2 weeks Ago
You have been warned - these are the danger signs. With both iPhones and Android phones facing down new attacks, it has never been more critical to ensure your phone is always updated and you don’t take unnecessary risks. That means being careful with the apps you install and the permissions you grant those apps, the networks you connect to, and anything you plug into your phone.
But that doesn’t mean your phone will not become infected with dangerous malware. Google Starts Scanning Your Photos—3 Billion Users Must Now Decide While not a catch-all, there are three warning signs to watch for. If you see any of these, you should stop using and hard reboot your phone.
Turn it off, then switch it back on. This will kill processes running on the phone, including dangerous ones. And while persistent threats will start back up, you can check your phone when it restarts America’s NSA issued a best practices guide for smartphone users in 2020, which recommended a weekly reboot.
Depending on your location, vocation and appetite for risk, that’s maybe a worthwhile safety measure but it’s overkill for almost all users. The more critical advice in that NSA document is to ensure your firmware and apps are up-to-date, that you only install apps from official stores, and that you do not click links or open unexpected attachments in emails, messages or online forums. But there are times when a hard reboot is highly recommended, even critical — consider these the 3 danger signs you should watch for.
And if you see any of these, power down and then power on again – it’s still probably overkill, but you never know. First, if your phone runs hot other than when it’s charging, you’re using an intense app or feature on the phone, or the screen has been on for some time. This might mean malicious processes running in the background and you want to kill those.
Permissions such apps seek often access power-hungry phone functions and run them hot. Second, if you notice your battery draining much faster than expected you should also power down the phone for the same reason. The latest Android malware warning to make headlines is the Gorilla SMS stealer, which interestingly is coded to bypass power management functions for exactly this reason.
Again, don’t take any chances. And even if the process consuming battery is benign, a reset should fix that as well. Third, if your phone is sluggish and you notice delays in loading apps and websites, in running normal processes you’re used to, or if there is any kind of lag.
Just as with your battery, it won’t hurt your device to reboot, even if the cause is benign. There is a fourth danger sign as well, but it’s much more obvious and definitely warrants a reboot and more. If your phone displays unexpected and unusual popups while you’re browsing the web or using apps, you likely have a problem to deal with.
Reboot your phone, but if it reoccurs you need to investigate immediately to find out why. Those are the key danger signs, albeit there are others as well ( 1 , 2 ). High data usage — if you track this and even know what normal looks like, unexpected and unknown phone numbers in your outgoing call list, and apps you might see on your phone that you don’t recognize.
While they’re also danger signs, you’re less likely to spot them. Just as with your own health, it’s the changes to the norm that you need to watch for, more than the specifics of what those changes might be. You should note major shifts, just as you do with your own body, and you should take those seriously.
Samsung Confirms Password Security Warning For All Galaxy Users Again this month we have seen warnings from both Apple and Google that attacks against iPhones and Android phones have been discovered in the wild. It has never been more important to update your phone as soon as new firmware is released. That will restart the phone in any case.
But if it’s been a while since the last update, it never hurts to quickly power down and then on again. Sometimes it really is better safe than sorry..
