Database Info

Anti-Theft Software for Windows Mobile

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

EVDO HTC hero sprint

Hello .. I have my HTC hero back on sprint. but no EVDO or DATA connectiuon at all.. I went to the corporate store and of course the MSL code did not work.. so i told the guy well use 000000 and the guy said .. so u messed with the phone...and i had to say yes...therefore they are not messing with it at all...even when i putted the right MSL.. L*( so. what can I do to get my EVDO DATA back?
I can make calls etc...
my other question is...
if you flash your phone..with STOCK(RADIO,STOCK APPS) and you changed the MSL before...will the STOCK flash do all that it suppose to do?

I had the same sort of thing happen to me when I was trying to pass a rooted Pre to a friend. Using the RUU might sort it out, if it doesn't call customer care and ask them to send out the hands-free provisioning signal again. That will put the right info on your phone. Most of all, don't panic All will be well once again.

That's a problem..the hands free activation starts working when you turn oin the phone but it does not complete it gives an error 1012

linkinx64 said:
That's a problem..the hands free activation starts working when you turn oin the phone but it does not complete it gives an error 1012
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's probably due to the MSL not matching the one on file. have you tried rewriting the correct MSL code to the phone? the handsfree activation and profile update should work after that.

Yes I did that...They gave me the MSL...and It does matches the one on file...I am going to try using the RUU again ..

fix
Take the phone back to the store all they have to do is reprovision the phone. If the won't work on the.phone factory reset the phone. I work for Sprint and either will work.

But I am thinking that Update Profile...and Hands Free activation need a EV or 3g whatever connection...right? I don't have it there is no ICON
Just to make sure.. I am running the RUU properly...I have to go to the bootloader( 3 android skaters) and select Fastboot right?

3 things I can think of that worked for me the other day, you will need your MSL and do a ##RTN# (##786#) hit menu then reset. It will ask for MSL but it will also delete everything. should work as long as you have 1.5 based off the 1.29 or 1.56.. Or you can try ##DATA# (##3282#) and reset the data profile. If that does not work call sprint or go into your local store and have them reset your Vision username. 1 of those 3 things should get you where you need to be. If they do not work it is more than likely hardware related.
Just wanted to note as I am still an active employee for sprint as well, a data provision will not work, they will only be able to go these routes in this case, so def. back up any information you may want to keep if you have not already.

ok thanks for all the replies...I just came from a Sprint store, and they guy said that my DATA was not provision properly and I have to wait 1 hour take out the battery ... and turn the phone on again..that should do it...if it does not I ll call Sprint and have them reset my Vision Password ... Thankss!

Ok I think I know what's the problem...First I don't have a recovery thing....HOME+POWER ON brings me to a Exclamation ICON I guess there is where my info should be ... and because the phone was rooted before that image is gone...so the ##3282# USERNAME menu is empty...where can I get that info? that suppose to be there? IP, etc

Your data information will populate automatically once provisioning completes, Id try calling tech support having them reset your vision user name not password then preforming a RTN or doing the RUU prior which should reset everything to what it needs to be prior to root.

travo1 said:
Your data information will populate automatically once provisioning completes, Id try calling tech support having them reset your vision user name not password then preforming a RTN or doing the RUU prior which should reset everything to what it needs to be prior to root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks man

FIX
It is not the username and password. It is the fact that the phone is not recognizing there is a network available i have seen this issue a bunch of times. you are going to have to do a hard reset (not a ##786#)or you can take it back to the store and have them provision the phone through icss.

I have done Hard Resets more than 5 times. now ... So i am getting a new phone, and that's it .. I'm tired of goind around with my phone..having i consirderation that my phone was in Metropcs and then to Sprint , maybe that screwed something, ahd the guys over in the corporate store don't want to work on it.

if you were in my area i would help!!

linkinx64 said:
I have done Hard Resets more than 5 times. now ... So i am getting a new phone, and that's it .. I'm tired of goind around with my phone..having i consirderation that my phone was in Metropcs and then to Sprint , maybe that screwed something, ahd the guys over in the corporate store don't want to work on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hard resets will do nothing... Run the RUU... Your MSL has no ties to your provisioning.. So I don't know why that keeps coming up.. I'm not sure how Metro does things, but to take that ESN to another carrier usually needs a radio flash and if they had done that, you will not be able to use it unless you reflash the sprint RUU...
You cannot exchange a phone that you have maliciously changed... It has nothing to do with the phone, its the user....

azyouthinkeyeiz said:
Hard resets will do nothing... Run the RUU... Your MSL has no ties to your provisioning.. So I don't know why that keeps coming up.. I'm not sure how Metro does things, but to take that ESN to another carrier usually needs a radio flash and if they had done that, you will not be able to use it unless you reflash the sprint RUU...
You cannot exchange a phone that you have maliciously changed... It has nothing to do with the phone, its the user....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have run the RUU several times aswell, and I have insurance on the phone, so I hope I can get one tomorrow.

azyouthinkeyeiz said:
You cannot exchange a phone that you have maliciously changed... It has nothing to do with the phone, its the user....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, he bought the phone. There is nothing 'malicious' about him modifying or customizing 'his' phone. The only thing malicious here is your attitude. Well, that and the phone company Nazis warping the brilliant idea that Google had when the Android was first conceived. It wasn't supposed to be about control, or about 'nickle and dime-ing' their customers to death reselling features that are already built into the OS.
Grow a soul, or at least a pair.

Anyone found a way to remotely reboot?

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!

Got my stolen phone back!!!! Things to be considered...

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 !

need help with reset protection bypass on lumina 650

i bought a microsoft lumina 650 (2nd hand) watched her remove her microsoft account. everything was working great until my mobile provider said i needed a new sim card........well then my phone would drop calls not send text msgs turn off ect....Im not a phone tech by any means. Everywhere i researched my issue with the phone said to do a factory reset. ok i thought i will lose what ever i have on the phone since my pc (hp 21 decided while left all alone to never turn on again......back up )laptop has windows 7 not very compatible with phone. So factory reset we go........reset complete and im locked out by reset protection recovery key. Key is not being accepted by the phone, cant even get to a microsoft mobile tech redirected every time to b2x who cant help me they say contact microsoft. felt a little(lot) passed off by both companies and just gave up. contacted previous owner and her account doesnt work either. So now im hoping threw this forum that there is someone out there that knows how to get me back my phone.
PS never done a forum before so if i have something wrong or ......
dec 3 2017 update to my hair pulling frustration........ google has a feature find my phone and in there it says that if you give or sell your device that you should remove it and they will display the reset recovery code and send me an email as well with this info.. Ok so picture a woman in her pj's one fuzzy slipper on ( dog has chewed the other to a unrecognizable lump of something) looking at this google page and asking can it be that simple....smile and say to herself outloud #$$#% why didnt i find this earlier like 2 flippen mths ago......but then frown and look at her crappy back up computer with dredd.....thinking about her techinical luck lately which is not good minus minus on 1-10 scale. stare at the screen for 10 mins ( pros and cons debate going on) final debate statment said google wouldnt have that option if it didnt do as it says....strong statment that side wins and i push the delete my device tab.......... device successfully deleted.......looking ........looking........ nothing else pops up. panick says what ? temper steps in and says WHAT THE======. yup thats correct not only did i not recieve the code didnt get and email and no response from google. Ok so i hope you found that a little funny cause i have outlook that also has my device still linked to that account and it also says that i can access the recovery code but i have no idea how to get that display when i hit the ? tab the help topics are only on forgot sign in password. so if anyone know how to get device info from an outlook device account i would appreciate the help thanks for reading...cheers