Exposing Your Life - The Top Facts on PDA Usage

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.net-security.org/article.php?id=564' target='_blank'>http://www.net-security.org/article.php?id=564</a><br /><br /></div>"If one in three houses in your street were left with their front doors open at night would you think their owners were asking for trouble? One in three PDA users keep their PDA's unprotected by not bothering with passwords which could end with the same dire consequences as keeping their doors open at night. A bit far fetched you might think but what happens when your unprotected PDA is pick-pocketed to order, lost or stolen and ends up in the wrong hands? Money could be taken out of your bank account, all your personal and business secrets could be breached, your customer databases could be stolen or worse still you could lose your entire identity. According to Home Office Minister Beverley Hughes at a recent Combating Identity Fraud Conference, ID fraud costs the country more than L1.3 billion every year and takes the average victim of identity theft 300 hours to put their records straight."

[mclaughlinc]

OK I will be the first one a step up to say I guilty. I have a HP iPAQ 5450 and do not use password or the biometric reader in my device.

I don't keep banking or credit card information on my device. So I have never felt the need to use these features on my device.

[Janak Parekh]

I don't keep banking or credit card information on my device. So I have never felt the need to use these features on my device.
In my case, I leave all the sensitive stuff locked behind my eWallet, and since I carry a Pocket PC Phone, locking it makes it much more difficult to use, so I don't.

--janak

[mclaughlinc]

Don't take this the wrong way but I have never seen the value of programs like eWallet. Maybe I need to see or hear about how other people use programs like these to understand why I should use one.

Lots of people uses programs like eWallet so there most be something I missing.

[Rok]

The results of this "PDA Usage Survey 2003" are completely bogus.

Forty one percent are now using their PDA to access their corporate network.
Gimme a break. Considering how many old and utterly unconnected Palms are out there, this is completely impossible. And they claim that 32 % use it to read e-mail - less than the number of people accessing corporate networks? Yeah. Right. Sure. :roll:

Over 25% of PDA users have lost it at some time.
Another Gimme a break. I know many people owning PDAs - yet I don't know anyone that's lost it.

A third do not use passwords to access their PDA - and yet a third use their PDAs to store their passwords.
So? While there are certainly people storing sensitive information on their PDAs and not locking it with a password, it is completely impossible to derive their number from the above statement. Thus the claim that one third of PDA users behave as recklesly as someone leaving their front door open at night is nothing but stupid sensationalism. Yet another Gimme a break.

Sheesh. Some survey this is.

Rok

[g0097]

I definately make use of the fingerprint scanner on my ipaq 5555. It works alot better than the one on the 5450 for me and to tell you the truth, I never thought it was anything more than a bother to keep having to swipe my finger just to check an appointment...till I almost lost my ipaq at a phone booth! 8O I learned real quick that even though it was not really sensitive data like passwords on my ipaq, I definately still did not want anyone having that much info about me.

[Jason Dunn]

Lots of people uses programs like eWallet so there most be something I missing.

Let's see, with FlexWallet, I carry:

- credit card numbers
- calling card numbers-
- usernames & passwords for all Web sites
- server admin details for the PPCT server
- affiliate codes & payment history
- medical information, health care numbers, etc.
- domain information for all the domains I own,
- and a whole lot more

To be honest, I have difficulty in grasping how someone could NOT use a digital wallet program - my Pocket PC is where I keep all the data I want to have with me 24/7. :-D

[malcolmsharp]

Don't take this the wrong way but I have never seen the value of programs like eWallet. Maybe I need to see or hear about how other people use programs like these to understand why I should use one.

Lots of people uses programs like eWallet so there most be something I missing.

I put in most of my serial/reg numbers for applications there. After I moved, I had to totally re inatall windows. Problem... I couldn't find all the cases with the serial numbers. But I did have ewallet, and I had them.

I have my credit card info on it as well. That means I don't have to dig it out when using it online. And as I also have the number I should call if it gets stolen there too, away from home I can call right away.

When I worked at a big company, I had all the door codes in there too.

When I was on unemployment, I had all my info for it there, and I could call the number and get my status anywhere.

I always have my bank account number with me.

When I went home, I could access all my online stuff becuase I had all the web pages and pass words with me.

[JustinGTP]

Hmm,

I think that passwords are a great thing, I have one on my PPC. However, I dont have any other personal things on there except for my address and phone number displayed on the INFO page. :D

I might think of my PDA as a entertainment unit and school work. :D

-Justin

[drop]

Don't take this the wrong way but I have never seen the value of programs like eWallet. Maybe I need to see or hear about how other people use programs like these to understand why I should use one.

Lots of people uses programs like eWallet so there most be something I missing.

May be if you download one and give it a try. You might have a lot more important/sensitive data than you think :wink: . And really it is the best place to store all kind of data, important ones or not.

I have all my airline milage account info on my FlexWallet. Do you use one username/password set on everything? Why? Because it is hard to remember too many passwords? With wallet apps you don't have to.

If you admin anything, like Jason, wallet app is almost a must.

There was a great article here (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16729&highlight=codewallet) recently about wallet apps.

But getting back on topic, I am guilty of not password protect my PPC. May be I should. Losing important personal information is one thing. Giving out hundreds of friends and business contact info is unforgivable.

[Ed Hansberry]

My boss keeps his PDA unlocked and stores all info in plain old notes, unencrypted. :roll: I've shown him the articles and even offered to help him get eWallet on it. "Too much trouble."

[gorkon280]

I encrypt and password. I do not see a need to put my credit cards in my PDA. If there is one thing I have with me more then my PDA it's my wallet. I just get my wallet out and get the card out. Only place I want my #'s is on the card or my bill. That's it. More places it is the more risk of it being listed.

[yawanag]

I use a Password and have eWallet, but I am always leery about entering personal information into my PDA.

I once was that way about ordering things online. I've gotten out of that somewhat because I've gotten such good deals. To date, I haven't had any problem, but I pray that I never lose it. For the most part if I lost it, in the circles I travel in, they wouldn't know what to do with it if they found it. Most are scared of comuters, period.

I do worry about viruses, though.

[Wes Salmon]

I didn't start using a password until I started using Money on my PPC.

Funny story, I started using Money for PPC right before I went to Comdex 2001. On the flight home I thought to myself "boy, I have all my financial data on here, I should probably password protect this sucker". I set a 4 digit PIN in my Jornada 568, put it in the seat pocket and went to sleep.

When I landed in Richmond, I left the device on the plane and by the time I returned to retrieve it (about 10 minutes after I got off), it had already been scooped up by the Delta vultures ... err I mean cleaning crew. Even though I got the police involved, I never got the device back.

Moral of the story, password protect those devices people! :)

[petvas]

I use the fingerprint scanner on my H5555. It is very easy to use and works great!!! I also use Codewallet for storing data like Bank Accounts Numbers, Credit Cards, Username & Passwords for Web Sites, my corporate network etc...

[T-Will]

I put in most of my serial/reg numbers for applications there. After I moved, I had to totally re inatall windows. Problem... I couldn't find all the cases with the serial numbers. But I did have ewallet, and I had them.

Great idea! I don't know why I didn't think of loading up Flexwallet with all my software serial numbers. I'll have to do that this weekend.

[Jason Dunn]

Great idea! I don't know why I didn't think of loading up Flexwallet with all my software serial numbers. I'll have to do that this weekend.

That's one thing I find would require a lot of effort - I have 100+ serial numbers that I'd want to have. So my solution is to keep them all in an Outlook folder, since they almost all come as email messages (if it's a digital product). Then I sync that folder over to my Pocket PC, so my serial numbers are all kept in Pocket Inbox. Not exactly secure, but that's why I have a password on my device. ;-)

[T-Will]

Yeah that's what I've been doing so far, I just keep all the emails in a Pocket PC folder, but I don't have it set to sync to my Pocket PC.

Since there's a desktop version of Flexwallet, it probably wouldn't take too long for me to copy and paste the serial numbers I would need the most. (I probably only have about 20 or less serial numbers that I need handy anyways.)

[easylife]

When I landed in Richmond, I left the device on the plane and by the time I returned to retrieve it (about 10 minutes after I got off), it had already been scooped up by the Delta vultures ... err I mean cleaning crew. Even though I got the police involved, I never got the device back.
Whoa, I had almost the same experience! 8O Except, of course, it was my old Palm device. :wink: Anyways, I put all my ISP info (login name, password, POP3 server info, etc) as well as my SSN and various medical info... (hey, it was a 4 hour flight! I was bored! :wink: ) into the device. I was playing with the setting where you swipe up to the top of the screen from the Graffiti area (that normally launches Graffiti help) to power off & lock my Pocket PC. Well, I left it on the plane - locked out. I didn't care much about the device (except for the sentimental fact that it was my first PDA), but I still went to the baggage area and tried to get it back - it was only 10 minutes after I left the plane. Never got it back. 8O Anyways, same moral as Wes:
Moral of the story, password protect those devices people! :)

[Ed Hansberry]

Great idea! I don't know why I didn't think of loading up Flexwallet with all my software serial numbers. I'll have to do that this weekend.

That's one thing I find would require a lot of effort - I have 100+ serial numbers that I'd want to have. So my solution is to keep them all in an Outlook folder, since they almost all come as email messages (if it's a digital product). Then I sync that folder over to my Pocket PC, so my serial numbers are all kept in Pocket Inbox. Not exactly secure, but that's why I have a password on my device. ;-)
I've got all of mine in eWallet but it was done over time, not in one sitting. I leave those in an unencrypted folder in my eWallet file. Not like I care if someone steals my reg codes and I use them too much to have to unlock my data file every time I reinstall something.

[T-Will]

Is there any way to get a 4 hour password delay? Currently it only has a delay option for 2 or 12 hours, but I'd like something in between that.

[stjohn1335]

RE: owner info on Today screen:

I put only my email address in my owner info. It saves more space on my today screen, and if the finder really wants to return it, that person can just email me. If this person stole it, I wouldn't want this person to have my home address as well!!

[malcolmsharp]

I encrypt and password. I do not see a need to put my credit cards in my PDA. If there is one thing I have with me more then my PDA it's my wallet. I just get my wallet out and get the card out. Only place I want my #'s is on the card or my bill. That's it. More places it is the more risk of it being listed.

I'm sorry, but that's just wrong. It's listed in an encryptic file. It would be easier to get the number in other ways.

[malcolmsharp]

Great idea! I don't know why I didn't think of loading up Flexwallet with all my software serial numbers. I'll have to do that this weekend.

Great! Glad to give you ideas.

[dean_shan]

I use Flex Wallet but I leave the PDA unlocked all the time.

[Numsquat]

I encrypt and password. I do not see a need to put my credit cards in my PDA. If there is one thing I have with me more then my PDA it's my wallet. I just get my wallet out and get the card out. Only place I want my #'s is on the card or my bill. That's it. More places it is the more risk of it being listed.

One of the nice thing having the CC #'s in my FlexWallet is that I don't have to carry my CC's unless I plan to but can still order on the net anytime. My wallet is more likely to be stolen/lost than my PDA.

[ctmagnus]

I use FlexWallet but if I ever lost my iPaq while I was out and about, I'd be doubly fubared, as I keep my bank card (I never carry cash - digital all the way!) in the Piel Frama case I always have the iPaq in. :worried:

[bjornkeizers]

I don't usually have a password on my PPC, as it's too much of a bother to type it in every time I turn it on, plus I never keep any private info on it. Not so much as a telephone number. I did put one on it yesterday and will probably keep it turned on.. Why? I'm studying journalism, and we all know what nosy buggers journalists can be :D Wouldn't want people tinkering with my PPC now, would I?

[SofaTater]

I use the simple four-digit password on my HP 1910. Once you get into the habit of having to enter it when you power on, it's no big deal -- you just do it automatically.

I also use FlexWallet and have all of my website usernames/passwords, bank card numbers, PINs and passwords for investment websites/phone numbers, software serial and registration numbers, membership numbers, etc., etc., loaded into it. I also use the desktop synch piece so the info is readily available to my wife, too.

I've lost one Pocket PC and was very glad I had taken the time to secure my personal information...

[bazza]

I use the passsword and fingerprint scan as the first level of security. The password needs to be entered if the PPC has been off for more than 5 mins.

Sensitive documents are encrypted with either Sentry 2020 or Resco Explorer. I prefer Sentry 2020 as the files are not listed unless the program is being used.

All financial programs have password entry. I store personal details on my PPC using Flexwallet.

Mobipassword is used reguarly in conjunction with my desktop. It is a great program:

http://mobipassword.com

Initially, I was lax with my PPC security. I left it in a restaurant once and returned to find one of the staff going through my PPC and writing down the sensitive data. :really mad: Following that episode I resolved to tighten the security protocols. It isn't perfect and I still have concerns that if someone really wants to get at your data - they will! Encryption goes a long way to making that diffcult!
:werenotworthy:

[medic]

I really like the fingerprint scanner on the iPAQ H5555, although I am still trying to get the hang of it...have difficulty getting it to read, so sometimes I have to switch over to the PIN entry before I use too many tries and reset the device :oops: