One thing about smartphones that people have started to realize is that we use them a little too much. You are probably guilty of such a thing yourself, and research has shown that, on average, people spend about 33% of their waking hours on their phone. The reason why people say that you shouldn’t overuse your smartphone is quite simple: it’s not very good for your health.
However, while it is true that using your smartphone a little too much is not going to be good for you because of the fact that it would harm your health, there is another reason that you should consider putting your phone down every once in a while. This reason has to do with the fact that smartphone overuse is one of the reasons why cybercrime has been on the rise over the past few years.
The fact of the matter is that when you use a computer, you will probably be taking quite a few measures to ensure that a cyber attack does not end up occurring. You will have downloaded an anti-virus software and would have definitely avoided clicking on links that you found to be a little suspicious all in all. The problem is that we don’t take these same protective measures while we are using our smartphones.
The reason that we don’t take smartphone security all that seriously probably has something to do with the fact that we haven’t been taught to do so. Computer security did not come to us innately, people used to be haphazard and not quite as efficient as they should have been about securing these devices as well, but a widespread campaign that talked about the benefits of securing your computer made it far more common for people to do so.
Such a campaign has not yet occurred for smartphones, at least not on the same scale. The reason that this is so dangerous has to do with the sheer volume of data that we have present on our smartphones. These devices have virtually all of the personal data that we hold, such as the people we talk to and the places that we go to.
We do pretty much everything through our smartphones these days, including accessing our bank accounts through apps. Having a centralized location for all of the data that you are using on a regular basis is the sort of thing that would make cyber criminals very happy indeed, because it would make their job a great deal easier all in all. This is perhaps the biggest reason why these criminals are becoming so much better at doing what they need to do.
Cyber crime costs billions of dollars a year, and with cyber hacker becoming increasingly more efficient at stealing the data that they are looking for, it has now become more important than ever for people to take action against such mishaps.
Infographic courtesy of: Panda Security
Read next: Are Antivirus Applications the Biggest Threat to your Android Devices?
However, while it is true that using your smartphone a little too much is not going to be good for you because of the fact that it would harm your health, there is another reason that you should consider putting your phone down every once in a while. This reason has to do with the fact that smartphone overuse is one of the reasons why cybercrime has been on the rise over the past few years.
The fact of the matter is that when you use a computer, you will probably be taking quite a few measures to ensure that a cyber attack does not end up occurring. You will have downloaded an anti-virus software and would have definitely avoided clicking on links that you found to be a little suspicious all in all. The problem is that we don’t take these same protective measures while we are using our smartphones.
- Related: Hackers can now land you on a scam website without your knowledge, thanks to the new Chrome Exploit!
The reason that we don’t take smartphone security all that seriously probably has something to do with the fact that we haven’t been taught to do so. Computer security did not come to us innately, people used to be haphazard and not quite as efficient as they should have been about securing these devices as well, but a widespread campaign that talked about the benefits of securing your computer made it far more common for people to do so.
Such a campaign has not yet occurred for smartphones, at least not on the same scale. The reason that this is so dangerous has to do with the sheer volume of data that we have present on our smartphones. These devices have virtually all of the personal data that we hold, such as the people we talk to and the places that we go to.
We do pretty much everything through our smartphones these days, including accessing our bank accounts through apps. Having a centralized location for all of the data that you are using on a regular basis is the sort of thing that would make cyber criminals very happy indeed, because it would make their job a great deal easier all in all. This is perhaps the biggest reason why these criminals are becoming so much better at doing what they need to do.
Cyber crime costs billions of dollars a year, and with cyber hacker becoming increasingly more efficient at stealing the data that they are looking for, it has now become more important than ever for people to take action against such mishaps.
8 Mobile Security Tips to Keep Your Device Safe (infographic)
Infographic courtesy of: Panda Security
Read next: Are Antivirus Applications the Biggest Threat to your Android Devices?