Android device when it’s fully charged and leave it connected to reduce the likelihood of it dying during the process, which could corrupt your data. Remember to enter your password when the phone finishes encrypting (or when you reboot). It can be a headache to set up, but as far as I understand, the security you get by choosing a password and swiping your fingers for an hour is well worth it.