How to shield your iOS device from hackers in 5 easy steps
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iPhone is often touted as the most secure phone. Unfortunately, that is not entirely accurate. Just two years ago, after the release of iOS 11.1, security researchers from a well-known security lab managed to hack the operating system within a day.
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Late last year, security researcher Jose Rodriguez posted a video outlining how to bypass iPhone’s lock screen on iOS 12.1 and gain access to contacts, emails, and photos.
From these two instances, it is clear that you need additional security to keep your iOS device safe. Consider the following five easy steps that will protect your device.
1. Keep your device up to date
For every new version of iOS, hackers are hard at work trying to find flaws they can exploit. Often the determined hackers end up finding the flaws, and Apple fixes these flaws by releasing updates.
A good example to consider is the January 22, 2019 security update that Apple admitted was supposed to fix vulnerabilities that could make it easier for malicious people to hack iPhones and iPads.
Therefore, update your device as soon as Apple releases a security update. To check if there is a pending update, go to Security, tap General then Software update. You will either find a message saying you are running the latest version or a prompt asking you to download the latest update.
2. Switch on Find my iPhone
Activating this is setting is a precaution in case a hacker gains access to your lost or stolen device. Once you lose your phone, you can use another iOS device to log onto Find my iPhone and wipe all the data on your device.
Consequently, even if the hacker bypasses your passcode and accesses your device, they get nothing because the phone is blank. To wipe your device, log in to the iCloud website, select your phone and click erase.
3. Restrict the information displayed on Lock Screen
For convenience, iOS allows a lot of information to be displayed on the home screen, including previews of messages, and emails. However, if your phone ends up with a malicious person, they can easily glean a lot of information about you without having to bypass your lock screen.
To avoid, restrict the information your device displays on the lock screen. Go to Settings, tap Touch ID & Passcode and disable all the apps that you don’t want displaying information at a glance. Messaging apps and email apps, in particular, should be at the top of your list.
4. Use a VPN
A VPN works hand in hand with other security features to add a secondary layer of both privacy and security to your iOS device. Essentially, iOS VPNs fends off interception attempts with traffic encryption.
It encrypts all your traffic with military-grade encryption making it impossible for hackers to intercept information or read the contents. Moreover, it hides your identity from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and also from any government authority that likes to spy on its citizens.
To enable a VPN, first subscribe to a reputable VPN provider. After you do so, download the app from the Apple store, install it and finally enable it.
5. Create a longer passcode
As recent as last year, there was a tool known as GrayKey that could be used to crack iPad and iPhone passcodes. Reports indicate that the tool only took a couple of hours to crack a 4-digit code and a few days to crack a 6-digit code. The tool was so effective that law-enforcement agencies were using it.
However, with the iOS 12 update, GrayKey stopped working. That does not mean that the founders of GrayKey will not eventually find a way around iOS 12.
To protect yourself, choose a longer passcode, preferably one that is longer than six digits. Going by prior evidence, if GrayKey ever manages to get through iOS 12, it will probably take a few months to bypass an 8-digit passcode and maybe a decade to bypass a 10-digit code.
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