Secure your mobile with Txt2Lock

Mobile phone crime, despite recent attempts, is still a problem. However, there’s a hidden danger of having your phone nicked that most people don’t think of – and that is privacy abuse.

A few years ago, I’d been out clubbing with a group of friends and colleagues til the wee small hours in London’s West End. One of the party lost her mobile, and despite attempts to get it back by offering a reward to the idot that stole it, we couldn’t get it back. Being a leading figure in the PR industry, she was lost without her phone – but after a quick call to her network operator she could get it blocked and replaced. That wasn’t the problem, though. In her phone book she had hundreds of phone numbers of people who’d rather not have their private details out in the wild – footballers, musicians, media personalities – and some pretty big A-listers too. If there was a way back then to zap her phone book, it’d be less of a worry.

Roll forward to 2007, and Information Mobile have come up with a solution. They’ve got a phone app called Txt2Lock that sits hidden in the background on your Symbian-based mobile, and can lock access to your private data with just a quick text from their website. Having played with it for the past few weeks, I can attest that it’s easy to install and forget – rather embarrasingly I managed to lock my E61 and spent 10 minutes trying to figure out why I couldn’t make calls or view my phone book

So how much is this essential service? Just £6. No ongoing charges, no hidden anythings – just the cost of a few pints. Plus head honco Ed is a regular SMS Text News reader (and a top bloke to chat to over a pint), so I’m quite happy to recommend Txt2Lock to anyone I talk to.

Watch this space for a review, coming in the next week or two. In the meantime hop on over to their website and have a lookie. That £6 might be the best small change you’ve ever spent.