Check the settings of your contactless payments
Depending on your country of residency and your bank, Apple provides you with the option of contactless payments. In a physical shop, you can conveniently pay using your Apple device that has the necessary information about your payment card stored in its digital wallet.
Carefully go through the settings, as payments lower than a certain amount require no authentication. This means that NFC (near field communication) technology can be abused by criminals to steal smaller amounts of money, should they get within NFC range of your device – a distance the criminals control with the transmitting power of their NFC readers.
Which apps to uninstall and which to avoid?
Whenever you go to install something, think twice about if you really need it. Very often, people forget about all the clutter they download and then they don’t update it or check permissions of those apps.
You should be especially cautious downloading a third-party keyboard app, which will be able to access all information that you type into your iOS device, including passwords. Also avoid the installation of any self-signed certificates, as the vast majority of users doesn’t need them anyway.
If you must install an app for some one-off event, such as a conference or concert, remember to uninstall it once the event is over.
How to safely shop and use internet banking on your iOS device
If you use the internet browser on your iOS device that is connected to an unknown free Wi-Fi hotspot, reconsider shopping, online banking, or visiting any website that requires you to log in. If the hotspot has weak security, cybercrooks could eavesdrop on everything you type or input into your browser. This includes eavesdropping on your passwords, data related to your payment card or other sensitive private information. Instead, turn off Wi-Fi and use cellular data or use the vendor's official app to shop instead, ensuring it's been downloaded through Apple's App Store.
Apps developed by online shops, banks or other online services present a safer alternative. They create a protected path that allows for safer communication between your device and their servers. There is still the possibility that an official app might suffer from a security vulnerability, however surfing on an unsecured hotspot while using an internet browser is much riskier.
For increased security of your online surfing while using an internet browser, use a reliable and trustworthy VPN. It creates an additional layer of protection even for apps.
Regularly reboot your device
It can be difficult for attackers to gain persistence on your iPhone or iPad, so in some cases they might try to attack your device with something called an in-memory payload. These types of cyberattacks can’t persist on your device after a restart, so regular reboots can offer you an additional level of protection, especially after using an untrusted Wi-Fi.
Cyberthreats can also move from one device to another using the oldest way – through a cable. That’s why you should not connect your iOS device to anything unknown. When connecting your iOS device to your computer, you might need to unlock your device so that you can access the data on your iPhone or iPad through your computer. This is to protect the contents of your iOS device.
But how do you protect your computer in case somebody wants to infect it through a cable-connected mobile device? On a computer protected with an ESET product, you can block the connection of these devices through the device control function, by blocking portable devices.