Phone Guardian by Symbian Guru
Aside from the OS, there’s one thing that all S60 3rd devices have in common - they’re valuable! Besides the monetary value, our devices store tons of important information, files, pictures and more that I for one would be lost without! Beyond personal data, devices are becoming more and more integrated with many aspects of life (don’t say convergence, don’t say convergence). As Dameon and others have discussed in various posts, what happens when you lose your device? Well my second favorite Symbian Guru has made recovering your lost or stolen mobile much more likely with their awesome app Phone Guardian.
Phone Guardian is an extremely useful security tool for S60 3rd devices. Simply put, it is a tool that locks all use of your device in the event that it is lost or stolen. Beyond that, maybe you don’t want people browsing through your gallery or messages. Phone Guardian can also password protect any and every app in your device so that only you can access them! I know that this feature alone will make a lot of people happy…
The first task once Phone Guardian is installed is to set your private password. DON’T FORGET IT! This is the password that you will use to access the app to change settings, and to lock and unlock your phone. The app itself is password protected (as is the uninstallation) so that not just anyone can access it and adjust the settings.
The best way to go through this app is to just run down the feature list, so we’ll start at the top. The first option in the main interface allows you to enable or disable the app as you see fit. Once enabled, the Phone Guardian process runs in the background consuming a minimal amount of RAM, and of course it autostarts. Next you’ll find the Lock Mode option. This allows you to lock your device when the SIM card is changed, when you send the lock SMS, or in both instances. The lock SMS feature allows you to send a specially formatted SMS to your device (from any mobile) that Phone Guardian will automatically detect and once received, your device will be locked until the password is entered or a similarly formatted unlock SMS is received (yes you can lock and unlock it remotely - could be a nice tool for parents ;) ).
The next feature is the Alarm which once enabled, sounds an audible alarm when the phone is locked. Beneath this setting you will find your Lock Message which to me is of the utmost importance. Add a message about a reward! In this day and age, your best bet in getting your phone back if lost or stolen is to offer a reward. If a thief sees this message, once they realize that your phone is basically useless to them they will likely try to claim that they found your phone in order to collect. If someone genuinely does find your lost device, a reward for returning this priceless possession is certainly a nice gesture.
The next two fields allow you to enter two mobile numbers that will receive an Alarm SMS in the event that your phone is locked (as a result of a SIM change or remote lock SMS that you send). This SMS will have some valuable information including your IMEI and IMSI to report to carriers for blocking, and the number that sent the SMS (useful for identifying the thief if they changed the SIM) along with the cell IDs registered by the phone at the time the SMS was sent (useful for authorities to locate the device).
Lastly you will find an Autolock option that will lock the device automatically after an amount of idle time that you configure, or you can disable this feature. Note that autolock will not generate an alarm SMS of course.
Beyond the option to change your password, the main function found in the Options menu is the Protected Apps list. This gives you a list of every app on your device and allows you to choose which apps should be password protected. Selected apps will not be accessible until the password is entered.
Symbian Guru offers a free five-day trial for this great app but if you ask me, US $12 is hardly a tall price to pay for an app that really does help protect your $300-$800+ investment. Version 1 can be found on their site now but from what I understand, version 2 is very close to being released and adds some great additional functionality.
subscribe to comments made about this post
