Did Black Friday or Cyber Monday Bring a New Device? Protect It.

This weekend marks the arrival of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the high holidays for those who live to find the best sale or deepest discount. While the thrill of the hunt is a big part of why they wait all year for this weekend, the reality is they can also find great deals on otherwise big-ticket items, including laptops, smartphones and tablets.

Considering the computing power you can get with even bargain systems on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, some observers are projecting great savings opportunities for consumers. So whether you’re receiving one of these high-tech goodies as a holiday present or you’ve fought the crowds for your discounted device, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind when getting a new device up and running.

While your new device should have the latest firmware already installed, it’s a good idea to confirm that it is current before you start using it. After all, changes are constantly being made to operating systems to improve performance, or to close vulnerabilities that might be exploited by viruses and ransomware attacks. Getting those installed as soon as possible is smart.

In addition to the operating system, you’ll probably also want to ensure the apps that you use most often are also up-to-date. These might include your email, messaging, and web browser.

To ensure you are always using the most current software, make sure your settings allow for automatic system updates. How you do that will depend on the device and operating system you are using.

Establishing passwords for your computer’s user profiles and PINs for smartphones and tablets can be an effective way to prevent someone from accessing your files, social media accounts and more. Most mobile devices have a default of a four-character PIN, which should be the minimum you use on your phone or tablet.

If you are keeping the four-character PIN, security experts suggest you do not rely on the pattern-style of lock screen, where you simply swipe your PIN in. Thieves can use the smudges on the glass to sometimes figure out how to unlock your device.

A more advanced facial recognition system was just introduced with the recently released iPhone X, that’s even better. And while a few news outlets had a good laugh when a son tricked his mom’s iPhone X, the truth is that their facial recognition safeguard is hard to fool for even well-funded, dedicated hackers.

You’ll also want to track your device in case it gets stolen. PCs running Windows 10, MacBooks, iPads, iPhones and Android devices all come with location tracking capabilities, but they have to be turned on before the device goes missing. Be sure to enable that feature when you take your new device out of the box.

Unless your new hardware is the first device you’ve ever owned, you likely have files, photos and apps on your old unit that you’d like to move to the new one. If you are upgrading to a new version of the same device, you may have a built-in option that can help you accomplish that move, such as using iCloud to move data from an old iPhone to a new one.

But iCloud won’t work if you’re moving to an Android device.

The majority of households have multiple devices on different platforms, so you’ll need a way to migrate photos from your iPad to a new Microsoft Surface Pro. That’s where Acronis True Image 2018 comes in handy. You can back up your current tablet, mobile device or laptop and restore the entire system to a new device quickly and easily ... and it doesn’t matter if you’ve changed from Android to iOS. Plus you can restore your laptop’s full image backup to a new system without a problem, so upgrading your hardware is simple.

Acronis also makes sure your entire family is protected, since a single license covers an unlimited number of mobile devices. So even if your entire family has a new tablet ordered by the end of Cyber Monday, they will all be covered.