Encrypt Sensitive Data

Many Nokia Series 40 and Series 60 phones include the Nokia Wallet application. On my Nokia 6600, the Wallet application is accessible via the Extras Wallet menu. The first time you use Wallet, you will be asked to create a wallet code, which is used to generate an encryption key. Then you can store small bits of data, such as web site passwords and bank accounts, in the wallet. The data stored in the Wallet application is encrypted and is accessible only to the person who knows the wallet code. On some recent phone models, the Wallet application can also integrate with the Services browser to save information you fill out on web forms.

If you key in an incorrect wallet code three times in succession, the Wallet application is blocked for five minutes. The next three incorrect entries of the code will double the blocking time.

If you need to encrypt entire datafiles on a Nokia Series 60 phone, third-party applications such as SmartCrypto from SymbianWare
(http://www.symbianware.com/product.php?id=scrypto60&pl=n6600) can help you. It encrypts any individual file on the Series 60 filesystem. Once the file is encrypted, you have to know the password to read its contents.

Protecting the Memory Card Data

The memory card on a Nokia device can store large amounts of personal data, such as pictures and other media files. Even with a locked phone, someone can still physically remove the memory card and potentially read its contents using a card reader. You can use a password to protect the memory card so that it cannot be used in other devices or card readers.
On a Series 60 device, you can lock the memory card via the Options>Set password menu in the Extras Memory menu. On a Series 40 device, you can set the memory card password via the Options>Set password menu when you select the memory card icon in the Gallery menu.

Locking the Phone

You can lock most Nokia phones (this is much more restrictive than locking the keys) by tapping the Power button, choosing "Lock phone" from the menu, and entering the lock code. Once the phone is locked, you can perform only two actions:

• You can tap the left soft key, which is labeled Unlock on the screen, and enter the lock code again to unlock it. If you are in the dark, tap the Power button to turn on the LCD backlight.
• If there is an incoming call, the locked phone will ring and you can take the call by pressing the green Call button.

If you just want to lock your keypad to prevent accidental dialing (or launching applications) when the phone is in your pocket, you can press the left soft-key and the * key at the same time. To unlock it, just press the left soft-key (or middle soft-key on devices with three soft-keys) and the * key again. No password is needed. Accidental dialing is especially a problem for phones that have the navigation pad sticking out like a joystick (e.g., the Nokia 6600).

You cannot dial any phone number or execute any application when the phone is locked. The default lock code in a factory-fresh phone is 12345. You can change the lock code in the Settings Security Phone and SIM Lock code menu on a Series 60 device or the Settings Security settings Access codes Change security code menu on a Series 40 device. On earlier Nokia Series 60 devices, you might find those settings in the Tools program rather than the Settings program.

Using the security settings, you can also configure the phone to automatically lock itself after a period of time .

Prevention

Protect your wallet and privacy by preventing unauthorized access, even when you do not physically possess your phone.

It is easy to lose a mobile phone. Most of us have had the experience of forgetting the phone on our desk or in our car. Our kid might take it to school, or our spouse might take it on a trip. Sometimes, the phone might even get stolen. A lost phone can expose you to big security risks, even if it is out of your physical control for only a couple of minutes:

Someone might be able to obtain the sensitive personal and business information stored on the device or someone might use the phone to make expensive calls or send messages to premier SMS service numbers and have the cost billed to you.

In this section, you will learn how to protect yourself against information theft and unauthorized service access when you lose your phone.

Remember to remove all locks, security codes, and personal data from your phone before you sell it on eBay! The best way to do this is to perform a hard reset and then format the memory card.

Backing up Applications

If you have installed your applications on the MMC card, they will still be available on the phone's Main menu after the deep reset. However, the Application Manager program might not keep track of them anymore. So, you might lose the ability to update or remove those applications. For the Application Manager to work, you need to copy the contents of the C:\System\Install\ directory to the E:\System\Install\ directory on the MMC card. Those directories contain the installers (i.e., the .sis archive file) of applications installed on the device. Since those system directories are not available in the Nokia PC Suite's phone browser, you have to copy them manually using a program such as FExplorer.

If you did not install applications on the MMC card and you have not backed up the entire phone memory using an automatic backup method covered in the previous section, you must reinstall all the applications from scratch.

Backing up documents

The best way to save documentssuch as the email messages, MMS messages, audio/video files, and imagesfrom being erased in a deep reset is to save them in the MMC card, which you can take out of the device when you do the deep reset. You can configure the Messaging and Camera applications to automatically save files to the MMC card.
If you do not save the phone documents in the MMC card, you can still copy and save everything in the phone's Gallery and Messages folders to a PC via the PC Suite before the deep reset.

Backing up PIM data

The phone's Personal Information Manager (PIM) data, such as contacts and calendar items, can be synchronized with PIM applications on desktop computers . You can synchronize them back to the phone after the reset.

If synchronization is not an option for you, you can use the backup and restore utility on the Nokia PC Suite, and request that it back up/restore the contacts and calendar data only.

Or, if you want to pick and choose which PIM items to back up, you can copy them to the PC via the Nokia PC Suite's phone browser. The PIM items appear as .vcf (for contacts) and .vcs (for calendar items) files on the PC. When you copy them back, the phone automatically converts them to the phone's internal format.