Warning for millions of Android users – don’t make costly mistake

GOOGLE is urging Android phone users to upgrade their security.

If you use any apps or websites, there’s a simple hack you need to know.

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When you sign up to websites or apps, it’s very tempting to use simple passwords.

That way you can remember them more easily.

But this is a major risk – as hackers can either guess them, or use leaked databases of unrelated passwords to break into your account.

Thankfully Google lets you “auto-fill” passwords when you sign in to a website.

This means you can let Google manage your passwords for you.

It gives you the chance to use more complicated passwords because you don’t need to remember them.

Google says it’s an important tactic to “keep your data private and secure”.

But it gets even better: Google can warn you if your passwords are at risk.

If you’ve got a password that is re-used on other accounts – or that has been compromised in a known hack or leak – then Google will alert you.

“When you enter a password into an app on your phone using auto-fill with Google, we will check it against a list of known compromised passwords,” Google explained.

“If there’s a match, we’ll alert you so that you can take action.”

You should never ignore these Android alerts, because they can mean your logins are in imminent danger.

Once a hacker gains access to one of your accounts, it makes it easier for them to access other logins too.

So make sure you’re using the strongest passwords, and consider listening to Google’s warnings about compromised logins.

Ignoring the alerts can put you at significant risk of being hacked.

Set your device to auto-sleep

If you worry about leaving your phone unlocked around other people you should make sure your device locks quickly when you’re not using it.

Go into your display settings and you should see a “Sleep option”.

You can choose the time in which it takes your Android device to lock when you’ve stopped clicking on it.

Try setting it to 15 or 30 seconds.

Use your fingerprint or face as passcode

This may seem obvious but some people skip the step of having a fingerprint or face scan and opt for a numerical passcode.

Make sure you have one of the above and also have a numerical passcode that’s hard to guess.

Don’t use a birthday or anniversary date that someone who knows you could easily work out.

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