At least once in your lifetime, you’ve broken into a cold sweat trying to find your smartphone and your first reaction was “Have I lost it or it was stolen?”. At Avira, we know how this feels and we’ve made these situations less stressful for you.
The post Lost your mobile device? “Yell” or catch the thief in his nest appeared first on Avira Blog.
That’s what we wanted to find out.
More than 3 million phones are lost each year
To prepare the phones for the experiment, they activated three security apps: Our own free Avast Anti-Theft, Lookout Mobile Security, and Clean Master. They made sure that each phone was marked with contact information so it could be returned if found. Then, they randomly placed 10 phones around New York City and the other 10 around San Francisco.
It didn’t take long for the phones to be found and tampered with. Fifteen of the 20 phones were wiped clean using the factory reset feature. They only security app that survived the factory reset was Avast Anti-Theft.
That was just what our analysts needed to track the lost devices on their adventures.
On a slow boat to…India?!
One of the phones, lost in Battery Park, New York City, eventually found its way to Mumbai, India. At first, a long, slow journey across the Atlantic Ocean had our analysts baffled, until they theorized that the phone was aboard a transatlantic cargo ship. After two months, it appeared again in Mumbai. Using the app’s GPS feature, our analysts can see the new owner’s daily travels back and forth between work and home.
Analysts can see the movement of the lost mobile phone
A “theftie”
Not the kind of selfie you want on social media
With Avast Anti-Theft still working, our analysts were able to remotely activate the lost phone’s camera and take a picture of the thief, which we call a “theftie”. They got this from one of the phones lost at Strawberry Fields in New York’s Central Park.
Evidence for the police
After a San Francisco phone was found, our analysts gathered enough details that they could have easily gone to the police and requested the new phone owner to be tracked down. They knew that the person spent time in San Francisco, switched operators, changed the phone’s language to Spanish, got a new SIM card with a Los Angeles area code, and they even knew the last Internet service provider.
Only four of the lost phones were returned to Avast.
Quiana W. from Harlem, New York City found the phone on a park bench. Because she lost her own phone a couple of months ago, she was acutely aware of what it felt like to think your phone was gone. “I know what it feels like to lose things, a wallet or a phone, so I was just trying to pay it forward,” said Quiana.
Michael D. found a phone in a public restroom in San Francisco. “My initial reaction was to leave the phone where it was – it seemed a little suspicious,” Michael said. But he decided to play detective to find the phone’s owner and eventually found a note asking to return the phone. “I returned the phone because I don’t take things that aren’t mine,” said Michael.
“More than 3 million phones are lost each year,” said Gagan Singh, president of mobile at Avast. “Fortunately with Avast Anti-Theft, users have the means to track and recover a lost phone – or remotely wipe the data on it if it’s not recoverable. With all the personal data we store on our phones today, it’s a good idea to have a way to either find your phone or delete the content if you lose it.”
It’s safe to conclude that Avast Anti-Theft offers the most reliable solution to recover your lost phone. Install it for free from the Google Play Store.
Follow Avast on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google+ where we keep you updated on cybersecurity news every day.
Hace unos días recibimos en Twitter un mensaje de Juan José, usuario de Avast en su teléfono móvil, en el que nos comentaba que, gracias a Avast Anti-Theft, pudo recuperar su teléfono perdido.
Juan José con su móvil recuperado gracias a Avast Anti-Theft
Mientras Juan José paseaba por Sevilla, se dio cuenta de que su teléfono móvil ya no estaba con él, lo había perdido. Su primera reacción fue llamar al número para ver si alguien lo había recogido y podía devolvérselo. El teléfono daba señal, pero nadie respondía.
Temiendo que quien había encontrado el teléfono no tenía intención de devolvérselo, Juan José dio unos pasos muy importantes en estos casos. Desactivó la tarjeta SIM y modificó la contraseña de su cuenta de Google.
Lo que no se esperaba es que, gracias a una acción que realizó anteriormente, iba a recuperar su teléfono.
Juan José fue previsor e instaló Avast Anti-Theft en su teléfono. Durante la instalación, introdujo un número de teléfono “amigo”, por lo que siempre que haya un cambio en la tarjeta SIM del dispositivo, el teléfono indicado recibirá un mensaje con todos los detalles de la nueva tarjeta.
Y eso es exactamente lo que sucedió. Al cabo de unos días, y sin tener esperanza en recuperar el teléfono perdido, Juan José recibió un mensaje de Avast informando sobre el cambio de tarjeta SIM en el dispositivo.
Gracias a los datos que el mensaje incorporaba, Juan José pudo contactar con el propietario de la tarjeta que, de buen grado, accedió a devolverle el teléfono.
Como ya explicamos anteriormente en el blog y tal y como hemos podido ver, hay que estar preparado por si alguna vez perdemos o nos roban nuestros teléfonos móviles. Instala gratuitamente Avast Anti-Theft en tu dispositivo Android.
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With millions of applications waiting to be installed in our gadgets, you not only need to be concerned about quality, but you also need to take the proper measures in order to avoid your phone becoming infected by malware. Unfortunately, we already know that Google Play and the Windows Store aren’t immune to malware. Even the Apple Store has its bad days, so we’re not trying to scare you. These days, malware is a continuing, growing threat.
Stay protected on multiple levels with Avast Mobile Security
Avast Mobile Security will protect you while providing you with a worry-free browsing experience. Simply install the app and you‘re good to go! Here’s what you get from this multifaceted software:
We invite you to check out Avast Mobile Security, free from Google Play.
Follow Avast on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google+ where we keep you updated on cybersecurity news every day.
Giri got his stolen phone back because of Avast Anti-Theft
A stranger broke into Giri C’s house last September. The thief looked through Giri’s belongings for something of value. He found a MotoE Phone and grabbed it. Mobile phones are an easy target because the thief can just slip in a new SIM card and resell the phone on the black market.
What this thief didn’t know was that Giri had installed Avast Anti-Theft protection. Avast Anti-Theft allows you to set up your desktop account or use a friend’s phone to remotely locate your device, lock it, activate the remote siren, or wipe its data clean.
When the SIM card is changed without the right permissions, Anti-Theft recognizes it and notifies you of the new number and geo-location so you can maintain contact with your phone. You can also activate a loud, customizable siren, which screams at maximum volume if the thief tries to silence it.
Giri reported the robbery to the local Bangalore police, and after a few days he received a call saying that someone had turned the phone into the station.
”When I received the phone from the police,” Giri told us, “the phone was giving the SIREN sound that my mobile is stolen due to the settings I have configured. I understand that the person who had stolen it might have tried replacing the SIM but he was not able to do it as it has locked the phone and the weird sound frightened him.”
The siren continuously and loudly says the following, by default, when activated: “This device has been lost or stolen!”. In the advanced settings of Avast Mobile Security you can customize what message the siren will sound, if you do not want to use the pre-set message. You can do this under “Select Sound File” or “Record Siren Sound”.
“I feel I recovered my stolen mobile only because of AVAST,” said Giri. “I thank your company for such a wonderful and useful product.”
Giri added a tip for other Android phone owners:
“More than using just anti-virus, it’s better to use software with proper tracking available which will be useful to avoid misuse of the phone, as similar features are not available in Android.”
Avast Anti-Theft is available on Google Play, where it can be downloaded for free.
Share your story with Avast
Have you experienced an attack or breach of your home network? Had your phone lost and/or stolen? We’d like to hear from you about your experience and how Avast saved the day — write to us with your story at [email protected]. If we post it on our blog, then we will send you an Avast goodie box. 
The convenience of BYOD can go down the drain if the employee loses their device. Protect it with Avast Anti-Theft.
Small business owners embrace the idea of employees supplying their own computers, smartphones, and tablets in the workplace. But the savings and convenience can go down the drain if the employee falls prey to a phishing scam and downloads malware or loses their device. Protecting mobile devices has become increasingly more important as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) grows in popularity.
We can write multiple blog posts about BYOD policies and educating your employees about the latest threats and tricks that cybercrooks play (spearphishing, for example), which is all extremely important, but if you simply lose your device, then all bets are off anyway. You can avoid headaches in the case of misplaced or stolen devices by having a way to remotely locate the missing device and wiping the data away if it ends up in the wrong hands.
Avast Anti-Theft allows users to log on to their desktop account or use a friend’s phone to remotely locate their device, lock it, activate the remote siren, or wipe its data clean.
Learn 5 ways to thwart the thief who stole your Android.
Business owners also need to consider what to do about company data on an employee’s personal device when they are terminated or leave the company. Some companies have resorted to wiping personal devices clean of all data, but that includes contacts, family photos, apps and music, which can lead to unpleasant lawsuits or complaints from former employees. Mobile device management systems (MDMs) are available, but could be overkill for very small businesses.
If you only have a few employees, and do not require a full-blown MDM, then Install Avast Anti-Theft for free from the Google Play store to protect your own devices and those of your employees.
Remember to update Avast Anti-Theft if you don’t get automatic updates.
Notice: Coming updates will affect remote command capabilities in past versions of Avast Anti-Theft. Manually update Anti-Theft to stay protected.
Due to coming changes in push notifications, previous versions of Avast Anti-Theft will no longer be able to receive commands from your my.avast.com account. If your applications are automatically updated from Google Play, it’s not necessary to do anything – you can use Anti-Theft normally. However, if you have automatic updates switched off, please manually update Avast Anti-Theft to the latest version. This will allow you to remotely control your device from your Avast account. Commands sent via SMS will continue to work as usual, as well as any data sent to your Avast account.
How do I use Avast Anti-Theft to recover my lost Android device?
During set-up you were asked to provide one or two friend’s phone numbers. If you haven’t done that step, do so now. The Avast Anti-Theft installation and configuration FAQ shows the steps.
You can use the friend’s phone to receive an Avast Anti-Theft SMS notification in case your device is lost or stolen or to recover the Avast PIN in case you forget it.
Usually the first thing a thief does is change the SIM card. When Anti-Theft detects a SIM change, it will lock the phone and SMS all the details to the friend’s numbers you set up in the app.
As long as you have updated your app, you can track and control your device remotely using SMS commands from your friend’s phone or from your Avast account. All SMS commands begin with your password. For example, if you set 2222 as your password, the lock command would look like this: 2222 LOCK.
You can find all the SMS commands on the Avast Free Mobile Security page.
Remote recovery options help you keep control of your device, even when it’s lost.
Avast Anti-Theft is a free app designed for Android smart phones and tablets. It’s main purpose is to help you locate your lost or stolen mobile device, allowing you to track it on a map and control it remotely. You recover your phone by controlling it remotely with SMS commands or via the internet by logging in to your My Avast account.
Avast Anti-Theft user Ducky Boy wrote about his experience finding his phone that he dropped on the highway while riding his motorcycle using the GPS feature. Read about it in On the road with avast! Mobile Security.
Partier and Avast user Andreas lost his phone during a particularly fun party. The next morning he remembered he had installed Avast Anti-Theft. Here’s how he got his phone back, Don’t be sorry for party rocking – install Avast Anti-Theft!
Our Avast Communications team decided to try out the siren just to see how loud it really got. Believe me, it was loud. And annoying. We quickly learned How to turn off Avast Mobile Security’s Anti-Theft Siren.
This step is super important even if you didn’t lose your phone. We did an experiment where we bought 20 used phones from eBay and found all kinds of personal stuff including nude photos, private messages, even financial documents! Here are the details about what we found, Tens of thousands of Americans sell themselves online every day
Prepare yourself before disaster strikesHopefully, you will never need to use Avast Anti-Theft, but it’s best to be prepared just in case something bad happens. You can install Avast Anti-Theft for free from the Google Play Store along with Avast Mobile Security.
Now that you have Avast Anti-Theft on your phone, there are a few things you need to set up. Learn what you need to do here, How to set up your smartphone for remote control.
A lot can happen when you go to a party: you may bump into old friends, make new ones, or dance like there is no tomorrow. Losing track of your personal belongings can also happen when you party, which is exactly what happened to Andreas from Bangkok.
Andreas recently commented the following on our Facebook page:
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We were happy to hear Avast Anti-Theft helped Andreas get his phone back and asked him what happened and how exactly he used Avast’s features to get his phone back. Here is his story:
Andreas went to a party in Bangkok where he made new friends, had a few drinks and at the end of the night Andreas responsibly took a taxi home. When he woke up the next morning he realized that every smartphone owner’s worst nightmare had happened to him, his phone was missing! Losing a smartphone is not only frustrating because the hardware is expensive, but because it contains so much personal information.
Find your lost phone with Avast Anti-Theft like Andreas did.
While Andreas worried about his phone, he received a message from Avast. The message informed him that his phone’s SIM card had been changed and provided him with the new SIM card’s number and service provider. That is when Andreas realized he could use Avast’s other anti-theft features to GPS locate his phone and perform commands like wiping his phone remotely. Luckily, Andreas did not have to go as far as wiping his phone, but the option did help him in his efforts to get his phone back.
With his phone’s new number in hand, Andreas called the thief to confront him and demand he return his phone. Andreas let the thief know that he knew his location (and more) and could render the phone useless and go to the police if the thief did not cooperate. The thief gave in and sent Andreas his phone.
Andreas’ story is one of many lost and found stories we have received from Avast Anti-Theft users and each story gets more interesting! From this experience we can only recommend partiers install Avast Anti-Theft before going out, we will have your back so you can party worry free!
You can install Avast Anti-Theft for free from the Google Play Store.
If you have a story to share, write us on our Facebook or Google+ page. We could share it in our blog.
Avast Mobile Security includes many handy anti-theft features that can help you locate your stolen or lost phone. You can wipe it remotely, it informs you if your SIM card has been stolen, and even allows you take pictures of the person who took your phone. Another cool feature of Avast Anti-Theft is the siren. I decided to test the siren with my friend, who had just downloaded Avast Mobile Security, to see how it could affect a phone thief.
What does the Avast Anti-Theft siren do?
The Avast A
nti-Theft siren was developed by the Avast mobile team to be activated when you either lose your phone (even if it is misplaced in your room and on silent) or if it gets stolen. The siren continuously and loudly says the following, by default, when activated: “This device has been lost or stolen!”. In the advanced settings of Avast Mobile Security you can customize what message the siren will sound, if you do not want to use the pre-set message. You can do this under “Select Sound File” or “Record Siren Sound”.
The siren is designed to frighten phone thieves, or to warn people surrounding the thief that the phone might be in the hands of the wrong person. When the first siren cycle began, we tried to turn down the volume. However, the alarm would begin again at the loudest possible volume. We then decided to see what would happen if we took out the battery, this stopped the siren of course, but as soon as we put the battery back in, the siren started to go off again. To say the least, we agreed that it would effectively frustrate and annoy a thief too.
How to turn off the siren
After a minute of testing the app, we decided to turn off the siren using one of these two possible methods:
MyAvast: You can control your phone remotely via your MyAvast account. In your MyAvast account you can keep track of all your devices that have Avast products installed on them. From within your MyAvast account you send numerous Anti-Theft commands to your phone, including activating and deactivating the Anti-Theft siren. Once you are logged into your MyAvast account click on the name of the mobile device you want to control and then click on the siren symbol. From there you can send a command to turn the siren on and off.
SMS command: Using the Avast PIN you set up when you downloaded Avast Mobile Security, you can send SMS commands to your phone to remotely control it. To turn the siren off, text your Avast PIN followed by “SIREN OFF” to your phone.
You can read more about how to set up your smartphone for remote control here on our blog and you can find a full list of the Anti-Theft controls on our website.
Have fun checking out Avast Mobile Security’s cool and handy Anti-Theft features, but, please, use caution when testing the siren
