In the wake of the Aussie iPhone Rickroller, I thought it’d be good to beat a dead horse and talk about security.

How can I keep my data protected? Here are 5 solid ways:

1. Don’t Jailbreak it.

Take comfort in the fact that Apple will wrap us iPhone users in its warm, corporate, black turtleneck embrace. “Resistance” to viruses is one of its trademarks as a company, so the last thing they want to do is tarnish that reputation by being overly lax when it comes to security.

Can a Jailbroken iPhone still be just as secure as a bona fide iPhone? Probably. But chances are, if you don’t know what a command line is, you’re not going to know to change the root password from its default. Likewise, you probably won’t be too proactive in ensuring you’ve taken the same proper routine security measures as any other System Admin would.

At the very least, educate yourself to properly cover your bases.

2. Passcode upon unlock.

“But do you know how much of a pain it is to enter a PIN every time I unlock my phone?”

Yes.

But do you know how valuable your information can be to a thieving opportunist? You need to determine how much your data is worth. Most of my data is already publicly available, so I don’t bother. But Joe Sixpack and his 7 year accumulation of ladies’ phone numbers and notes in his shiny new iBlackbook is a veritable goldmine to his fellow lackeys and enemies!

3. Keep it patched.

Duh.

4. Don’t use Autologins.

Twitter, Gmail, Etsy (its for my wife, I swear), and many other websites keep your login credentials cached so that you don’t have to reenter everything upon visit. While this may be convenient, it is decidedly inconvenient to have an obnoxious thief/friend/drunk friend Woot you 3 Roombas.

5. Its 2009, you all should know proper computer security by now.

The problem is, we still don’t see our phones/iPods as an extension of our laptop/desktop computers.

“Blah blah blah. I’m not stupid enough to keep any sensitive information on my phone! I just use it for junk mail, games, and por…. the internet in my pocket, oh and calling people. Screw security!”

That’s great! You can do anything you want with your phone. Hopefully your arrogance also means you don’t have many friends. Worms and other critters can propagate themselves through address books. This is just not a valid excuse to be negligent in terms of security.

As the great poet Robert Frost may or may not have said, let us all use this “wind of opportunity to air out our dirty underpants of neglected security”, and thus eliminate the revival of old memes.