SCAM ALERT: Turn off, turn on – simple steps that can thwart phone hackers!

The National Security Agency recommends rebooting a phone every week as a way to fend off hacking.  Image via abc10.com.

– News covered by Quincy Quarry News with commentary added.

Take a bit out of hackers
Quincy Quarry News’ Chief Security Officer

SCAM ALERT: Turn off, turn on – simple steps that can thwart phone hackers!

Per Quincy Quarry’s digital security desk comes word of an easy and effective way to head off hack attacks upon our smartphones.

Most of us heavily rely on our smartphones, if not maybe way more than a bit too much.

Even worse, smartphones are vulnerable to hackers.

Fortunately, something as simple as rebooting one’s smartphone weekly can undermine hackers says an expert at the National Security Administration. 

Password codes are not enough, not near enough
Image via abc10.com

While the technical explanation is more than a bit geeky, a reboot can clear away implanted Trojan Horse hacks which are a typical approach used by hackers.

Per Neal Ziring, technical director of the National Security Agency’s cybersecurity directorate, hackers endeavor to implant malicious software into a computer’s root file system. 

Fortunately, this line of attack can be made more difficult to endeavor.

Watching out for you, watching you – whatever.
A meme

Smartphone operating software providers such as Apple and Google (Android) have implemented strong security to block malware from core operating systems and related root files.

For example, the way things are set up within smartphone core operating systems, simply rebooting one’s smartphone can clear out hackers’ implants of malicious software.

Granted, nothing is perfect, but regularly restarting one’s mobile device is about as simple a practice as one can undertake to fend off hackers as well as does not cost anything.

Sleep, who needs sleep? I have to update my status!!!
A Jasu Hu image via the Atlantic

Turning off one’s smartphone, however, is a whole other matter.

Even so, Bill Marczak, a senior researcher at Citizen Lab, an internet civil rights watchdog at the University of Toronto, noted that rebooting your phone will not do much to stop determined hackers as determined hackers could simply unleash unrelenting waves of “zero-click” hack attacks.

The NSA’s guide also acknowledges that rebooting a phone has its limits as a defensive strategy. 

“Those” selfies are just for my boyfriend!!!
A file photo

As such, the agency’s guide for mobile devices has an even simpler piece of advice to thwart hackers who are secretly turning on your phone’s camera or microphone to record you: do not carry it with you whenever possible or at least keep it in some sort of camera lens blocking and sound damping case.

After all, who wants to answer a spam junk call or end up featured on PornHub?

Source: Turn off, turn on: Simple step can thwart top phone hackers

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