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Phone security, really worth it?

T

TheBigKahuna

Well-Known Member
I've never locked my phone with a PIN or password. I've also never lost or had a phone stolen. But I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Does locking your device with a password make it any harder for someone to REALLY get into it? Or is it easy enough that someone can figure it out with a quick search online, etc? Assuming someone finds your phone, they can't get into it immediately. This might make it harder of them to return the phone to you. Or, it may take a thief a few minutes longer to get into it and wipe it. I know some employees at retailers will clean an ESN. So is it really worth it?

Not too long ago, I found an iPhone sitting in a shopping cart. I stuck it in my pocket, and about an hour later the owner called. I told them where I found it, and where I currently was, and met them when they came back to get their phone. Another time I found an older Android phone. It was damp, and I took it home and let it dry out. Bu the battery was dead, and I didn't have a charger that fit that model phone at the time. I called the carrier, and told them I had found a phone, and asked if I gave them the serial number, could they tell me who it belonged to. They said no, but if I brought it by a store, they would return it. A day later, I took it into one of their stores, and explained this to the person working there. They took the phone after plugging it in, and seeing that it still worked and was charging again. The very next day that phone was on Craigslist for sale, even said "I work for ____, come by the store to see/buy this phone". I was furious to say the least. Yes, I called the # in the ad and spoke to teh same person I handed the phone to the day earlier! Yes, I reported that person...and no, I don't think the carrier cared at all. Stolen phones is a big business.

So, is it worth is to secure your phone with security apps, passwords, etc?

I admit, I've never liked having to type in a password every time I use my phone.
 
Using a PIN is pretty worthless - there are only 1,000 combinations to try. (You can set the phone up [with additionsl apps] to lock the phone for, say, 24 hours after 3 wrong tries, making it MUCH more secure.

A 20 character random password is very secure but try to remember it.

The reason for locking a phone isn't to prevent it from being used by someone who steals it. Reflashing the ROM defeats that. It's to prevent them from getting your data. Imagine someone finding your phone with your bank app on it. They open a bank account in another bank, transfer all your money to it and close their account. Or they order tons of stuff from Amazon, shipped to the vacant lot next door.

You lose a lot more than a phone.

But it's also good to check your remote access every once in a while - like Android Device Manager - locate your phone If the phone is lost or stolen, and you have everything backed up all the time, wipe the phone remotely. They get a phone with nothing but what it hads when it came out of the box (and what's on your SD card).
 
Using a PIN is worthless? I beg to differ on this. It's a lot more secure than having no secure lock pattern. After I say 10-20 tries the one that stole the device will most likely give up.

As well on some devices, if you try too many times, the device will auto factory reset itself too.

I don't use any pattern or pin as my phone is always on me, but if I did need to be secure a PIN would make me feel pretty secure.
 
As for the OP's point about returning the phone if lost, my lockscreen has an email address on it (not the phone's Gmail address). Seems an obvious precaution.
 
I think it's worth it to prevent someone from accessing my various accounts. My phone is set up to access my email for instance without needing a password. I use a pattern lock on my phone.
 
I fully understand the dangers of my phone ending up in someone else's hands. And I admit I'm a bit lazy about using a PIN lock. I've tried it, and hate it. I guess I'll be happy to see thumbprint ID come to the Android side of the fence in the future. I hate having to stop and type in a PIN to unlock my phone. I guess if I ever lost or had one stolen, I'd feel very differently about it.
 
TheBigKahuna said:
I fully understand the dangers of my phone ending up in someone else's hands. And I admit I'm a bit lazy about using a PIN lock. I've tried it, and hate it. I guess I'll be happy to see thumbprint ID come to the Android side of the fence in the future. I hate having to stop and type in a PIN to unlock my phone. I guess if I ever lost or had one stolen, I'd feel very differently about it.
Click to expand...


i agree with you. It's just a hassle. but i would gladly like to try the thumbprint scan.
 
Rukbat said:
Using a PIN is pretty worthless - there are only 1,000 combinations to try. (You can set the phone up [with additionsl apps] to lock the phone for, say, 24 hours after 3 wrong tries, making it MUCH more secure.
Click to expand...

My phone's PIN can't be more than 16 digits long. With 10 possible digits to choose, that should be like 10 quadrillion possible PINs. Not 1,000. That would only be true if you had a 3 digit PIN.
 
There's an app that takes a front facing picture if the password was wrong after a fee times. It'll take the picture then email it to you. Forgot the app name though.
 
its worth having some sort of security lock. I use an 8 digit PIN and have a phone number on my lock screen to call if lost. Most thieves won't even bother to try and break the security code, they just want the phone to sell.
 
Rukbat said:
Using a PIN is pretty worthless - there are only 1,000 combinations to try. (You can set the phone up [with additionsl apps] to lock the phone for, say, 24 hours after 3 wrong tries, making it MUCH more secure.

A 20 character random password is very secure but try to remember it.

The reason for locking a phone isn't to prevent it from being used by someone who steals it. Reflashing the ROM defeats that. It's to prevent them from getting your data. Imagine someone finding your phone with your bank app on it. They open a bank account in another bank, transfer all your money to it and close their account. Or they order tons of stuff from Amazon, shipped to the vacant lot next door.

You lose a lot more than a phone.

But it's also good to check your remote access every once in a while - like Android Device Manager - locate your phone If the phone is lost or stolen, and you have everything backed up all the time, wipe the phone remotely. They get a phone with nothing but what it hads when it came out of the box (and what's on your SD card).
Click to expand...


I don't know about YOUR bank's app but mine requires me to sign in when I want to use it. Makes it difficult to access my account.
 
Yeah, it's not really about whether your phone can be stolen and repurposed or not. If a thief wants to sell your physical phone, she won't have to difficult a time doing a factory reset on the phone.

It's more about the data. Without a lock of some kind, any casual thief (doesn't even have to be a professional) can hijack your email, your browsing history, and pretty much anything that's a downloaded app on your phone.

I wouldn't worry too much about honest people trying to return your phone. I've always been able to answer calls (on an iPhone or Android phone) without having to unlock the phone, so if the owner wants to call the phone, she can, even if there is a lock.
 
This reminds me about how I feel about pins and pattern's doing nothing if your phone was stolen. I had people come to me to FDR their phone because they found a device locked up or forgot their pin.. Often after the FDR pictures would remain... I purchased a couple of devices with nudes on them still in the gallery
 
TheBigKahuna said:
I fully understand the dangers of my phone ending up in someone else's hands. And I admit I'm a bit lazy about using a PIN lock. I've tried it, and hate it. I guess I'll be happy to see thumbprint ID come to the Android side of the fence in the future. I hate having to stop and type in a PIN to unlock my phone. I guess if I ever lost or had one stolen, I'd feel very differently about it.
Click to expand...

If you don't like using a PIN, I would suggest a pattern lock. I find the pattern lock to be more convenient and faster than a PIN.

There is also face unlock. Face unlock does not work as well or as fast as pattern unlock. If there are bright light sources in behind you, the face unlock tends to fail.
 
I hate the lockscreen too .. especially when I am in a text conversation.. or reading something long and it times out.

I know on my Samsung devices.. there is a setting to delay lockdown.
it will not actually lock it down.. till after "x" amount of time after it goes into sleep mode.

I setup a pattern lock. then I set the delay to be 10 mins.
so this helps when I am actively using the device in different tasks.
so I am not bothered with the lockscreen often.

I figure if i put the device down.. it would be at least 5 mins before i forget and leave it someplace.
and 5 mins or more before someone picks it up.
in most cases.. it would be well over 10mins before someone attempts to turn it on.

i feel safer than .. NOT using any security.
 
dan330 said:
I hate the lockscreen too .. especially when I am in a text conversation.. or reading something long and it times out.
Click to expand...

I configure my phone so that the screen blanks out in one minute, but the phone doesn't lock until 2 minutes of inactivity. That way, when the screen times out, I can just turn it back on without having enter my lock code.
 
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