Tom’s Tuesday Tech Tip: More Lost Phone Options for Certified Legal Nurse Consultants

Last month I gave you some low-tech tips for finding a lost cell phone. Today I’ll fill you in on some high-tech ways to find a phone that’s gone walkabout. Interestingly, they all have similar names, beginning with “Where’s my….” which is a tip-off to what they do. Remember the biggest danger of losing a phone is having some miscreant gain access to all your email, contacts, calendar, racy photos, Facebook, etc.

Let’s start with iPhones^® since that’s what’s clipped to my Bat-Utility belt. Your best option if you have an iPhone 4 is to download the free “Find My iPhone” app. This cool app will not only locate your missing iPhone using its built-in GPS locator, but also gives the you the ability to send a text message of your choice to the phone begging who ever has it to return it to you or, if you’ve simply misplaced it in your home or office, to “ping” loudly until you find it. You can even erase the iPhone’s contents or simply lock it down so nothing can be accessed. If you have an earlier version of the iPhone, you’re not out of luck. Lifehacker.com has instructions for a workaround to use “Find My iPhone” on that earlier device – but you didn’t read that here.

Alternatively, if you’ve insured your iPhone against loss and aren’t worried about getting it back, simply set up a passcode on your iPhone and set the iPhone to delete all content after 10 failed log-in attempts. This is slightly dangerous if you have children who might play with your phone and accidentally trigger the eraser.

If you’re using an Android^®-based phone, download the free “Where’s My Droid” app from the Android Market. This free app lets you create a passphrase that you can send to your phone and, if your phone is on when you send it, will cause the phone to ring at its loudest volume, hopefully allowing you time to find it under the backseat of your Prius. It also has a GPS option in case you left it somewhere more remote, such as the juice bar at Whole Foods.

If you’re the last Blackberry^® user on Earth, you can download “Where’s My Phone” from Blackberry’s App World. There’s a free version which sets off the phone’s ringer when you send it an email trigger. There’s a paid version that, like the Droid app, also has a GPS location option to help you stalk whomever has taken possession of your precious device.

Finally, for those of you who just can’t bring yourself to give up the self-torture of having more than one Windows^® device and are using a Windows Mobile^® phone try WaveSecure from McAfee^® which provides all of the above services, including the secure wipe but with the cool addition of backing up your phone data! WaveSecure also works with Blackberries and Droid phones, but not iPhones.

Whichever high-tech phone recovery solution you select make sure you don’t just install it, but also test it so that in the event you do need to use it, you’ll be ready.

Keep on techin’,

Tom