Data is everywhere and there is nothing we can do about it other than keeping it safe and secure. With more and more advancements in technology, smart devices are getting vulnerable to dangerous remote attacks. So right from your personal, official to confidential/financial data can be mined from your smartphone.
Not so long ago, Google was considered fully transparent regarding its efforts to make its only mobile platform – Android secure and has been constantly providing security patches for the mobile operating system.
At present, you might have come across a situation where your Android smartphone prompts you to download and introduce another variant of its firmware.
Odds are high of this being the first time it happened you thought you were accepting an update to the most recent variant of Android, or possibly some slick new highlights had been included. And as a result, it turned out all boring. Before we delve deeper let’s figure out what these android security updates are?
“To err is human” meaning “to forgive is divine”, but the world of smart technology featuring hackers and bad guys shouldn’t be forgiven at any cost. Technically speaking, an app is developed without bugs or errors from scratch is purely a myth.
to diminish the quantity of those bugs is one of the key points of a mobile app developer. Irrespective of Android or iOS, catching and fixing bugs is what needs to be done as soon as possible or things might get worse.
Now there are two types of bugs, one which causes the software to behave incorrectly. For instance, when you type “001.300 * 02.7000 into the calculator app and see what is the result? 2.51, I guess!
Nope, there is something fishy going on or maybe those extra zeros caused the software to behave unexpectedly? As soon as the problem is found, the Android app can be fixed and sent out to the end-users. Another category of bug highly impacts the security of the app as well as the device.
For instance, an app asking for username or password- if the user enters the correct information he or she gets access to. In case of a bug; anyone can get unauthorized access to private data.
Most security bugs are much more complicated and nuanced than that. But in essence, an error in the program allows a third party to gain access they shouldn’t have. Once these bugs are found they need to be fixed quickly and deployed rapidly to protect users.
Here Android security update comes to play! Bug fixes can be easily sent over-the-air to Android devices especially when it comes to fixing security-related bugs. This brings us down to the next point stating the significance of these security patches.
As soon as the new security patch is installed on your device, you won’t find any drastic changes or any difference on your smartphone devices. I mean it almost seems like you have achieved absolutely nothing by updating.
But that’s exactly how it is, these patch up holes aren’t seen but they are protecting your device and your data. Now have you ever received random messages in a mixed foreign language?
Something which is more like 160 characters long? Clever crafting such text in the message can simply trigger a bug which in turn can trigger a bug which thus can be utilized to open a gap in your device’s defenses.
It may also interest you to know that when hackers find out about these esoteric bugs, they create exceptional messages and send them to focused individuals with the point of accessing their gadgets. The individuals who are focused on are powerless against the intrigues of these cybercriminals.
At your end you see an odd SMS message, grimace a little and erase it. Be that as it may, you don’t have the foggiest idea that your telephone has been undermined.
This finishes up the point, a security fix can most likely shield your telephone from would-be programmers who expect to get to your gadget.
Simply envision all the information that is on your telephone. Disregard photographs and WhatsApp messages. Shouldn’t something be said about Banking? Amazon shopping? eBay? Google Pay? There is an extensive rundown of things that would bear some significance with a hacker.
How To Check Your Android Device’s Security Patch Level?
- Open your smartphone’s Settings Menu.
- Scroll down to find ‘About Phone’.
- Find ‘Android Security Patch Level’ and check the date of your device’s latest security patch
Here the key thing to know is the date on the security patch is not the date at which you would have received Google’s security patch, but the day the patch was first released.
All the Nexus and Pixel devices, receive security patches for at least three years from when the device first became available’ or ‘at least 18 months from when the Google Store last sold the device’ — whichever of the two is longer.
Android security Best practices
Last but certainly not the least, this segment has nothing to do with how frequently your gadget gets security patches, it is significant the accompanying Android security best practices:
- Try not to tap on joins in messages, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or SMS except if you are sure about the wellspring of the connection and where it will take you.
- Ensure you stay up with the latest, including Chrome and other Google applications.
- Utilize one of a kind passwords: Don’t utilize a similar secret word over numerous records. Doing so resembles utilizing a similar key to different houses: it expands your security hazard. On the off chance that that seems like an excessive amount of issue, at that point utilize a secret phrase director.
- Ensure your records with 2-Step Verification: Even if your username and the secret word are taken having a 2-advance check empowered with assistance keeps the aggressors out.
- Take the Google Security Checkup: This is anything but difficult to do (g.co/security checkup) and breaks down your Google Account security status.
In a nutshell
When dealing with technology whether you like it or not, there will always be an element of risk. But with Android security updates, one can without much of a stretch diminish that hazard while additionally improving the stability and reliability of your device. If your telephone says there’s an update! Grab that opportunity and update it!
Author Bio: Joanna Baretto is a Business Analyst at tatvasoft.com.au, which is a leading Mobile app development Company in Melbourne, you can visit here to know about her Company. She has been working for five years in a Technological domain. Her work across multiple disciplines broadly addresses the narratives of techno experience. you can find her on twitter @BarettoJoanna .