12 Ways Of Protecting your Android/Tablet Devices From Malware Infection

Since the introduction of modern computers, malicious software or malware has been an omnipresent issue. Viruses, Trojans, rootkits, spyware, keyloggers and several others of the like continue to assault your computing devices all the time, looking for vulnerabilities and loopholes in your defenses to get through. Generally, users have become aware enough to deploy some form of protection on their desktops and notebooks, and while infections continue to plague the computing world, they’re significantly reduced in impact. Smartphones today are nothing short of portable computers as well, and just like that, are prone to malware attacks. Hard as it may seem to believe, developers do spend time creating Smartphone malware that would let them access your personal information, exploit personal data and otherwise do damage to your device. Android Device is a fast-growing mobile platform with apps exceeding 600,000 in the Google Play Store, and believe me when I tell you that an assessment puts over 100,000 of them as “questionable”. While most users don’t pay much attention to it, it’s imperative that you secure your Android smartphone or tablet against the growing threat of mobile malware. They say prevention is better than cure, and in this post, we’ll provide some basic pointers on how to achieve that.

Ways to Keep your Android/Tablet Device Secure
There are easy ways to reduce the risk of infection in your Android. Most of these ways are simply common sense. Developers and specific cell phone manufacturers do encourage their customers to use the proper download applications and widgets.

1. Download Only From Official Stores
When downloading apps, prefer the well-reputed channels, mainly Google Play Store and the Amazon App Store. Google implements a rudimentary “bouncer” to ward off malware, and the rest is taken care of by the very active Android user community. Hence, these two sources are your most reliable ones.



2. Keep Installation of Apps from Unknown Sources at “Off”

Unless you’re a power user, it’s highly advisable to keepthe installation of apps from Unknown Sources at “off” in the device’s settings. This will help ensure that nothing enters the system except through official channels.



3. Rooted Devices are More Susceptible

Most advanced users choose to root their Android devices, be extra cautious about granting Superuser access to any app. Make sure you understand the purpose of the SU access and trust the developer enough to grant it. This is the highest level of access that anyone (or anything) can have on your Android device, so be really careful with this one.



4. Install an Antivirus/Security App on Your Android Smartphone

A lot of capable contenders are available in the Google Play Store for that purpose, with more notable ones being Avast! Free Mobile Security, Lookout Mobile Security, AVG Mobile Security, Kaspersky, and Norton Mobile Security, just to name a few. There is a different feature-set offered by each, so you have room to weigh your options carefully before making a decision to go with one.



5. It is Important to Read App reviews and See ratings before downloading

Read app reviews and see ratings before you choose to download anything. If it’s something from a renowned developer, you’re less likely to run into trouble as opposed to an app with hardly any downloads and just 2-3 reviews. As a rule of thumb, I don’t prefer apps with a rating of less than at least 3 stars.



6. Examine the Permissions that an App is Asking For, During Installation

Carefully examine the permissions that an app is asking for, and use your own judgment to decide whether you want that app or not. E.g A puzzle game asking to access your contacts and the phone app is never really a good idea, and neither is a torch app seeking internet permission. Discard apps that seem shady – they’re usually not worth risking personal information over.



7. Keep Your Phone Locked Always

While not strictly a malware protection measure, it’s still a good idea to keep your phone locked for security. Someone else gaining access to your device might be able to install undesired software before you reclaim access, and hence, causing you to remain unaware of the whole deal until it’s too late. Likewise, a remote wipe app should also be there, should you ever encounter a scenario where normal access to the device gets blocked by the malware infection.



8. Never access links embedded in mass-broadcast messages/emails on your phone.

You never know what’s hidden underneath a URL, and it’s harder to check that on a Smartphone as opposed to a traditional computer. Phishing scams thrive under unrestricted access through your web browser.

9. Beware of Fake Apps Even on Play Store

On the Play Store, there are loads of fake apps designed with the intention of infecting your device and stealing your private information. Some apps are designed only to push ads to your Smartphone. As a matter of fact, most popular apps often have similar ones that are actually fake. You should be careful with these sorts of apps.

10. Avoid Pirated Apps

If you love the cracks and pirated apps, your device may become infected without you even knowing it. Pirated apps most often carry Malware strands. Besides, you’re not helping the developers who work hard trying to create these games and apps. Saving $0.99 isn’t worth it, really.

11. Porn is the Most Efficient Source of Malware Delivery

I’m in no position to judge you or tell you what to do with your device, but it has been proven that pornographic sites are the most efficient when it comes to infecting your device with malware. Well, you know what to do… be careful with sites you visit.

12. Stay Updated

Be on your toes so far as updates are concerned. This is one way in which manufacturers and carriers ensure that you remain protected from Malware attacks. These updates can include enhancements, bug fixes, new features each of which are designed to keep your system in tune with the right way to tackle the malicious attacks. Apart from updating your apps, be sure your device operating system is also up-to-date. Conclusion Following the above steps will help you ensure that your device remains secure, safe from malware, and most importantly, exclusively yours. Do you have a tip that we should’ve included here and missed? Drop us a comment below.

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Solve Battery Drain Problem In Android and extend battery life

           Our smartphones are getting more and more capable by the day. We use them for listen to music, watch videos and movies, browse social media, surf the web, play games, read and reply to personal and work emails, and now, with VR becoming a larger focus, you can even enjoy a completely different world and experience while sitting in the comfort of your own home. Of course, on the rare occasion that it is required, you can even make a phone call.

   One aspect of the smartphone that unfortunately hasn’t kept up is battery, and the only real solution is to either get a device with a huge battery, or take advantage of phones with fast charging capabilities, so at least you aren’t wasting a lot of time charging it. There are a few things you can do to get the most out of your phone however. Admittedly, these tips and tricks aren’t going to double or triple your battery life, but at the very least, you won’t end up with a switched off device when you need it the most. Let’s take a look!

Apps that drain your battery

          Being able to have numerous apps for different purposes downloaded on your phone is what makes our  smartphones so good. However, there may be a few that are resulting in rapid Android OS battery drain., without you even knowing about it.

You can see which apps are using up your battery by going to the Battery section in the Settings menu. Of course, if you have been using an app often, it will be higher up on the list. That said, if you find that an app is causing an abnormal amount of battery drain, your best bet is to uninstall that particular app. These issues can often be fixed with a software update, so once an update for that app rolls out, you should be able to install it once again.

There are also some apps that access your location, and using GPS in the background can cause significant battery drain. You can see if this is the cause by going to the Location section in the Settings. Here, you will see a list of apps that use location services, and tapping on an app will show how much battery has been drained because of it.

If it is significant, you can stop it by turning of the location option in the App Permissions for the particular one. Along those lines, it may also be a good idea to keep GPS turned off when you aren’t planning to use it. With most smartphones, you find the GPS toggle in the Quick Settings list in the notification dropdown. So, if you are planning to use Google Maps, you can turn GPS back on, and then turn it off again after you’re done.

Finally, another reason some users may see battery drain is because of widgets. As fun and convenient as widgets may be, having a lot of them can result in a lot of battery life being used up. So, if there are any widgets that you don’t use often and can do without, it may be a good idea to remove it.

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Power Saving modes

Every Android smartphone will come with some form of a power saving mode, and enabling them does things like remove animations, turn of background syncing, turn off location services, and reduce display brightness, to help get some extra juice out of your battery. These modes are usually activated automatically when the battery reaches the 15% mark, but if you generally running low and feel like you won’t be able to get to a charger for a while, you can manually enable it in the Settings menu.

When you are running really low, some smartphones, from OEMs  like Samsung, Huawei, and more, offer an Ultra Power Saving mode. This essentially turns your device into a feature phone, and all you can really do is make calls or send text messages. If you are really running low on battery and need to be able to contact someone, this mode will prove to be a life saver.

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Display settings

Most smartphones nowadays come with an Auto Brightness setting, that, as the name suggests, automatically sets the brightness level of the display by detecting the lighting condition. If you are looking to extend your battery life, manually setting the brightness to a lower level makes quite a big difference in this regard. Unless you absolutely have to bump up the display brightness, keeping it low is a good idea.

You can also save a little bit of battery by changing the screen timeout interval, which is the amount of time the display stays on, while the device is idle. Unless you need the display to stay on when the device is idle for a long time, changing this interval to something like 10 seconds will help just a little bit. You can find this under the Display section in the Settings menu.

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Battery maintenance

While most smartphones offer great battery life at the start, you will find its performance fading after a year or two, or even sooner, if the battery isn’t maintained properly. Studies have found that batteries tend to degrade faster when the device heats up, regardless of whether it is in use or idle. Even simple things like not leaving your phone on the car dashboard on a hot, sunny day will help with Android OS battery drain.

When in use, and especially when playing graphic-intensive games, we’ll all found our devices becoming uncomfortably warm. At the time, it’s a good idea to close the app and let the device rest till it cools down, or even turn the phone off, to speed up the process.

Many users are proponents of the 10-90 system, which means that you don’t charge your battery beyond 90%, and never have it drop less than 10%. Some studies have shown that 40-80 is even better, but that isn’t always possible, especially when it comes to the lower end. However, it is recommended that you discharge the battery fully and charge it back to 100%, at least once every three months or so, to help prevent Android OS battery drain.

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Apps that help with battery life

It may seem counterproductive to download more apps to prevent Android OS battery drain on your phone, but there are a few very useful ones out there.

Greenify helps you identify which apps are causing battery drain, and put these into hibernation when you are not using them, to stop them from lagging your device and leeching the battery. They can do nothing without an explicit launch by you or other apps, while still preserving full functionality when running in the foreground.

Keep in mind that most functionality of the app is disabled, so it’s not a good idea to use with alarm clocks or messaging apps. Greenify has also added “Agressive Doze” and “Doze on the go” features, for devices running Android 6.0 Marshmallow and above. You can download Greenify from the Google Play Store here.

Doze is a feature that is built in to Android 6.0 Marshmallow, that does a great job with preventing Android OS battery drain when the device is idle. However, Doze mode only kicks in when the device is unplugged, and stationary for more than 30 minutes. If you are looking for this feature, but without these conditions, there is an app for you, which makes activating it very easy. The best part is that this app is available for devices running Android 4.1 or higher, so you didn’t need to wait for an official upgrade to Marshmallow to enjoy this feature. You can download Doze here.

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So, there you have it for this look at some general ways you can extend your battery life and prevent Android OS battery drain.

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How to Unlock an ITEL Phone

Yes! Am back with my knowledge which is helping me and you my dear readers. This is another trick to unlock your ITEL Phone if you have forgotten the password or pattern. the following steps are to be followed if such happens to you
           To unlock the screen of your ITEL phone, wake the screen (by swiping or pressing the Power button) and then enter your password, code, or PIN. If you’re unable to unlock your phone, try signing in with your Google account (for Android 4.4 and below) or using Android Device Manager (5.1 and up). If neither of those methods work, performing a factory reset will help you regain access to your phone.

FIRST METHOD: Signing in with your Google Account

1. Attempt to unlock the phone 5 times. This method will only work if you’re using Android 4.4 KitKat or earlier (it1407, it1406, it701, it503, or it501) and you lock your phone with a pattern code. If you can’t unlock your phone with after 5 tries, you’ll see a button that says “Forgot Pattern.”

2.Tap “Forgot Pattern.” Now you’ll see a Google login screen.

3. Sign in with your Google username and password. Make sure you are using the username and password for the Google account that’s associated with this phone. An email will be sent to the Gmail account to confirm your identity.
4. Log in to Gmail from another device. You’ll have to use another device with internet access to unlock the phone.
5. Click the link in the message from Google. The email contains a link that you must click to confirm that you are who you say you are.
If you don’t remember your Google password, visit https://www.google.com/accounts/recovery in a web browser.6. Tap “Settings” in the app drawer. Now that you’re back into your phone, you can set a new unlock pattern.
7. Select “Lock Screen.” This option appears under the “Personalization” section of the Settings menu. This will bring you to the “Lock Screen” menu.
8. Select “Screen Security.” This is the first option under the “General” heading.
9. Tap “Screen Lock.” Now you’ll see a menu containing the different methods of locking your screen.

10. Select “Pattern.” Now you’ll see a list of different pattern sizes (e.g., 3x3, 4x4, 5x5). The option you select determines the amount of dots on which you’ll draw your pattern.

• For example, if you pick 4x4, the unlock screen will show 4 columns of dots and 4 rows of dots.

11. Tap a size and draw your pattern. When the dots appear, drag your finger across the dots in your desired pattern. If you make a mistake, tap “Retry.”

12. Tap “Continue” and confirm your pattern. Now you’ll have to redraw the pattern, just to make sure it matches.
13. Tap “Confirm” to set the pattern. As long as the two patterns match, you’ll return to the Screen Security menu. The next time you unlock your phone, use the pattern you just created.

SECOND METHOD: Performing a Factory Reset

1. Try one of the other methods. If you’re unable to unlock your ITEL phone using one of the other methods, you’ll have to do a factory reset. This will erase everything on the phone except for what is saved to your SD card.
2. Press the power button and select “Power Off.” You’ll want to power the phone all the way down so you can boot into Android Recovery Mode.
3. Hold down the Power and Volume Down buttons at the same time. After several seconds, you can let go. You’ll see an Android icon appear on the screen and the words “No Command".

• On some ITEL models, you may be brought directly to the Android System Recovery Mode menu without seeing an Android icon.

4. Press the Volume Up button. A black screen will appear containing the header “Android System Recovery Mode.”
5. Use the volume buttons to select “wipe data/factory reset.” The Volume Up button moves the selection bar upward, and the Volume Down button moves it down.
6. Press the Power button to select, then again to confirm. The phone will now go through the factory reset process, which will take several seconds.
7. Press the Power button when you see “Reboot System Now.” When the phone restarts, follow the prompts to set it up as though it’s a brand new phone.

THIRD METHOD: Using Android Device Manager

1. Visit https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager in a web browser. If you set up Android Device Manager when you first set up your ITEL phone, you should be able to unlock it using Android Device Manager. You’ll need to complete most of the steps at a computer that has internet access.

• This method will only work on phones running Android 5.1 or above.

2. Sign in with your Google username and password. Make sure you’re signing in with the same Google account you used to set up your ITEL phone.
3. Click your ITEL phone. If you see your ITEL phone listed, click it to view its settings. You should now see the options “Ring,” “Lock,” and “Erase.”

• If you don’t see it, this means you haven’t set up Android Device Manager for this phone. You’ll need to try another method.

4. Click “Lock.” A new screen will appear, prompting you to set a brand new password.
5. Set a temporary password. The password you set here is the one you’ll use to unlock your phone. Don’t worry about filling out the rest of the information on this page, just set a new password. You’ll be able to change once the phone is unlocked.
6. Unlock your ITEL phone. Your ITEL phone should now display a password blank. Type the temporary password you just set, and you’ll be back in to your phone.
7. Tap the Settings app. You’ll find this app either on the home screen or in the app drawer. This is where you’ll be able to set a new password for your phone.
8. Select “Security.” You may have to scroll down a bit to find this option.

• If you don’t see “Security,” select “Screen Lock.”

9. Tap “Screen Lock.” You’ll be prompted to enter the current password before you can continue. That’s the password you set on the Android Device Manager website.
10. Choose the type of password to set. The options are different depending on the type of phone you have.

• Select “Pattern” to draw a pattern across a series of dots to unlock your phone.

• Select “PIN” to set a numerical code (4 digit or more) that you’ll be able to “dial” into the keypad to unlock your phone.

• Select “Password” to type a password (can be letters and/or numbers) to type using the phone’s keyboard.

11. Follow the prompts to reset your password. The new password will take effect immediately. The next time you sign in to the phone, use the password you just set.

1. Tap a size and draw your pattern. When the dots appear, drag your finger across the dots in your desired pattern. If you make a mistake, tap “Retry.”

I hope this above methods will be the best option for you to unlock your android phone.

PLEASE YOUR COMMENTS WILL BE HIGHLY APPRECIATED!

THANKS FOR READING!

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How to flash Pac Stock Rom on Android Smartphone

These are the instructions to flash Pac Stock Rom on any android Smartphone using Spreadtrum Upgrade Tool.

Remember: Your Android device should have atleast 40-50 percent of battery to perform the flashing process.

Flash Pac Stock Rom on Android Smartphone

Step 1: Download and Install Spreadtrum USB Driver on your Computer. If in case Spreadtrum Driver is already installed on your computer then SKIP this Step.

Step 2: Download Stock Rom (pac) for your Android Device.

Step 3: Download and extract Spreadtrum Upgrade Tool on your computer. After extracting, you will be able to see the following files:

Step 4: Now, open UpgradeDownload.exe.

Step 5: Once Spreadtrum Upgrade Tool is launched, connect your Android device to the computer (make sure your device is switch off).

Step 6: Once your Smartphone is connected successfully to the computer, click on the Load Packed Button and add the .pac file (stock rom which comes as .pac).

Step 7: Once you have successfully added the Pac file in Spreadtrum Upgrade Tool, click on the Start Downloading button to begin the flashing.

Step 8: During the flashing process your device will restart automatically. Once flashing is completed, you will be able to see the Green Passed Message in Spreadtrum Upgrade Tool.

Step 9: Now you have successfully flashed your Android Device using Spreadtrum Upgrade Tool. Once your Android Device is successfully restarted, Go to Settings > About Phone > Check firmware.

Readme Once:

[*] Bin Packet load Error: If you ever got Bin Packet Error then simply download and try flashing the firmware with this version of SPD Upgrade Tool.

[*] How to Write IMEI: After flashing the stock firmware on Spreadtrum Device, you may need to flash the IMEI also, for that use WriteIMEI or Read&Write Tool to Flash IMEI on Spreadtrum Devices.

[*] Credits: SPD upgrade tool shared on this page is made available by Spreadtrum Communications Inc. So, full credits goes to them for the tool.

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