Enjoying the benefits and conveniences of life in our complex world requires daily diligence, from replacing batteries and tracking finances to keeping medical appointments and maintaining vehicles.

Here's another routine task we should all have on our calendars. Conduct an annual cybersecurity wellness check of what's likely the single most important device in your life: your smartphone.

We use our smartphones to communicate, work, shop, and stay connected and entertained -- but we don't always remember to keep them optimized or secure, which can turn these essential devices into serious liabilities.

While we always recommend you accept security updates on your smartphone as soon as they are available, there are other checks that, if performed even once a year, can hugely benefit you.

Take just one hour to give your smartphone a once-over that will tighten your security, refresh your memory on app permissions, and optimize your privacy settings. Our 10-step checklist makes it a breeze and could save you some major headaches down the line.

The first step in any annual cybersecurity checkup is to ensure that your operating system and any mobile applications installed on your smartphone are up to date. This means accepting any new OS and app versions, as well as security updates and patches.