Phones, tablets and the home network
Phones and tablets are built differently from desktop computers: apps are separated from one another, and the official stores check what they distribute. For most people that means security software on a phone is optional rather than necessary. The settings that matter more are the ones that cost nothing — automatic updates, a screen lock, a strong password on the router, and care about what is installed.
Does my phone need security software?
Short answer: for most people who install apps only from the official store and keep the device updated, no.
Why phones are a different case
On a phone, each app runs in its own compartment and must ask permission before reaching your photographs, contacts, microphone or location. That design does more to limit damage than any scanner can. It also limits what a security app can see: on one platform in particular, a security app cannot inspect other apps, because the same separation that protects you applies to it. That is worth knowing before paying for something on the expectation that it works the way a desktop product does.
The risk that remains is mostly about permissions and installation sources. An app installed from outside the official store, or a profile accepted at someone else's prompting, sits outside the arrangements that make the platform safe. Permissions granted carelessly — a torch app with access to contacts — are the other common opening.
What to try first, at no cost
- Turn on automatic updates for the operating system and for apps.
- Set a passcode or biometric lock, and a short automatic lock time.
- Review app permissions and withdraw any that an app has no reason to need.
- Remove apps you no longer use; each one is a thing to keep updated.
- Install only from the official store unless you have a specific, understood reason not to.
When to ask for official help
The Australian Cyber Security Centre publishes guidance for securing personal devices, written for people without a technical background, and it is the sensible reference point before buying anything.
Where a paid product may or may not help
Where a paid mobile product can add something is in web filtering, in warning about addresses in messages, and in giving a household one subscription across computers and phones. Confirm with the vendor what the mobile component actually does on your platform in Australia, because it differs between platforms.
The battery drains and data use jumped. Is something wrong?
Short answer: usually an app or a setting, and often simply the age of the battery. Both are measurable from the phone's own settings in a couple of minutes.
Likely causes
Batteries lose capacity steadily with use, and a phone two or three years old genuinely holds less charge than it did. Beyond that, the usual explanations are an app that has started running in the background, automatic backup of a large photograph library, video playing on the mobile connection rather than Wi-Fi, or a weak signal, which makes the phone work much harder to stay connected. A sudden jump in data without a matching change in habits deserves a look at the per-app figures.
What to try first, at no cost
Both major platforms show battery use and data use broken down by app, with a date range. Sort by usage and see whether the top entry makes sense. If an unfamiliar app appears, look at when it was installed and what permissions it holds, and remove it if you cannot account for it. Check whether automatic backup is set to use mobile data, which is a frequent cause of unexpected bills. Both platforms also include a battery health reading, which settles the question of age.
When to ask for official help
If your bill shows charges you cannot explain after checking per-app data, raise it with your carrier first. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission publishes information about consumer rights in relation to telecommunications services if the carrier's answer does not resolve it.
Where a paid product may or may not help
Security software does not extend battery life, and apps that promise to do so have a poor record. This symptom is best treated as a settings and hardware question.
Is public Wi-Fi in a café or airport safe to use?
Short answer: for ordinary browsing, yes, in a way that was not true a decade ago — because almost all traffic is now encrypted between your device and the site.
What changed, and what did not
The old advice assumed that anyone on the same network could read what you were doing. Today the overwhelming majority of websites use an encrypted connection, which means someone else on the café network can see that you connected to a site but not what you did there. What remains is more limited: a network operator can see which sites you visit, a fake network can be set up with a plausible name, and a page asking you to sign in to something while connected to an unfamiliar network deserves a second thought.
A practical substitute
Where the connection matters and you are unsure of the network, using your phone's own mobile data — directly or by sharing it with a laptop — removes the question entirely and usually costs nothing beyond data you already pay for.
What to try first, at no cost
Check that the address bar shows a secure connection before signing in to anything. Turn off automatic connection to open networks so your device does not join one you have never chosen. Decline any prompt to install a certificate or profile in order to use a network; legitimate public networks do not need that. Switch off file sharing when you are on a network you do not control.
When to ask for official help
Guidance on using public networks, including what the residual risks genuinely are, is published by the Australian Cyber Security Centre.
Where a paid product may or may not help
A virtual private network, sold separately or bundled into some security subscriptions, moves the question of who can see your traffic from the café operator to the service provider. That is a genuine change but not an automatic improvement, and it depends entirely on the provider. Treat claims about complete privacy with scepticism, from any vendor.
What should I change on my home router?
Short answer: the administrator password, the Wi-Fi password if it is still the one printed on the sticker and has been shared widely, and the automatic update setting if there is one.
Why the router is worth ten minutes
Every device in the house connects through the router, which makes it the one piece of equipment where a small amount of attention goes a long way. Many routers still ship with a default administrator password, and a device on the network could reach the settings page using it. Older routers may also be running firmware that has not been updated since installation, and some models stop receiving updates entirely after a few years.
What to try first, at no cost
- Sign in to the router's settings page using the address printed on the device, and change the administrator password to something unique.
- Check the Wi-Fi security setting and use the most recent option the router and your devices both support.
- Look for a firmware update option and enable automatic updates if the model offers them.
- Turn off remote administration from the internet unless you specifically need it.
- Set up the guest network for visitors and for devices that only need internet access, keeping them apart from your computers.
When to ask for official help
If the router was supplied by your internet provider, their support team can confirm which settings they manage and which you control. Several providers update supplied equipment themselves, in which case the firmware question is already handled.
Where a paid product may or may not help
Security software installed on a computer does not configure the router. Some subscriptions include a network scan that lists connected devices, which is mildly useful, but the settings above are free and matter more.
How do I set up a child's device sensibly?
Short answer: use the family controls built into the platform you already have, agree the rules out loud, and treat classification ratings as a starting point for a conversation rather than a setting to apply once.
What the built-in tools cover
Both major platforms include family controls at no extra cost: an age-appropriate content setting, approval required for downloads and purchases, screen time limits, and a way for a parent to see what has been installed. Setting these up on the account rather than on the device means they follow the child across devices. The most important of them is purchase approval, because in-app purchasing is where unexpected spending happens.
Games sold in Australia carry a classification. The Australian Classification Board publishes the classification given to a title and the consumer advice that goes with it, which is the authoritative place to check rather than relying on a store listing. Where a game includes paid randomised items, that is worth discussing explicitly with an older child; the classification information is the right reference for what a title contains.
What to try first, at no cost
- Create a child account rather than sharing an adult one, so the controls have something to attach to.
- Turn on approval for installations and for all purchases, including those inside apps.
- Remove stored payment details from the device, which removes most accidental spending.
- Agree where devices are used and when they are put away, and write it down.
- Make it clear that telling an adult about something upsetting never results in the device being taken away.
When to ask for official help
The eSafety Commissioner is Australia's dedicated online safety body, with guidance for parents and carers and a complaints process covering cyberbullying of children, image-based abuse and seriously harmful content.
Where a paid product may or may not help
Some security subscriptions include parental control components. They can add web filtering across a household, which the platform tools do less comprehensively. They do not replace the conversation, and a child who wants to work around a filter generally can.
My device no longer gets updates. Does that matter?
Short answer: yes, and more than most other things on this site, because unpatched faults are the opening that most widely used attacks depend on.
What stopping updates means
When a manufacturer ends support, newly discovered faults in that version are not fixed. The device keeps working, and nothing visible changes, which is precisely why the risk accumulates quietly. It matters most on devices used for banking, email and anything holding personal information, and least on a device used only for watching video on a home network.
What to try first, at no cost
Check whether the device really is out of support; manufacturers publish end-of-support dates, and some older models receive security updates for longer than feature updates. If it is out of support, change what you use it for rather than necessarily replacing it: move banking and email to a supported device, remove stored passwords and payment details, and keep the old device on the guest network. On computers, an older machine can often be given several more supported years by installing a currently maintained operating system, which costs nothing but time.
What to watch out for
- Software offering to keep an unsupported system secure. No third party can patch faults in an operating system it did not write.
- Advertisements framed as update notices. Updates come from the device's own settings, not from a web page.
- Second-hand devices that are already out of support at the time of purchase.
When to ask for official help
The Australian Cyber Security Centre's guidance at cyber.gov.au covers updating devices and what to do when support ends, and is written for people making exactly this decision.
Where a paid product may or may not help
A security subscription reduces exposure on an unsupported device but cannot close the underlying faults, so it is a partial measure rather than a solution. Spending the same money toward a supported device generally buys more. If an interim measure is what you want while planning a replacement, that is a defensible reason to subscribe — read the vendor's current terms, including the renewal arrangement, before you do. Visit the Norton AntiVirus Plus websitePaid affiliate link. A subscription bought after following it earns SteadyScope a commission from the affiliate network that operates the link, at no additional cost to you.