You aren’t a terrorist, but still want to keep your phone safe from prying eyes, here’s what you can do now to make it harder for someone to break into your iPhone or iPad.
1) STEP ONE – Enable self-destruct mode after 10 failed passcode attempts wiping your phone clean
Set your iPhone to automatically erase all data after 10 failed passcode attempts (Settings > Face ID & Passcode > turn on Erase Data).
2) STEP TWO – Pick a better passcode
- GOOD – Turn on passcode if off on your device. Until iOS recently released in new Apple devices, a 4 digit passcode was the norm in previously sold devices.
- BETTER – (recommended) Change to a 6 digit passcode making it more difficult to guess
- EVEN BETTER – Change to a mix of 6 character passcode with numbers and letters. Apple estimates it would take 5 years to hack with a mix of 6 numbers and lowercase letters.
- BEST -change to an 11 character passcode could take as long as 253 for it to be guessed. (Numbers in passcode are random and unreasonably hard to remember for most people)
HOW YOUR PHONE HELPS SLOW DOWN INTRUDERS by increasing delays between failed passcode attempts:
- 1-4 attempts: no delay
- 5 attempts: 1 minute
- 6 attempts: 5 minutes
- 7-8 attempts: 15 minutes
- 9 attempts: 1 hour
3) STEP THREE: Turn on Find my iPhone feature so that you can remotely wipe every detail of your life from a lost or stolen iPhone or iPad.
3 comments
How do you enter alpha numeric passcode on IPHONE
Step 1/ Go to Settings> Touch ID & Passcode. On devices without Touch ID, go to Settings> Passcode. If you have an iPhone X, go to Settings> Face ID & Passcode.
Step 2/ Tap Passcode Options to switch to a custom alphanumeric code.
Enter your passcode again to confirm it and activate it.
Hi Kurt – love seeing you on Fox & Friends!!
My wife’s iPhone 8 Plus email is jammed with junk – please help. Thanks! Dave