4 Quick Ways to Secure Your iPhone

iPhones generally offer powerful security and privacy, but it never hurts to go the extra mile.

Apple’s devices are reliable, sure, but you never know when a security vulnerability might pop up and make it easy for hackers to steal important data from you. Or when you might accidentally lose your iPhone, and the wrong person finds it.

How do you go about improving your iPhone’s security, though?

We did our research, and came up with the best four ways to do that:

1. Use a VPN

Source:allconnect.com

VPNs are online tools that hide your IP and encrypt your Internet traffic.They’re an invaluable way to secure your iPhone whenever you surf the web – especially if you use public WiFi (which is often unsecured, i.e. it doesn’t use any encryption).

Wait – what does “unsecured” mean, exactly?

That anyone can spy on your traffic when you use those networks. Hackers can use packet sniffers to capture your packets. If they’re good enough, they might even manage to steal login credentials and credit card numbers from you.

Not only that, but cybercriminals could set up their own fake WiFi networks, and trick your device into connecting to them. Or they could see what sites you’re supposed to connect to on regular WiFi networks, intercept your traffic, and send it to phishing websites instead.

Pretty scary stuff, right?

Well, with a VPN, none of that can happen anymore. It encrypts your traffic, so hackers can’t spy on it. They can try, sure, but they’ll only see gibberish. For example, they won’t see that your traffic is heading to “twitter.com” or “paypal.com.” Instead, they’ll just see random stuff like “HfrEDGF43GFkgr54KF.”

And that’s not all! By hiding your IP, VPNs let you hide your digital footprints to avoid creepy ad tracking. That, and they can keep you safe from DDoS attacks by doing that (hackers can’t use your IP to target you with them anymore).

How to Find a Good iPhone VPN

Source:pcmag.com

This can be a bit tough since there are just so many VPNs out there. Even if you’re only considering the top providers, you still have around 10-20 services to check out. And doing that involves testing their speeds, seeing what security features they offer, checking out how good their support reps, reading their ToS and Privacy Policies, and more.

But don’t worry – we have a nice shortcut for you. To find the best VPNs for your iPhone, just click here. It’s a guide that talks about the best iOS VPNs on the market. They test them thoroughly to make sure they offer excellent security, great privacy, and fast speeds.

2. Use Antivirus Software

Source:blog.eccouncil.org

Antivirus software is your best line of defense against malware infections.  The good news is that iPhones getting infected with viruses is a rare thing to see. The bad news is that it still can happen.

So, it’s better to take extra security measures right now. All you need to do is install an antivirus program, and you’ll be all set. This security software will regularly scan your device for signs of malware. Whenever it detects any suspicious files or code, it automatically quarantines it.

Also, antivirus programs can act like firewalls since they can block your connections to malicious websites (like fake sites used for pushing, for instance).

Our favorite provider is Malwarebytes, but there are many other reliable antivirus services on the iTunes store.

3. Update to iOS 14.4

Still running iOS 14.3?

Then it’s time to update to the new version – right now!

Why?

Because Apple recently announced they fixed three critical vulnerabilities that were present in 14.3. Those flaws are no joking matter:

  • Two of them would allow a hacker to run any commands they want to in Safari through phishing methods. Basically, they could force the browser to send your traffic to fake, malicious sites.
  • One vulnerability affected the OS kernel (the heart of your operating system). By using malicious apps (like a simple fake stopwatch or weather app), hackers could gain elevated privileges in your device’s OS. Translated, that means they could get access to sensitive data (phone contacts, messages, photos, videos, and more).

And those three bugs were just the tip of the iceberg! You can check this support article to see what other security issues Apple fixed with the 14.4 update.

How to Update to iOS 14.4 on Your iPhone

Source:slashgear.com

Not sure how to do it? Just follow these steps:

  1. Go to Settings, and tap
  2. Pick Software Updates.
  3. Then, tap Download and Install.

That’s it – now just wait for the update to finish the download and install process.

4. Turn On Find My Phone

This is feature is a must-have. If you ever lose your iPhone, or if someone ever steals it from you, you’ll have a backup plan. Basically, this feature lets you track where your iPhone is.

But wait – there’s more!

With Find My Phone, you can also remotely erase your iPhone’s data. So you never have to worry about some no-good thief ever getting access to your passwords and credit card information.

Here’s how to enable Find My Phone:

  1. Open the Settings
  2. Tap your name, then tap Find My
  3. Tap Find My iPhone, and set the Find My iPhone option to the on position.

And if you ever need to remotely erase your data, here’s how to do it:

  1. Log into the Find My iPhone app.
  2. Pick Select your iPhone.
  3. Tap Actions,then tap Erase iPhone.
  4. To finish up, tap

Now, your device will automatically erase the data when it connects to the web.

How Else Can You Secure an iPhone?

Know other methods to make your device safer? Then go ahead and mention them in the comments below. If they’re good enough, we might even include them in this article and credit you!

And if you found this information really helpful, we’d really appreciate it if you could share this article with other people, or if you could offer some feedback in the comments.