Alternative: If you consistently use your provider's mobile phone connection and ignore public Wi-Fi, you can do without a VPN connection. Thanks to the generous amount of data of 10 GB or more per month, this is actually a useful alternative for many users who do not watch video streams from the Internet.
Are you looking for a VPN solution for your PC? No problem, you will find what you are looking for here:
3. Password Safe: More convenient and secure
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This is why the app is indispensable: For each service you have to remember a new, complicated password. Nobody can keep that in their head. You can manage them on pieces of paper or in tables, but this is cumbersome and error-prone.
It is much easier, more convenient and sufficiently secure with password managers. It is important that the password manager works on both the PC and the smartphone and that the passwords are synchronized between the devices.
For Google Chrome users, this happens automatically if desired. A password manager is integrated into both the browser for the PC and Android. However, this is often difficult to use and hardly offers any additional functions. We can only recommend it to a limited extent.
Recommendation: The open source tool Bitwarden offers good user guidance and high security for free. The vault is encrypted on your device and only then stored on the internet.
4. Authenticator: Two-factor protection for logins
This is why the app is indispensable: An authenticator is an app for two-factor authentication (2FA). It spits out one-time codes that you have to submit when logging in as the second factor after entering your username and password.
Important accounts should definitely be protected with 2FA. The second factor can be a passkey or a one-time password that you generate using an authenticator app. A must for every smartphone.
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Recommendation: The Microsoft Authenticator works reliably and has a sufficient number of functions.
The operation is also fine. Tap on the plus at the top right. There are now three options to choose from.
The first two add Microsoft content to the app, the third is intended for all other log-ins. A tap on the third option starts the cell phone camera. This allows you to scan the QR code that the account, for example Amazon or GMX, displays when setting up 2FA.
Tip: When choosing an authenticator app, make sure you can move saved accounts. This is important when you buy a new cell phone. If this function is missing, all saved 2FA accounts have to be set up again on the new smartphone – which usually only works if the old device is still available.
The Microsoft Authenticator saves the accounts you have set up as a backup in the cloud. From there you can also restore it to a new device.
alternative: If you prefer open source software, you should check out the Aegis Authenticator app. It offers the latest security features and allows you to export the accounts you have set up to a new cell phone.
5. Privacy Browser: Surf without spies
That's why the app is indispensable: If you value your privacy, the standard Android browser, Google Chrome, is a bad choice.
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Recommendation: A browser with good data protection is Firefox. This applies to the desktop as well as to the smartphone. Alternative: Test the Firefox Klar browser. It comes with a reduced user interface and foregoes some functions, but offers everything for very good data protection.
If you want to do a quick private search on the Internet, you can use Firefox Klar as a good addition to the standard browser. One tap on the trash can symbol – and Firefox Klar immediately deletes history, passwords and cookies.
The privacy settings are designed so that all websites should work. But you can make them significantly worse. Tap “Menu icon –› Settings –› Privacy & Security”.
Here you can set all settings except for the last activation or to the highest level. However, the “Block JavaScript” setting can cause problems. Many sophisticated websites do not work or do not function properly without Javascript.
In practice, it has usually not proven successful to generally ban Javascript. It's best to experiment a little with the settings.
6. Security backup: protect against data loss
This is why the app is indispensable: A data backup protects you in the event that you lose your smartphone or it is stolen. Then the hardware is gone, but at least the data is still there.
In fact, Android does not provide complete backup of the device. There is a transfer function when switching to a new cell phone, but this only works if the old device is still available. It's worth activating all available backup functions to at least make what Android makes possible.
Backup: Enable Google backup in the Settings app via “System –› Backup –› Google One Backup”. Under the menu item you can see what Android backs up. What's still missing are backups of your chat tools like WhatsApp. You have to activate these in the apps.
Recommendation: Back up your data and apps locally on your PC. To do this you need the app and the Windows tool My Phone Explorer. You can find detailed instructions for such a backup in the article: Backing up smartphone data on the PC – here’s how it works
Speaking of lost smartphones: Check whether Find My Device is enabled on your device. You can find this in the Settings app under “Privacy & Security –› Device Search”. With a bit of luck, you can find your smartphone via the address google.com/android/find in the browser.
7. Samio: AI chatbot detects phishing attacks
Bitdefender's AI-based chatbot Scamio can help if you are unsure whether an email or chat message is a phishing attack.
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Scamio can be added as a contact in Whatsapp and then used as a chat partner. Simply upload a screenshot of the suspicious message to your chat and ask if it is real.
The bot carries out an analysis in which it examines both known phishing patterns and soft criteria such as typical phrases used by cybercriminals.
The final rating Scamio gives is based on a combination of these factors. You will find out whether it is most likely a scam or whether the email actually comes from a legitimate sender.
Emergency information
In addition to technical security apps, Android also offers personal security features.
The emergency information can be helpful here. Store medical information such as allergies, blood type or required medications in the emergency information. These can be viewed by rescue workers, for example, without you having to unlock your cell phone. Contact details of relatives can also be stored.
So here it goes: Launch the Settings app and tap “Emergencies and Security.” Enter your data under “Medical data” and “Emergency contacts” and under “Change settings” specify that the data can also be displayed when the screen is locked.
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Control: Lock your smartphone and then move from the bottom to the top. You may have to press the power button again first. The “Emergency” button appears. A tap on it leads to “View emergency information”.
On Samsung smartphones, this data is stored via the phone app. This function is missing on older devices.
(PC World)
