Top Android security & privacy Apps for 2017

2016 has been the toughest year ever in online security, with multiple big-scale hacks throughout the year. To name just a few famous incidents of this year, over 100 million LinkedIn and 360 million MySpace accounts were breached, 15 million Iranian users of Telegram messaging app got their accounts hacked into, $80 million dollars were stolen by hackers from Bangladesh Bank, and U.S. Democratic Party systems were hacked into during the election. Most recently, Yahoo reported its biggest hack in history with over 1 billion accounts compromised.

If big organizations with sophisticated security systems can be broken into, what about any ordinary smartphone user? All digital devices, if unprotected, become one of the easiest data breach targets for an average hacker. By hacking into Android or any other device, criminals are able to access personal bank account data, credit card passwords, name, address, social media accounts and so on. In 2016, over a billion of personal records got accessed illegally.

When someone’s identity is stolen, their money could be taken off their checking account or credit card at any time. Worst of all, most victims of identity theft are left to take care of the debts incurred, and to deal with a ruined credit.

So how can users protect themselves and what will be the hottest security apps for Android in 2017?

Signal is an encrypted messaging and voice calling app that provides end-to-end encryption to secure all communications. The app can also verify the identity of people one is messaging with and the integrity of the channel they are using. When texting with non-Signal users, one has an option to invite them to an encrypted conversation via Signal.

Tor Messenger is as an encrypted messenger created by the makers of Tor, the world¹s most popular encrypted Internet browser, synonymous with the dark web. Tor Messenger is a cross-platform chat app that is secure by default and sends all messages over Tor Network. The app supports a good number of transport networks, such as IRC, Google Talk, Facebook Chat, Yahoo, and others, and enables Off-The-Record (OTR) messaging – a safe and encrypted way to have private conversations – over Tor¹s network of computers for greater anonymity.

NordVPN (Virtual Private Network provider) is a must-have encryption app. A VPN encrypts the data shared across the Internet, and is the best security mechanism to ensure the Internet traffic remains confidential. NordVPN has a reputation of focusing on security and having a zero logs policy, is fast and easy to use. The developers at NordVPN have launched a powerful new VPN app for Android devices that is also intuitive and good-looking. The new Android app re-routes and encrypts all Internet traffic making the connection private and secured. For added security, NordVPN offers Tor over VPN and DoubleVPN servers.

Norton Identity Safe simplifies the task of remembering complex passwords: it saves all usernames and passwords and syncs them across Android devices. The app then securely stores all passwords in an encrypted Vault that only the user can access. Secure passwords can be created within the app. The app also allows for faster checkout as it fills in forms with the user¹s bank information. Before visiting any website, Norton Identity Safe shows if it¹s safe.

my Secure email is an email app for managing various email accounts from various providers, which puts security first. It offers encryption of sent emails, lock screen, password-protected digital signature and more.

DuckDuckGo is for those who want more private browsing experience. It¹s a search engine that provides information from hundreds of sources, and keeps the search private.

Smart Hide Calculator is an app for storing user¹s private photos, videos, notes, contacts and other sensitive data behind an innocent-looking calculator app. Everyone will think it¹s just a simple calculator!

Avira Antivirus Pro protects your Android device from malicious apps, banking Trojans, and other mobile threats. It comes with anti-virus scanner, app lock and even phone finder.

Remote Phone Access app saves anyone who forgets their Android smartphone at some location and need to control it remotely. The app locks the phone and restricts unauthorized access, allows to receive phone call and SMS alerts to an email address and can remotely turn on any Internet activity.

NoRoot Firewall is an Android firewall app that helps manage outgoing Internet connections by allowing the user to grant or block access to all apps, one at a time. The user can allow or deny access based on IP address, host name or domain name.

It¹s becoming increasingly important to make sure that all digital devices, whether used privately or by a company, are as secure as possible. Just as we protect our homes with locks and security systems, fielding potential intruders, we should make sure our devices are also properly protected ­ especially because these days, most of the valuable information is stored online. Besides security and privacy apps, everyone should use common sense when sharing information on their devices, encrypt when using public Wi-Fi and always use strong passwords.

Staff Writer