17. Securing the Phone
In this chapter, you discover simple methods for securing your phone from prying eyes and unauthorized use. Topics include the following:
→ Setting options for the current locking method
→ Other security measures for you to consider
Do you occasionally leave your phone unattended? If you don’t like the idea that someone might use your phone and see everything you’ve stored on it, you can secure it using lock screen and security settings.
Securing the Lock Screen
Whenever you turn on the phone or restore it from a darkened state, you normally see the lock screen. Its purpose is twofold. First, when the phone is idle, the lock screen appears, providing a bit of privacy from casual observers. Second, you can secure the phone by requiring that a pattern, PIN, password, or face unlock be supplied to clear the lock screen—rather than simply swiping it away.
As with the Home screen wallpaper, you can customize the lock screen wallpaper by choosing a different image to display. See Chapter 3 for instructions.
Changing the Screen Locking Method
Use the following general steps whenever you want to review or change the locking method or its settings. Details for setting specific screen locking methods are presented later in this chapter.
1. On the Home screen, tap Apps, followed by Settings.
2. Select the My Device tab, and then tap Lock Screen.
Current Screen Locking Method
You can always view the current lock setting in the Screen Security section. It’s displayed in the Screen Lock item.
3. Do either of the following:
• To change the screen locking method (requiring or removing a PIN, password, pattern, or face unlock), tap Screen Lock.
• To change options for the current screen locking method, tap the settings in the lower part of this screen. See “Setting Lock Screen Options” for instructions.
Setting a Lock Pattern
A pattern consists of four or more connected dots that you trace on a 3×3 grid.
1. As explained in the beginning of this section, open Settings and navigate to the Lock Screen.
2. Tap Screen Lock.
3. If a secure locking method is in use, you’ll be asked to perform the unlock procedure. Otherwise, go to Step 4.
4. Tap Pattern.
5. In a continuous motion, trace an unlock pattern that connects at least four dots. Tap Continue.
6. To confirm that you know the pattern, trace it again and tap Confirm.
7. Enter a backup PIN containing at least four digits (to use if you forget the pattern). Tap Continue.
8. To confirm that you know the PIN, reenter it and tap OK.
9. The Lock Screen reappears, displaying your new security method. Review the options in the Secured with Pattern section of the screen (as explained later in this section). See “Setting Lock Screen Options” for instructions.
Setting a Lock PIN
A PIN is a number consisting of four or more digits that you enter on the onscreen keyboard to unlock the phone.
1. As explained in the beginning of this section, open Settings and navigate to the Lock Screen.
2. Tap Screen Lock.
Current Lock Method
If a secure screen lock (PIN, password, or pattern) is currently in use, you’ll be asked to perform the unlock procedure before continuing.
3. Tap PIN.
4. Use the keyboard to enter a PIN of four or more digits. Tap Continue.
Oops!
If you make a mistake while entering your PIN, you can tap the Delete key to backspace over the incorrect character(s).
5. To confirm that you know the PIN, enter it again and tap OK.
6. The Lock Screen reappears, displaying your new security method. Review the options in the Secured with PIN section of the screen (as explained later in this section). See “Setting Lock Screen Options” for instructions.
Setting a Lock Password
A password is a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters that you enter on the onscreen keyboard to unlock the phone.
1. As explained in the beginning of this section, open Settings and navigate to the Lock Screen.
2. Tap Screen Lock.
Current Lock Method
If a secure screen lock (PIN, password, or pattern) is currently in use, you’ll be asked to perform the unlock procedure before continuing.
3. Tap Password.
4. Use the keyboard to enter a password containing at least four characters. Tap Continue.
Letter Case Counts
If your password contains letters, be aware that letter case counts. Knot, knot, and KNOT are considered different passwords.
5. Confirm the password by entering it again and tap OK.
6. The Lock Screen reappears, displaying your new security method. Review the options in the Secured with Password section of the screen (as explained later in this section). See “Setting Lock Screen Options” for instructions.
Enabling Face Unlock
Face Unlock uses the front-facing camera and facial recognition to determine whether you or someone else is attempting to unlock the phone.
1. As explained in the beginning of this section, open Settings and navigate to the Lock Screen.
2. Tap Screen Lock.
Current Lock Method
If a secure screen lock (PIN, password, or pattern) is currently in use, you’ll be asked to perform the unlock procedure before continuing.
3. Tap Face Unlock.
4. Read the three informational screens (Face Unlock, About Face Unlock, and Set Up Face Unlock). Tap Next, Set It Up, and Continue, respectively.
Face and Voice
If desired, you can choose Face and Voice to augment the facial recognition by adding voice recognition. Each time the phone is locked and it recognizes your face, you’ll be prompted to say the unlock phrase.
5. Hold the camera level with your face. When your face is successfully captured, the oval of dots turns green.
6. The Face Captured screen appears. Tap Continue.
7. Tap Pattern or PIN to create an alternative unlock method that will be used in instances when your face isn’t recognized. (See “Setting a Lock Pattern” or “Setting a Lock PIN” earlier in this section for instructions.) Tap OK to dismiss the final screen.
8. The Lock Screen reappears, displaying your new security method. Review the options in the Face Unlock Options section of the screen (as explained later in this section). See “Setting Lock Screen Options” for instructions.
Improve Facial Recognition
You can improve recognition by taking additional photos while varying the lighting, facial expression, and camera angle. See the explanation for the Improve Facial Recognition option in “Setting Lock Screen Options,” later in this chapter.
Setting a Non-Secure Unlock Method
If security isn’t an issue for you, you can select Swipe to simply hide the screen or None to dispense with the lock screen altogether.
1. As explained in the beginning of this section, open Settings and navigate to the Lock Screen.
2. Tap Screen Lock.
Current Lock Method
If a secure screen lock (PIN, password, or pattern) is currently in use, you’ll be asked to perform the unlock procedure before continuing.
3. Tap to select one of these screen lock methods:
• Swipe. This is the default screen locking method. When restoring from a dark display, the lock screen wallpaper appears. Dismiss it by swiping in any direction.
• None. Select None to make the screen turn black following a screen timeout. When restored, the most recent screen immediately displays.
Setting Lock Screen Options
With the exception of None, each screen locking method has options that you can set. To view or change these options, open Settings, select the My Device tab, and tap Lock Screen.
In alphabetical order, these are the options and the locking method(s) to which each option applies:
• Help Text (Swipe). When enabled, text appears on the lock screen that explains how to unlock it.
• Improve Facial Recognition (Face Unlock). Snap additional photos of yourself with different expressions, lighting, and so on to improve the phone’s ability to recognize you.
• Lock Screen Widgets (Face Unlock, Password, Pattern, PIN, Swipe). You can optionally display any combination of the current time, date, and a custom text string on the lock screen. Tap Clock to display only the clock and date or tap Personal Message to display a text string.
To edit, replace, or delete the Personal Message, tap Edit Personal Information, edit the message text, and set the text color, highlighting, and font by tapping icons. You can set the color of text or highlighting by tapping a color swatch or by dragging in the color picker. (The font size adjusts automatically to accommodate the Personal Message text string.) If desired, you can remove the date and/or time by clearing their check boxes. When you finish, tap Save.
• Make Pattern Visible (Face Unlock, Pattern). When enabled, the traced pattern displays. When disabled, the traced pattern is hidden to prevent others from seeing it.
• Multiple Widgets (Swipe). When this option is checked, you can enable the Favorite Apps or Camera setting (found within the Lock Screen Widgets option). If you unlock the phone by swiping from right to left near the top of the screen, a palette of your favorite apps appears or the Camera app launches.
Editing the Favorite Apps Palette
To add an app to the palette, tap an Add App icon, and then select the app from the list of all installed apps. To remove an app from the palette, tap the Edit icon, and then tap the app that you want to remove.
• Presence Check (Face Unlock). To ensure that someone isn’t attempting to unlock your phone by using a photo of your face, a request to Blink Now is added to the recognition process.
• Secured Lock Time (Face Unlock, Password, Pattern, PIN). This setting is what makes it practical to apply a secure locking method. In prior versions of Android, you were requested to perform an unlock every time the lock screen appeared. The Secured Lock Time is the length of inactivity (in seconds or minutes) before you’re asked to perform your unlocking procedure. If less time has passed, you can clear the lock screen with a simple swipe.
• Shortcuts (Swipe). Shortcuts to your five favorite apps can be displayed across the bottom of the screen. Drag the slider to the On position to enable this feature. To replace a shortcut, tap its icon. To delete a shortcut, press and drag it onto the trash can. To change the order of the shortcuts, press and drag the shortcut to a new position. When this option is enabled, you can launch an app from the lock screen by swiping its shortcut upward.
• Unlock Effect (Swipe). Specify the visual effect that occurs whenever your finger approaches or touches the lock screen.
• Wake Up in Lock Screen and Set Wake-Up Command (Swipe). When Wake Up in Lock Screen is checked, you can speak a wake-up phrase (such as unlock or clear) to clear the lock screen. To set the phrase, tap Set Wake-Up Command; tap an unassigned Wake-Up Function (1, 2, 3, or 4); tap Unlock; and record the phrase by repeating it four times.
Do More Than Clear the Lock Screen
In addition to assigning Unlock as one of the Wake-Up Functions, you can use the remaining three to perform other functions from the lock screen, such as playing music, opening the camera, or checking for missed messages.
Showing/Hiding Passwords and PINs
1. On the Home screen, tap Apps and then Settings, select the More tab, and tap Security.
2. In the Passwords section of the Security screen, remove or add the Make Passwords Visible check mark.
Unlocking the Lock Screen
The manner of clearing the lock screen depends on whether you’ve set a secure or unsecure locking method. When the lock screen is cleared, it reveals the Home screen or whatever you were doing when the screen darkened—working in Email, for example.
• Swipe. Using your finger, swipe the lock screen in any direction.
• Pattern. Trace your unlock pattern, connecting dots in the correct sequence. Don’t lift your finger from the screen until you complete the pattern.
• PIN. Using the keyboard, enter your PIN and tap OK. If you make a mistake while entering the PIN, tap the Delete key to backspace over the incorrect character(s).
• Password. Using the keyboard, enter your password and tap Done. As previously noted, if the password contains letters, make sure that you use the correct letter case for each one. If you make a mistake while entering the password, tap the Delete key to backspace over the incorrect character(s).
• Face Unlock. Hold the phone at eye level, parallel to your face. If Face Unlock determines that it’s you, the screen unlocks. Otherwise, it requests the backup PIN or pattern that you designated.
>>>Go Further: If at First You Don’t Succeed...
>>>Go Further: Heightened Security
• Review the Security section of Settings. (Open Settings, select the More tab, and tap Security.) Options enable you to encrypt the device and external memory card, lock the SIM card with a PIN, and verify apps to prevent installing known malware.
• Consider installing an antivirus app, such as Antivirus Security (AVG Mobile Technologies) or Norton Security Antivirus (NortonMobile). Both are available from the Google Play Store and are designed to protect the phone from viruses, malware, and theft.
• Corporate users can install/enable Samsung KNOX, a business security solution for the Galaxy S 4.
• When you download a new app from the Play Store, a list of permissions appears. (Permissions are activities that the app is requesting your permission to perform whenever it’s active.) If you don’t want to grant these permissions, don’t download the app.
