The NSA Says You Need to Reboot Your Mobile Device

November 8, 2024

When did you last turn your mobile device off and on again?

While any IT provider worth their salt would be the first to tell you that this is troubleshooting 101, another source also recommends a quick reboot every so often: the National Security Agency.

Let’s explore why the NSA shared this advice and what difference following it can make.

The Explosion of Mobile Devices Inspired the NSA to Take Action

It isn’t exactly a secret that mobile devices have quickly become ubiquitous in modern life. They serve a purpose at work, home, and everywhere in between, helping make almost everything we do more accessible or more convenient to some degree.

At the same time, however, this ubiquity gives hackers and scammers no shortage of opportunity. Pair that with the fact that most users are more concerned with convenience than with the security precautions they should be taking, and this combination creates an environment that demands a simpler, more straightforward approach to security.

This is why, in 2020, the NSA released a guide to mobile device security best practices.

This Guide Recommends, Among Other Things, That Users “Power the Device Off and On Weekly”

Among an assortment of essential security recommendations, the command to reboot periodically is right there in black and white… but why?

While weekly reboots aren’t strictly necessary, per se, they help protect a device from non-persistent malware. This malware will not survive a device reboot, and there is no shortage of it nowadays. So, while reboots are far from the security panacea we all wish for, they have been shown to reduce vulnerability to some degree.

It is also worth mentioning that the occasional reboot can help boost a device's performance by maintaining the battery and assisting its connectivity.

So, Give Your Devices a Break Now and Then for Better Performance

For more technology advice, best practices, and support, call First Column IT at (571) 470-5594.

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