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Do we have to turn off bluetooth when we're not using it?

Do we have to turn off bluetooth when we’re not using it?

Bluetooth is a technology that accompanies us every day through different devices such as smartphones, tablets, speakers, headphones, watches … that allows them to link together and benefit from their services. It’s many times Leave it enabledand it is a practice that, although widely used, we must have a series of considerations when we are not using it.

Do not leave bluetooth on for these reasons

Technology is advancing very quickly. One result of this is that Advice or fact? What we thought we knew about a particular technology isn’t as true as it was a few years ago. Some time ago we saw him with some tips for extending your smartphone battery.

Tip, sometimes, we’d fall back on a time when the batteries were different. The same goes for another common tip, the one that says that communication is always a good thing. leave activated The Bluetooth function in our devices works…but that’s not always the best really.

Nor; The truth is that it is not a good idea to activate Bluetooth when we are not using it or when we are not connected to it. This is for no other reason than because we can be more vulnerable than other times when we have, say, mobile data open. But what do we have with it?

You may be more at risk

As you know, what it does is connect different devices through a coil radio frequency link In the 2.4GHz band And as you can imagine, it sends data constantly, and for this main reason it is not a good idea to leave it running permanently.

These connections are so standardized that they are so useful on a daily basis that once activated they are not deactivated again for a long time. As WiFi or 4G and 5G connections may not quite be, but in Bluetooth, the truth is that once the connection is on, it’s later Always on.

It may seem that keeping the mobile device Bluetooth always on does not pose any kind of problem for a smartphone, but the truth is that any cybercriminal can take advantage of this for data theft Or even much worse.

double bluetooth

This is why we say that disabling it reduces the remote attack surface for devices and can also prevent you from inadvertently connecting to unknown Bluetooth devices and services. or what is the same; It should only be enabled when actively using it.

It is best to enable it only when actively using it

Otherwise, this wireless connection can be the main way for hackers to enter our mobile phone. They seek to intercept some of the messages we send that contain secret information To later infiltrate our private accounts.

In addition to changing the data we send to impersonate and replace identity. Below we show you what are the different risks that affect Bluetooth connectivity and the measures you should take to protect yourself.

  • blue bugging. These types of attacks are the most dangerous and exploit “bugs” in identifying the device to gain full control over it. The goals of the attackers are varied, from electronic espionage to data theft and virus spread to the creation of botnets.
  • man in the middle of the attack. One of the main risks of Bluetooth operation is cyber attacks, like the well-known Man-in-the-Middle, which is a classic in terms of threats to communications. It consists of an attacker who intercepts the communication between two devices, allowing them to read what is being sent and even modify that data.
  • blue baiting. Another danger blue baiting, which consists of massive sending of spam between Bluetooth-connected devices. In this case, the attacker uses the system protocol to send spam to the victim through a vCard (a personal electronic card), a note or a contact. Usually the device name itself is used as spam to be more effective.

As you can see, it is better to disable bluetooth Once you don’t use it. We may have the advantage of better or faster communication with other devices, but this has a lot less weight if we take into account the fact that it poses a risk to the information stored on the device itself.