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Paco Loco · Jul 24, 2008, 06:34 AM

Since upgrading to the iPhone 2.0 software I have started to worry about the implications of my iPhone being stolen.

Of course there is the danger (as with any mobile phone) of the thief running up large call bills before you get the network to disable your account, that is unavoidable I suppose.

But on my iPhone there is much more at stake. Through the use of the apps on my phone they could also:

- Buy music / movies / apps from the iTunes store
- Take control of my email accounts (via mail app and/or safari).
- Take control of my blog (via typepad app / wordpress app / safari)
- Take control of my social networking profiles (facebook/myspace etc)
- Upload photos to my flickr account (again via safari or native apps)
- etc

Basically if someone wanted to they could cause me a huge amount of expense and hassle which it would be very difficult for me to resolve.

I know I could lock the phone with the passcode lock but that really is not that usable all the time - I would end up typing the 4 digit code about 200 times a day.

It seems what is needed is some way of either locking or wiping the phone remotely... is anyone aware of a way to do this? And is anyone else worried about this issue?

Paco Loco · Jul 24, 2008, 06:45 AM

P.S. I am aware that Apple is touting "Remote Wipe" as a feature of the 2.0 software, however I believe this is a Microsoft Exchange related feature which just wipes Exchange related data, so this does not address most of my points.

Paco Loco · Jul 24, 2008, 06:47 AM

P.P.S. I forgot one major item from my list above - the ability to bid on ebay auctions from my account using the eBay or GarageBuy apps. This could be very costly!!

Randman · 05:59 AM

Originally Posted by Paco Loco

I know I could lock the phone with the passcode lock but that really is not that usable all the time - I would end up typing the 4 digit code about 200 times a day.

Better that than having it stolen and losing data. Your call.

glideslope · Jul 24, 2008, 02:24 PM

IMO, the next month or two pose the greatest risk. I use a pass code. I also keep mine in my pocket, not my brand new hip case. I had thought about this a little over the past week. I was eating dinner at a local Moe's with my oldest son yesterday. There must have been 30 individuals in the 16-18yr range.

My wife called. When I pulled the iPhone out to answer every eye in the restaurant went on my iPhone. To be honest it creaped me out a little.
It's been in my pocket since.

osiris · Jul 24, 2008, 03:01 PM

Until everyone has the iPhone, I suggest a few things that may or may not prevent theft:

1) get a case for it. silicone, leather, whale skin, whatever... to obscure the device a bit. Even then, apply common sense before whipping it out in public places occupied by seemingly threatening individuals.
2) use the passcode lock and/or carry a weapon. The passcode will prevent data theft, a weapon will prevent the theft. You can carry a cinder block with you, for example. I prefer a small studded mace. Some iPhone users hire bodyguards as well.
3) no number three. just be careful and pay attention.

richwig83 · Jul 24, 2008, 03:47 PM

I use a passcode... its a bit of a PITA but its safer than leaving it unlocked!!!

eggman · Jul 25, 2008, 02:29 AM

Having just gotten my iPhone, I was concerned that using the passcode might be a real pain... but then I thought about the danger of theft, and started using it anyways.

One mitigating factor is that you can set the time period for requiring passcodes. I set mine to 5 minutes, and that actually is sufficient to eliminate a lot of re-entry of the code, based on my patterns of usage. I figure that if the phone is lifted from my pocket or I leave it somewhere, it'd be very, very likely that there'd be more than 5 minutes between my last use and the first attempt of someone else to mess with it. There's a tradeoff between security and aggravation of re-entering the code every time I pick up the phone, but I wouldn't dream of using the phone without a passcode at all. And truth be told, entering the code has become a really rapid gesture for me... so it's not THAT much of a pain.

Paco Loco · Jul 25, 2008, 03:27 AM

Seems to me the perfect solution would be to be able to enable the passcode feature remotely (via a web interface I suppose).
I'm sure Apple could implement this if they wanted to (not holding my breath though).
Perhaps a more interesting question is whether it would be possible to develop a third party app that could do it... ?

Randman · Jul 25, 2008, 06:03 AM

I don't know if it's possible here but when I lived in Singapore, I lost my phone once when it slipped out of my pocket in a cab. The phone was on silent mode, iirc so I couldn't ring the driver. A 3G Nokia. I called my carrier and they were able to put a lock on the sim card in case anyone tried to make a call on it. It basically deactivated the phone. And I had a setting that the phone would lock up if the SIM was removed without the proper password (I used a different password for the SIM).

The cab driver later called his dispatcher when someone found it on the floor and I was contacted on my wife's phone. I got the phone back a few hours later and then just had to recall my carrier to re-activate it.

A little bit of work but at least I knew that if my phone was ever stolen or lost, it couldn't be used or data accessed or even jailbroken.

Eug · Jul 25, 2008, 07:30 AM

I locked the phone. I think it is foolish not to. Same goes for a crackberry.

I'm going to change my code though. The one I have is hard to type with just my thumb one handed. Actually, so is just the slide to unlock, so maybe it's moot.

Mastrap · Jul 25, 2008, 11:42 AM

I use the lock, nevermind the few seconds it takes to power up. I also us a case that makes it look pretty generic, more like a BB than anything else.