Did you know that, on average, 215,00 serious violent crimes are committed by students in the United States annually? Around 60% of these cases were physical attacks without a weapon, and 40% included a weapon. You don’t need to lock yourself in a room and watch through the peephole, but taking security measures is essential. Here’s a list of 5 applications friendly for a student’s budget (free) that will protect you in every-day life.

1. Circle Of 6

The Circle of 6 app allows you to contact your closest people quickly. You can use it for a variety of situations. Circle 6 sends your location to the chosen contacts if you are in a pinch and need someone to help you. You can also send them a pre-written message with just two taps. Besides, there are national and local emergency numbers available for quick access. They also offer a customized solution for some universities. Customized applications comply with the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination (SaVE) Act. There are loads of great reviews for this application: “I like that this app is private, just me and my friends when I need help.” said Williams College student.

2.US State Department Smart Traveler App -

It’s a confidence-inspiring official US State Department application. Great for international students who aren’t familiar with the country. It provides you with the most critical local news.

This news includes weather alerts, blocked roads, and other emergencies. The Smart Traveler program even contains information about local laws as well as entry and exit details, such as visa requirements. It also provides information about countries’ safety levels. For example, Smart Traveler tags countries with unstable political situations as level 4 — “Do not travel.” Level 1 means that you do not need to exercise increased precautions. This application is a must for international students, but even locals could benefit from up-to-date information.

3.LiveSafe

LiveSafe’s Co-founder Kristina Anderson is a survivor of the mass shooting at Virginia Tech in 2007. She decided that people need a security program for every-day incidents. This application is a mix between Circle of 6 and US State Department applications. Yet, it comes with useful additional features. Using LiveSafe, you can report an immediate emergency to the local authorities. Then, they use your GPS coordinates to send help. Also, you can report something suspicious for the police to investigate further. Their virtual companion is a wonderful feature. If you are in a particularly dangerous area, you can request a virtual companion to escort you. You have to set your destination and a timer. If you do not report back to the virtual companion within the arranged time, they will send out an alert. Help will arrive based on your GPS location. Being free and useful, it seems like a no-brainer to have this software.

4. One Scream

One Scream slogan describes them perfectly “Voice activated personal safety.” The application detects your scream, checks your exact location, and sends help. They claim that it will even work when your phone is at the bottom of your bag. After detecting your scream, One Scream sends an automated call with your location to your contacts. According to the founders, the software only detects panic screams. Yet, they did implement a false-alarm feature. You have 20 seconds to cancel the alert if it went off accidentally. In short, being set-and-forget as well as free to use, this is a great security application for scholars.

Protect yourself on all fronts

5. Atlas VPN

Not only do you need to protect yourself from physical attacks, but from cyber ones as well. Recent reports show that students are getting attacked by malware 1000 times a day.

Every student has sensitive information on their phone. It can be a private conversation or important documents. Are you taking any security measures to protect them? Hackers can steal your information whenever you use an unprotected public WiFi. This could happen at your school, caffe, or a mall. That is why you need to encrypt your internet connection. Gladly, you can protect your phone for free using Atlas VPN. An additional bonus is that you can access geo-restricted content, such as Netflix. Finally, for privacy reasons, we keep a strict no-logs policy of our users.

Now, being safe from both physical and cyber attacks, you can study in peace.