Protect your data if your smart device is stolen

 Thanks to the smart devices that connects us with friends, family, co-workers, social media and the world at large, and helps us in our business by providing collaboration and communication tools, boosting productivity and ending business and banking transactions.

With all these uses, smart devices have a wealth of personal and credit data. Unfortunately, smartphone thefts have become very common, with a study showing 446,000 smartphone thefts in England and Wales in 2016 alone, and they are on the rise, particularly as new and sophisticated high-priced versions continue to emerge. The process of replacing the smart device, despite its cost, is easy to do. But what about the data that already exists on the device? There's a chance someone will misuse contacts, conversations, messages, and photos. If this person knows the technology enough, they may be able to access your bank account or steal your identity. You don't know what a person will do with the data available on the device after it is stolen or found.

Following these proactive steps will help you reduce anyone's access to your data or steal your identity, even if your smart device is stolen or lost, and the device can be tracked.

Pre-lost or stolen actions for your smart device:

1. Protect the lock screen:

The first critical preventive measure is the activation of the lock screen. It is one of the most effective deterrents against unwanted access to your data. Always make sure you use a strong password to protect the lock screen. The password must be random and does not contain your name or any information associated with you. It must also be long and complex with large and small letters, numbers and symbols. If you don't want to suffer with a long and complicated password entry every time you want to take a quick look at your phone, you can use your fingerprint to quickly access your device, while keeping the password as a support backup. You can also use passwords for apps that contain sensitive information.

2. Data protection:

The data protection task is divided into two steps. The first step is to back up the data. There are many options to ensure that data is backed up periodically and automatically, and cloud storage is easier and more common. This step will help you keep your data away from the device itself, and will make it easier for you to recover data in case your device is lost or stolen to ensure that your precious memories and important files are recovered. The second step is to encrypt the data. Make sure your device automatically encrypts data and files to keep anyone else from accessing it via your device or backup cloud version. Using VPN online technology will help you encrypt data and files while moving over the Internet, secure internet connectivity and provide you with an extra level of security that makes it difficult for anyone to get information or files from your device.

3. Device tracker:

Activating location tracking and using smart applications is very important in case of loss of smart devices. You can use the Find My app for Apple devices or the Google Find My Device app for Android devices. These apps give you remote tracking. For example, if anything happens to your phone, you can use the app from the computer to locate it immediately. These apps also enable you to secure, remove or erase all data from the missing device. If you make a regular backup, you won't lose any data, but someone else won't be able to access and abuse it.

After losing or stealing your smart device

  you need to go to the website google.com/android/devicemanager and sign in the Google Account that is connected to your smartphone. With this service you will be able to track your Android phone, to ring it, to lock or wipe it with all personal data. Other than this you also take these steps:

1. Blocking access to data:

Many users use the auto-save feature of your user name and password for many applications and websites. You can find out the passwords saved on your account from another device and quickly start changing them. You can also use the above-mentioned app to delete some or all of the data from the missing device. If you keep any credit information on the missing device, feel free to immediately notify the bank to stop your credit cards and prevent someone else from accessing or exploiting them.

2. Inform the competent authorities:

Smartphones feature a unique serial number known as IMEI or "International Mobile ID" of 15 digits, which is printed on the phone tray or you can know it through the operating system. When reporting theft, this number will help the competent authority place the phone on the list of lost phones and identify and track the phone as soon as it is turned on. If you have a device tracker, you can report its location immediately. You must also notify your carrier to stop the connection chip immediately.

Losing your smart device can cost you time, money, and a lot of inconvenience. But by recognizing the risks, you can take preventive measures and use the tools available to determine access to the device, better protect your data and minimize damage. With these recommendations, you can keep your smart device data from falling into the hands of an unwanted person.