Can a pledge from the smartphone industry to include anti-theft features in all smartphones sold after July 2015 stop the 'apple picking' problem in U.S. cities?
Earlier this week, the CTIA trade association announced an agreement between smartphone manufacturers and wireless carriers to include anti-theft features in smartphones made and sold after July 2015 in the United States. The ... [ read the full article ]
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So the next step for the criminals now is to just kill the person they are robbing then right? That way the dead can't deactivate the phone and stop the criminal from making use of the device.
Originally posted by GryphB: So the next step for the criminals now is to just kill the person they are robbing then right? That way the dead can't deactivate the phone and stop the criminal from making use of the device.
Originally posted by GryphB: So the next step for the criminals now is to just kill the person they are robbing then right? That way the dead can't deactivate the phone and stop the criminal from making use of the device.
Interesting point.
Well, it was a draconian point to make and probably the least likely, though there are some that have already killed the owners of the devices in the robbery. I think what will happen is like any other criminal ring does; get the inside jobs. Pay for people in various different retail outlet to access the phone account information and get the phone restored.
Or maybe the kill switch is for agencies to block people who record or report things they shouldn't have witnessed. No doubt they will add the anti-terror spin as a positive.
Originally posted by george123: I could be wrong but is there not an App that already does all that? Like the AVG kill app etc I have on my Samsung?
Just a thought.
Originally posted by george123: I could be wrong but is there not an App that already does all that? Like the AVG kill app etc I have on my Samsung?
Just a thought.
Yup!
The key difference I see here is the statement:
"Factory reset attempts and re-activation will be blocked to unauthorized users to the extent technologically feasible, but in the event that a stolen smartphone is recovered, the rightful owner will be able to unlock and use the device again. "
I may be wrong, but I think the current anti-theft apps don't have this feature. I personally use AirDroid which includes a locator/lock service.
Originally posted by george123: I could be wrong but is there not an App that already does all that? Like the AVG kill app etc I have on my Samsung?
Just a thought.
Yup!
The key difference I see here is the statement:
"Factory reset attempts and re-activation will be blocked to unauthorized users to the extent technologically feasible, but in the event that a stolen smartphone is recovered, the rightful owner will be able to unlock and use the device again. "
I may be wrong, but I think the current anti-theft apps don't have this feature. I personally use AirDroid which includes a locator/lock service.
And they have been able to do that from the start, so once again YUP!!
Just another political nonsense push trying to make us believe they are doing something good, not....
