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Samsung S23 Ultra: The New BlackBerry For Entrepreneurs, Leaders And Top Executives Keen On Data Security

BY Steve Biko Wafula · May 26, 2023 05:05 pm

KEY POINTS

Few of us think about this until it's too late. We never activate key functions to recover or track our phones in the event we lose them. This is why many people get hacked or blackmailed. This was a key process for me. Since a phone is my work tool, I need to know what am getting into.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

It’s vital to use strong passwords to protect your business. Experts recommend passwords with at least 15 characters. Mix lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers, and symbols. These types of passwords would take an estimated 14 billion years to decode, making them virtually uncrackable.

We all have passwords for one reason or another. I am always on the move and my phones are my work tools, meaning that I engage with my phones a lot hence the need to be careful should I lose them or should they be in the hands of my workmates. Passwords are common for all of us. But what are the dangers that lie therein with passwords?

It is quintessential to note that it is important to protect your phone password in the age of AI because recent studies show that AI can crack many passwords in less than a minute. This poses a significant risk to entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes. One of these platforms is PassGAN, which uses machine learning to create guesses. In a recent experiment, researchers from Home Security Heroes input millions of passwords from a leaked dataset into PassGAN.

Home Security Heroes wanted to see how quickly it could crack the codes. The results were revealing. 51% of common passwords were cracked in under a minute. PassGan even cracked seven-character passwords in less than six minutes.

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We are living in the Age of the AI Revolution as it happens. A lot is happening at the same time that we have no time to digest what is happening. As I upgrade my phones and laptop, one key thing that is bothering me is how to keep my passwords safe from intruders and from myself should I forget them in a moment of confusion. It’s vital to use strong passwords to protect your business. Experts recommend passwords with at least 15 characters. Mix lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers, and symbols. These types of passwords would take an estimated 14 billion years to decode, making them virtually uncrackable.

I have been wondering what phone to upgrade to. My current phones are a Blackberry Key II and an iPhone Xs. I have had them for more than 5 years and they have served me well. They are the ultimate workhorse gadgets for an entrepreneur in the media and manufacturing sectors. But as they say, change is as good as rest, it is time to change. It’s time to upgrade. But what can an entrepreneur like me upgrade to?

A friend recommended the Samsung S23 Ultra as the replacement for the Blackberry Key II and I was intrigued because knowing him, he wasn’t an Android person. He is particular with his data security and to date, he still uses BlackBerry Key II for emails only. Before we talk the price of the Samsung S23 Ultra, my concern was, how do I protect my data and my passwords and what would happen if I lost the phone, would my data be safe? Would the thief hack me? Would I be able to remotely control the phone and erase everything and make the phone useless to the thief? As an entrepreneur, we look at issues from the end backward.

The safety of my identity, data and phone is key in today’s age and especially Nairobi. So I asked him for his phone to try and lose the password and see what would happen. I needed this so that I can make up my mind if am buying the phone or not. I knew what would happen with the BlackBerry Key II. He agreed. We locked the phone and acted as if we had forgotten the password. It took us 3 hours to unlock the phone in a safe and secure manner. We learned what would happen If the phone was in the hands of a thief.

There are a few ways to unlock The Samsung Ultra S23 when you have forgotten your password. These are;

Use your Google account

If you have a Google account associated with your phone, you can use it to unlock your phone. To do this, follow these steps:

Enter your Google account email address and password.
Click on “Forgot password?”
Follow the instructions to reset your password.

This method is critical as you need to know your Google Account password and ensure that it is secure and you have a 2-factor authentication process for the same.

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Use Samsung Find My Mobile

If you have enabled Samsung Find My Mobile on your phone, you can use it to unlock your phone. To do this, follow these steps:

Go to the Samsung Find My Mobile website.
Sign in with your Samsung account.
Click on “Unlock my phone.”

Follow the instructions to unlock your phone. It is important to have a Samsung account as it gives you critical access to your phone at any time. Ensure that password is safe and secure. This is the method that we used and it worked. Meaning that if you plan yourself well and document securely your passwords, you can recover your phone or make it useless to a thief without a lot of stress.

Hard Factory reset your phone;

If you have tried all of the above methods and you are still unable to unlock your phone, you can factory reset your phone. This will erase all of the data on your phone, including your password. To factory reset your phone, follow these steps:

Turn off your phone.
Press and hold the power button and the volume down button at the same time.
When you see the Android logo, release the buttons.
Use the volume buttons to scroll down to “wipe data/factory reset” and press the power button to select it.
Use the volume buttons to scroll down to “Yes – delete all user data” and press the power button to select it.

Your phone will now factory reset. This process may take a few minutes. We tried this, especially after reading and watching videos online.

Once your phone has finished factory resetting, it will start up as a new phone. You will need to set it up again, including setting up a new password.

Important: Factory resetting your phone will erase all of the data on your phone, including your photos, videos, contacts, and apps. Make sure to back up your data before you factory reset your phone.

Few of us think about this until it’s too late. We never activate key functions to recover or track our phones in the event we lose them. This is why many people get hacked or blackmailed. This was a key process for me. Since a phone is my work tool, I need to know what am getting into. I was home and safe with BlackBerry because they redefined what data security is. Unfortunately, they forgot to read the times of today and now, they are no longer in business. Am keen to have a better replacement and from my test, I am definitely going to buy the Samsung S23 Ultra 512GB. If you value your work, then value your work tools. It is a better replacement for the Blackberry and I would recommend it to anyone who is an entrepreneur, who is self-employed, Politicians, business leaders, and CEOs, and any influencer or content creator who values what they do.

About Steve Biko Wafula

Steve Biko is the CEO OF Soko Directory and the founder of Hidalgo Group of Companies. Steve is currently developing his career in law, finance, entrepreneurship and digital consultancy; and has been implementing consultancy assignments for client organizations comprising of trainings besides capacity building in entrepreneurial matters. He can be reached on: +254 20 510 1124 or Email: info@sokodirectory.com