h a l f b a k e r y
Loading tagline ....
idea:
add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, best, random
meta:
news, help, about, links, report a problem
account:
Browse anonymously,
or get an account
and write.
Login
Create account.
|
|
|
Please log in.
If you're not logged in,
you can see what this page
looks like, but you will
not be able to add anything.
A cell phone with a GPS locator in case it's stolen. The phone cannot be powered off without entering the correct password, nor can the battery be removed without the password. To force the battery out sans password, you have to break it. In the event that that happens, a small power reserve in the phone
itself releases a virus into the software, rendering the phone useless.
International Mobile Equipment Identity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMEI
By registering your stolen phone's IMEI on a central database, the phone is rendered useless. [reap, Jul 11 2007]
Annotation:
|
| |
This sounds complex, and I'm sure that
there is a simple solution if only there was
enough motivation on the part of the
manufacturers or the networks. |
|
| |
Can't any mobile phone be tracked at
present? Or is this dependent on the SIM
(which I presume the thief swaps out)?
Can't you just have a PIN that has to be re-
entered once per 24hr? All these solutions
would be hackable, but what isn't? |
|
| |
There is a fairly simple method, the IMEI [link]. |
|
| |
If your phone is stolen, you can register the IMEI of the handset on the central database (your carrier can do this for you). This list is then distributed to all networks in your area, causing them to refuse to accept connections from the stolen handset. |
|
| |
I know a few people who have registered their stolen phones on this list and a couple who have later found their (now useless) phones. They had each subsequently been blocked by each carrier that they tried. Obviously, they were glad that the listing worked, but angry that they had disabled a phone that was in their possesion the whole time. |
|
| |
Although the IMEI can be reprogrammed, the methods and equipment required would make it prohibitive to your average thief who is not connected to a wider network of mobile phone thieves. |
|
| |