Comments on: Price Harry’s phone stolen; shouldn’t every handset have a remote wipe function?

By: adam

adam — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 03:53:19 +0000

There is for Windows Mobile it's called Sprite Terminator - http://www.spritesoftware.com/products/?pid=195

By: adam

adam — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:53:19 +0000

There is for Windows Mobile it's called Sprite Terminator - http://www.spritesoftware.com/products/?pid=195

By: adam

adam — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:53:19 +0000

There is for Windows Mobile it's called Sprite Terminator – http://www.spritesoftware.com/products/?pid=195

By: nacho

nacho — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:50:24 +0000

Is there another way of rendering the handset useless? What happens when the operator blocks the IMEI then?

Are there any remote wipe services out there?

By: smstextnews

smstextnews — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:01:22 +0000

Yeah. How depressing.

By: Mike42

Mike42 — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:57:18 +0000

…but reality nonetheless!

By: smstextnews

smstextnews — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:42:06 +0000

Booooooooring!

By: Mike42

Mike42 — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:39:40 +0000

Some solutions detect the changed or missing USIM, and can delete after a set number of attempts to unlock the handset.

Agreed Ewan, the industry appears to be leaving some 'money on the table' here, but from an MNO's perspective it's small beans, which would probably cost far more to implement across the base than the revenue/customer Brownie points would be.

By: TerenceEden

TerenceEden — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:22:37 +0000

Remote wipe is nothing without remote backup.

The problem is, what if it gets wiped accidentally or maliciously? If I log in with your password (5m5t3xtn3w5?) I can cripple your phone. And ruin your day.

Blackberrys do this rather well - if you type in the password incorrectly ten times, the handset is wiped. All the info is safely stored on your computer / server.

Of course, if you're a smart thief, once you've stolen the phone, you remove the SIM. No SIM means no "magic" SMS to wipe the handset.