Top safety tips for your iPhone

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Most iPhone users benefit from the robust iOS system that powers Apple devices. However, being aware of various safety tips can be an added security measure.

For most of us today, digital banking is a convenient option and if one stays alert, it is the ideal way to bank — saving time and effort.

Take a quick look at these lesser-known tips that could help keep you cyber safe.

1) Set a non-fixed length PIN: A phone that recognizes your face or your touch. this would have sounded futuristic just a few years ago! Today, using Face ID or Touch ID for unlocking your iPhone is the way to go. However, we recommend setting a PIN or Password in case Face/Fingerprint authentication fails. Set a 4-digit or 6-digit PIN that is difficult to guess. Longer PINs/Passwords tend to be more secure, making it difficult for hackers to crack. To do this, go to Settings > Face ID/Touch ID and Passcode > enter your current passcode and choose custom numeric code or custom alphanumeric code which will be very complex for others to guess.

2) Enable the ‘Find My’ feature: Find My is Apple’s built-in tracking software. It uses GPS to locate a lost or stolen phone. In addition to helping find a phone, it also has other security features such as Activation Lock, which will prevent anyone else from using your iPhone. To gain access, it requires the Apple ID and password. Without this information, no one can turn off the Find My feature, erase your device, or reactivate and use your device. Pretty cool, right? And you don’t need rocket science to figure this one out — Go to Settings > User Name > iCloud. Scroll to the bottom and tap Find My. Slide to turn on Find My and Send Last Location. If you’re asked to sign in, enter your Apple ID.

Find my also shows all your Apple devices like iPad/Apple Watch and MacBooks.

Get the app and set it to work for you:

Sign in to iCloud.com/find on the web or use the Find My app on another Apple device.
Find your device. Open the Find My app or go to iCloud.com and click Find iPhone. Select a device to view its location on a map. If the device is nearby, you can have it play a sound to help you, or someone nearby, find it
Mark as lost. This will remotely lock your device with a passcode and you can display a custom message with your phone number on your missing device’s Lock screen. It will also keep track of your device’s location
Report lost/stolen device. You can report your lost/stolen device to your Network operator or to the local police. The Network operator can disable your account to prevent calls, texts, and data use. They may need the serial number that you can find by tapping on Settings > General > About.
Remove your lost or stolen device from your list of trusted devices
Erase your device. To prevent anyone from accessing the data on your missing device, you can erase it remotely. When you do that, all your information is deleted from the device, and you won’t be able to find it using the Find My app or Find iPhone on iCloud.com. After you erase a device, you can’t track it. If you remove the device from your account after you erase it, Activation Lock will be turned off. This allows another person to turn on and use your device

3) Your iCloud Account can help: iCloud is Apple’s cloud service for iPhone, iPad and Mac. Most iPhone users use iCloud for backing-up their phones as well as having their photo library online, so they can sync pictures across devices using affordable storage.

How can you prevent fraudsters from accessing your cloud-based data? Easy — by enabling Two-Factor Authentication, or 2FA, as the cool kids like to call it, giving you an extra layer of security.

Go to:

Settings > { Your Name } > Password & Security.

Tap on Turn Two-Factor Authentication

Enter and verify your trusted phone number

Apple sends a verification code to the phone number

Enter the verification code to verify and turn on Two-Factor authentication.

4) Do NOT jailbreak your iPhone: The moment you jailbreak your iPhone, you lose control over what’s happening as you are bypassing all Apple security systems and trusting your security to unknown developers, exposing all photos, contacts, messages and online credentials. Go the official way. If there is a software or hardware issue with your iPhone, always trust only an approved and authorized service centre to resolve it.

5) Make the most of the App Store: Do not install third-party apps. While you can download apps via third-party app stores not approved by Apple from the internet, it not a good idea to do so. These are usually related to free games etc. and could be carrying spyware, malware etc.

6) Use your own charger: As incredible as this sounds, mobile phone chargers can be used to hack your phone and steal sensitive data. Avoid borrowing chargers from strangers in public places. Pay heed to messages that ask you to accept/decline any service. For example, if you see a message asking ‘do you want to trust this computer?’ it probably means that the charger has been tampered and it is trying to access your personal data. Unplug immediately and check these choices on your phone: Settings > code and check ‘USB accessories is disabled’

7) Update. Update. Update: We cannot stress enough on this. This is an oft-repeated and most useful tip for any device. Private security companies and hackers always look for flaws in every Operating System. As soon as Apple becomes aware of such a flaw, they release an update to fix it. As soon as the notification pops up, install that software update to ensure your device is not left vulnerable.

8) Avoid Public Wi-Fi: As tempting as it may be, public Wi-Fi spots without passwords can mean that other users can listen to your network traffic or may even redirect users to fake websites appearing to be the one we want to visit allowing cyber criminals to steal sensitive credentials. Always use your phone’s mobile data when in doubt.

9) Selling your iPhone? If it’s time for an upgrade and you need to sell or give away your iPhone, ensure you transfer your data and delete all personal information to avoid misuse. But a simple ‘delete’ will not do.

First, back up your device. Don’t manually delete any information while you are signed into iCloud as this may delete the information from the iCloud servers.
If you have paired an Apple Watch with your iPhone, unpair it.
Sign out of iCloud and the iTunes & App Store.
Then go ahead and erase the phone to reset it completely. Go to Settings and tap General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings. If you turned on Find My [device], you might need to enter your Apple ID and password.
If asked for your device passcode or Restrictions passcode, enter it. Then tap Erase [device].
If you are switching to a non-Apple phone, deregister iMessage.
Remove your old device from your list of trusted devices.