Free Ringtone Risks and How to Avoid Them

To many people, a ringtone is more than a way to alert them of an incoming call. It is a statement of their personality. One may choose a ringtone that expresses his future ambitions, so that every time the phone goes off it reminds him off that goal. A ringtone can also express one’s feelings about another person or some inanimate cause. Irrespective of what statement a ringtone says about you, loading the right ringtone to your mobile phone has a number of risks associated with it.

First is the risk of data loss. There are many ways of loading free ringtones onto your phone. There are those who simply copy the ringtone into the memory card of their mobile phone. Others prefer to use blue tooth to transfer the ringtone file to a phone of their choice. There is also this method where free ringtones are downloaded from the internet directly into the phone. Whichever way the ringtone arrives into the mobile phone there is a risk that comes with it. For instance as the memory card is transferred between computer and mobile phone there is a likelihood that malicious programs and viruses can end up in your mobile phone and zap off all data, telephone numbers included. The best way to avoid this predicament is to ensure your computer always has an up to date anti-virus for scanning and cleaning all external memory cards. It is also a good idea to limit the usage of your mobile phone’s memory card on computers that are at high risk of having viruses such as those in public cybercafés.

Every free ringtone is created using some software. Most of these software are downloaded as freeware from the internet. The software may however come with viruses and other malicious programs. Viruses can also be spread through sharing of the software used to create the ringtones in the first place. Use only software that is trusted or has been used by other people without any side-effects on their systems. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Mobile phones nowadays are so advanced that they have variable capabilities. There is therefore a risk that you may go for free ringtones that are not compatible with your set. For example, there are the older monophonic ringtones, the polyphonic ones and even the mp3 type. Each of these delivers sound at different qualities with mp3 giving the highest quality of sound. It is therefore important that before you download a ringtone know which type your mobile phone can play. Avoid by correctly identifying each type of ringtone as well as its compatibility with your mobile phone.

There are many companies that promise to give you free ringtones, if you subscribe to their services. Most of the time, these firms do not share the fine print in their offers, so subscribers end up losing their credit on unwanted ringtones that are pushed down their throats every other week. Read all conditions well and understand them before registering for any ringtone service.