By Charles Miller
Two experiences I have recently observed with lost smart phones exemplify the best and the worst ways this problem can unfold. Both Apple and Google have a find-my-phone feature to aid in locating a lost phone, so that is something ever smart phone owner needs to learn to use.
The first lost phone incident was an unmitigated disaster, in part because my client was unable to use the find-my-phone service because he was unable to log into his account. Asked what was his password, his response was “I don’t know, it’s on the phone.” Trying to reset the password was futile, doing so required having the lost phone. What about the answers to the secret questions? I asked. “I don’t know, that’s all on the phone” came the answer.
Apple required waiting 14 days to recover the password, by which time the trail of the lost phone had gone cold. That is not to say it was an uneventful 14 days though. My friend foolishly used the “Notes” app on the phone to record all his passwords; even named the document “Passwords.” That included credentials for email, banks, investment accounts, etc. Changing all of those passwords was now necessary because we had to assume that whoever had the phone might also be able to use those passwords. This was an absolute nightmare, especially the banks that required sending a text to the lost phone to verify the identity of the account holder, or knowing the answer to one of those secret questions only found recorded on the lost phone.
Next, in the words of that great baseball philosopher Yogi Berra… it was deja vu all over again.
Another client of mine suddenly realized his smart phone was nowhere to be found. Calling the number and listening all around the house failed to reveal its location. Using a computer to access the find-my-phone feature revealed a distressing reality. The phone was located miles away in an unfamiliar part of town.
Now knowing that someone else probably had possession of the phone, we used the find-my-phone feature on the Apple web site to lock the phone and put a message on it offering a reward. Making the phone play a sound failed to bring the desired response… that being someone calling to claim the reward.
This lost phone too was full of important passwords, but fortunately my friend used a reliable password manager to store them securely. He was still able to access all his passwords without the phone. This second person was properly prepared to cope with losing a phone. We could verify that the lost phone had not been used to access any passwords during the last 24 hours, nor had there been any failed attempts to do so. So, there was no cause for concern, no need to start changing passwords. With the phone now locked, all sensitive data were safe.
This second story had a happy ending when the lost phone was found and was returned. Even had it not been, the owner would not have had to endure the same trauma that first person did.
Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant, a frequent visitor to San Miguel since 1981 and now practically a full-time resident. He may be contacted at 415-101-8528 or email FAQ8@SMAguru.com.
