This was posted Consumer Reports blog today.

"What do to if your gadgets get grabbed"
[blogs.consumerreports.org]

zkam

Sorry - no intention to discuss.

berane

In Europe - at least here in Sweden - we rely heavy upon the IMEI-number [en.wikipedia.org] . Seconding @kryptik: if your mobile gets stolen and you know the IMEI-number (you can get it via *#06#), file a report to the police then call your operator, give them the IMEI-number and the filing# from the police. The operator will then block - within its own system - both the use of the phone and the SIM-card. The blocking will be in effect within one our after the report. The operator will then report to the international blockingregister in Dublin.

Somewhat out of the Ginas question - but in a way security-related: During many mobilephone classes for older people (retired) I've stressed the use of ICE (In Case of Emergency). See [www.theregister.co.uk] and [news.bbc.co.uk] . Here in Sweden the use of ICE is recommended by many organizations (i.e. Swedish Rescue Services Agency and SOS Alarm - receiving emergency calls). As an extra measure (if the phone is locked when the ICE-number(s) are needed): put a tape on the phone with those numbers (i.e.ICE 1 wife +xxxxxxxx, ICE 2 daughter +xxxxxxxx).

berane

This is kinda important but is rarely mentioned: call your carrier and ask them to disable international calling. Cell phone thieves love selling your airtime to people that end up using it to make international calls. Most wireless carrier charge a significant amount per minute for those calls and many WILL stick you with the bill. Read this if you don't believe me.

exhilaration

In the UK: [www.immobilise.com]
In the USA: [www.immobilize.net]

If your phone is stolen, the handset can be blocked from use on all networks - the networks will reject a handset with a known stolen IMEI number.
It makes the handset useless to thieves, or at least harder to sell on.
Even better, if the police arrest someone for another theft, and find the handset in their possession is registered to someone else, it can be used in evidence in against them [and you might get your phone back]

kryptik

For Palm Treo users, the application butler could help you to remotely lock the phone and erase data in the handset and the SD card, by sending a SMS with preset trigger.

yezimary

I have a Nokia E65 and have setup all the inbuilt security features... if someone turns on my phone they have to enter my SIM PIN as well as a security phrase. If they change the SIM card they will also have to enter the security phrase when turning it on. If my phone is lost (or stolen) I can send a text to my number with a preselected 'code' which will automatically lock the phone until the security phrase is entered. Plus, I also have a note underneath the battery cover with my bosses name and number (it's a company phone) offering a $200 reward no questions asked.

Debbie Larkins

I agree RIM does a great job. I have content protection turned on in my old 8700c and it's great. I don't believe that it wipes itself after 10 unsuccessful tries, but makes you wait before trying again.

Steve Jobs indicated that there will be a remote wipe function, though I only heard that the NSA could do it in the keynote. I assume companies will be able to do this as well. Ultimately, if the data isn't encrypted, the wipe may be too late. Here's hoping more will use encryption.

Schalliol

Blackberry FTW! For all of the reasons Joe Eversole already mentioned. Mine's set to lock itself after 10 minutes of inactivity. Entering the password has become automatic to me and the Blackberry interface makes quick work of this. No need to select Unlock and OK, just start typing the password and it understands what you're wanting it to do.

If it's lost or stolen, the thief gets 10 tries before the phone wipes itself clean or I can always shut it down remotely. THIS type of thoughtfulness of RIM is what separates out the Blackberry phones from everyone else when it comes to a true corporate-grade e-mail/PDA/phone.

As a nice added bonus, whenever the phone is locked, the screen shows the Owner Info screen and refuses to show anything else. On mine I do have Reward if Found on that screen...hoping I never need to do that.

FLConsumer

Sorry to be picky (here we go..), but you can't really protect something that's been stolen from you, can you?

samhealer42

Everyone should own a UV pen... they're freaking sweet.

lostalaska

The exact same thing happened to me... I lost my phone at Glastonbury festival a couple of years ago and someone found it and called my mum. First I knew of it being lost was when my mum called my girlfriend... Doesn't really help with protecting it, but it's nice to know there are honest people in the world!

shaivure

*I don't know won't steal it from me

shorty63136

I don't set my iPhone down anywhere near anybody I know won't steal it from me (which aren't very many people although I will leave it on my desk at work).

I have Stuffbak just in case it IS stolen, there's a reward for it.

In the past, I would send a text message to the phone if it was lost, saying, "If you've found or stolen this phone, there is a reward for its return. Please call 314....... to arrange return and get your money. I'm not joking - I'll give you money, I just want my phone back."

shorty63136

If your device is stolen, it's the same as if your physical address book is stolen, everyone has access to what you have down, and basically anyone can reuse it. The ESN for CCDA/TDMA etc and the IMEI for GSM, i.e. the 'serial numbers' are logged, but there's nothing in place to restrict these phones from being used or activated especially in the case of the iPhone on another account, a. because what would you do, take the phone away from the guy who bought it from the thief on ebay (or in many cases, they're unlocked and send overseas), and b. you find out someone is activating a phone that someone else had reported stolen, what do you do? call the police? no police unit in town is going to raid someone's house for your nokia 6555 that you left at a bus stop. period.

MannySpeck

I've been struggling with this myself. It's hard to find a way to deal with this without impacting usability. Currently I have my phone set to lock after a few hours with the phone pin and display User Notes. This is not ideal however for me.

At least the entire phone is encrypted.

I was thinking of a Blackberry for a while but in addition to not liking them, RIM's best security measure is propriety and obscurity. Most any crypto fan will tell you that is not something they would rely. Talking to a relative working on the servers, makes me even more likely to run away as RIM is developing, (and my belief has finished) an encryption override and likely recovery tool. Without it, they can't sell their products in some ... more controlling ... countries.

Kalidor

@Joe Eversole:
Exactly what I came in here to say. The BlackBerry probably has the most robust security software known to man. The only thing I find missing is the ability to wipe a BB from a BIS (personal) service.

ConstyXIV

If you are running Windows Mobile 5 or 6, $15 gets you Sprite Terminator. It will let you remotely lock or wipe your device and if you are running one of the many WinMo devices with GPS, you can track your device via google maps/earth. http://www.spritesoftware.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=195

ShawManius

@Sys Admn:
If you're going to go through that much work, use an engraver (or pretty much anything sharp). Behind the battery, engrave a unique ID (Driver's license #, phone number, etc). Much harder to remove.

And we all keep a spreadsheet of our serial numbers, don't we? (Oh right, I haven't updated mine in a year...)

Zadaz

@Sys Admn:
All it takes to remove the sharpie writing is to go over it with a dry erase maker and wipe it clean. Works perfectly.

Will

Instead of using a UV pen, use a sharpie. Mark the battery, inside the battery compartment, and under the battery. It'll make the phone a little harder to sell without marring the appearance. Similarly, I mark my laptop & its battery, and glue a business card underneath the battery.

Sys Admn

The BlackBerry has some built-in security that makes it one of the "best" phones to have when it gets lost or stolen. If you enable the password protection on the phone and data encryption, it's very hard to get to the data on the device. If the password to unlock the device is failed 10 times, the phone does a secure erase of all of the data stored on it. If it's hooked to a corporate server, the BES admin can issue a remote wipe.

If you're not hooked to a BES, there is an application called Roblock at [www.dexmobile.com] that allows you to send a SMS to the device with a password and have it do a remote wipe. It can also send your contacts via SMS to a number you specify. The app is $10, and adds a layer or security. They also have a Windows Mobile version, but I've never used it.

Joe Eversole

After reading this post, I right away turned on the phone lock on my Sony Ericsson K750. But what if it's lost and then found by a good Samaritan who would like to return it to me? For this reason, I just created a 176x220 pixel image that's going to go as the start-up screen on the phone, thanking any prospect finder, and displaying my email address and alternate phone number. Do you think there's any risk I'm taking by doing this, or am I right in assuming the potential benefits outweigh the risks?

ethan1701

@Dakota Courtois:

Butler is a hugely useful app for the Treo (of all PALM flavours) and certainly worth the $14.95

[www.hobbyistsoftware.com]

the developer is a totally good guy and attentive in terms of support. Butler does all sorts of good things you'd really want but additionally you can send an sms to your treo with your secret password and either lock it, or delete all its data!

hope that helps.

on the gmail thing- i bought a 2nd hand Treo, supposedly data/info free, synched the thing and couldn't understand why none of the email made sense 'til i noticed it was the previous owner's!

caveat emptor!

ffolliet

@spacelord: Yep- on CDMA the "unique ID" is called the ESN. Unfortunately, it can be easily changed through software (though doing so is illegal in the US).

jamar0303

Some Nokia phones (like my E65) have an option to completely lock them when they receive a SMS message containing a lock-word.

If I forget my phone anywhere I just have to send a text containing "lockphone" to my number and my phone will be locked until I enter a certain password.

Jahmon

As to the UV pen, which can be erased/rubbed off, wouldn't the phones serial number prove it's yours more than that?

Git Em SteveDave

Why would you store your Gmail pwd in your phone's Gmail app?

heavylee-again

@AskTheAdmin & Michael... Thanks! I'll do the SIM tweak and look into securing the account details.

All I have is my contacts and occasional document or two that I download. I use gmail's IMAP on it, so I can always run to the nearest internet connection and change my gmail password.

Thanks!

RenRen

My phone was stolen out of my car last year. Its a Verizon phone so I think that means it can only be used on their network. I reported it stolen that day. A couple days later I signed up an old phone with them and asked if anyone had tried to link my stolen phone to their Verizon account. they told me they had no way of knowing. I find that hard to believe. doesn't each phone have a unique ID? I figure they don't care where the phone came from as long as they are paying their monthly bills.

spacelord

I lost a T-Mobile phone at a gas station in Detroit a couple of weeks ago. Damn, that was stressful. Tried calling and texting the phone (offered a reward in the text message), but all calls went to voicemail, and I don't think the text messages went through, either. (Judging by my account balance, nobody used the phone; damn thing probably got run over.)

Fortunately, I had most of my important info backed up in Motorola Phone Tools, and the most dangerous thing saved on the phone is the password for an AIM account I haven't used since discovering Twitter. Still, losing a phone seriously sucks.

I had plenty of contact information in the phone (my e-mail address is the start-up message, even), but that doesn't help if the phone is broken or out of power when/if someone finds it. I bought a TrackItBack sticker for my replacement. I'm hoping that will increased the odds of somebody contacting me next time I lose a phone.

@RenRen: When I called T-Mobile, they verified my identity and had me put a "security PIN" on the account so nobody else could change the account details. So at least there's that. I can't help you with securing the phone data, though.

Michael Bauser

I set up a pass code on my RAZR(v3\original)however its easy to get around it...

BlueScreen

@RenRen: Enabling and disabling the SIM PIN code on the Dash

NOTE: The SIM PIN code is used to protect the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card from being used in other phones. When you enable the SIM PIN code, the phone will prompt you to type the code after turning it on.

To enable and disable the SIM PIN code:

Enabling the SIM PIN code

To enable the SIM PIN code, perform the following steps:

1. At the Home screen, select Start.

2. Scroll to and select Settings.

3. Scroll to and select More.

4. Scroll to and select Security.

5. Scroll to and select Enable SIM PIN.

6. Type your PIN number (the default is 1234).

7. Select Done.

Disabling the SIM PIN code

To disable the SIM PIN code, perform the following steps:

1. At the Home screen, select Start.

2. Scroll to and select Settings.

3. Scroll to and select More.

4. Scroll to and select Security.

5. Scroll to and select Disable SIM PIN.

6. Type your PIN number (the default is 1234).

7. Select Done.

AskTheAdmin

Protecting my Treo via phone insurance on AT&T and the ever-so-lame password lock on it.

One flaw in Palm OS's password security: You can bypass the password by tapping "Forgot password", but all it'll do is wipe protected entries and let you in to see everything else.

Dakota Courtois

You know? I never really thought about this until now. All I have is the key lock that comes with all phones. If anyone can tell me how to secure a T-Mobile Dash, please drop me a line.

RenRen

@exhilaration: I believe you. I lost my phone during a late-night IHOP run a couple years ago and when I reported it missing the next day, they told me $45 in calls had been made to Mexico and it was on me to pay for it. Ugh.

CelesteM

Hey guys,

its great to see a very good discussion going on. I saw some guys are developing applications to retrieve stolen mobile phones. see here www.dexmobile.com ....has anyone tried their products?..i want to buy their product for my blackberry...let me know.

Thanks
-V

vladmik

If you have a windows mobile phone and sync to your exchange server you can ask the exchange admin to wipe your phone....it is built into windows and is part of windows active sync. Same applies to Blackberrys but they wipe everything. Palm devices while they can be wiped via third party software can not do it out of the box. Most carriers also have means of doing this with additional cost products. (think about backing up your address book via the web with them. If you lose your phone you simply export, then delete all the entries). There are a few regular phones (particularly Sanyos) that you can pre- set a pass code to wipe your phone. Then once you lose your phone you just send it the text message to wipe it. Look under the security menus to know (you need the last 4 of your phone number usually to get in there). This is never advertised. All these solutions actually require your phone is ON, in coverage, and of course still activated in order to function. This is usually not the case since most people turn them off once they lose them. CDMA carries usually care about lost/stolen phones. Once marked lost/ stolen only the original account owner can report it "found" before it could be activated on any other account. You need the account passwords of both the account it was on, the number that was in it, and the account you want it to move to in order to make it work again. I had to do this once. Good Luck!

ZalikaDevon

@MannySpeck: a) Yep- same as if it were stolen from a store. The buyer's conflict is with the seller, not the victim.

b) Providers should have enough loyalty to their customers to block activation of known stolen handsets, and to have reciprocal agreements with compatible networks. Wouldn't this also drive new handset sales, versus private resale?

@kryptik: That is just the sort of thing I've been looking for, thanks! If stolen stuff is useless, there's a lot less incentive to steal it.

sflummox