NSA Warns iPhone And Android Users To Turn It Off And On Again
What steps should be taken before selling or disposing of a smartphone to ensure personal data is completely removed?
Before selling or disposing of a smartphone, it is essential to ensure that all personal data is completely removed to protect privacy and prevent any potential misuse of the information. Here are the steps that should be taken:
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Backup your data: Save backups of your app data, contacts, calendar entries, Gmail, documents in Google Drive, web browser bookmarks, Google+ photos, and more to your Google account5. Ensure all of your data has been backed up recently by heading over to Settings > Accounts (tap Google) > Select Google account > check everything you want to sync5. You can also back up your Wi-Fi passwords and other device settings. You can find this option under Settings > Backup & reset > Device backup and check Back up to Google Drive.
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Backup your photos and videos: Back up all of your photos and videos to the cloud or manually to your computer. To back up to the cloud, you can use a number of cloud storage options, but Google Photos is a popular choice which gives you free storage for photos up to 20MP in resolution and lets you set your device to automatically backup your photos as you take them or only when you’re connected to Wi-Fi4. To back up your photos and videos to your computer, you’ll need to connect your phone to your computer. If you’ve never connected it before, you may need to install software or drivers. Your photos and videos are stored on the phone’s memory and may be saved to the phone’s SD card, if it has one. Open both locations—the Phone folder and Card folder. Inside open DCIM folder. Inside you’ll find folders that contain all of your photos and videos. Copy and paste the ones you want to your computer and then delete DCIM folder and its contents in both the Phone folder and the Card folder.
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Backup your Texts and call log: If you’re concerned about keeping a copy of your text messages and call log, you’ll want to back up those separately. One of the easiest to use is SMS Backup and Restore (free in Google Play). The app saves your messages and call log to a file that can be automatically uploaded to email, Google Drive or Dropbox.
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Encrypt your data: Once you have all of your data backed up, it’s time to wipe it from your device. To ensure all of your data is gone, you’ll need to do more than perform a factory reset. But first, you’ll want to encrypt your data. That means that if someone wants to see any data on your phone, they’ll need your password to decrypt it. Phones running Android 6.0 Marshmallow and higher should already have encryption active. To encrypt your data, go to Settings > Security > Encrypt phone3. You also have the option of encrypting the SD card. Only do that if you plan on handing over the SD card along with the device.
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Disable Factory Reset Protection: To disable Factory Reset Protection, you need to remove your Google account (all of them if you have more than one) from your phone. Go to Settings > Accounts & Sync > Google > and then select your account. Tap on the three dots to open the menu and select Remove account.
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Perform a factory reset: Perform a factory reset on your phone. Go to Settings > Backup & reset > Factory data reset and then tap Reset phone4.
By following these steps, you can ensure that your personal data is securely removed from your smartphone before selling or disposing of it.
How effective, according to the NSA, is the practice of turning off and on your phone in combating various security threats?
According to the NSA, turning off and then back on your phone once every week can help protect against zero-click exploits, which are often used by attackers to eavesdrop on and collect data from phones. This simple action can make it more difficult for hackers to steal information from your phone. However, the NSA also cautions that this advice will not always prevent an attack, especially against more advanced malware and spyware threats that are programmed to reload on reboot. It's important to note that while this practice is helpful, it's not a silver bullet solution for all security issues.
What specific advice does the NSA offer to iPhone and Android users to counter zero-click exploits?
The NSA offers specific advice to iPhone and Android users to counter zero-click exploits, which includes turning off their devices and then turning them back on again at least once a week. This simple action can help protect against zero-click exploits, which attackers often use to eavesdrop on and collect data from phones. Additionally, this practice can help mitigate the threat of spear-phishing, which can lead to the installation of more malware and spyware. However, the NSA document warns that this advice will only sometimes prevent these attacks from being successful.