Currently, the vast majority of the population has a mobile device. Whether it is a basic phone or a more sophisticated device, such as smartphones, the reality is that it has become an everyday item for us. In this article we will teach you how to increase mobile security and avoid the situation that could occur in the event that someone steals your information.
The best way to do this is always prevention . By blocking the terminal, you will avoid access by third parties to the information you store on your mobile, and the economic expense of telephony that could be involved.
The first, most basic advice, to prevent outsiders from accessing your device, is to have it controlled at all times, never lose sight of it, as it is a very attractive device for theft or theft. From here, we will detail some more technical aspects that will be useful to protect the internal memory of your mobile. The information stored in external cards (SD cards in mobiles with Android system, especially), that is, those that can be removed from the terminal, is unprotected, since they can be removed from the terminal.
We will soon publish an article dedicated to encrypting these memory cards and backups, to learn how to protect this information as well.
SIM card lock. Activate the PIN and save the PUK in a safe place
Mobile devices are provided with various security codes to protect them against unauthorized use. These codes are known as PIN and PUK . The PIN is the 4-digit personal identification number, which allows you to unlock the use of the SIM card, that is, the one that allows us to carry out all kinds of operations with our device. The original PIN can be found with the documentation provided by the operator and can be easily modified by the user. It is important that you change the original for one of your choice, so you will avoid forgetting it.
– To carry out this task on Android devices , you just have to follow these steps on your mobile:
Within the section “SIM card lock” we find two options: “Lock SIM card” and “Change SIM card PIN”. The first one must always be activated (with the green “tick”), because otherwise, the PIN will lose its function; The second option will allow us to change the PIN for a new one.
– In the event that you have an Apple iPhone :
In the phone setting options, you will find the “SIM PIN” section. Remember to keep this option activated for the card PIN to work. Entering “Change PIN” you can change the current one for a new one.
Despite putting a PIN of our choice, it may happen that we forget it. If we wrote the PIN three times in the wrong way, the device will ask you to write the PUK. The PUK is an 8-digit code that is used to unlock the device when it has been blocked due to incorrectly entering the PIN code. You can find the PUK also in the original documentation of the SIM card. However, unlike the PIN, it cannot be modified, so it must always be kept in a safe place. In the event that you cannot find the code, it will be enough for you to contact your mobile phone operator.
Mobile device lock. Pattern, PIN or password
Summing up: the PIN and PUK codes are used to unlock the SIM card of our phone, which allows us to call with it, surf the Internet, write messages, etc. Thanks to the PIN we avoid the risks of financial loss, identity theft and information theft of all kinds.
In addition, to protect mobile content, our device allows us to perform other security actions, such as locking the terminal when it is not being used (the phone must always be locked) using a pattern (only Android devices), a password , or another PIN (in this case not the SIM card, but the PIN of the device itself).
– If we talk about mobiles with Android operating system , to activate one of the three blocking options you must do the following:
Once inside “Screen lock”, you can choose the one you want, that is, minus “Scroll”, since it is not considered a lock itself. If you choose the pattern, you must indicate a sequence of joined dots, while the PIN will ask us for a numerical value of at least 4 digits, and the password option is a combination of letters, numbers and characters. The strength of the password depends on the chosen combination, so it is very important to define a password that is difficult for others to guess .
– In the case of an iPhone, remember that it does not include the option to choose a pattern, it only allows us to activate a numeric code or a password. The steps to follow are those:
However, as we have said before, whether we are from Apple or Android, there is always the possibility that we forget the codes or passwords. To solve this problem, there are also solutions, which we will explain in future articles. Remember the need to secure your device with the SIM card PIN and the different phone lock modes that we have just taught you.
