Smartphones are getting smarter every day, but they’re also becoming easy targets for hackers and malware. A hacker can create lot more problems in a smartphone than in a PC, as a smartphone contains personal data, numerous contact numbers and much more sensitive information.

Lookout has partnered with FCC (News - Alert) to publish the Smartphone Security Checker, a checklist to assist smartphone users in keeping their mobile devices safe.

The report stated that nearly four in 10 users explored an unsafe link in 2012. Over 18 million Android (News - Alert) users all over the world are expected to face malware over the course of 2012 and 2013, making mobile device protection more important than ever.

The report suggests various measures such as setting pins and passwords, not modifying a smartphone’s security settings, installing apps only from trusted sources, deploying security apps that enable remote location and wiping, and accepting updates and patches to the OS of the smartphones.

Recently, security firm McAfee showed us just how easy it is for a professional hacker to hack a smartphone. There is a lack of good security applications available for smartphones as well.

“We’ve unmistakably transitioned into a mobile era where we rely on our phones and tablets for countless aspects of our everyday lives. A secure mobile experience is a critical factor in determining if people will trust their phones and use them to the fullest potential. It’s great that both the government and private sectors are working together to solve mobile security challenges for the benefit of people everywhere,” said John Hering, CEO and co-founder of Lookout.

Recently, the company published its 2013 Mobile Threat Predictions, a forecast that pinpoints mobile threats users and companies may face in the coming year. These predictions are based on Lookout's Mobile Threat Network, which consists of threat data assembled from more than one million apps and millions of devices all over the world.

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