1. Update Firmware

Simply like computers, your iPhone’s operating system (iOS) has vulnerabilities. That’s even the reason why versions are released one after another. More often than not, first releases contain more security vulnerabilities. Thus, if you continue using such firmware, your iPhone is vulnerable than those which are already updated and you will become a perfect target for hackers. How to Update Firmware Fortunately, Apple offers easy way to update the firmware of your iPhone. You can do this with the help of iTunes. Here’s how…

  1. Connect your iPhone to computer and launch iTunes.

  2. Select your iPhone among the devices listed. You must be seeing the following screenshot:

  3. Click on ‘Update’ button and follow instructions.

2. Enable iPhone Passcode Protection

By enabling Passcode Protection on your iPhone, it will ask for a 4-digit passcode whenever you wake it up from sleep. This will protect your iPhone from other users. It may be a hassle but remember that there are times when you can misplace your iPhone. How to Enable Passcode Protection

  1. Open ‘Settings‘ on your iPhone and tap on ‘General‘.

  2. Now, select ‘Passcode Lock‘ and tap ‘Turn Passcode On‘.

  3. You must enter 4 digits as your passcode; re-enter the same to confirm.

  4. Press on the Power button to put your iPhone to sleep and press it again to wake it up. This time, you will be asked to enter your passcode.

3. Set Auto-Lock

As a follow up of step 2, this iPhone feature is also important to implement strict security on your iPhone. Setting auto-lock means that your iPhone will automatically sleep after certain duration of time of being idle. How to Enable Auto-Lock

  1. Open ‘Settings‘ on your iPhone and tap on ‘General‘.
  2. Tap ‘Auto-Lock‘ and set the duration; the sooner, the better. But I think 2 minutes is just good enough.

4. Disable Automatic Network Association

iPhone is built to store and retain association settings of all the Wi-Fi networks it connects to. Thus, it enables iPhone to automatically reconnect to these networks if it is within range. Although it is a hassle on your part, it is still recommended you disable this function as secured networks are easy to spoof. How to Make your iPhone Forget a Network

  1. Open ‘Settings‘ on your iPhone and select Wi-Fi.
  2. Tap on the blue arrow beside the network you want your iPhone to forget.
  3. Select ‘Forget This Network‘.

5. Disable Javascript and Plug-ins

Just like the browser of computers, iPhone’s safari browser also uses or runs javascript and plug-ins. And some people use them as yet another exploit to be able to access your device. You have to balance usability and security; if there are certain important websites that you have to access more often, then you should err on the side of usability. Otherwise, it is a wise idea to disable them.

  1. Open ‘Settings‘ on your iPhone and tap Safari.
  2. From there, you will be able to turn Javascript and Plug-ins off.

The Bottom Line

If you want, you can also turn Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off whenever you are not using them to connect to the internet or use wireless accessories. But the point is, we often store some very important files in our iPhone and we just don’t want them to get lost because somebody has experimented on our gadget. Now, if you had your iPhone jailbroken, check How to Make Your iPhone Secure After the Jailbreak.