Domestic Violence Survivors Technology Safety Tips, what you need to know. Technologies like the computer, smartphones, and smart devices, have brought many benefits that make life easy and convenient. However, these devices can create an avenue for domestic violence perpetrators to execute their attacks. It may not be easy to tell if someone has tampered with your device or if these gadgets are being used against you. Devices like smartphones, laptops, desktop computers, televisions, or even your car can be used to track your whereabouts. Here are a few signs to look out for if you suspect that someone has bugged your device:
● Your device is behaving weirdly
● You haven’t been in full control of your device for some time
● You are receiving security notifications of someone trying to access your accounts
● Your abuser knows a lot of information that you don’t expect them to know, like where you were, whom you met, and so much more
● Your abuser encourages you to use a particular device wherever you go
Whenever you suspect that your device has been tampered with, take the following measures to safeguard yourself from tech-affiliated domestic violence:
Secure your Phone – Domestic Violence Survivors Technology Safety Tip
Today’s smartphones are designed with impressive security features, but someone can still tamper with them as long as they can gain physical access to them. If you set up the phone yourself and secured it with a strong password, you can assume that it is safe. However, if you didn’t set it up, your abuser could be using it to track you or tap your communications. If you suspect that your phone has been bugged, restore its factory settings to gain some reasonable integrity. However, Android phones may require you to flush the old operating system with a newer version.
Secure Your Computer – Domestic Violence Survivors Technology Safety Tip
Securing a computer is not as straightforward as securing a smartphone. Your abuser could have installed a keylogger on your desktop computer to monitor your communications or gain access to your accounts. A keylogger is a gadget that records your keystrokes as you type using your keyboard. As a result, they gain access to your sensitive information like passwords, addresses, or correspondences. To ensure that your desktop computer doesn’t have any keylogger installed, follow your keyboard’s cable up to the point where it connects to the computer. If you notice a tiny device that resembles a USB stick linking your keyboard cable to the computer, it could be a keylogger. Note that some advanced keyloggers can be fixed on the inside of your computer’s casing, which makes it difficult to spot.
Protect your Email Account – Domestic Violence Survivors Technology Safety Tip
Your email account is another possible point of attack. Safeguard your email account by setting up a strong password and two-factor authentication. Email services like Gmail have features for monitoring when and where your account was last logged in. You can review this activity log to see if someone is accessing your email. Additionally, set up a recovery email and phone number that only you or your trusted friends or family can access.
Ensure that Gadgets in your Home Can Be Trusted – Domestic Violence Survivors Technology Safety Tip
Most networked devices, especially those that come with surveillance features like microphones, cameras, or motion sensors, can be abused. These devices pose security risks, and you must ensure that you can trust them. Some devices have options for deactivating these surveillance features, but others are utterly complex to manage. You can engage the services of a tech expert to sweep your devices like TVs, refrigerators, and cars for bugs or GPS trackers. While at it, be careful as your abuser could be way ahead of your plans.
Use Secret USB Sticks – Domestic Violence Survivors Technology Safety Tip
Even if your device has been tampered with, you can still safely store your sensitive data using a secret USB stick with hidden partitions. If your abuser gains access to your USB stick, they may not see your files as the stick would appear broken.
Conclusion
Most domestic violence survivors often focus on securing online communications and activities from external sources only. However, some dangers often emanate internally – you could be living with the abuser in the same house. In such instances, you need to take further steps to safeguard your privacy, both online and offline.
Copyright 2019
Guest Author
Jack Warner is an accomplished cybersecurity expert with years of experience under his belt at TechWarn, a trusted digital agency to world-class cybersecurity companies. A passionate digital safety advocate himself, Jack frequently contributes to tech blogs and digital media sharing expert insights on cybersecurity and privacy tools.
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How do I reinstall Android OS and all default drivers in a mobile? | Quora. https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-reinstall-Android-OS-and-all-default-drivers-in-a-mobile
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