Mobile device users lose almost 70 million smartphones per year in the U.S., about 30 percent of all the phones in use at any given time. According to one report only seven percent of the lost smartphones are recovered. Only 57 percent had any security, but 60 percent have confidential contact lists, emails, Internet and security codes and credentials for business apps or mobile-payment services.
Even if an honest person finds your mobile, security company Symantec (SYMC) says that the good Samaritan will look at the confidential data stored on the smartphone while trying to return it. The study (PDF) found that 96 percent of the people who found a mobile device planted by the security vendor peeked at personal data. People who found the smartphones:
- Clicked on an app labeled “online banking” 43% of the time
- Tried to run a remote-access/VPN app to access the fake network 49% of the time
- Clicked on a filed named “HR salaries” 49% of the time
- Opened a file named “saved passwords” 57% of the time
- Checked social networking tools and personal e-mail 60% of the time
- Accessed a folder labeled “private photos” 72% of the time
- Checked out something on the lost mobile device 96% of the time
Online storage company Carbonite (CARB) reports that the data on a mobile device is valuable enough and the headaches involved in recovering it are big enough that 50 percent of Americans would rather give up all of a year’s vacation time than lose all the files on their smartphones.
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Even though most Americans would give up their vacation then lose the data on their mobile devices they don’t take steps to prevent other from snooping through their data. Simplistic as it seems, one password will deter most casual snoops.Identity theft data lose and embarrassment can easily be prevented by using the password screen-lock that comes with all smartphones.
How to Set a Passcode
WikiHOW explains How to Set a Passcode on the iPad to prevent people from snooping through your Apple (AAPL) iPad2.
Open the “Settings” app and tap “General Settings”. Continue by opening “Passcode Lock” in the center box of options.
Scroll until you find the “Passcode” option, then tap it. If this is your first time enabling a passcode, “Turn Passcode On” will be the only selectable option. If your iPad supports Touch ID, this option will be called “Touch ID & Passcode.”
Turn Passcodes on by tapping the “Turn Passcode On” option.
Enter a six-digit passcode of your choosing. You’ll need to enter it again exactly the same way on the next screen to verify. Be sure that it is a combination you won’t easily forget, as well as one that is also hard for others to figure out. This has increased from 4 – 6 characters since I first posted this article in 2012.
Re-enter the passcode. Pay close attention as you type to avoid mistyping the passcode. If both your new passcodes match each other, you’ll be taken back to the “Passcode Lock” screen.
Press the lock button to lock your iPad. You still need to confirm that your passcode is active.
Swipe right on your iPad’s screen, then enter your passcode. Your iPad is now passcode-protected!You can change or remove your passcode at any time in the “Passcode” menu.
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Apple has updated this process since I first wrote about putting a lock on your iPad in 2012.
Related articles
- Tips to Security and Privacy with Mobile Devices (thedroidguy.com)
Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him at LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.