How to encrypt your Android phone

If your smartphone is lost or stolen, you want to make sure that your personal information are safe. One way to achieve this is to use an encryption system: files are encrypted using a "key" (which can be a password) user-defined, and who do not seem to have only "junk" useless. No encryption method is completely foolproof, but invest some time in implementing these simple tips can help a lot in time to avoid "leakage" of your data when a problem occurs.

First of all ...

Before investing in an encryption tool, start protecting your smartphone through the entrance door. Put a password on the home screen (lockscreen) to prevent outsiders from having access to the system. This does not prevent them to remove a microSD card and read content on a PC, but at least prevent curious to read your text messages or eavesdrop on your list of contacts.

Go to Setting / Location and Security and choose Set screen lock . You can use a pattern, ie, a "drawing" connecting points on the screen, a PIN, password, 4 digit number, or a traditional password, alphanumeric. This password is required when you "wake" the device, or activate the screen. Just do not forget it or you will get "locked out of the house."

And key figures

Except for a few models like the Motorola RAZR , which brings a complete system that can crypto entire contents of internal memory and microSD card, plus e-mail, calendar and contacts, most Android phones do not have a modern system integrated data encryption. This means that you must use third-party applications to protect your messages, emails and important documents.

Fortunately there are several options. One of the most promising is the WhisperCore , Whisper Systems an application that can encrypt the flash memory device and even create encrypted backups should it fall into the wrong hands and you have to delete it remotely. The application is still being tested, and for now works only in Nexus S and Nexus One, but the development team is working to take you to other devices.

Another alternative is to encrypt only specific files and folders using applications such as Droid Cryptor AnDisk Encryption . Both allow users to encrypt files and documents using the AES algorithm with 128-bit key, a system adopted by the U.S. government and used worldwide.

With this, you save time even if someone finds your smartphone and remove the microSD card to read it on another computer: it is estimated that the time needed for breaking a 128-bit AES key using a brute-force attack, or that is, testing all possible combinations, is 149.7 trillion years. More than the estimated age of our universe, which is about 7.13 trillion years.

There are also some Android applications in development (currently in beta) that can encrypt calls and text messages in real time. Among the favorites in this category are the RedPhone and TextSecure , both of Whisper Systems. The RedPhone automatically encrypts a call, making it more difficult to be intercepted. TextSecure is already an SMS application that encrypts all messages between two users, and keeps track of past conversations in a secure database.

These security measures may seem like overkill, but remember that our smartphones can carry our most precious data, including credit card numbers and financial information (bank in the app, for example). A strong password and a reliable system encryption are a powerful combination that will ensure that your device and your data is safe from misuse.

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