If you think about it, the most important device we own is our cell phone. Our entire life has been compressed and organized into that one gadget, including our financial records, contact information for all our friends and family, and private pictures and video. It's what we use to conduct our personal as well as professional life.

So why is our mobile phone the one device that's probably the least secure? We carry it out into the world wherever we go. And it's something every one of us has misplaced at least once.

Less than half of consumers secure their smartphones with key locks or passwords, according to a study commissioned last March by the anti-virus company, AVG Technologies. And only 29 percent said they had considered installing an anti-virus program on their smartphone.

But if the News of the World phone-hacking scandal has taught us anything, it's that mobile phones are easy to break into. And once someone does, it can lead to ruin.

In the News of the World case, it wasn't hard for its reporters to hack into the mobile phones of celebrities and politicians. Apparently, reporters at the now-defunct newspaper posed as the original owners of the phone when they called up the carrier service and pretended to have forgotten their voicemail PIN number. Or they would access the voicemail by pressing the typical PIN number of "1234" that some carriers use as a default code that the owner failed to change after purchasing the phone.

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Keep your phone safe and hackers at bay

Here are some simple tips to help strengthen your phone's security and help mitigate hacker attacks.

Lock it • Password protect your phone or use the key lock. It may take an extra few seconds to use the phone each time, but it also adds a first layer of defense from hackers' access.

Cell number • Never list or post your cell phone number on forms such as applications for jobs or services. That's the first number hackers need to access a phone's more personal functions like the voicemail.

Firmware updates • Make sure your phone's operating system, also known as its firmware, is always up to date. Either turn on the auto-update feature or periodically check your phone's website to make sure you have the most current version. Often times, these updates will contain security patches.

Find-My-Phone feature • Check to see if your phone has a free "find-my-phone" feature that will help you locate your missing cell phone by remotely turning on its GPS receiver. This feature, available on iPhones and Windows 7-based phones, also allow you to remotely lock the phone with a password or even completely erase its contents if you think it's been stolen.

Beware of texts • Be aware of texts that lure you into giving away your credit card, phone number or other personal information. This usually leads to scams, malware or worse.

Don't save passwords • Try not to save your passwords on websites or apps that use a login and password. That will give anyone instant access to those services without having to use a password.

If you have a tech question for Vince, email it to him at ohmytech@sltrib.com, and he might use it for a future column. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ohmytech.