Tips for protecting the privacy and security of your mobile phone
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Today, our mobile phone is almost an extension of ourselves. We don’t leave home without it, whether it’s to see who’s been writing what, the latest Instagram story or the result of the football match.
The mobile phone is a great tool where we store personal information, photos, important documents or bank details; it’s where we leave our digital footprint. Therefore, in an increasingly digitised world, data security and privacy has become a priority.
With the increase in cyber-attacks or scams and the growing volume of sensitive information we handle on a daily basis, it is essential we have solutions that ensure the protection of our personal identity, such as, for example Latch. This solution is an innovative app that works with authorization controls, providing an additional layer of protection for your online accounts and services.
In this post we’ll tell you how to improve the security of your mobile phone to interact with our applications and browse without risks and avoid scares.
Tips to improve the security of your digital services
Data security on our smartphones is more crucial than ever, as we are constantly storing personal information on them. With every message, email and transaction we make from our phone, the opportunities for cybercriminals to access our personal data and credentials increase.
If someone wants to access your accounts, Latch will make it very difficult for them. The app will automatically ask for a temporary code (TOTP) that only you can see, as it randomly changes every few seconds. In addition, for added security, the app sends you alert notifications when it registers unauthorised access attempts or suspicious behaviour.
Nevertheless, here are a few extra tips to protect your mobile device:
Create secure passwords
Passwords are the first line of protection we have, and the first thing hackers encounter when they try to break into our accounts. That is why it is so important that they are safe and kept secure.
One of our recommendations is that you should not use the same password for different websites. If a cybercriminal breaks into one of your digital accounts, it will be very easy for them to access the rest, and that is where your data and information will be totally unprotected.
On the other hand, we advise against using weak passwords such as “arbol123”. At a very least your password should be a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters such as @=+-_~¡#$%^(){ }[ ]|: “*,¿.
In addition, it is important to use password managers that store all your credentials and protect them.
Use multi-factor authentication
But what does multi-factor authentication really mean? Well, it is an identity verification system. In other words, when someone tries to break into one of your personal accounts, this security system will require two forms of identification, making it very difficult for the person trying to break in.
There are different alternatives for multi-factor authentication and almost all of them are based on the concept of One-Time Passwords (OTP): passwords that become invalid after a short time, usually less than one minute.
A typical example is an SMS OTP, the sending of one-time passwords by SMS, which is used by some companies in their digital services to offer their users a dual access check to their accounts. However, it is true that this entails an economic cost for these companies and is not always easy to deploy in other countries.
That is why we recommend that you download the Latch app, an authentication service for users and businesses that integrates two-factor authentication (2FA) to protect your online accounts, even when you’re not using them.
It is very easy to use and you can intuitively protect the applications you want.
Use authorization controls
Authorization controls are services that protect your digital life (accounts, applications, websites) from the same place. When you want to protect an account you simply “lock” the control and it will block anyone who tries to get in, even when you are not logged in. By using them, you give a second layer of security to your accounts without having to be alert to potential threats.
The Latch app builds in authorization controls to protect your digital identities. They are very easy to set up and allow you to open or close access to your accounts whenever you want. Latch will block anyone who tries to enter while the control is locked and will also send you an alert notification of what is happening.
Make sure you browse on verified websites
Another of Latch’s built-in features is Secure browsing copilot (available for Android and iOS), which allows you to browse from your PC with complete peace of mind, even when you are connected to public Wi-Fi networks. These networks are easily accessible and cause your data to be vulnerable.
Accessing public Wi-Fi networks facilitates data interception and theft, deception and even the installation of viruses by hackers. Secure browsing copilot validates the authenticity of the websites you visit, detects malicious websites and blocks them.
After linking the PC you browse on to your smartphone where you have installed the Latch app, it will immediately detect those pages which are free of malware and follow privacy policies and protocols, to reduce the risk that your information can be misused.
Update your device or equipment regularly
Updates are not just about having the latest version of chat emoticons or new camera features. Also, and more importantly, they exist to fix bugs and vulnerabilities in your phone. These flaws can be exploited by malware to gain access to personal information.
How to protect your digital account information and data with Latch?
Latch is a very intuitive application, so you don’t need any technical knowledge to start protecting your mobile by configuring the access to your apps with temporary paired codes or TOTP. We tell you step by step how to set up these accesses:
- You have to download the app on your device, which is available at Google Play and theApple Store.
- Sign up with the email address of your choice. If you are already a user, log in with your Latch user.
- Log in to the web service you want to protect, such as Microsoft, Instagram or Facebook. Here it depends on each domain, but in general you have to go to the “Settings and Privacy” section, then to the “Security” section. There you will see “Two-factor authentication” and inside the “Authentication App” option, you will see a QR code or a code with numbers and letters.
- Open the Latch app and click on the“Add account” button under“Logins“. Here you can scan the QR code or enter the code of letters and numbers displayed by the web service.
- Once the login form has been chosen, the profile is automatically integrated into the app along with the rest of the logins.
Latch is a security tool that helps you easily protect your social network profiles such as X or Facebook, your Gmail emails or the purchases you make on Amazon. We often underestimate the importance of our privacy and think that it doesn’t matter if someone accesses our Facebook profile or knows about our purchases.
But the reality is that this goes much further. It’s no longer just that you feel exposed and vulnerable, but that someone could find out your home address and bank account password, or run the risk of having your identity stolen or impersonated on your social networks. This is a big deal.
Protecting our digital identity and of those around us is of great importance, especially in the technological society in which we live. Latch is the all-in-one digital security app that helps you protect your mobile and everything it stores and hosts. It’s an authorization control platform for your digital life that keeps an eye on you at all times, available on Google Play and Apple Store. Download it for free and start protecting yourself against cyber-threats and cyber-attacks.
* This post has been written in collaboration with Inés López Orero.
Graduado en Comunicación Audiovisual y en un máster en Dirección de Marketing, interesado en la innovación y en cómo conectar las marcas con las personas. Madrileño con tintes pamplonicas y seguidor del Atlético de Madrid. Actualmente aprendo en el equipo de marketing de Telefónica Innovación Digital.
