Transport for London finds over 184,000 pieces of lost property each year on buses, tubes, taxis, trains, trams and stations. And smartphones are high up on the list of property lost. But how do you stop the data on your phone getting into the wrong hands?

In brief

• Setting a password on your phone and the SIM to protect your data;
• Download apps for your phone to lock and wipe your phone and to help find your phone if it’s lost or stolen;
• Backup your data regularly.

Table of contents

Setting a phone and SIM password
Securing and wiping your phone remotely
iPhone
BlackBerry
Android and other devices
Helping people to find you
Creating a backup
Share your experience
Useful resources

For many business people, their world revolves around their smartphone. They read their emails on it; keep their contacts, bank details, personal pictures and passwords and many have access to sensitive business data. So when a phone gets lost or stolen, there’s the potential for the business to lose more than just the phone. Unless you’ve taken the right precautions.

Setting a phone and SIM password

The easiest way to protect your phone is to add a password to the phone and the SIM card, so that every time your phone or the SIM card is used you need to put in a short PIN number. All phones have this ability, although not all have the ability to set a password on your SIM card and on many, the password protection systems are often not easy to find. If you need help to find them then http://help.vodafone.co.uk can help you find it on your phone.

Warning – Some phones have the ability to erase the data on the phone after a number of unsuccessful attempts to enter the password. If you have inquisitive children and you don’t backup your phone regularly then don’t set this.

Securing and wiping your phone remotely

Some people will never get around to adding a password so there’s an increasing number of applications being written that will lock your phone, and erase the data remotely, and some can also tell you the exact location of your lost or stolen phone by using its built-in GPS.

iPhone

iPhone users of all versions have the “Find My iPhone” service, that allows users with Apple’s MobileMe accounts to find and remotely wipe, or lock, a lost or stolen iPhone. This remote tool was used by Apple to great effect when a member of their staff lost an iPhone 4 weeks before the launch, and prevented even more information from getting out to the world before the official launch. Additionally, there are other apps available on the Apple App store Business Class section that cover security and backing up your iPhone.

BlackBerry

RIM are about to launch a new BlackBerry security product called BlackBerry Protect that will remotely wipe your BlackBerry if it’s lost or stolen, will help find the phone and back it up. However, until it’s launched, BlackBerry users have a choice of good third-party security apps that allow you to remotely lock and wipe your phone, to find your phone’s location as well as a host of other useful security functions.

Android and other devices

Android doesn’t have a native security app. However, there a third-party apps such as F-Secure’s Mobile Security, Mobile Security for Business, and Anti-theft for Mobile which allows you to remotely lock and wipe the phone, and to protect your device from malware and viruses. Anti-theft for mobile is free and there are 7-day trial versions of the Mobile Security products so you can see if it’s right for you.

Additionally, the apps are also available for users of Symbian and Windows Mobile 6.x users. To find out if your phone is covered, see the list of supported devices.

Helping people to find you

Having a password on your phone has its disadvantages. If someone finds your phone then they won’t be able to find who the phone belongs to. To get around this it’s a good idea to have “if found then contact” sticker somewhere on your phone that way you increase your chances of getting your phone back quickly if you do lose it.

Creating a backup

The hardest part of losing your phone is losing all of that valuable information. The latest smartphones can contain gigabytes of information, and if you’re like most people, that information probably isn’t backed up. When you do lose the phone, you lose your contacts, pictures, your music, everything and if you don’t get the phone back then it’s gone forever. So make sure everything you have is backed up regularly.

Share your experiences

Have you got any good hints and tips on smartphone security or do you know any apps that help secure your phone? If you have, then please feel free to share then with other BizGene readers by adding them in the comments below.

Useful Resources

Transport for London lost property – If you’ve lost a phone on any form of transport in London then the TFL site is a good place to start for information on getting your phone back. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/contact/871.aspx As proof of ownership, you will need your SIM card number or IMEI number, which can be obtained from your airtime provider.

Vodafone lost phones help page – what to do if you lose your phone.