Dunno about you, but that story the other day about a man's Motorola Droid being stolen out of his house (while he was in it, no less) left me more than a little paranoid. How would I wipe my phone should it be stolen?
Then came word from Lifehacker today that WaveSecure Beta (one of the Android Developer Challenge 2 winners) is offering free lifetime registration through January, so I've given it a spin. In addition to backing up and restoring your contacts, texts, photos and call logs, you can remotely wipe your phone, lock it down or (from a Web interface), track where the stolen phone has been taken. (You'll have to take my word for it on that one -- not going to show you the map, lol.)
You can get in on the free registration in the Android Market, or at WaveSecure.com.
So, that's one option. Undoubtedly there are more. Tell us your favorite backup and security program, and we'll give the top ones a spin.
Reader comments
WaveSecure, free through January, backs up data, tracks, wipes phone
The Lookout program that is mentioned in the article you linked to is a free program that has those features.
I've been using WaveSecure for some time now on my DROID. The developers are good about working with the community to add features or workout bugs. I highly recommend it.
Even without the current issue on the DROID, this is a must have app, especially considering you have to pay for it on other devices!
Would be nice if there server wasn't so slow, I'd like to try it on my Hero and my fiance's Moment.
I have Mobile Defense on mine and it seems to work pretty good. Anyone know what is better or different between the two?
There is also Mobile Defense in the market now.
You guys should write up a review comparing all three and have someone "take" your phone and see just how well they work.
I'm willing to loose my phone for the story - lol
I do think a story comparing the three would be good though. I currently run all three on my device. The drawback to Lookout is that it doesn't require any sort of key to get into the app. Mobile Defense doesn't even have a UI for the app, everything is done via the web. So far I like WaveSecure the best and they fixed the text messages for US.
Can't connect via phone or via web. Probably just a cunning plan to get people to install the app and not let them register.
I can't connect either.
I have used all three on my Moto Droid, but for some reason, only Mobile Defense works. I tried Lookout and WaveSecure, and neither can communicate with the device. I verified I don't have any SMS blocks on my account. I guess for me, the winner is Mobile Defense by default.
I tried WaveSecure. It installed fine on my Droid but I was never able to login to the website despite several emails to their support. App uninstalled.
I'm currently trying out Lookout and Mobile Defense.
For those of us in the US, the text messages are intl and therefore incur extra fees. I'm using Mobile Defense now because of that...
mobiledefense seems the best in terms of memory usage and running silent in the background. In my opinion, I don't see why you would need a UI on the phone to wipe it and all that other stuff. Only advantage I see to wavesecure and lookout is the back-up and wipe feature. Also, lookout has a virus scanner, but I really don't see why you would need that.
You can turn the virus scanner off. That's what I did.
The website is ridiculously slow. I liked the interface a little more than Mobile Defense, but a better interface means nothing if you can't use the product. I'm giving them a a day or two to shape up or I'm back to Mobile Defense.
Looks like they got the memo, the site has speed up significantly over the past few hours. Looks like they may need to upgrade their servers to handle the high amount of users/usage.
I have both WaveSecure & Mobile Defense installed. Here's what I like about each.
WaveSecure:
+ Can backup data.
+ Hides text messages it sends to the phone when trying to locate it.
+ More secure remote locking if you don't use a lock pattern.
Mobile Defense:
+ More accurate pinpointing on the location.
Actually, I am uninstalling Wave Secure. It is incredibly easy to bypass. Test it out yourself. Lock it from their site or via the device. Wait until your phone locks and gives you the message "This phone is locked. Please contact 911 to return." Now press the power/lock button on the top of the phone (A Droid) rapidly. On, off, on, off. Tada, instant access to the phone. Push the home button and Wave Secure is gone. Obviously not very secure. No thanks.
Mobile Defense. I stated this in the original story and suggested that you review it. Instead you tards choose this POS that doesn't work on half the phone it says it does. Wake up and look at these comments and you will see that Mobile Defense is the way to go. Do you guys actually uses Android phones or just write pretty reviews??
Lookout or WaveSecure... which to choose?
Can I have both two installed, or do they conflict between each other, or drain more memory?
Btw, isn't Mobile Defense and Lookout the same?