Related
Greetings,
I recently had my phone stolen when someone smashed my car window and grabbed my phone and GPS unit. I was thinking about ways to either deter theives or perhaps even catch them after the fact.
My first thought was some sort of program on the phone that would send information about the phone back to a user specified email address. For example, let's say the person installs a new SIM card and powers up the phone. The program could auto-run and send you the new phone number now assigned to the phone. I am not sure how this would work for non-SIM phones as I don't understand how those phones get their "phone number". In addition to the phone number it could send any informaiton like Owner Info that also might help identify the person now in possession of the phone.
My second thought was why not tap into the GPS device that so many phones are now equipped with and send GPS coordinates as well. This might be difficult if the phone company locks access to the GPS functionality.
Last but not least I was wondering if there might not be a way to determine that a new SIM card was installed, even if a master reset was done on the phone. The big problem here is that you would need to have the code included as part of the firmware as a master reset might possible wipe out any internal memory on the phone. It might be interesting to flash a warning on the main screen of the phone indicating that "This Phone is Stolen" if someone tried to put their own SIM or reprogram the phone with their phone number.
Naturally I know you can "lock" the phone which will render it useless but that won't necessarily help you get it back. I figure most of these "smartphones" have enough intelligence to at least send out a text message or something.
Has anyone seen anything like this or have any ideas on what might be possible?
Thanks
TC
There are several different software packages that already do this. One is called W.I.M.P. - Where Is My Phone:
http://www.wimp-software.co.uk/
Doh! I should have used Google.
Thanks for the tip.
Anyone using WIMP? I have the demo version and am having issues getting the GPS to work. Windows Live and Google Maps work fine. Not sure why WIMP is having issues.
What???
cowboyshootist said:
I recently had my phone stolen when someone smashed my car window and grabbed my phone and GPS unit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would you leave this laying around in you car? My Tilt (or any phone for that matter), electronic device, and wife () always leave the car with me....
mchapman007 said:
Why would you leave this laying around in you car? My Tilt (or any phone for that matter), electronic device, and wife () always leave the car with me....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I was heading into the LA Fitness gym in Mill Creek WA. There are generally lots of people coming and going in and out of the gym and Mill Creek is not what you would call a high crime area. The phone was not in plain sight but in the cup holder between the front seats and you would have to look real hard to even know it was there.
It was actually the GPS unit that attracted the thief. Normally I put that in the glove box and take my phone with me but as I mentioned above I didn't think I was in an area where I had to worry about car break-ins.
Even so, phones get stolen all the time. My daughter had hers stolen right out of her purse at her High School. It can happen even when you don't think it can. Applications like WIMP or PhoneBak are the only defense you have against something like this. Given the technology that exists in smartphones there's no reason they can't report themselves stolen and if they have gps (like the Moto Q9) even give you their location.
The funny thing is the thief was stupid enough to put his contacts onto the phone without having done a hard reset. The next day all his contacts were synch'd to my new phone and I now know who stole the phone.
Sprite Terminator is another one that does all of the things you want, remote lock / wipe / gps , etc
Thanks Dave.
KMS
Dave G said:
Sprite Terminator is another one that does all of the things you want, remote lock / wipe / gps , etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's also Kaspersky Mobile Security for XDAs - you can block sms acces, wipe PIM data and it has a nice little feature that will send out SMSs to two numbers of your choice if the SIM is swapped, then block the unit until you enter a code - thus giving you the new mobile number to take to the police! only takes them about 20 mins to find the name and address of the thief!
http://www.kaspersky.co.uk/kaspersky_mobile_security
And it's got a firewall and antivirus thrown in, too!
Bird
Bird_FAT said:
There's also Kaspersky Mobile Security for XDAs - you can block sms acces, wipe PIM data and it has a nice little feature that will send out SMSs to two numbers of your choice if the SIM is swapped, then block the unit until you enter a code - thus giving you the new mobile number to take to the police! only takes them about 20 mins to find the name and address of the thief!
http://www.kaspersky.co.uk/kaspersky_mobile_security
And it's got a firewall and antivirus thrown in, too!
Bird
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I was aware of this product. I am not too keen on annual subscriptions but it certainly seems to have all the features you might want for cellular phone security.
Mobile justice, it's freeware.
Bye
Hi if you installed kaspersky mobile security latest version, and you forgot the code? how can you reset code or change code to newone?
Thanks
Had an idea but I have yet to try it. Would it be possibly to remotedly activate your Kaiser and run a GPS program to give the unit location so that you could find where you left it?
Can say Pocket Controller Pro do this when the phone is in standby mode? Then if you ever lose it all you have to do is get somewhere with internet connectivity.
if it is then i'd suspect that thiefs would remove the sim card anyway as it would be blocked when the phone was reported stolen and if they wanted to sell it or even use it themselvs they would most likely hardreset it first removing the tell tale program
yeah ultimate theft alert and where is my phone (WIMP) both do this
u send a specially formatted sms with your pin number to the device
something like <lost> 1387 and it sends you back the gps co-ordinates
but you need gps signal and for the phone to be on
good thing is (definitely with UTA) hat if they change the sim it texts you, so you can just send the special sms to the new number
and no, the sms do not show up in the inbox
Rudegar:
are theives intelligent enough to know what a hard reset is, and would they even bother, most think removing the sim makes it untraceable
Rory
Another vote for WIMP, but i think someone on this forum has developed something else to do the same thing.
This isn't about theft
This is about me leaving my kaiser somewhere safe, say at work and not being able to remember where I left it.
That's why I ask. I know about ultimate theft alert but if the thing is not found and the SIM isn't changed then that won't work. The WIMP program sounds like what I want.
Scenario: I've left my phone behind at the pub, or in someone's car. I don't want them to use my phone for pranks or, worse, illegal calls. I want to remotely reboot the phone because whomever finds the phone will be presented with the phone's PIN lock screen.
Has anyone found a way to have an action performed by inspecting the contents of, say, a SMS message?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=594608
crimson lock is the closest thing you can find i believe
Thanks, that looks awesome. I like advanced features like "If a different SIM is inserted, send SMS to [emergency number]..."
I have a good history with phones, so I probably won't go that route - and, watch, I probably just jinxed myself.
http://remotetracker.sourceforge.net/
(free) Will let you lock your phone if it is stolen - as well as tracking it down
via gps and many other features.
I think it's possible to add this kind of security to a flashed rom as well,
so that even if a thief does a hard reset, you will still be able to talk to your phone.
SWEET! Thanks!
Hi developpers. I
My droid phone verson 4.1.2 was stolen last friday. But I was able to track the phone, confront with the thief and recover my phone two days later.
And that's why I am writing in this forum, because I want to share my experience and see if things can be done.....
The thief, stupid guy, removed all my sim cards (dual sim) and removed the memory card, but failed to do the necessary resets and did not remove my google account.
I don't want any lock screen system on my phone. And I strongly recommend everybody not to put a lock screen protection on your phone, because if there is one, the phone might just end straight into the trash bin, and you'll be left with no chance to find back your beloved Droid.
Let the thief in his beliefs it's his lucky day.... he has a nice unprotected full useable phone....
Also have Remotely locate this device enabled in the google settings, or get one of these hidden tracking apps on your phon.. Also enable allow remote lock and factory resets. The thief was so stupid he forgot to disable this feature of the phone.
Now here is my point. The Google Settings should be password protected. And it should be a shared password with the phone settings/Personal/ BACKUP AND RESET option.
At least, password protecting these two sections of the phone will avoid the thief to:
1. Disable the geo location of your phone
2. Doing a factory reset or remove any of the accounts on your phone.
Unless the thief is also a hacker, you will always be able to track your phone and get it back.
In my case, I tracked down the thief, up to 4m accuracy. I also have a Bluetooth speaker. I went to the Geo location and my Bluetooth speaker confirmed big time the phone was at this location.
Another thing to consider is to build INTO the OS itself is the option to track your phone. There are many programs on Google Play, but they can all be removed easily with a simple factory reset. This kind of software should be build in INTO the phone's OS itself.
Good luck to all of you who get your phone stolen!
oz457 said:
Hi developpers. I
My droid phone verson 4.1.2 was stolen last friday. But I was able to track the phone, confront with the thief and recover my phone two days later.
And that's why I am writing in this forum, because I want to share my experience and see if things can be done.....
The thief, stupid guy, removed all my sim cards (dual sim) and removed the memory card, but failed to do the necessary resets and did not remove my google account.
I don't want any lock screen system on my phone. And I strongly recommend everybody not to put a lock screen protection on your phone, because if there is one, the phone might just end straight into the trash bin, and you'll be left with no chance to find back your beloved Droid.
Let the thief in his beliefs it's his lucky day.... he has a nice unprotected full useable phone....
Also have Remotely locate this device enabled in the google settings, or get one of these hidden tracking apps on your phon.. Also enable allow remote lock and factory resets. The thief was so stupid he forgot to disable this feature of the phone.
Now here is my point. The Google Settings should be password protected. And it should be a shared password with the phone settings/Personal/ BACKUP AND RESET option.
At least, password protecting these two sections of the phone will avoid the thief to:
1. Disable the geo location of your phone
2. Doing a factory reset or remove any of the accounts on your phone.
Unless the thief is also a hacker, you will always be able to track your phone and get it back.
In my case, I tracked down the thief, up to 4m accuracy. I also have a Bluetooth speaker. I went to the Geo location and my Bluetooth speaker confirmed big time the phone was at this location.
Another thing to consider is to build INTO the OS itself is the option to track your phone. There are many programs on Google Play, but they can all be removed easily with a simple factory reset. This kind of software should be build in INTO the phone's OS itself.
Good luck to all of you who get your phone stolen!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is why you should use Software to prevent this. There are lots of tracking/AntiThief Software available. Noone will put it to trash when its locked,
mynote said:
This is why you should use Software to prevent this. There are lots of tracking/AntiThief Software available. Noone will put it to trash when its locked,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The question is if software will really help....
You're lucky.
The thief, stupid guy. If He smart than, he can google and reboot your phone in to recovery, and he can Wipe all of your data.
And your phone will gone forever
andy-q said:
The question is if software will really help....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. It is. 9 of 10 of my customers are happy and got ist device back after stolen/lost.
Just for the statistics..
The only shortcoming with the tracking/remote lock/wipe abilities is that they can still be defeated through CWM or whatever recovery is being used. That said, in most situations involving theft the thief doesn't have this level of knowledge to consider this step.
What's interesting to me is that so many people still steal phones for personal use, but I guess the stolen ESN database isn't far reaching enough yet to make it a stolen phone worthless for use yet. There is still some cash to be made selling them off for the hardware, but grabbing someone's phone doesn't seem worth a felony IMO.
As to the OP, a lock screen isn't worthless, especially if you have a non-removable battery. Most phones with them--an active lock screen I mean--either won't allow or can be set to disallow the phone being turned off without the code/pattern/password being entered, meaning if your phone is tossed in the trash it can still be recovered. That is one feature that will always make an integrated battery a plus. Even without one, there's the chance that the thief isn't going to take the time to pull the battery once he see's there's active security anyway.
MissionImprobable said:
The only shortcoming with the tracking/remote lock/wipe abilities is that they can still be defeated through CWM or whatever recovery is being used. That said, in most situations involving theft the thief doesn't have this level of knowledge to consider this step.
What's interesting to me is that so many people still steal phones for personal use, but I guess the stolen ESN database isn't far reaching enough yet to make it a stolen phone worthless for use yet. There is still some cash to be made selling them off for the hardware, but grabbing someone's phone doesn't seem worth a felony IMO.
As to the OP, a lock screen isn't worthless, especially if you have a non-removable battery. Most phones with them--an active lock screen I mean--either won't allow or can be set to disallow the phone being turned off without the code/pattern/password being entered, meaning if your phone is tossed in the trash it can still be recovered. That is one feature that will always make an integrated battery a plus. Even without one, there's the chance that the thief isn't going to take the time to pull the battery once he see's there's active security anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, true. Anyway. Even if you are just loosing your phone instead of getting stolen..
I consider that the thief will trash the phone when there is a lockscreen. Mostly the thief will try to look for "Reset-Possibilities". If you have a good AntiThief Software you may also disable the lockscreen when you feel that its the only way to get it back.
Anyway, there is Google Android Device Manager now which can get your device back easily..
When stolen/lost phone comes back I would check it for spyware
2 stolen phones never came back to me. :'(
Grievances. RIP .
alaminok said:
2 stolen phones never came back to me. :'(
Grievances. RIP .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never got my stolen items back either but grats to the OP
This is the perfect thread for a question I've had ever since I came to the Android family from my iPhone.
On my Jailbroken iPhone I was able to download an app that took a picture with the front camera and sent it to the email of my choice every time the wrong password was entered, the photo came along with the GPS location of the phone and time.
Is there anything like this available for us
Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk now Free
yoboyheartless said:
This is the perfect thread for a question I've had ever since I came to the Android family from my iPhone.
On my Jailbroken iPhone I was able to download an app that took a picture with the front camera and sent it to the email of my choice every time the wrong password was entered, the photo came along with the GPS location of the phone and time.
Is there anything like this available for us
Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk now Free
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here Try Ceberus, its a paid app but worth it and you can have up to 5 devices at once, it even disguies itself as a system app you can view calls, text messages and even make the phone call any other phone track it via GPS..... a bunch of features
(Heres some features It has three ways to protect your device:
- Remote control through the website www.cerberusapp.com
- Remote control via text messages
- SIM Checker (for devices that have a SIM card): you will automatically receive alerts if someone uses your phone with an unauthorized SIM card
Remote control allows you to perform many operations on your device, like:
- Locate and track it
- Start a loud alarm, even if the device is set to silent mode
- Wipe the internal memory and the SD card
- Hide Cerberus from the app drawer
- Lock the device with a code
- Record audio from the microphone
- Get a list of last calls sent and received
- Get information about network and operator the device is connected to
- And much more!)
Link---> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lsdroid.cerberus
if thieves are smart, they would have been reading xda
but thanks
If thieves were smart, they would be educated enough to get a job and buy their own sh*t!
I use Cerberus as well on both my droids. Very neat app, and even more advanced than FindMyiPhone or whatever it's called again. Recommended with root for all features though.
Glad you got lucky and a non-tech savvy thief stole your phone.
cerberus
Cerberus celebrates 3rd birthday with free licenses for the next 30 hours
http://phandroid.com/2014/04/24/cerberus-3rd-birthday-free-license/
I had a phone lost/stolen. It is such a personal item it is like having your wallet stolen. Fortunately I never use the remember password feature for any apps, and have an encrypted password file I keep up to date and backed up.When I lost my phone I went to all the sites and changed my passwords. What a pia, but it is some peace of mind. Took many hours.
With t-mo, they have this feature available that takes a picture after 5 mis-trys and emails it along with the location, T-mo will also erase the phone and reset the lock screen pattern, It works pretty good because I have sent numerous pics of myself from fatfingerin the unlock.and checked the map to verify.
I prefer Cerberus...
oz457 said:
Hi developpers. I
My droid phone verson 4.1.2 was stolen last friday. But I was able to track the phone, confront with the thief and recover my phone two days later.
And that's why I am writing in this forum, because I want to share my experience and see if things can be done.....
The thief, stupid guy, removed all my sim cards (dual sim) and removed the memory card, but failed to do the necessary resets and did not remove my google account.
I don't want any lock screen system on my phone. And I strongly recommend everybody not to put a lock screen protection on your phone, because if there is one, the phone might just end straight into the trash bin, and you'll be left with no chance to find back your beloved Droid.
Let the thief in his beliefs it's his lucky day.... he has a nice unprotected full useable phone....
Also have Remotely locate this device enabled in the google settings, or get one of these hidden tracking apps on your phon.. Also enable allow remote lock and factory resets. The thief was so stupid he forgot to disable this feature of the phone.
Now here is my point. The Google Settings should be password protected. And it should be a shared password with the phone settings/Personal/ BACKUP AND RESET option.
At least, password protecting these two sections of the phone will avoid the thief to:
1. Disable the geo location of your phone
2. Doing a factory reset or remove any of the accounts on your phone.
Unless the thief is also a hacker, you will always be able to track your phone and get it back.
In my case, I tracked down the thief, up to 4m accuracy. I also have a Bluetooth speaker. I went to the Geo location and my Bluetooth speaker confirmed big time the phone was at this location.
Another thing to consider is to build INTO the OS itself is the option to track your phone. There are many programs on Google Play, but they can all be removed easily with a simple factory reset. This kind of software should be build in INTO the phone's OS itself.
Good luck to all of you who get your phone stolen!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for all the info. My biggest concern would be confronting the thief. What did you do? Wait for them to leave their house/apartment and confront them? Or did you confront them in some other way? I guess I would struggle between wanting my beloved phone back and being worried about the thief being a crazy person who might shoot me or something.
This Was Very Helpful
This is Very Helpful, We Wish We Had Known this when we had our phone stolen, I spent endless hours trying to locate my phone to no avail, thank goodness the Police were able to recuperate the phone, but only because the thief had stolen a number of other devices in the area, if I had known this information I would have saved myself hours of frustration !! BTW, Thank You For Sharing This !
Hi
To what extent can employers control an android company phone? I'm sure they could just disable the SIM, but will they be able to:
access the device storage (whether internal or external)?
access call logs etc. and contacts? I guess they'd be able to view texts via the phone company?
disable the phone remotely so that it doesn't turn on?
Thanks for any advice
BLu8i said:
Hi
To what extent can employers control an android company phone? I'm sure they could just disable the SIM, but will they be able to:
access the device storage (whether internal or external)?
access call logs etc. and contacts? I guess they'd be able to view texts via the phone company?
disable the phone remotely so that it doesn't turn on?
Thanks for any advice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on the MDM the IT department is using. I use Google Admin Console. I can remotely wipe and lock my company-owned Android devices. GAC has started playing nicely with Apple devices, so I can do the same to iOS device we own, too. Seeing files, though? Yeah, if they're using some beefy MDM and it has full device permissions, anything goes if it's set up that way. But then again, if it's a company-owned device, there's no expectation of privacy, and all data on the device is the company's.
BLu8i said:
Hi
To what extent can employers control an android company phone? I'm sure they could just disable the SIM, but will they be able to:
access the device storage (whether internal or external)?
access call logs etc. and contacts? I guess they'd be able to view texts via the phone company?
disable the phone remotely so that it doesn't turn on?
Thanks for any advice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Best bet, just don't use it for anything that you want to keep to yourself.
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk
Thanks guys.
I'm not sure if it's related, but my old company phone has recently decided not to turn on. I thought it might be something that was controlled by previous employer. Data hasn't been switched on, so can they actually disable the phone via the sim?
As I said, the phone did not want to switch on, so I decided to charge it for some time. Sometimes, it would power on the splash screen, but just does not go any further. It doesn't boot but just sits on the splash screen for over an hour. I was thinking of buying a replacement battery, but it seems it might not have any effect?
Perhaps it's something to do with the phone's IC on its way out?
I used to work for a major phone carrier as a store manager. And if we wanted our work email on our personal devices we had to grant it admin rights on our device and agree to a long list of things that no one read. I however read it and it literally said if they ever thought my device was comprised they'd remote wipe it without even telling me.
I straight up did not have my work email on my device and I was always taking flack from supervisors that I didn't respond to their emails unless I was in my office. And I always told them why and finally one day I received an email saying that as of X date (like a week later) that no employee could have their work email on a personal device.
I laughed my ass off at everyone who complained about it and asked several bosses what happened... Apparently some really high up dude had his phone get wiped and he lost a ton of pictures of his kids that weren't in the cloud and he raged at IT about it and they changed email permissions
Sent from my OnePlus7Pro using XDA Labs