RemoteXT relaunching Mobile software to give thieves ear bashings

04Oct08

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Remote XT to relaunch its service that makes mobile phones safe has placed a piercing electronic scream if the handset is stolen and automatically block access to sensitive data. Earlier the product, called Remote XT after the company that created it, is designed for application on smart handsets. Now it is being designed for other phones too.

Remote XT also partnered with other mobile-phone security services such as Synchronia’s Mobile Manager, which makes a Windows Mobile-based handset,emit a high-pitched wail when stolen. Its primarily targeted at the high end of the market, typically business users who may hold confidential data, such as e-mails, on their phones.

By making mobiles unusable to anyone but the rightful owner the phones become worthless and we will see the market for stolen handsets stamped out once and for all,” said Mark Whiteman, managing director of Remote XT. Theft-proof phones spell disaster for the huge criminal industry that has profited from mobile theft for too long,” he said in a statement.

A signal is sent to the phone as soon as it is reported stolen. All the phone’s data–like contact numbers, e-mails or images–is wiped and an ear-piercing alarm also sounds. Until now network providers were able to disable stolen phones from being used but could not necessarily provide data from being accessed.

The software, which backs up any wiped data, can also be used to scan for viruses, as the latest generation of phones increasingly has capabilities similar to those offered on laptop computers. About 700,000 mobile phones are reported stolen each year, although many will actually have been lost and many are not smart phones–devices which integrate applications such as Internet access or GPS navigation software–in addition to telephone functions. The industry body charged with tackling mobile phone crime said any step aimed at deterring theft will be welcomed.