Protect Your Cell Phone and Mobile Devices From Theft or Data Loss
Ten years ago, a lost or stolen wallet or pocketbook meant more than simply losing a sum of cash. It also meant losing a sense of yourself. You became frustrated and perhaps even fearful for what was now in the hands of a thief. You also had to suffer from the daunting tasks of canceling and replacing credit cards, waiting hours at the DMV to order and receive a new driver's license, and worrying about having your social security card or other personal documents in the hands of strangers. And the loss of irreplaceable items such as family photos left you dismayed.
For many of us, a significant portion of our identity was contained within our wallets. That still remains true, except the wallet has since graduated into the “information age,” populated by small electronic gadgets. The potential for loss is far greater today.
With the capability to hold so much more information than our modest wallets could ever hope to, devices such as the iPod, iPhone, Blackberry, PDAs, and the ordinary cell phone (not so ordinary anymore) have become a digital extension of our self. Without them, we feel incomplete and bewildered, virtually cut off from the remainder of society; an outcast without a lifeline of communication.
Before the advent of such devices, we were much more self-reliant. For example, ten years ago, we could easily recite the phone numbers of at least fifteen of our friends, family members, and colleagues. They were ingrained in our memory.
Now they reside on the memory of a tiny memory chip, and we are perplexed to recall more than a few. We have become slaves to the device of our choosing, relying upon them to tell us everything we need to know.
Losing the Data Means Losing Your Mind?
Undoubtedly, the benefit of owning a world of information that fits within the palm of our hand is great. But, when that crucial device is lost or stolen, our world disintegrates faster than a Wi-fi signal in a dead zone. The cash in your pocket might still be safe, but the monetary value of some of these items is typically far more than we would ever carry in our wallet. However, it is the loss of self that is truly at stake.
An extension of your personality exists on your device in the form of music, ringtones, images, and games. You may have spent countless hours uploading them to your mobile device and likewise customizing the device to your liking. They can be replaced, but at the cost of time and frustration.
It is the loss of phone numbers and addresses, calendar schedules, and the multitude of e-mails and important notes and documents that hold true value. For many of you who still cannot be bothered with ensuring you have a backup of your information, then all that you have worked so hard to accumulate is gone, cruelly ripped away without the aid of an anesthetic.
Calculating the Losses in Identity Theft
Aside from all that, there is also the additional implication of identity theft to consider. Depending upon how much information you have stored on your mobile device, you may have just given someone the perfect tool to steal your identity, especially if they are skilled in extracting information from such devices.
An iPhone, for example, on which you can browse the Internet just as you would on a desktop or laptop, may contain passwords, credit card numbers, and other sensitive data that hungry identity thieves will gobble up like candy.
So the questions that need to be answered are, "How do I protect my data?" and "How do I make a back up of my data?
Some mobile devices, such as basic cell phones, offer simple protection features, such as password locking. Other devices, such as the Blackberry, go much further than that. A number of customization options are available that can limit and restrict certain features of the Blackberry. Additional software and hardware options can further enhance the device’s data protection, with encrypted passwords and/or encrypted files.
Surprisingly, the iPhone currently possesses only a rudimentary passcode feature that was recently revealed to have a security flaw. While a patch supposedly fixes this problem, many iPhone users are unconvinced. Luckily, there is software available for the iPhone that will allow you to increase data protection with a more secure password feature.
In most cases, a simple password is usually enough to deter the common thief from viewing your data - they're just looking for a quick buck for your product anyway. But if you want to ensurethe information on your mobile device is as securely protected as it possibly can be, then don't just read the manual for your device; be sure to browse the Internet as well. You’ll find ample amounts of software or tips for further protecting your device from prying eyes.
A Blackberry is equipped with a fairly simple backup application that enables the you to back up your data to your desktop PC or laptop with ease. Instructions for using the backup feature can be found in the manual. However, the backup only pertains to the basic information stored on the Blackberry as part of its regular feature set. Any third-party software that has been installed on the device will not be included in the backup.
The iPhone is configured to automatically create a backup of its information each time you connect it to the assigned computer, assuming you have set the preference to do so. Otherwise you will need to do it manually through the iTunes application. Any third-party software, such as games or additional utilities, should be kept in a folder on your computer for safekeeping as well, so that they are easily reinstalled onto a new device should there be a need for it.
Most cell phones will require additional hardware or software in order to create a backup. If you tend to have a lot of information on your cell phone, then purchasing such items is definitely worthwhile. As technology continues to advance, a number of options for cell phone data backup are available. These include small devices similar to USB memory sticks that connect to your cell phone and PC ,making data backup and transfer rather easy. Software options typically sync your cell phone to a desired e-mail program, sending your data as an Excel database file or a similar file.
Although each mobile device may possess its own unique security and backup functions, the fact that they are available means that you have only yourself to blame if you don't utilize those functions to their potential. By ensuring your security settings are always active and that regular backups are implemented, you can save yourself a tremendous amount of time, worry and frustration should any of these hi-tech “wallets” be lost or stolen.
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