How safe is your data when your phone has gone?
We keep a lot of important information of a personal, business and financial nature on our phones and tablets. So how can you erase that information from your mobile device when it goes missing or is stolen with your Google or Apple account?
Phones and tablets the everyday tools we use for work and play.
Fast mobile data speeds like 4g give us instant access to all our documents and sensitive emails on the move. There are also numerous apps that store financial and legal information that in the hands of a would be thief could be devastating. And all those amazing photos and videos taken which are very personal to you are certain to be saved on your phone too.
So how do you protect all the information stored on your mobile device?
Obviously its important to have a PIN code and if you are really serious you may have figured out how to encrypt your phone. Encryption can mean you need to become a geek to implement it and even a PIN code means your data is still on the device. In my opinion the best solution is to erase all the data as soon as you know its missing; but how…?
Use your Apple or Google Account
Its probable that you have one of these accounts on your phone setup at least to receive emails, sync your contacts and backup photos. This is great and means you can use your account to remotely wipe and factory reset your phone or tablet once its gone missing.
Instantly wipe your phone or tablet
Just how safe is your data?
As soon as you notice its gone missing all you need is another computer or mobile device that is connected to the internet, login to your Google or Apple account and wipe your phone. You can even leave a message for the kind soul that finds it with instructions on how to contact you and return it.
If you have an iphone or ipad you use the iCloud “Find my iPhone” service and for all Android devices its the “Android Device Manager” that locates it for you.
Lost and found
If you feel it hasn’t left the house and is simply hiding under the sofa cushions then you can send a remote signal to it which will emit a high pitched sound so you can find it!
Restoring apps and settings to your device after wiping
Both Google and Apple have a backup service which means that your apps, data, photos and settings are constantly being backed up when the device is connected to the internet. This means that you can use your account to restore everything back to your replacement phone or tablet. This also works well if you are upgrading to a newer model.
Miracles do happen
A client called me the other day worrying because his wife had left her iPhone on the train. They both had the remote wipe service installed so I used it to erase all the data, left a message on her phone to call the husband and someone did – wife and phone reunited!
How to set it up
To protect your data the backup and remote wipe services needs to be setup on all your devices and if you give me a call or email I am ready to help you out!
carl@ithound.co.uk +447919 562 418
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