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No mugging!

To avoid being mugged for phone, er, probably.
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Well, the details are a bit fuzzy, but isn't there a way to capitalize on all this talk of a Personal Area Network and reverse it so as that when your mobile goes some distance from your body (ie.1/4 mile), it cuts out, never to work again? I mean, mobile phones are 'mobile' right? If you have one, you have it with you and if some bastard decides to nick it, you obviously don't want him to be able to use it from that point on. It would involve some sort of secondary device designated to align with the phone that is always on your person, a chip that can be put in your wallet for instance.

Oh, unless the mugger takes that too...

garyc2, May 02 2002


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       Perhaps the addition of RFID tags on your person, at least two and maybe three, all of which need to be near your cell phone in order for it to work. One could be in your wallet, another in your shoe, and another, say, on the back of your watch (or sewn into the collar of your blouse or shirt).   

       Each additional RFID tag adds a level of confidence that you are the real owner of the phone. Say the phone cannot locate any RFID tags, then it can't make any call, other than to 911, and is locked from any other access. If the phone can only locate one RFID tag, then it would only make local calls, two tags and it would make calls but not allow you to re-program or access the phone book, three tags and confidence is 100% and you have full access to the phone functions.   

       (of course, this could also be applied to cars, houses, personal helicopters, guns, the fridge, and maybe your spouse).
bristolz, May 02 2002
  

       just implant the chip in your head, maybe one by each ear. of course they may violently remove the chip
rbl, May 02 2002
  

       if you build an entire suit of armour out of RFID tags, you won't be mugged in the first place
whistle, May 02 2002
  

       One problem, what if the mugger removes the sim card? Surley thats what would store the data and that is the part they normally remove. I prefer my method, carry a really REALLY rubbish phone, no one would want it because as i take it out of my pocket the back, battery and front fall off. Oh, I forget the one better method employed by my brother, dont carry a phone:-D
Stoofmeister, May 03 2002
  

       [Stoofmeister]:  Move the data off of the SIM card and to an eeprom that cannot be removed. Your 'solution' of using a junk phone or no phone at all solves nothing, really.  "Just do without," isn't what is being discussed.
bristolz, May 03 2002
  

       If you have to carry a phone and one or more RF tags, people will just end up carrying the tags with the phone, possibly taping the tag to the phone. People would soon get tired of discovering they can't make a phone call because they'd forgotten the relevant tag, and rather than hide the tags about their person, they'd just slip them all in their wallet.   

       If you can stop phones working without an RF tag, it's likely you can have them stop working when you report them stolen, by preventing people changing their ID/replacing the SIM card.
pottedstu, May 03 2002
  

       Any security scheme can be defeated, period.  Also, nearly all security schemes present some additional burden to the user.  Passive use of RFID with scaling authentication confidence seems to me to be fairly convenient approach but not perfectly so.   

       I am interested in security and I am willing to suffer some inconvenience for it. So, I would have no problem authenticating with RFIDs sewn into my clothing or other things I always have with me.  For me, the inconvenience of someone impersonating me, whether it is with my phone or other gadget, far outweighs the hassle of accomodating a mostly passive security scheme.  Your mileage and threshold for security pain may vary.
bristolz, May 03 2002
  

       And if you leave it at home?
devnull, Jun 28 2008
  

       Damn, I wish she was here to address that question. I imagine I will see her ghost soon :-)
normzone, Jun 30 2008
  


 

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