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[ Secure Apple ID Against iPhone Theft | easthighNerd ]
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Secure Apple ID Against iPhone Theft
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<h1 id="secure-apple-id-against-iphone-theft">Secure Apple ID Against
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iPhone Theft</h1>
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<p>After acquiring my first iPhone, I stumbled across a video on YouTube
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by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) <a href="#sources">[1]</a> about how
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thieves are steeling peoples iPhones and, with just the victim's
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passcode, completely and permanently locking victims out of their Apple
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account (also detailed in another video <a href="#sources">[2]</a> by
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the WSJ)</p>
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<p>Both videos <a href="#sources">[1]</a><a href="#sources">[2]</a>, as
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well as a video by Techlore <a href="#sources">[3]</a> made (at least
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seemingly) in response to the WSJ's reporting, provide some guidance on
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what you can do to help protect yourself against something like his
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happening</p>
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<p>In this blog post of mine, I'm really just gonna be outlining in a
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readable format, what was suggested by both the WSJ <a
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href="#sources">[1]</a><a href="#sources">[2]</a> and Techlore <a
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href="#sources">[3]</a> on what can be done to help protect against
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something like this happening to you if your iPhone does get stolen</p>
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<h2 id="use-a-privacy-screen-protector">Use a Privacy Screen
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Protector</h2>
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<p>This one's kind of a low hanging fruit, but something as simple as
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using a privacy screen protector can help, simply because one won't be
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able to see what is on your screen if viewing your device from the
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side</p>
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<p>I got myself <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CCYM3S2L/">this
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one</a> off of Amazon, which seems to be a somewhat popular brand of
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screen protectors for iPhone (they have both normal and privacy screen
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protectors for iPhone form at least the XR up to the 15 series)</p>
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<h2 id="use-longer-more-complex-passcodes">Use Longer, More Complex
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Passcodes</h2>
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<p>Using a complex passcode goes a long way, especially if it's an
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alpha-numeric passcode (where both numbers and letters are used)</p>
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<p>Something like <code>[111111]</code> or <code>[123456]</code> is
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pretty easy to guess, but having a passcode like <code>[727873]</code>,
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or even better, something like
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<code>[I 4m 7h3 m057 1337 h4x0r 3v3r!]</code> will improve the security
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of your device</p>
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<p>And if typing out something like the alpha-numeric passcode I made up
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above every time you want to unlock your phone seems like a gigantic
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pain in the rear, you always have the option to</p>
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<h2 id="use-biometric-unlock-options">Use Biometric Unlock Options</h2>
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<p>Setting up either Face ID (on iPhone X and newer) or Touch ID (on
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iPhone 5-8, and iPhone SE (up to at least Gen II)), in combination with
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a strong passcode, will secure your device even further</p>
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<p>With biometric unlocking, i.e. via Face ID, you won't need to enter
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your passcode every time you want to unlock your device, so you won't be
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inconvenienced by having a strong passcode, and the more you use it, the
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less likely a potential thief will be able to discover your iPhone's
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passcode</p>
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<h2 id="create-a-recovery-key">Create a Recovery Key</h2>
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<p>One of the things the aforementioned videos <a
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href="#sources">[1]</a><a href="#sources">[2]</a> thieves do is they
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create a recovery key for your Apple ID, which prevents you from using
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other account recovery options, and Apple from being able to do anything
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to help you per their own guidelines</p>
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<p>So with that in mind, I STRONGLY recommend creating one yourself as
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soon as possible, even without concern for this type of thing happening,
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and storing it in someplace safe THAT IS NOT ON YOUR IPHONE</p>
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<p>Plus, as explained in the Techlore video <a href="#sources">[3]</a>,
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this is a required step for enabling iCloud Advance Data Protection
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anyways, so if that's something that you have an interest in doing at
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some point, you'll already be ahead of the game there</p>
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<p>To do this:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>1: Open [Settings]</li>
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<li>2: Tap on your Apple ID at the top of the Settings app</li>
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<li>3: Tap [Sign-In & Security]</li>
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<li>4: Tap [Account Recovery]</li>
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<li>5: Tap [Recovery Key]</li>
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<li>6: Enable [Recovery Key]</li>
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</ul>
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<p>It will then display a recovery key, which you'll want to jot down,
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as the next screen will have you input it</p>
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<p>Remember to store it somewhere safe, and off of your iPhone, lest you
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may be screwed in the future</p>
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<p>Here's the link to
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<a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208072/" class="external_link" target="_blank">Apple's
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support page</a> regarding setting up a recovery key, should you wish to
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view it</p>
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<h2
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id="use-screen-time-to-prevent-changing-your-passcode-or-apple-id-password">Use
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Screen Time to Prevent Changing Your Passcode or Apple ID Password</h2>
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<p>As outlined in Techlore's video <a href="#sources">[3]</a>, and
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mentioned in one of WSJ's videos about this attack <a
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href="#sources">[2]</a>, you can make use of the Screen Time feature of
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the iPhone to lockdown the ability to change the device's passcode, as
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well as your Apple ID's password</p>
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<p>To do this:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>1: Open [Settings]</li>
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<li>2: Tap [Screen Time]</li>
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<li>3: Tap [Content & Privacy Restrictions]</li>
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<li>4: Enable [Content & Privacy Restrictions]</li>
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<li>5: Tap [Passcode Changes]</li>
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<li>6: Tap [Don't Allow]</li>
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<li>7: Tap [< Back]</li>
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<li>8: Tap [Account Changes]</li>
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<li>9: Tap [Don't Allow]</li>
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<li>10: Go back to the [Screen Time] section</li>
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<li>11: Tap [Change Screen Time Passcode]</li>
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</ul>
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<p>From there, it will have you set a four (4) digit passcode which will
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be required to make any changes to anything under [Content & Privacy
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Restrictions]</p>
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<p>When you are creating this passcode, be sure that you DO NOT MAKE IT
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THE SAME OR SIMILAR TO YOUR DEVICE'S PASSCODE</p>
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<h2 id="use-a-password-manager-other-than-icloud-keychain">Use a
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Password Manager Other than iCloud Keychain</h2>
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<p>First off, if you're using a password manager, congratulations!</p>
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<p>However, if you're using one properly, and that one is the one built
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into iCloud Keychain, then if you are locked out of your Apple ID,
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you're kinda screwed</p>
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<p>What I would suggest, as well as what Techlore suggested <a
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href="#sources">[3]</a>, is to use a separate password manager</p>
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<p>My personal recommendation would be
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<a href="https://bitwarden.com/" class="external_link" target="_blank">Bitwarden</a></p>
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<p>The Bitwarden app in iPhone can be used as your default autofill
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service, and can be unlocked via biometric, so you won't have to type in
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you (STRONG) master password every time you wish to access it</p>
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<p>As a plus, if you have Face ID unlock for Bitwarden turned on, it
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will mandate the vault's master password to unlock it if Face ID can't
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unlock it (y'know, like, if someone steals your iPhone)</p>
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<h2 id="wrapping-up">Wrapping Up</h2>
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<p>That's about all I've got for this one folks</p>
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<p>Some other things that were mentioned between the three videos <a
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href="#sources">[1]</a><a href="#sources">[2]</a><a
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href="#sources">[3]</a> were things like</p>
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<ul>
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<li>Using separate passcodes for sensitive apps (i.e. banking apps) when
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able, that are different and unrelated to your device's</li>
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<li>Not storing photos of sensitive documents (i.e. driver's license,
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tax documents) on your mobile device</li>
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<li>Not storing banking passwords a password manager (I do see this as a
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major plus for overall security, however I personally find it to be too
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big of a hit to convenience, so you do you on this one)</li>
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</ul>
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<h3 id="sources">Sources</h3>
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<ol type="1">
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<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUYODQB_2wQ/" target="_blank" class="external_link">(YouTube)
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Apple’s iPhone Passcode Problem: Thieves Can Ruin Your Entire Digital
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Life in Minutes | WSJ</a></li>
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<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlQFyVF8oW0/" target="_blank" class="external_link">(YouTube)
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How to Prevent iPhone Thieves From Stealing Your Apple ID–And Your Money
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| WSJ Tech News Briefing</a></li>
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<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25wG173PL3U/" target="_blank" class="external_link">(YouTube)
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Stop iPhone Data Thefts Now!</a></li>
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</ol>
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<!-- Source links -->
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<hr>
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<p>
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<img src="/res/img/badges/by-sa.svg" class="cc_badge">
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<br>
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CC BY-SA 4.0
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</p>
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<p>
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This work is licensed under a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" class="external_link" target="_blank">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>
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<img src="/res/img/explorer-bar-bottom.jpg" width="100%" height="23px">
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