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Mind what you share. - K. GOPINATHAN

I got a mobile phone for reviewing in Smartbuy (http:// www.blsmartbuy.com) recently and was shocked to find the contacts and some photos of the person who received the same handset before me for his/her review.

This was a shocker because if people who know about phones, the sensitivity of personal data and storage options on the phone, make a mistake like that, what happens to people who just use them?

So, here goes. First of all, irrespective of the usability and otherwise of PC synchronisation software put out by various phone manufacturers, copy your phone data into your desktop. After that, make sure you back up your phone data on the PC regularly, say, every week. This helps protect against the shock of losing all your data if you lose the phone or it crashes.

Most new phones come with storage options such as mini-SD cards and they are very cheap; you can get 2 GB for less than Rs 500. Set your phone to store all your data - contacts, text messages and e-mail, and multimedia - in the mini-SD card. When you hand over your phone for repairs or lend it to someone for an extended period, make sure you take the mini-SD card out. This way, you can be sure that your personal data is safe. Of course, we can't do anything if you lose the phone.

In a related matter, when you register at social network Web sites, set your preferences to not display your personal data. Most online services use a standard set of questions (mother's maiden name; name of pet; name of school; date of birth; city of birth, etc,) to authenticate you in case you lose your password, and answers to such questions are sometimes too easily available through your social pages. It might also be a good idea to choose your own question, for which only you know the answer. Like the name of your first love.

N. NAGARAJ

More Stories on : Telecommunications | Privacy | Security | Come Again!

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