Some skank has nicked my HTC Desire

bubblesmoney

Fifer wrote: »

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.

the backup copy is stored on the htc desire as a default setting on the sd card. unless you have manually unselected that option after getting your phone.

well why dont you do a test run for me! start your phone in safe mode and then uninstall the security feature. see if it is possible! and report back the news. i uninstalled lookout a while ago based on my reasoning that such stuff was useless against the informed thief! professional thieves will be well informed in such stuff i guess.

or do a hard factory reset and see what happens to the security software.

or reformat the sd card in an external card reader and see what happens.

worst come worst even if the phone lock or software encryption etc etc prevent all these above mentioned methods then the memory card and other memory could be corrupted in strong magnetic fields (which shouldnt be hard to find if one had nice big old speakers etc i guess or other electronic equipment with magnets in them) i guess like any other form of electronic memory and then the phone reflashed with a custom rom!

just guesses as i am no techie! i have lost phones too in the past and didnt get some back but some were returned by honest people.

Fifer

bubblesmoney wrote: »

the backup copy is stored on the htc desire as a default setting on the sd card. unless you have manually unselected that option after getting your phone.

But a back-up copy is irrelevant. The active app is stored in the internal memory.

bubblesmoney wrote: »

well why dont you do a test run for me! start your phone in safe mode and then uninstall the security feature. see if it is possible! and report back the news. i uninstalled lookout a while ago based on my reasoning that such stuff was useless against the informed thief! professional thieves will be well informed in such stuff i guess.

or do a hard factory reset and see what happens to the security software.

I don't have a copy and I'm not inclined to pay $20 a year to protect something already covered for loss or theft by my household insurance. But if the phone (or the data on it) is worth that to someone, this seems like a pretty good tool. I'm sure it's not 100% unbeatable, but I also suspect the effort required to beat it would be much more than the value of the phone.

bubblesmoney wrote: »

or reformat the sd card in an external card reader and see what happens.

worst come worst even if the phone lock or software encryption etc etc prevent all these above mentioned methods then the memory card and other memory could be corrupted in strong magnetic fields (which shouldnt be hard to find if one had nice big old speakers etc i guess or other electronic equipment with magnets in them) i guess like any other form of electronic memory and then the phone reflashed with a custom rom!

Solid state memory isn't affected by magnets.

bubblesmoney

what i am trying to say is that in safe mode when the phone starts only factory installed apps start supposedly, all other apps are not loaded, so that mode of starting the phone (any phone not just the desire that may have this safe mode of starting the device) will break any security software installed on internal or external memory. i dont have lookout as i uninstalled it and i wasnt interested in paying for wavesecure for similar reasons as you. but i wont claim it on house insurance as that will affect my renewal premium if that eventuality happens. i will rather claim it on my bank account free phone insurance, because that premium wont go up even in the event of a claim as far as i know. hope i never have to make a claim though!

bubblesmoney

“Safe-Mode” which disables all 3rd party apps http://myhtcdesire.com/tutorials/mini-guides/mini-guide-how-to-start-your-desire-in-safe-mode

so in theory this safe mode will disable all security software too!!!

The safe mode actually can make the phone unsafe :eek:

ps: the http://myhtcdesire.com/ is an excellent website for all stuff and guides related to the htc desire

bubblesmoney

Fifer wrote: »

Solid state memory isn't affected by magnets.

it is affected apparently by inducing currents apparently, but i dont know the strength required. rare earth magnets found in some speakers etc can affect them and so can strong voltages and alternating voltages / currents and also some types of DC current. some versions of EPROMs are also affected by ultraviolet light but i dont think this type exists on phones.

microwaves can also apparently affect them so best not to cook any gadget. but that would be obvious.

electromagnetic pulse can also affect but that wont usually happen unless there was a nuclear explosion or you worked in testing such stuff or there were severe sun storms, but that would affect all electronic stuff. i dont know if these electromagnetic pulses can be generated in other commercial equipment though on a smaller scale.

Fifer

bubblesmoney wrote: »

it is affected apparently by inducing currents apparently, but i dont know the strength required.

Enormous. If you were carrying your phone in a strong enough magnetic field, memory corruption would be the least of your propblems I suspect.

bubblesmoney

Fifer wrote: »

Enormous. If you were carrying your phone in a strong enough magnetic field, memory corruption would be the least of your propblems I suspect.

strong magnetic fields are easily available in most hospitals where there is a MRI etc or other similar equipment elsewhere.

one could easily walk near them making sure the phone is well secured so that it doesnt fly into the MRI or similar equipment and cause injury to yourself or others or to anything else in the way or the equipment having the magnet. that would affect the data probably. such fields are strong enough to pull commercial floor cleaning equipment into the machines from a distance away! i heard of an instance where such a thing happened! one is not supposed to have mtallic objects near such equipment but mishaps do happen because people are forgetful, but my query was what if someone did that thing deliberately to erase the memory on such devices. far fetched but just a thought.

WychWeird

bubblesmoney wrote: »

strong magnetic fields are easily available in most hospitals where there is a MRI etc or other similar equipment elsewhere.

one could easily walk near them making sure the phone is well secured so that it doesnt fly into the MRI or similar equipment and cause injury to yourself or others or to anything else in the way or the equipment having the magnet. that would affect the data probably. such fields are strong enough to pull commercial floor cleaning equipment into the machines from a distance away! i heard of an instance where such a thing happened! one is not supposed to have mtallic objects near such equipment but mishaps do happen because people are forgetful, but my query was what if someone did that thing deliberately to erase the memory on such devices. far fetched but just a thought.

MRI's are housed in a Faraday cage?

boo_star

WychWeird wrote: »

MRI's are housed in a Faraday cage?

Not as far as I am aware. They do use faraday cages, but to block interference from RF etc and I suspect they shield the imaging room rather than the device.

Fifer

bubblesmoney wrote: »

strong magnetic fields are easily available in most hospitals where there is a MRI etc or other similar equipment elsewhere.

one could easily walk near them making sure the phone is well secured so that it doesnt fly into the MRI or similar equipment and cause injury to yourself or others or to anything else in the way or the equipment having the magnet. that would affect the data probably.

A magentic field strong enough to affect a memory card would also be strong enought to damage your phone and to probaly damage you too. Believe me, you are not going to accidentally stray into one, even in a hospital.

We have an MRI scanner at work. No-one has lost data from a memory card by walking near it and it's within feet of a main pavement through the site.