IntroductionIt would be best if you kept in mind the alerts and suspicious functioning of your phone to make sure that it is not hacked. The below-mentioned points will help you get the answers to how to know your phone is hacked. Show
Nowadays, every task is performed with the help of mobile phones. These smartphones have become the common targets for most of the hackers in the world. Despite all the efforts by companies to prevent the presence of malware, there are still many ways to hack a smartphone. In this article let us look at:
WHAT IS PHONE HACK?Phone hack refers to any method by which someone gains unauthorized access to your mobile phone or its communications such as messages, chats, apps, contacts, etc. This can include everything from sophisticated security breaches to simply barging into your calls on an unsecured internet connection. Physical theft of your mobile phone and brute-force hacking is also possible to phone hack methods. Androids and iPhones can both be hacked, as can any other type of mobile device. Because anyone’s phone can be hacked, everyone must learn how to spot a compromised phone. 1. How to know your phone is hacked?If your mobile phone displays or shows any suspicious or inappropriate behavior or functions, there’s a chance that your phone might be hacked. Through the slow functionality of your mobile phone or some mysterious texts, you can determine and get the answer to how to know your phone is hacked or not. 2. Signs your phone may have been hacked● Strange or unusual alerts and pop-ups: If you see some flashing or inappropriate content and ads or adult and X-rated content popping up on your phone, it indicates that your phone may be hacked. ● Text, messages, or some calls that you have not made: If you encounter some text messages or demands that you didn’t make on your own, your phone could also be hacked. It is the best way to clear your doubts regarding the question, how to know your phone is hacked. ● Higher than expected usage of mobile data: There can be many more reasons for a sudden increase in mobile data usage. But if the behaviour of your phone stays the same for a long period of time, it’s time to research. ● Apps you don’t recognise or remember downloading on your smartphone: New smartphones often accompany some popular pre-downloaded files and apps. However, if you encounter some new folders and apps shooting up after you buy the smartphone, there are chances that malware or hack is involved. ● Battery drainage suddenly increased: If you are noticing that your phone’s battery is draining faster than normal, it could be a sign that your phone has been hacked. However, if your phone has not been hacked and this is still happening, you need a new phone. ● Your phone becomes hot– Along with the battery drainage, your phone also becomes hot while using. It could be possible that your Internet connection and data are being used more rapidly than usual. ● Unusual activity on social media accounts- If you notice unusual activity on your social media or email accounts that are linked to your phone, it could indicate that a hacker has gained access to the device, which could lead to identity theft. ● No messages or calls– If you are no longer receiving calls or messages, the hacker must have obtained a clone of your SIM card from the service provider. ● Poor performance of mobile phones– Sometimes, your phone starts loading pages very slowly and crashes while using some websites. According to research, the phones that are hacked do not shut down properly. If you also face delays while sending and receiving texts, it is also a sign of a phone hack. It would help if you took care of these small things to keep your phone away from any hack and clear your doubts regarding how to know your phone is hacked. Hackers can have access to the target phone in multiple ways. For example, some of the ways that allow hackers to gain access are:
● To restrict downloading a wrong or inappropriate app that may have a virus and give hackers a chance, only selected apps should be downloaded from the Google Play Store. ● You must always confirm the developer list of the applications that you are downloading. It is a must to check all the details of the corresponding app. For example, if you are downloading Gmail, the application should be listed under Google LLC. ● Make sure to read the reviews of the app. The maximum feedback should be favourable for installation.
● If you notice an email from someone you don’t know, don’t click on any of the attached links or download attachments. There’s a chance they may consist of some virus that can enhance hacks. ● If you’re doing online browsing and are available across a link you think could also be inappropriate or suspicious, make sure to check it before clicking. 3. What to do if your phone is hacked?If you are wondering how to know whether your phone is hacked or not, there are some essential steps you’ll have to follow. It is always recommended to let your contact know that your phone has been hacked. It would be best to make them aware not to click any links or attachments sent from your phone. Here are more steps you can take to stop the hacking process. 4. How to protect yourself?· Delete suspicious apps Downloading an inappropriate and suspicious app can invite viruses onto your smartphone. As soon as you discover that your phone has been hacked, you should delete all the third-party source links present in your smartphone. · Make sure to run anti-malware software on your smartphone. A trustworthy anti-malware software can help you identify and get rid of any malware that has erupted in your smartphone. It would be best if you used anti-malware software regularly to protect your smartphone. · Reset your phone You can quickly get rid of all the malware in your smartphone by resetting it. The reset of your smartphone will also erase all your data and files. But it is also essential to prevent any hack into your smartphone. You can back up all your data before resetting it. · Try to alter some essential passwords As soon as you find out that your device has been hacked, you should change the important passwords. This will keep your accounts and personal data safe. · Activate the multi-factor authentication on your smartphone This is the most important step to perform when you find out that your phone has been hacked. Some popular apps such as Facebook, Google, and Instagram have this feature. You can find the multi-factor authentication in the settings section of your phone. Follow the instructions given below to reset your iPhone or Android. Follow these steps for resetting an iPhone.
Follow these steps for resetting an Android phone. The instructions for resetting an android phone can depend on the manufacturer. You can visit your Android phone manufacturer’s website to know the steps to reset your android phone. Most android phones have the option of resetting in the setting menu. You can also visit Google support to learn more details. Change your passwords There are also chances that your login information was hacked at the time of sign up. Hackers use the login information to hack into your bank accounts. Make sure to remove the malware and virus and reset all your passwords. 5. Who would hack your phone?There is much hacking software that is available online for android phones. This software can quickly help a person to hack and get information from your phone. However, some severe and professional hackers also pay some amount to gain access to the hacking software. Not all hackers need the target phone physically. Many software allows a hacker to access the target phone through an online process. Therefore, you should do research and learn about the details of how to know your phone is hacked by someone. 6. Ways your phone can be hackedSome of these ways are- Key logging- Key logging includes downloading a spyware application to the target phone and accessing the data of the phone through encryption. This type of software is used when you have the target phone physically. Trojan– Trojan refers to a type of malware software installed in the phone and is used to extract some critical data from the target phone. A hacker can extract credit card information, debit card information, or other personal information. Hackers use techniques such as phishing to install Trojan malware inside the target phone. Adaptive Mobile– This hacking method is more complex than phishing because it targets a SIM card by sending a symbol to the target device. If the message is opened and clicked, hackers can spy on the hacked device and even determine certain information. Phishing– Phishing refers to the hackers’ method in which they impersonate a company name or a trustworthy person to get information about some personal data. Hackers usually use this method by sending official and formal-looking codes, emails, and messages. When the target person clicks on this link or email, the hackers get access to your phone. The URL or link that the email contains is infected with a virus that gives access to the target phone. Hacking through a Mobile Phone Number-To be ready to hack by utilising a telephone number, you want to understand phone hacking’s technicalities. SS7 signalling refers to the system that won’t connect telephone networks, but to use this technique to hack phones, one must have access to it. Recording calls, forwarding calls, reading messages, and finding specific device locations are often with the help of an SS7 system. Hacking of a phone camera– We all prefer to do video calls with our friends and family members. However, we must keep in mind that webcams are most prone to getting hacked. The front facing webcam in your phone is at most risk. Hackers are able to record videos, take pictures, your address, and other confidential information with the help of webcam hacking. Spying apps– There are a huge number of phone spying applications that are specially made to track a person’s location. These apps can also record the person’s communication. Usually, these apps are used by parents to keep an eye on their children. There are many cases that these apps are being used by hackers to get personal data of the target phone. Such apps also extract emails, text messages, and internet history of a person. Hence, these apps allow a hacker to get every kind of information about a person. USB Charger– When connected to a computer via a USB cable, your mobile phone can receive data from the computer. If your computer is hacked or compromised, a hacker can send malware to the cellphone as soon as it is connected, this can result in a phone hack. Interception via public Wi-Fi– A hacker can create a hotspot that appears like a legitimate public WiFi connection. The same is used to intercept data from your mobile phone. 7. Prevent your phone from getting hackedHackers can use several ways to get into your phone and steal your personal data for illegal use. Here are a couple of tips to make sure that you are not a victim of phone hacking:
Follow these steps to set a SIM passcode on an IOS device- ● Go to Settings ● Click on the option of Cellular ● Select the option of SIM PIN. ● Enter your existing PIN ● It will enable the lock. Follow these steps to set a SIM passcode on an android device- ● Go to Settings ● Click on Lock screen and Security ● Click on other security settings ● Select the option of SIM card lock.
8. Why do hackers hack your phone?● To steal your identity, ● To log into your banking and payment apps and carry out some illegal financial transactions, ● To access your email account and send illegal emails in your name and identity, ● Use your data for illegal purposes, ● Use your device as a third party cyber and botnet attacks, ● To act out any personal grudge and harm your image and reputation. 9. How do I keep my smartphone secure?You can already see that we have discussed several ways by which a hacker can steal your data. Some of them are clicking on the wrong link, downloading an app, using public networks, and much more. Here are some more ways you will keep your phone secure. ● Always avoid saving or store essential and sensitive information like bank details and credit card details on your phone. If you want to keep it, make sure that it is stored in a secure app. ● Make it a habit to turn off Bluetooth when you’re not using it. ● Put a password or a pattern lock for the lock screen and for accessing your phone. ● Install all the latest updates on your smartphone as soon as possible. ● Make sure to lock individual apps. ● Keep a check and regularly monitor the functioning of your phone and for signs such as unusual pop-ups or high battery usage.
Every user needs to understand that updates also improve the security of your application and the device. Software and backend developers regularly work to get rid of the bugs and enhance the security of applications. Hackers always look for a bug to access the target phone. Therefore, it becomes essential for us to install all the updates at the right time and learn about how to know your phone is hacked. 10. Additional Tips to Protect Your Phone from HackersHere are some additional tips for you to protect your smartphone from hackers. ● A solid password for protecting your cloud storage apps- Cloud storage apps include Google Drive, Google Docs, iCloud, etc. Make sure to add a password for all the cloud storage applications. ● Avoid using public networks and charging ports- Hackers can also use public piers (and juice jacking) to get access to your data and break into your device. ● Make sure to disable the “smart unlock” feature- Some mobile devices unlock the smartphone automatically through intelligent features. It can be very risky as hackers can easily bypass your smartphone by using this feature. ● Make sure to Disable the “Allow Siri When Locked” function- Navigate to Settings > Siri and Search > Disable the Allow Siri When Locked feature. Earlier, some bugs in the iPhone allowed any person to bypass the screen lock using Siri. ● Password to protect important files, folders, and apps- You can use apps like Folder Lock for this purpose and add an extra security layer to your folders and files. ConclusionHackers and other cyber criminals know all the details about the hacking process and the process that a person needs to follow to access the target phone. If a person can get access to your phone, he or she can do a lot of damage and destroy your reputation. The idea of getting your smartphone hacked is hazardous. It would be best if you were innovative while clicking on all the links and downloading the applications on your smartphone. It is a must for every person to learn how to know your phone is hacked. A hacker can also sell your personal information to other persons. In this article, we have cleared all your doubts about knowing someone is hacking your phone. Protecting systems from hackers is also a popular job in the market and there is a lot of demand for such people. If this field interests you and you want to know more about how to deal with hackers and cybersecurity, visit Jigsaw Academy. Enroll for Master Certificate in Cyber Security and learn how to protect your phones and systems from hackers. ALSO READ
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