Day: September 9, 2008

In one sense, this is awesome. The victim gets revenge. In another sense, this is exactly the type of technology that allows providers to remotely eavesdrop on you. Though now days, it seems to be legal for the government to do in any fashion so that almost makes the point moot.

Anyway, here is a nice little read on an emerging product that I’m certain some will take advantage of.

Your mobile phone is stolen. Don’t get mad, get even.

Maverick Secure Mobile has a new product that will make life miserable for the crook. When the bad guy tries to use your phone or changes the SIM (Subscriber Identify Module) card, there are a number of steps you can take to pester him. You can disable the stolen phone remotely, track the phone’s use and retrieve your data.

How? When you install the Maverick Mobile application, you provide the phone number of a second device (called a “receiving device”) on which to receive any information from the stolen phone. When you remotely retrieve your address book contacts or other data, it goes to the receiving device via SMS or text message.

Now here’s where it gets even more interesting. If you call the stolen phone with the “receiving device” it turns on a speaker and microphone on the stolen phone remotely so you can spy on any calls being made. (The thief usually cannot detect this.) And this may be the best part: you can remotely send a piercing alarm to the stolen phone that the crook can only turn off by removing battery. The alarm goes back on when he puts the battery back in. The program, now in beta, is coming soon.

By Ed Baig

[via: USA Today]