Some skank has nicked my HTC Desire

maggied_2

Well, title says it all - some sh*t has walked off with my lovely HTC Desire from a pub where we were having a drink following a funeral.....

My question is - can it be tracked via GPS? My OH seems to have something on his phone that can locate other mobiles (he's got the Samsung Galaxy) - any ideas if this would work?

Also I've done some googling and there seem to be companies offering a tracking service - but do you have to have registered the phone before it goes walkies?

Any help appreciated...am fuming!!

Exhortation

The first thing to do is ring up the phone company to have it blocked or you could end up facing a huge bill. If you have insurance for it you'll also need an incident number from the police so you can claim.

SimbaSimon

Too late now. There is plenty of software out there for this but it needs to be installed and setup prior to having your phone nicked so its no use now. Get it blocked and claim on the insurance and next time keep a closer eye.

maggied_2

Yes, I'll look on the house insurance just in case.

I just thought if the location setting was on I may be able to trace it...ah well.

iamcornholio

If you has a WM phone, then there is software to not only alert you (text a pre-programmed number) when a new SIM is put in the phone, but send you copies of texts,and texts with the new SIM contacts and numbers of any calls dialled, and also text you GPS co-ordinates for tracking. Plus some other remote control features too.

Google for WIMP (where is my mobile phone) and Ultimate Theft Alert

Not sure about similar stuff for Android though

Yolina

I take it you're not using [STRIKE]Stalk-O-Matic[/STRIKE] Google Latitude? Though it's not primarily designed as a "find my phone" service, at least you'd be able to get a location.

KingElvis

It's gone, just make sure you get it barred using the IMEI number. Do it before they use it to phone home like ET.

Saying that, even that can be changed so you can bet some theiving skanky sweaty scrote will be using it.

chuckley

it would've been barred from your network anyway.

leave the tracking to the police... however im still waiting to hear from them... it happened to me with my HTC HD2.

im guessing they lobbed it when it got barred?!

maxtweenie

When you get a replacement phone, you need to install both Lookout Security (free), and Wavesecure (not free.)

Lookout will make your phone scream very loudly by going to their website. It's usually for finding your lost phone around the house, so it's not really a security feature, but it will give thieving toerag a nasty shock lol.

Wavesecure will allow you to remotely lock your phone, or in extreme circumstances, wipe every bit of data on it.

bubblesmoney

maxtweenie wrote: »

When you get a replacement phone, you need to install both Lookout Security (free), and Wavesecure (not free.)

Lookout will make your phone scream very loudly by going to their website. It's usually for finding your lost phone around the house, so it's not really a security feature, but it will give thieving toerag a nasty shock lol.

Wavesecure will allow you to remotely lock your phone, or in extreme circumstances, wipe every bit of data on it.

wiping may be possible provided the thief does not uninstall any security software like wavesecure. i am sure thieves used to nicking phones will be aware about security features on phones and uninstall them asap or use the mobile network off widget to switch off the data connection to disable such security features until those security features can be uninstalled. if nothing else they could physically pull out the sd card and put the battery in without sd card and do a hard factory reset on the phone which will wipe the internal memory clear of the security software i assume. plus they could manually reformat the microsd card using any card reader and wipe the security feature off the card as well.

if they pulled the battery and sim card, then even the network wont be able to do anything about the phone and in the meantime the thief could alter the software and sell on the phone here or abroad.

if nothing else they could restart the phone in safe mode and that would disable the security software as only factory installed software will start in safe mode and then uninstall the security software etc.

i am no techie, but even to me these so called security software seem easy to break by people unfamiliar with security tech like me. they offer a false sense of security which can easily be overcome.

IMIE numbers can be changed too or phones can work without IMEI numbers too, there are millions of phones working in the world without IMEI numbers so blocking a IMEI number will do didly squat as IMEI numbers can be changed or removed altogether. phone recyclers havent been checking whether phones are reported stolen as they just sell the phone abroad and make a quick buck themselves in the bargain. but supposedly some have now agreed to follow a code about checking this, but dont know to what extent they will actually folow the code.

even if you were to use the location software to find the location of the phone, what use is it, do you think anyone is going to physically go and get it for you????

i knew someone whose house got robbed (jewellery, phones etc), the house was broken into when the occupants were there inside and the thief calmly walked out using the front door in broad daylight in front of the startled lady carrying her new born child, and the cops knew the phone was being used, all they did was call the number and ask the thief to return the goods! the thief let loose a few choice words and there ended their investigation. they didnt even bother to come ask me as the neighbour whether we had seen the thief etc (i hadnt seen the thief anyway). that was the last my neighbour heard of their phone and jewellery etc (and the police too!). this was a few years ago though in another city where i used to live earlier. so dont keep your hopes if you do lose a phone to a thief.

even on computers etc which have been locked with passwords, hardware work arounds are available where people change the bios etc i am told and then the password etc is useless. unless ofcourse the data has been entered using encryption software on the disc. my information about this is old based on discussions i had with software/hardware engineers and things and tech might have changed since those discussions a while ago.

Fifer

bubblesmoney wrote: »

wiping may be possible provided the thief does not uninstall any security software like wavesecure. i am sure thieves used to nicking phones will be aware about security features on phones and uninstall them asap or use the mobile network off widget to switch off the data connection to disable such security features until those security features can be uninstalled. if nothing else they could physically pull out the sd card and put the battery in without sd card and do a hard factory reset on the phone which will wipe the internal memory clear of the security software i assume. plus they could manually reformat the microsd card using any card reader and wipe the security feature off the card as well.

Desire apps are not stored on the SD card (yet). And this is from the Wavesecure website:


Uninstall protection for Android

Want to prevent WaveSecure from being uninstalled on your Android phone? Now you can with WaveSecure UPA (Uninstall Protection Add-on). Once loaded, WaveSecure and WaveSecure UPA watch out for each other. If you uninstall WaveSecure UPA, the main WaveSecure app locks. If you remove the WaveSecure app, UPA kicks in to secure the device.