Looking for Security Solutions for Your iPhone? Here’s 5 of Them

Although the iPhone is sometimes promoted as one of the strongest options in the cybersecurity department, this isn’t always the case – especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. Since you’re most likely storing tons of sensitive personal data on your device (notes, family photos, and the like), taking additional steps to protect it is a logical course of action.

Apple won’t tell you this, but the fact of the matter is that if you’re careless with your online cybersecurity, you’re just as vulnerable as anyone else. Putting it another way, erroneously thinking that you’re under your iPhone’s impenetrable umbrella of protection can lead to reckless behaviour and put your sensitive data, as well as your privacy, in danger.

As luck would have it, the official app store is ripe with cybersecurity solutions designed exactly for that purpose. In no particular order of significance, here are five types of them:

1. Password manager

Using the same passwords everywhere only for the sake of making them easier to remember is bad practice. End of story. As soon as one of the websites gets hacked and your password is out there in the open, it only takes a bit of copying and pasting until all the other accounts you own to suffer the same fate. Not even an iPhone can shield you against that.

Making your passwords long, complicated, and hard to remember is a pain. We get it! But once you’ve discovered the usefulness of a password manager, you’ll never want to go back to your old ways. With one master password, you’ll be able to unlock all the rest of your accounts without having to remember the other passwords. Since this allows you to keep them varied and strong, what’s not to love?

2. Phone locator

Most people tend to put some effort into making sure no unauthorized individual can access their phone, but little goes toward protecting themselves against theft or loss of their device. After all, what good does it do to make your defences impenetrable if you can’t even access your own files all of a sudden?

Due to this, phone locator and tracker solutions started being developed and released to the marketplace. This type of app not only allows you to track the location of your device over the internet but also lets you wipe all data from it in case of emergency. Having it deleted for good is better than letting it fall into the wrong hands, right?

3. VPN

If you’re a fan of free Wi-Fi, using a VPN for iPhone is a must (you can download one here). Unlike what many seem to realize is that nothing you transfer through one of these is guaranteed to reach its destination without someone listening in. Would you be comfortable knowing that someone might be intercepting your banking credentials or social media account information? We didn’t think so.

Here’s what a VPN will do for you. First, it will ensure that every single piece of data you send through it remains your own private affair. Furthermore, it will allow you to access certain types of content online that you otherwise wouldn’t have been able to because of geo-blocks and regional censorship. With the ability to change your IP address on the fly, there are no more boundaries anymore, and you’re once again in control.

4. File encryption software

Whether you aim to protect private notes that rest inside your smartphone or shield sensitive photos from prying eyes, file encryption software should be one of the top cybersecurity solutions in your roster. By applying encryption across your files, no one will be able to access them without knowing the password.

Of course, this means that you’re going to have to enter a password to be able to access them yourself. But in the end, you have to ask yourself the following question: would you rather take extra convenience or extra security? Only you know the answer to that one.

5. Antivirus scanner

Let’s say that you’ve received a malicious file that’s infected with malware. Even if it’s geared towards Android users and can’t affect you personally, you can still transfer that file onto a friend or colleague, thus unknowingly putting them at risk. Would you be willing to live with that on your conscience?

As such, an antivirus scanner is a welcome sight for every iPhone user. It gives a sense of security that comforts you, knowing that even if a threat slips past your defences, you’re going to be able to catch it before it does any damage.

Conclusion

Your iPhone is a sturdy and secure device, but only to the extent, its developers have designed it to be. Ultimately, your safety and cybersecurity is the result of what you choose to put into it.