[Kris Kumar]

Ever since BlackBerry introduced the push email technology for delivering emails to the mobile device, others in the industry have tried to offer the same. Microsoft, Good Technology, SEVEN Networks and Visto are the few companies that come to mind when I think about push email and wireless sync of contacts, calendars and tasks. Some like Microsoft, Good and BlackBerry offer server based sync functionality; what it means is that your corporation or email provider has to install a special server to enable mobile sync. On the other hand companies like SEVEN offer something called the desktop re-director, which installs on your desktop that has access to the mail server. Unlike the server based solution which centralizes the sync functionality for all users on to one system, the desktop re-director approach requires each user, who wishes to perform sync, to install the solution on their computer. I myself rely on Cingular’s Xpress Mail which is powered by SEVEN’s technology. There are features I wish it had but I am comfortable with the current solution. Recently I got the chance to try out Verizon’s Wireless Sync solution. Armed with the Moto Q and a new Verizon account, I effortlessly installed and configured the Wireless Sync solution to synchronize my email, contacts, calendar and contacts. I was happy to see that the calendar entry that created on the Q showed up in the Outlook on my desktop computer. Emails were being delivered to the inbox on my device within seconds of them arriving in my Exchange based mail box.



The happiness was short-lived as I realized how the solution was working behind the scenes to perform the synchronization. The Verizon Wireless Sync is based on the desktop re-director approach. This application kept tabs on my Exchange based account and monitored it for any changes like new email or new calendar item. This is something that most of the desktop computer based sync solutions do, including the one from SEVEN. The big difference was that instead of synchronizing the information directly with the mobile device, like in the case of the SEVEN’s solution, the Verizon Wireless Sync was sending all my personal information to a server hosted on the Internet by Verizon. Verizon claims that the information, which by the way is several MBs worth of corporate email, 300+ contacts, my entire calendar and notes, is stored in a secure manner; and I am sure the information is stored in a very secure manner. My problem is – why are they keeping a copy of all my information to begin with? This approach is not IT friendly. In fact I found out later that our IT department does not like this sync software for this very reason and they will take action against anyone found using this software.

Some might argue that it is okay for Verizon to store the information up on their servers as along as the sync functionality is provided and it works flawlessly. I don’t think I can argue with that point. The solution does work well and I don’t think I had any issues with the sync itself. Also there is an advantage, unlike the other systems like Cingular’s Xpress Mail, where I have to keep my desktop computer running all the time with the re-director software to access the information; with Verizon’s system I can view the last synchronized information anytime, even when the desktop software is not running. So if you are okay with it and your company is okay with the way it works, then there are no reasons not to like it. Well almost, what happens when you decide to terminate your cell phone account with Verizon? Or if the cell phone is provided by your work place and you have to return it or transfer it to someone else. Don’t you think you should be allowed to delete all your personal information before you terminate the account? You will be sorry to hear that there is no provision in the Wireless Sync system for the user to delete their personal information using a couple of clicks. I spent a long time on the phone talking to the technical support specialists:

Originally Posted by Verizon Tech Support

"We apologize that we do not have a simplified procedure in place to purge your Exchange information for you. You can clear you Wireless Sync account data by deleting information manually or by calling in for assistance with deleting the account from the server. If you cancel your service the account will be automatically deleted from the server."

What they recommended was deleting all my emails, contacts, calendar items, tasks and notes I-N-D-I-V-I-D-U-A-L-L-Y. I had more than 100 emails, around 300 contacts, 20 tasks, 28 notes and I don’t even know the total number of calendar items. I deleted all of them page by page using the Wireless Sync web interface, using the “check-all” option on each page to select the items, and then deleting the items using the delete button; but when I got to the calendar items, I got stuck as there was no list view for me to select a page full of items and delete them. Verizon’s answer was to visit each day in my calendar and click the little trash icon next to each calendar item! The only other alternative was to wait for up to 48 hours after I cancel my Verizon service and then the Wireless Sync account will get deleted automatically. This approach will not work if you were transferring the phone to someone else or returning it back to your workplace. Needless to say I gave up on the idea of deleting the calendar items manually and decided to leave the calendar items in the account, and prayed that the Verizon servers will do a good job of cleaning the information when they terminate my account.

Security does not mean adding firewalls to a server and encrypting user’s personal data. Security is about making the user feel comfortable with the system and feel in control of their information. That is where Verizon’s system fails. Another thing I found by accident was that in case you install the desktop re-director software on another computer and hook it up to another Exchange account. The dumb Wireless Sync software running on the two desktops will sync with the common account on the Verizon’s server and guess what, it will sync the information between the two Exchange accounts. You will end up with the emails and other information from the first Exchange account corrupting the second account and vice versa. The software does not even warn the user, when it is configured on the second desktop that the information on the Verizon server belongs to a different email/Exchange account. I would have expected the software to detect the presence of two accounts and prompt me with a question before proceeding with the sync. It can be seen as a feature; to me it is a hassle and a security risk. Corporate users and IT department should take note of this fact and ensure that the data is wiped clean before handing the phone to another worker.

While every system or solution has its own set of flaws, I like to be in control of my information; I do not like my personal information to be duplicated on systems that I do not have control over. In fact I like to keep the number of copies to an absolute minimum. That is why Verizon’s Wireless Sync scares me and if you are using it, then you should be concerned too.

[Kris Kumar]

Ever since BlackBerry introduced the push email technology for delivering emails to the mobile device, others in the industry have tried to offer the same. Microsoft, Good Technology, SEVEN Networks and Visto are the few companies that come to mind when I think about push email and wireless sync of contacts, calendars and tasks. Some like Microsoft, Good and BlackBerry offer server based sync functionality; what it means is that your corporation or email provider has to install a special server to enable mobile sync. On the other hand companies like SEVEN offer something called the desktop re-director, which installs on your desktop that has access to the mail server. Unlike the server based solution which centralizes the sync functionality for all users on to one system, the desktop re-director approach requires each user, who wishes to perform sync, to install the solution on their computer. I myself rely on Cingular’s Xpress Mail which is powered by SEVEN’s technology. There are features I wish it had but I am comfortable with the current solution. Recently I got the chance to try out Verizon’s Wireless Sync solution. Armed with the Moto Q and a new Verizon account, I effortlessly installed and configured the Wireless Sync solution to synchronize my email, contacts, calendar and contacts. I was happy to see that the calendar entry that created on the Q showed up in the Outlook on my desktop computer. Emails were being delivered to the inbox on my device within seconds of them arriving in my Exchange based mail box.



The happiness was short-lived as I realized how the solution was working behind the scenes to perform the synchronization. The Verizon Wireless Sync is based on the desktop re-director approach. This application kept tabs on my Exchange based account and monitored it for any changes like new email or new calendar item. This is something that most of the desktop computer based sync solutions do, including the one from SEVEN. The big difference was that instead of synchronizing the information directly with the mobile device, like in the case of the SEVEN’s solution, the Verizon Wireless Sync was sending all my personal information to a server hosted on the Internet by Verizon. Verizon claims that the information, which by the way is several MBs worth of corporate email, 300+ contacts, my entire calendar and notes, is stored in a secure manner; and I am sure the information is stored in a very secure manner. My problem is – why are they keeping a copy of all my information to begin with? This approach is not IT friendly. In fact I found out later that our IT department does not like this sync software for this very reason and they will take action against anyone found using this software.

Some might argue that it is okay for Verizon to store the information up on their servers as along as the sync functionality is provided and it works flawlessly. I don’t think I can argue with that point. The solution does work well and I don’t think I had any issues with the sync itself. Also there is an advantage, unlike the other systems like Cingular’s Xpress Mail, where I have to keep my desktop computer running all the time with the re-director software to access the information; with Verizon’s system I can view the last synchronized information anytime, even when the desktop software is not running. So if you are okay with it and your company is okay with the way it works, then there are no reasons not to like it. Well almost, what happens when you decide to terminate your cell phone account with Verizon? Or if the cell phone is provided by your work place and you have to return it or transfer it to someone else. Don’t you think you should be allowed to delete all your personal information before you terminate the account? You will be sorry to hear that there is no provision in the Wireless Sync system for the user to delete their personal information using a couple of clicks. I spent a long time on the phone talking to the technical support specialists:

Originally Posted by Verizon Tech Support

"We apologize that we do not have a simplified procedure in place to purge your Exchange information for you. You can clear you Wireless Sync account data by deleting information manually or by calling in for assistance with deleting the account from the server. If you cancel your service the account will be automatically deleted from the server."

What they recommended was deleting all my emails, contacts, calendar items, tasks and notes I-N-D-I-V-I-D-U-A-L-L-Y. I had more than 100 emails, around 300 contacts, 20 tasks, 28 notes and I don’t even know the total number of calendar items. I deleted all of them page by page using the Wireless Sync web interface, using the “check-all” option on each page to select the items, and then deleting the items using the delete button; but when I got to the calendar items, I got stuck as there was no list view for me to select a page full of items and delete them. Verizon’s answer was to visit each day in my calendar and click the little trash icon next to each calendar item! The only other alternative was to wait for up to 48 hours after I cancel my Verizon service and then the Wireless Sync account will get deleted automatically. This approach will not work if you were transferring the phone to someone else or returning it back to your workplace. Needless to say I gave up on the idea of deleting the calendar items manually and decided to leave the calendar items in the account, and prayed that the Verizon servers will do a good job of cleaning the information when they terminate my account.

Security does not mean adding firewalls to a server and encrypting user’s personal data. Security is about making the user feel comfortable with the system and feel in control of their information. That is where Verizon’s system fails. Another thing I found by accident was that in case you install the desktop re-director software on another computer and hook it up to another Exchange account. The dumb Wireless Sync software running on the two desktops will sync with the common account on the Verizon’s server and guess what, it will sync the information between the two Exchange accounts. You will end up with the emails and other information from the first Exchange account corrupting the second account and vice versa. The software does not even warn the user, when it is configured on the second desktop that the information on the Verizon server belongs to a different email/Exchange account. I would have expected the software to detect the presence of two accounts and prompt me with a question before proceeding with the sync. It can be seen as a feature; to me it is a hassle and a security risk. Corporate users and IT department should take note of this fact and ensure that the data is wiped clean before handing the phone to another worker.

While every system or solution has its own set of flaws, I like to be in control of my information; I do not like my personal information to be duplicated on systems that I do not have control over. In fact I like to keep the number of copies to an absolute minimum. That is why Verizon’s Wireless Sync scares me and if you are using it, then you should be concerned too.

[sojourner753]

I think this is another example of how we really have no idea where our personal information is.

Personal information is something that I would prefer to keep seperate from services providers. I currently use 4smartphone.net. So if I ever leave Cingular, its not a problem. Its bad enough that my email address is tied to my Cable service. I've been trying to think about what kind of process I could undertake to migrate to a neutral email.

Anyway, why use Verizon's service? If you already have an exchange account, then why not just use the Microsoft push process?

I don't use Cingular's XpressMail at all. All I need is MSFP on my device and I get push. Currently I have my AS synching every 1/2 hour.

[Rocco Augusto]

this is why i use 4smartphone.net as well. i just do not feel comfortable keeping all my eggs in one basket... mostly because more often than not, especially after working in wireless for almost a decade, i have noticed that the carrier usually always messes something up.

[Pete Paxton]

I'm a 4smartphone.net user as well. I really liket it. Now if Tmobile will get the MSFP going, I'd be all set.

[qyv42]

Some like Microsoft, Good and BlackBerry offer server based sync functionality; what it means is that your corporation or email provider has to install a special server to enable mobile sync.

This is not actually the case with Exchange if your company is running Exchange 2003 - the functionality is native, unlike Good and Blackberry. For push e-mail specifically, you need Exchange 2003 SP2 installed as well.

This might be seen as a technicality, but in the context of your article, it's actually potentially significant. One of the selling points of Windows Mobile + Exchange from Microsoft's standpoint is that your data never passes through anyone else's datacenter (as it does with RIM, for example), so there's one less concern from a privacy standpoint.

[Kris Kumar]

Originally Posted by sojourner753

Anyway, why use Verizon's service? If you already have an exchange account, then why not just use the Microsoft push process?

Well my big corporation's slow moving IT department is currently stuck on BlackBerry Enterprise Server. They are testing Exchange push system but have not rolled it out to the workers. :-(

[Kris Kumar]

Originally Posted by qyv42

This might be seen as a technicality, but in the context of your article, it's actually potentially significant. One of the selling points of Windows Mobile + Exchange from Microsoft's standpoint is that your data never passes through anyone else's datacenter (as it does with RIM, for example), so there's one less concern from a privacy standpoint.

I would have myself argued that it is mere technicality; but you have a good argument. Microsoft Exchange solution is definitely the best because it supports the mobile device directly and as you mentioned the user's data is not required to pass thru another server like Good or BES. Good point.

The only drawback to Microsoft's solution is - "trust." The advantage that you mentioned, single server does everything, is the problem. Here is why - IT department does not trust Microsoft solutions as bullet proof, definitely not the IT department of my company. By putting all the eggs in the Microsoft basket and opening the corporate firewall (even though it is one lousy port) to the Exchange server, the IT department is paranoid about attacks. With BlackBerry, Good or any other server providing mobile support, they are not worried because those server are not tightly integrated into the internal corporate network, those servers can act as buffers to hack attacks. But by opening up the Exchange to the external network for mobile support, you are opening up a critical internal server that has access to the network, the Active Directory information etc.

Bottomline, this is the reason why the IT department of my company is moving slowly with caution to verify that things will be fine when the Exchange is enabled for mobile access. Please if you are Microsoft Exchange supporter don't flame me, I am just raising a point. I myself would like to see the Exchange mobile access be enabled but understand the risks (I have worked a lot with Microsoft technologies ;-) ).

Overall I just wanted to beat up Verizon Wireless Sync. :evil: It should not have implemented the sync the way it did and wanted to caution other users.

[Jason Dunn]

Great article Kris! It is indeed a bit scary when you stop and think about a complete copy of your data sitting up on a server somewhere, when you didn't ask it to be copied. 8O

[Kris Kumar]

Just in case anyone is interested in the interesting terms and conditions, here it is:

Originally Posted by Verizon

"(d) YOU AGREE THAT NEITHER INTELLISYNC NOR VERIZON WIRELESS ASSUMES
RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR LOSS OR DAMAGE TO YOUR DATA OR FOR THE
FAILURE TO STORE OR TRANSMIT ANY MESSAGES AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS OR OTHER
CONTENT MAINTAINED OR TRANSMITTED BY THE INTELLISYNC SERVICE. You are solely
responsible for the data, files, and settings in Your Account and for the
data and files that You store, retrieve, transmit or synchronize within or to
Your Account or other websites, services or devices or with respect to which
You attempt to do so (such data is Your "Synchronized Information"). ... You also agree not to access or attempt to access any Service accounts that
You do not have access authorization for or gain unauthorized access to any
of the servers or systems controlled by Intellisync."

People rarely read the terms and conditions, neither did I. ops: So can someone interpret the above; does it not say that Verizon is not at fault for any loss of information, I believe that would include hack attacks? :roll:

[Mike Temporale]

Sure sounds that way to me. Although, "terms" only go so far. I'm sure a good lawyer could show negligence on Verizons part to properly educate and inform the user as well as patch and secure the server and transmission of data.