Easy ways to protect your phone

You'll be surprised how easy it is to mess up or even ruin your smart phone.

There are lots of things we do that can reduce our phones efficiency or even turn it into toast.

Here are some tips which may be helpful in protecting our cherished devices.

We use apps on our phone everyday, perhaps even all day long for some. Be careful with those apps.

Online security company, AVG Technologies warns that dating, weather and chat apps consume large amounts of data and battery storage.

If you listen to music, AVG notes Spotify is on the top of the list of apps that can have a negative impact on your phones performance.  They say that Facebook is a major culprit, even if the app is not open.

Every app we download potentially can harm our phones.

You may have noticed, when you download a new app, there is a long list of permissions that we should read carefully.  I plead guilty.  Most of the time I will just scroll down and press "accept."

Many of the more popular apps like Google Play,  iTunes, and on-line games will store your personal information.

Security experts suggest installing mobile security software.  The software will scan every app you download before it's installed.  Most of the mobile security softwares will also protect your phone from malware as you  search the web.

Now that the warm weather is here, please remember not to fry your phone.  It's very easy to forget that you left your precious possession in the car with the windows rolled up.

We need to stay hydrated in the hot weather but our phones don't.  Don't spill beverages on your phone and keep them away from water.

Finally, here's something lots of us do.  Don't overcharge your phone.  Charge it to 100 percent and unplug it.

Generally, overcharging the newer phones is no longer an issue.  The tech experts say it's still a good idea not to keep charging it when it's at full power.