UPDATED 10:50 EDT / AUGUST 05 2013

NEWS

6 Security Apps While You Wait for Android Device Manager to Go Live

Google has finally unveiled its solution to help Android phone owners find their misplaced, lost or stolen devices with its Android Device Manager.

iOS users are already familiar with this solution – Find My iPhone has been in place for several years now, happily reuniting iPhones with their owners.  So what does Android Device Manager have to offer?

Locate and ring misplaced device

 

If you’re one of those people who keeps losing their smartphone down the couch, or can never remember where in the world you put your device, you can use Android Device Manager to ring your phone, at full volume, even if your phone is stuck on silent mode.  But if, say you left your phone at a restaurant, retail store park or wherever, you can also locate your phone using a map in real-time.  This would help owners to easily track down their devices wherever they might have left them.

Wipe the slate clean

 

If you’ve ever lost your phone, you’ll probably have felt like the world was taken from you, what with all your contacts, files, messages, photos, videos and everything else stored in it now lost forever.  Though Google can help you track your device’s whereabouts, it’s not a perfect system.  If your device happens to be switched off, all hope of finding it has left the building.  In this situation, the best you can do is to remotely wipe your device clean so that no one can get hold of your data and personal information.  The Android Device Manager has this feature.  So even if you’ll never get your precious Android smartphone back, at least your personal information and data can’t be accessed by the wrong people.

So when can I get it?

 

Android Device Manager will be available later this month on devices running Android 2.2 or later.  To use it, you’ll need to be signed in on your Google Account, and also download an app that would allow users to easily find and manage their devices.

Since the Android Device Manager is not yet available, what other security measures can you do to make it harder for other people to access your device?

Security measures

 

Lock your screen

Setup your screen lock.  This way, even if you lost your phone, people can’t easily access your data.  You can use either a passcode, pin, password, pattern, or face recognition to unlock your phone.  The harder it is to crack, the better.

Download from trusted sources

Though Google Play has a few problems with malicious apps, it’s still the best place to get your app fix rather than from other Android markets.  Also Google has improved Play in a way that even if you download apps from different Android stores, it can still scan the app to see if it can be trusted or not.

Security apps

 

While waiting for Android Device Manager to go live, you can download security apps from Google play to help you secure your device and possibly recover it when it gets lost or stolen.  Here are some of the best free and paid apps that may be worth your time:

Android Lost

Not only does this app track the location of your phone, but you can also remotely access the activity of your device – for example you can grab a recent call list, start and stop its WiFi connection, get notified if the SIM has been replaced, take photos with the rear and front cameras, record sound from anyone speaking into or near the device, set off alarms with a flashing screen, and many other useful features.

Avast Mobile Security and Antivirus

This app keeps your device safe from viruses, malware, and spyware, and will also locate your device if it gets lost or stolen.  You can also remotely unlock and wipe the memory of your device.

AVG AntiVirus Security

Scans apps and messages for malware and spyware, remotely wipe and lock device, find lost device, kill apps that slows down your phone’s performance and other activities that would keep your device safe and secured.

Lookout Security & Antivirus

Offers continuous, over-the-air protection from viruses, malware, adware and spyware, locates your lost device and fires off an alarm. The app can also save the last location when your battery is running low, get an email with the picture and location of whoever incorrectly enters the passcode 3 times, back-up and restore all your data and provides many other security features.

Norton Security antivirus

Uses SMS text to remotely lock your lost or stolen phone, scan and remove apps and updates that have the potential to harm or slow down your device, and scan your SD card for threats.

Kaspersky Mobile Security

Automatic virus-scanning of apps, real-time, cloud-enabled protection – for rapid reaction to new and emerging threats, on-demand and scheduled scans allow you to run antivirus scanning when it’s most convenient for you, over-the-air antivirus database updates – for minimal impact on performance, device Admin feature prevents unauthorised un-installation – so third-party apps and other users cannot access the Kaspersky Mobile Security application, without the secret code.


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