Never lose your cell phone

[TWDeac]

http://digitallife.today.msnbc.msn....-project-and-the-dark-things-it-says-about-us

Symantec researchers intentionally lost 50 smartphones in cities around the U.S. and in Canada. They were left on newspaper boxes, park benches, elevators and other places that passers-by would quickly spot them. But these weren't just any phones -- they were loaded with tracking and logging software so Symantec employees could physically track them and keep track of everything the finders did with the gadgets.

Some 43 percent of finders clicked on an app labeled "online banking." And 53 percent clicked on a filed named "HR salaries." A file named "saved passwords" was opened by 57 percent of finders. Social networking tools and personal e-mail were checked by 60 percent. And a folder labeled "private photos" tempted 72 percent.

Collectively, 89 percent of finders clicked on something they probably shouldn't have.

Meanwhile, only 50 percent of finders offered to return the gadgets, even though the owner’s name was listed clearly within the contacts file.

On Feb. 2 at 3:05 p.m., Symantec “lost” a phone in a bathroom at Santa Monica Pier in California. A finder tried to access the phone's contacts application 18 minutes later. Moments later, the finder accessed files labeled “passwords,” “cloud-based docs” and “social networking.”
GPS data indicates the finder moved the phone into a nearby restaurant, then into a mall, and an hour later, to a dog park. At around 5 p.m., the finder opened the Contacts application three times, even there were only two entries listed in it – and one, clearly including an e-mail address and phone number for the owner.

People suck.

 

[TexasDeac10]

I've found phones and offered return them, but the first thing I do is look at the pictures. I mean, of course you would do that.

Looking at bank account info sucks though.

 

[ITK]

Students leave them in the department all the time (4 last semester). I had to text their friends to tell them to come get them. Nice phones too. Don't look at the picture, don't want to know.

 

[Deacfan2009]

This is why you put a lock on your phone. Also, what kind of Online Banking app isn't going to require you to log-in? Are you going to be dumb enough to just store your login info somewhere on your phone?

 

[cookoutdeac]

This reminds me, I need to find a decent lockdown/tracking app just in case.

 

[TWDeac]

This is why you put a lock on your phone. Also, what kind of Online Banking app isn't going to require you to log-in? Are you going to be dumb enough to just store your login info somewhere on your phone?

I think they made it so it was all open to see what people would try to do. At least, that is the impression I got from the study.

 

[HailToTheDeacons]

Are you going to be dumb enough to just store your login info somewhere on your phone?

Common sense dictates you shouldn't do that, but I imagine there's a sizable portion of the population that does do it.

 

[Deadbolt]

This is why I like how Apple (and Android, too, I think) have included ways to "detonate" your phone if it's lost and erase everything remotely or lock it down.

 

[TWDeac]

This is why I like how Apple (and Android, too, I think) have included ways to "detonate" your phone if it's lost and erase everything remotely or lock it down.

Imagine if you really could detonate it. Wouldn't that be something.

 

[timdunkandthefunk]

Lost my phone last Friday and used the "Find my iPhone". I drove 30 minutes to south of Springfield, VA and found the exact duplex in a huge block of them where my phone was with the cab driver. He was surprised but thankfully pretty friendly.

 

[Go]

Its funny but I've somehow gone 30 years and never once lost my phone, wallet or keys.

 

[Supradeac]

Great story about how you can push install a locator app on android AFTER losing it.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2011/08/how-plan-b-found-the-droid-i-was-looking-for.ars

I have lookout and the Where's my droid on mine just in case.

 

[Supradeac]

By the way, the app is appropriately named Plan B.

 

[ImTheCaptain]

Its funny but I've somehow gone 30 years and never once lost my phone, wallet or keys.

 

[myDeaconmyhand]

By the way, the app is appropriately named Plan B.

Oh shit, the condom broke!

There's an app for that!

 

[lbE08]

yeah, in looking at the very few apps i have, there's not really anything people could do... read my mail (oh noes! letters from mom!) or log into facebook (dont spam my status!) or post on the boards; but there are no passwords or anything for my bank app.

 

[Harv]

I’ll tell ya, we didn’t have these cellular phone devices back in the day, but losing a wallet is no joke. I remember one time Kreebie had all sorts of problems after getting his pocket picked, most likely by the Soothsayer’s granddaughter. Little sprout used to come over and sit with us some mornings while Ricky was busy servicing her meemaw. We’d flip the TV over to cartoons and turn it up real loud so she wouldn’t hear the Soothsayer’s euphoric wailing. Precocious little broad, but what can you do? Thievery is in the gypsy genes.

The Fiesta Fox had a pretty ingenious way for dealing with this problem, which was magnified for Ricky, since most times Foxy was out in public, you could bet knuckles to nuts he was stoned out of his gourd. Foxy just didn’t carry a wallet. A solution elegant in its simplicity. And really, Rick never did have much need for a wallet. None of us Raiders kept credit cards and only a couple of us had driver’s licenses. Ricky in particular was always a little funny about carrying an ID card. I reckon it had something to do with his childhood. Foxy spent the first 17 years of his life wearing a plastic wrist band with his name and instructions on what to do if he got lost and was found wandering. Mandate of the Division of Health and Human Services or something.

Anyway, instead of a wallet, Ricky used to carry his loot around in his socks. I remember whenever we’d go to the Golden Stag to see the girls dance, Foxy would be peeling bills out from his ankles like he had a cash machine stashed in his sneakers. Used to upset the girls since usually these bills were quite moist. But, at the same time, they knew not to look a gift horse in the mouth, even if this particular gift horse occasionally resulted in a fungal infection.

There was this one gal, we used to call her the Cyclops on account that she had one her titties taken out due to some cancer. But the Cyclops was a resilient bird with a couple of mouths to feed back home, so she wasn’t going to let no mastectomy keep her from earning a living. Ricky of course was a boob man, so naturally she was his favorite. Every Tuesday from 9:30 – 11:30 am, the Fiesta Fox would be front and center to catch the Cylcops’s shift. She had this special move called the Whirly Bird where she would sling her one remaining hooter around in a circle real fast. She’d do the Whirly Bird and Foxy would just sit there staring at it, mesmerized, mouth agape, peeling dollar after dollar out of his socks in order to keep that puppy spinning.

Foxy was convinced that he and the Cyclops shared a mutual attraction, especially after she once told him he smelled good. The rest of us Raiders were skeptical, especially since we knew damn well that Rick’s typical scent was an assertive blend of reefer smoke, squirrel musk, and the personal juices of whatever lucky lady had enjoyed Foxy’s oral capacities earlier that day. But Ricky was not to be deterred.

So one Tuesday morning Ricky put on his sports coat and tie and headed off to the Stag with a sock full of ones and handful of wildflowers he’d picked from the spot behind the Barn where we’d buried Petey’s remains. Said he was going to proclaim his love. As the fates would have it, however, it wasn’t meant to be. Unbeknownst to Ricky, the Cyclops had been dutifully saving all that money he’d been giving her over the years. Broad used it to buy a brand new implanted prosthesis for her left knocker. Yep, her half rack had been made full.

I wasn’t there when Ricky walked in and first witnessed his beloved boasting a full set of cans. As Foxy told it later that afternoon over a couple handfuls of goofers, it just seemed off in a way he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Like getting a fresh new pair of blue jeans that just don’t fit like the old dungarees to which you’ve long grown accustomed. The Fiesta Fox had lost that lovin’ feeling.

Of course, it was somewhat ironic in that Foxy’s dollars provided the means for the Cyclops to restore her blouse dumplings. But the thing that really blew our minds was the fact that it turns out the Cyclops was indeed sweet on Ricky. Flipper’s aunt waited tables at the Stag and apparently the Cyclops later confirmed to her that Foxy’s smell was "intoxicating." Apparently, the Cyclops got the implant thinking that if Ricky was so infatuated with her single tweeter, then for sure he’d go crazy if she had a bonafide duo. Wild stuff. Reminiscent of the goddamn Gift of the Magi, only slightly more colorful. Speaking of, did you know the fella who penned that story was named O Henry? Just like the candy bar. What a world.

 

[TWDeac]

Blouse dumplings :rofl:

 

[BillBrasky]

If that wasn't enough, the last line slayed me. This is top 5 Harv material.

 

[Caturday]

I really hope whomever is behind Harv is a successful literary figure. To imagine such talent wasted.