Securing Your Device - Running Android: Using Your Phone and Tablet for Work and Play - page 18

Securing Your Device
Right out of the box, your Android phone or tablet has access to your Google account. Or
it should, if you want to take advantage of the integration of Google apps such as Search,
Gmail, Calendar, YouTube, Drive, News, and others.
If you use your Android device to connect with social networks such as Facebook and Twit-
ter, the device will have access to those accounts. And if you let Chrome and other browsers
remember passwords, then your device will have direct access to websites such as Amazon.
For all these reasons, you need to restrict access to your Android phone or tablet. There are
two basic approaches. The first is to not let any Android app remember passwords. This is
the most secure, but is also a total pain. You'll spend more time entering passwords than do-
ing anything useful.
The second method is to turn on the lock screen on the phone or tablet. With the lock screen
secured with a password, no one can use your device without doing a factory reset- and that
wipes out all installed applications and their data, including saved logins and passwords.
The best approach is a combination of the two. Don't let critical apps and websites such as
banking apps remember your user ID or password.
Some websites handle security very well. A shining example is Amazon. Although it keeps
you logged in so you can see your browsing history, put items in your wish lists, and save
items in your shopping cart, Amazon asks you to log in again whenever you do something
critical, such as check on past orders or place a new order.