Security concerns/questions with the Droid

[AG17]

Hi,

I've searched this forum but haven't read too many posts about security and the Droid. I'm very close to purchasing a Droid but I have concerns about what would happen if I lost it or had it stolen. I do most of my business in New York and who knows what could go down when your walking the streets of NYC.

But seriously, I was wondering what kind of security precautions I can take to secure my Droid and prevent someone from getting access to my contacts, email, google account, and private info?

I know that the first barrier of defense is the "connect the dots" security feature which I will definitely implement. Now say if someone takes my lost/stolen droid to there computer and hooks it up to there USB, can they access all this information even though they haven't gotten past the "connect the dots?"

My other question is, if it's stolen is there a way I can contact Verizon and have the service cut off from the phone? And what would that do? Just stop calls/txt/data from working? And would that mean that the person who stole it can still figure out my contacts, google account, and personal info once they get past the "connect the dots?"

 I apologize for all the questions but I will be doing very important business on my Droid and if it were to get stolen it would cause a lot of headaches for myself and those listed in my contacts. I don't know if anyone remembers when Paris Hilton's Sidekick was hacked but that's a type of situation I really want to avoid.

Thanks so much for your time in reading this and answering!

-AG17

[ckhoutx · Accepted solution]

You can set a pattern lock on your phone and no one can get in the phone without knowing your patter lock.  Then if stolen contact Verizon to have service stopped.

If they connect to a computer they can only access items on the SD card like your music video's and etc.

They can not get into your personal data or account information that's on the phone.  That is stored on the phones internal memory and can not be accessed without your pattern lock.

If they attempt to factory reset the phone to reset the pattern lock it will wipe your personal data from the internal memory.

Hope this helps

ck

[supitsmike]

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ckhoutx wrote:

You can set a pattern lock on your phone and no one can get in the phone without knowing your patter lock.  Then if stolen contact Verizon to have service stopped.

If they connect to a computer they can only access items on the SD card like your music video's and etc.

They can not get into your personal data or account information that's on the phone.  That is stored on the phones internal memory and can not be accessed without your pattern lock.

If they attempt to factory reset the phone to reset the pattern lock it will wipe your personal data from the internal memory.

Hope this helps

ck

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Couldn't have said it better myself.

[AG17]

Beautiful! This is such a relief.  It really sounds like Moto, VW, and Google thought a lot about security.

Now, just one more question. How probable would it be for someone to take apart the device and get to the internal memory and hack into that? I doubt many people would go that far, but you never know.

Thanks so much for all the details and help!

[supitsmike]

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AG17 wrote:

Beautiful! This is such a relief.  It really sounds like Moto, VW, and Google thought a lot about security.

Now, just one more question. How probable would it be for someone to take apart the device and get to the internal memory and hack into that? I doubt many people would go that far, but you never know.

Thanks so much for all the details and help!

---

It's Google who actually thought out that process, VZW, and Moto have nothing to deal with it.

Though, let me assure you that in order to get to that type of information you would have to go through extreme extent to get that to another terminal, say, a computer.

Unless you're some famous celebrity or Barack Obama I wouldn't worry about anyone going as far as hacking hardware to get your information.

[AG17]

Kudos to Google then!

I'm not well known yet (hopefully some day soon ) but I will be using my phone to communicate with people who are somewhat powerful, but I wouldn't say celebrities.

Maybe someone should build an app that self-destructs the device by frying the internal memory. That would actually be pretty cool.

I think I have to take my chances and hope that no one ever steals my droid or that I ever lose it.

Thanks again for your help!

AG17

[supitsmike]

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AG17 wrote:

Kudos to Google then!

I'm not well known yet (hopefully some day soon ) but I will be using my phone to communicate with people who are somewhat powerful, but I wouldn't say celebrities.

Maybe someone should build an app that self-destructs the device by frying the internal memory. That would actually be pretty cool.

I think I have to take my chances and hope that no one ever steals my droid or that I ever lose it.

Thanks again for your help!

AG17

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Just be sure to put the lock screen and put your phone on sleep every time you finish using it. In fact, if you don't enter it in correctly after a certain amount of times, it put it in a universal lock.

[AG17]

Will do!

You guys sure know your stuff.

Thanks again.

[cem95z]

One thing I noticed with the pattern lock feature (connect the dots) is that you could look at the screen and see the pattern through the fingerprint smudge. I did a Z and my phone had a very clear smudge of a Z on it most the time. I really think they should have a number lock instead of the pattern.

[AG17]

Oh I never even thought of this but it's very true. Does Droid have the ability to set a number lock?

[AG17]

I was just thinking, but wouldn't the smudge get distorted once you unlock it and use it? How often do you unlock and then just let it sit?

[cem95z]

There were times where it didn't. Especially when I unlocked it... talked on phone and let it go idle. I could see the smudge later. Not saying it would always be there, but often, it was.

[SUZETTE90210]

I agree that the Droid needs a number locking system.  I just upgraded from a Blackberry and loved that locking feature.  Hopefully they will impliment that on the Droid soon.

[daddyd302]

A  number lock would be a whole lot easier then that **bleep** pattern thing.

[old_man-58]

In addition to pattern lock you can also add a credential storage password

Menu > Settings > Location and Security 

scroll to the bottom of the screen and set an additional password

I be;eive once this is set you cannoy remove password uless you clear all credentials and password