How do I secure my smartphone or tablet

You are responsible for keeping your mobile phone, tablet and/or laptop as safe as possible. Below we provide some tips.

Use an access code or password

Make sure you set an access code or password (or variant such as your fingerprint or iris scanner) on your device. That way, no one else can access your data.

Encrypting your device

If you lose your phone or laptop, for example, someone else can read the hard drive or memory card. Encryption prevents this.

  • An iPhone or iPad is already encrypted by default. On Android, you can enable encryption manually. In settings, look for ‘Encrypt SD card’.
  • On your laptop, you can enable tools like VeraCrypt (open source), Bitlocker (Windows) or FileVault (Mac).

Remote search or wipe

When you lose your device, you want to know where it is as soon as possible - and possibly erase (and render unusable) all the data on your phone. Speed is of the essence then.

Your laptop or PC

Besides the things listed above, you can do this:

  • Install a virus scanner. This often also offers protection for surfing the internet and your e-mail. Via SURFspot (log in with your Solis ID), you get a discount as a student.
  • Always update your operating system (turn on automatic updates)
  • Use a VPN to encrypt your data traffic when connecting to public Wi-Fi
  • Away from your laptop for a while? Lock your computer (via windows with windows-key+L and on mac with control-command-Q)
Back to homepage information security