Protecting your Android Device

Protecting your Android Device

Use a screen lock
The most basic security measure for every Android device, a screen lock allows you to guard the device by using a pattern, PIN or password.
The lock can be activated through the Android device’s Security Settings. Following the activation of the lock, the device can be set to lock automatically after a specific time period or by pressing the Power key.
Encrypt your device
Android allows you to encrypt all the data on your device. You’ll need to key in a password or PIN each time the device is turned on to decrypt all the data.

If the phone gets into the wrong hands, there’s no way to access the data without a password or PIN if the device is restarted. This way, your sensitive data stays safe though the device becomes a little slow.

It can be activated through the Android device’s Security Settings.

Activate Google’s Android Device Manager
Even if you lose your device, the Android Device Manager feature allows you to track a (connected) device on Google Maps. It also enables you to ring the device at full volume for five minutes and even erase all the data.

To verify if it's enabled, you can go to the Settings menu on your device and tap on Security. It can be enabled through the Device Administrators setting under Security Settings.
Don’t store sensitive data on SD cards
Make sure you don’t store sensitive information such as copies of credit cards and personal IDs on external storage cards since it is easy to remove them and access the data stored.

If you need to store important information, keep it on internal storage.
Don’t install apps from unknown sources
While apps on the Google Play Store are not curated as diligently as Apple’s App Store, it is still the safest place to download and install apps on Android platform.

Installation files (APKs) sourced from third-party sites should be dealt with caution as they might hide malware or spyware.
Install locks for apps
You can use additional protection for apps like Gallery and Messaging to protect private data.

A number of apps are available on Play Store that offer an additional level of protection for individual apps. Such apps ask you to set up a password or PIN code that needs to be entered whenever you open the particular protected apps.
Don’t root your phone
By rooting your phone, you can install custom Android ROMs and even some incompatible apps.

However, apps with root access get unhindered access to your device’s file-system, exposing it to more damage in case a malicious app is installed. It also voids your phone’s warranty.
Keep your device software up to date
Google releases software updates that also include several security patches.

Check for software updates using the device Settings, where you’ll find a System Updates option in the About Device menu.
Sign out or use incognito mode while browsingRemember to sign out of Chrome while browsing the web on an Android device or use incognito mode, especially if you share devices and PCs.

Chrome records your search and browsing history and syncs it across all devices on which you’ve signed-in.

Passport Info

PUNE: The passport division of the ministry of external affairs has initiated the process for the public roll-out of new-age e-passports. The technology will make the document more secure and also substantially reduce the time required by the holder for immigration.

While the look and feel of the passport will remain largely as it is now, an electronic chip, containing identidfication data, will be embedded in its back cover. The necessary procurements have been initiated by India Security Press, Nashik, and the actual change-over to the next-generation passport is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2016.

The e-passport would contain all the data currently given on the second page of the paper-only passports, including photograph, personal and biological data (finger-prints), besides the country's digital signature used to validate the genuineness of the document. The chip can be sealed only once with the signature of the Passport Issuing Authority (PIA), thus making these e-passports virtually tamper-proof.

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Want passport quickly? Tatkal is the only way

E-passports to check forgery

While e-passports are a norm in more than a 100 countries already, India has so far tested their success on only a few diplomatic and official passports since 2008. The e-passports to be issued now are expected to be technologically superior to those launched on an experimental basis, yet are unlikely to cost more than the fees levied currently for the issuance of a normal passport.



Anil Kumar Sobti, director of the passport division, said that e-passports will help people save considerable time spent waiting in queues at immigration counters in India and abroad. "The traveller needs to only swipe the passport at the designated machine and all data stored in the chip will be instantly visible to the officer concerned. These passports will also help in data mining as every traveller's footprint can be tracked down to the last immigration counter. These will also be handy in case of emergencies that require evacuation of Indian nationals from a foreign country".

Muktesh K. Pardeshi, joint secretary in the MEA and chief passport officer said, "The e-passport is a recommended practice of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Though it is not mandatory, we have already introduced them at a small scale on a few passports. We have also undertaken feasibility studies of implementing the ICAO guidelines regarding the same on the national scale".

Want passport quickly? Tatkal is the only way

Aparajita Ray,TNN | Mar 25, 2014, 04.51 AM IST

अब पासपोर्ट बनने में लगेगा कम समय

BANGALORE: If you're travelling abroad for studies, work or summer vacation, you may have to apply for a passport in advance. The Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Bangalore says only 17,000 passport booklets are in stock against 30,000 applications pending for delivery. 

If you need this travel document before mid-April, the only option is Tatkal. 

From February 1 till March 18 this year, 58,724 people applied for passports. The supply of booklets dried up as the India Security Press in Nashik, Maharashtra, was closed between end of December 2013 and January 2014. It's the only organization which supplies booklets to the entire country. The government, however, made arrangements to ensure that passports for Tatkal applicants could be delivered. 

P S Karthigeyan, Regional Passport Officer, Karnataka, told TOI: "The import of laminated sheets used in the booklet was stopped for a while around the same time. The delivery of passport under the normal category was extended beyond 40 days; Bangalore delivered it in less than a month. We're expecting more stocks soon and we'll clear the backlog by mid-April." 

He added that the passport melas in the past three months added about 8,000 applications. The Koramangala office is now open on weekends, too, to print new passports for despatch. 

But woes don't end here. Many are paying extra to upgrade their applications to the Tatkal category to get the passports in time. Thamanna Tilak (name changed), for instance, has to leave for the Middle East to join his new workplace. He applied for a passport in February and has waited for over 45 days. "After a month-long chase for it, I was told at the Passport Seva Kendra that I could get it immediately if I paid an extra Rs 2,000. I upgraded my application to Tatkal and got my passport in three days," he said. 

Saroja Raphael, a resident of Jayanagar, planned to go abroad in May and applied for a passport on February 4. "I've been waiting for more than 45 days. Even now, I'm not sure when I'll get it," she said. 

Karthigeyan didn't divulge information on how many applications were upgraded from normal to Tatkal category. 

In numbers 

New passport (normal category) - Rs 1,500 

New passport (Tatkal scheme) — Rs 3,500 

Stock of blue booklets in Bangalore / Karnataka — 17,000 

Applications filed in February 2014 (normal category) — 34,350 

Applications filed till March 18, 2014 (normal category) — 24,374