Anti-Theft instructions
The documentation on Anti-Theft for Mobile is not just scanty but plain erroneous. I read everything I could find (which is not much) before deciding that I have to install the app in order to find out how it works. After installation, I realized that even the little the manual says is wrong.
So now I am asking (from other users, I guess) about the features that I haven't been able to try out myself yet.
My phone has Symbian Belle Refresh, and the phone itself already has the basic security features, such as encryption, locking when SIM is changed, and remote locking by text message. What Anti-Theft essentially adds to these is the possibility to receive an SMS when SIM is changed, and to locate the phone by sending an SMS. Oh, and the possibility to send an SMS to make the phone sound off an alarm (this is not mentioned in the docs at all; you have to install the app to find out about it).
What I want to know is this: if I have set the phone to lock itself when SIM is changed (from phone settings, not the Anti-Theft settings), will the Anti-Theft features still work?
I also want to know what exactly does "all information" mean in "deletes all the information stored in the device memory"? In particular, will it also wipe out my Anti-Theft settings, so that after the wipe-out, I cannot use any of the remote operations anymore? If not, then what information is and is not wiped out?
Besides, the manual and the instructions that come with the app are not clear about which of the remote operations require the trusted number, and which work from any numer. In particular, which number does the locate operation send the information to?
The worst problems with the user manual are:
- the docs use multiple terms ("security code", "lock code", "wipe code") for the one single security code that the app uses
- the Finnish versions of the same manuals use even more terms for the single code ("turvakoodi", "lukituskoodi", "suojakoodi", "poistokoodi"), when "suojakoodi" alone would suffice
- the Finnish version also manages to talk about "laitteen suojakoodi" (the device's security code), when it really refers to the Anti-Theft app's security code, not the device's; this is extremely confusing
- all of the docs (at least, the Symbian versions) tell me to enable the different remote operations one by one, but the app only has one single setting for enabling or disabling them all at once
- none of the links on page http://www.f-secure.com/fi/web/home_fi/support/get-support-online/-/carousel/view/98/for%20Symbian point to an actual KB article, and even the pre-defined search for "Anti-Theft for Symbian" returns nothing at all
Comments
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Hi,
Thank you for your feedback! We appreciate to receive it.
Unfortunately the links that you mention were broken for a while but that is fixed and they are accessible now.
I'll pass your comments internally to the correct people in order to improve.
Have a nice weekend.
Cheers!
ElseH
F-Secure Community Manager -
Hi,
Replies to your technical questions:
What I want to know is this: if I have set the phone to lock itself when SIM is changed (from phone settings, not the Anti-Theft settings), will the Anti-Theft features still work?
Yes, Anti-Theft features still work normally.
I also want to know what exactly does "all information" mean in "deletes all the information stored in the device memory"? In particular, will it also wipe out my Anti-Theft settings, so that after the wipe-out, I cannot use any of the remote operations anymore? If not, then what information is and is not wiped out?On Symbian the antitheft wipe removes all data in the device memory by executing factory reset. All user data, applications, and settings are removed, and the device is returned to the original state in which it was when first taken into use. The wipe also breaks the index table of the external memory card so that the memory card is not readable.
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Hi,
Thank you for your valuable feedback. After checking the support articles related to the free Anti-Theft product, it appears that some of them do contain outdated information. For example, "wipe code" is no longer used in the latest version of the product, as you correctly pointed out.
I would advise you to consult the user guide for our Mobile Security product. The guide contains detailed, up-to-date instructions about using the Anti-Theft functions. You can find the Finnish PDF-version in this address:
In the user guide, you can find Anti-Theft instructions under the heading "Luottamuksellisten tietojen suojaaminen".
Sadly, we noticed that some of the terminological inconsistencies that you mentioned are also present in the user guide (such as the duplicate terms "suojakoodi" and "turvakoodi"). We will immediately start a thorough check on the user guide to make sure that all terminology is consistent and accurate. We will also do or best to bring the Anti-Theft support pages up to date as soon as possible.
Kind regards,
Mikko M.
Project manager, Localization
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