Android Remote Security Options

Ever wondered just how bad it would be if you lost your smartphone? For many smartphone users it would surely lead to lots of headaches over possible identity theft, fraud, defamation, and a general breach of privacy among other things. While it is easy to set a password lock or lock pattern on your device, it is also easy for a thief to bypass those locks. So what's the answer? Remote security.

iOS users have remote security with a 'locate my device' type of feature built right in called Find My iPhone. Android users don't get this by default out-of-the-box, but do get easy access to tons of apps through the Play Store including a few of the remote security persuasion.

I would venture to guess that Lookout Mobile Security is the most widely used Android remote security option out there, with over 338,000+ ratings on the Play Store. This is for good reason as it offers features such as remote siren, remote wipe, GPS device location, and decent mobile security. Avast! has released a free version of their mobile security app for Android. If you've ever explored PC security options, Avast! is definitely in your vocabulary. They do a great job with desktop security, but how about mobile? Well, they have not disappointed! The Avast! app offers excellent protection against everyday mobile security concerns with security features like anti-virus, web-shield, and even a firewall. This app goes a step further to offer remote security... and the most fully featured I have yet to see.

Some Avast! remote security options include the ability to monitor calls and texts your lost phone sends and receives, push messages to the phone, and of course locate, lock and wipe. You can even automate the behavior on indicators such as too many failed logins or the sim card being swapped out. To top it off, the actual control of the app is well protected. You can custom name the app once installed and set a password for changing settings within the app. The commands you can send to your phone via SMS are extensive to say the least... and you can even create your own custom remote commands! Give it a look below - it will definitely get your gears turning!

Avast! has finally made remote security apps interesting. While locate, lock, and wipe is cool, having the flexibility to interact with your lost device through a wider range of functionality opens up a whole new world of worst-case-scenario disaster recovery options. If your interest is piqued I suggest taking a look at the  Avast! documentation to see just how many commands you can throw at your lost Android... have fun setting it all up!

Lookout Mobile Security remote (web) commands
LOCATE
Pinpoint device on map.

SCREAM
Sound alarm on device.

LOCK
Prevent use of device.

WIPE
Delete data on device.

Avast! Mobile Security remote (SMS) commands

All SMS commands must begin with your avast! password. For example, if your avast! password is set to 2222, a lock command should look like this:

2222 LOCK

LOST
Sample: 2222 LOST
Marks the phone as LOST. This command initiates the same actions as a SIM card change, depending on the protection behavior settings.

FOUND
Sample: 2222 FOUND
Marks the phone as FOUND. This command disables the phone lock as well as the siren alarm.

LOCK
Sample: 2222 LOCK
Lock the mobile phone

UNLOCK
Sample: 2222 UNLOCK
Unlock the mobile phone

MESSAGE <message text>
Sample: 2222 MESSAGE Give back my phone!
Will display a message on the phone. Can be dismissed. Use LOCK and SET LOCKTEXT to display a sticky message

SIREN ON
Sample: 2222 SIREN ON
Turn siren on

SIREN OFF
Sample: 2222 SIREN OFF
Turn siren off

LOCATE
Sample: 2222 LOCATE
Locate the device

LOCATE <interval duration in minutes>
Sample: 2222 LOCATE 5
Track the device continuously

LOCATE STOP
Sample: 2222 LOCATE STOP
Stop continous tracking

CALL [phone number]
Sample: 2222 CALL
Sample: 2222 CALL +43660333555
If no phone number is given this command causes the phone to call you back. If you give the phone number the phone will call the given number

FORWARD SMS [phone number]
Sample: 2222 FORWARD SMS
Sample: 2222 FORWARD SMS +43660333555
If no phone number is given, incoming SMS will silently be forwarded to the phone that sent the command. If a phone number is given, incoming SMS will be forwarded to the given phone number. This command overrides all previously issued SMS-forwarding-settings.

The forwarding can be cancelled by issuing the FORWARD SMS STOP command or by launching avast! Anti-Theft.

CC SMS [phone number]
Sample: 2222 CC SMS
Sample: 2222 CC SMS +43660333555
Same as FORWARD SMS, but will not delete the SMS after forwarding which means that the forwarded SMS will still be delivered to the target phone (CC means carbon copy). This command overrides all previously issued SMS-forwarding-settings.

The forwarding can be cancelled by issuing the CC SMS STOP command or by launching avast! Anti-Theft.

CC CALLS [phone number]
Sample: 2222 CC CALLS
Sample: 2222 CC CALLS +43660222333
By issuing this command you can request SMS notifications about incoming calls. The notifications will be sent to the phone that issued the command if no other phone number is given. This command overrides all previously issued call-forwarding-settings.

We did not implement direct forwarding of the calls as this works differently in the networks around the world. Also it is not possible to hide the forwarding settings from the thieves eyes reliably.

The forwarding can be cancelled by issuing the CC CALLS STOP command or by launching avast! Anti-Theft.

CC ALL [phone number]
Sample: 2222 CC ALL
Sample: 2222 CC ALL +43660222333
Combines the CC SMS and the CC CALLS command. This command overrides all previously issued SMS- and call-forwarding- settings.

The forwarding can be cancelled by issuing the CC ALL STOP command or by launching avast! Anti-Theft.

WIPE
Sample: 2222 WIPE
Wipe all data from the phone

GET <query limit> SMS
Sample: 2222 GET 10 SMS
Query SMS messages

GET <query limit> INBOX SMS
Sample: 2222 GET 10 INBOX SMS
Query received SMS messages

GET <query limit> SENT SMS
Sample: 2222 GET 10 SENT SMS
Query sent SMS messages

GET <see above> SMS FOR <phone number>
Sample: 2222 GET 10 SMS FOR +43660333555
Query SMS messages matching the phone number given

GET CONTACTS
Sample: 2222 GET CONTACTS
Query the contacts from the address book

GET LOG <query limit>
Sample: 2222 GET LOG 10
Query the call and SMS log

LAUNCH
Sample: 2222 LAUNCH
Launches avast! Anti-Theft user interface

CLOSE
Sample: 2222 CLOSE
Closes avast! Anti-Theft user interface

REBOOT
(only for rooted devices)
Sample: 2222 REBOOT
Reboots the device

SET OWNER <name of owner>
Sample: 2222 SET OWNER Charles Chaplin
Will change the device owner name

SET PASSWORD <access code>
Sample: 2222 SET PASSWORD 3333
Will change the avast! password. You will need to provide a password of 4-6 digits

SET FRIEND 1 <phone number>
Sample: 2222 SET FRIEND 1 +43660122220192
Will change the phone number of the first friend. Provide a valid mobile phone number

SET FRIEND 2 <phone number>
Sample: 2222 SET FRIEND 2 +43660122220192
Will change the phone number of the second friend. Provide a valid mobile phone number

SET ONLYFRIENDS <friends mode>
Sample: 2222 SET ONLYFRIENDS 1
Will change the SMS command authorization mode (0 = allow all numbers, 1 = allow only friend commands)

SET LOCKMODE <lock mode>
Sample: 2222 SET LOCKMODE 1
Will change the phone lock protection behavior (0 = do not lock, 1 = auto lock)

SET SIRENMODE <siren mode>
Sample: 2222 SET SIRENMODE 1
Will change the siren protection behavior (0 = no siren on lock, 1 = siren on lock)

SET APPLOCKMODE <app lock mode>
Sample: 2222 SET APPLOCKMODE 1
Will change the program manager or phone setting protection behavior (0 = no setting active, 1 = deny program manager, 2 = deny phone settings)

SET USBLOCKMODE <USB lock mode>
(only for rooted devices)
Sample: 2222 SET USBLOCKMODE 1
Will change the USB debugging access protection behavior (0 = do not lock USB debugging access, 1 = lock USB debugging access)

SET FORCEDATAMODE <force data mode>
(only for rooted devices)
Sample: 2222 SET FORCEDATAMODE 1
Will change the force data connection protection behavior (0 = do not force data connection, 1 = force data connection)

SET BATTERYSMSMODE <battery mode>
Sample: 2222 SET BATTERYSMSMODE 1
Will change the low battery notification protection behavior (0 = do not notify on low battery, 1 = notify on low battery)

SET LOCKTEXT <lock text>
Sample: 2222 SET LOCKTEXT Please call me back at +4313283483
Will change the custom lock text

SET AUTOGPS <gps mode>
Sample: 2222 SET AUTOGPS 1
Will enable or disable automatic enablement of GPS (0 = turn off, 1 = turn on)

SET WIPEMODE <wipe mode>
Sample: 2222 SET WIPEMODE 1
Will enable or disable thorough wipe (0 = turn off, 1 = turn on)

SET PROTECTION <protection mode>
Sample: 2222 SET PROTECTION 1
Will enable or disable Anti-Theft protection (0 = turn off, 1 = turn on)
Caution: By using this command you will completely disable the Avast! Anti-Theft system thus rendering the Anti-Theft protection useless.

Implement own remote commands

Avast! Anti-Theft is able to launch any programs on the phone and pass data to the launched program.

SMS command: <Activity or service name, fully qualified> <arguments>

Samples:

2222 at.domain.package.Activity Test will start the activity OR service at.domain.package.Activity and pass Test as an parameter to it.
2222 at.domain.package.Activity This is my command line will start the activity OR service at.domain.package.Activity and pass This is my command line as an parameter to it.

The activity or service needs to be positioned on the root of the package (sub-packages are NOT supported).

Data transfer is done via Intent:

Intent i = new Intent();
i.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);
i.putExtra("number", origNumber);
i.putExtra("cmd", data);
i.setComponent(cName);

This means you can then read (in your service or activity) the sender number in the String extra number and the command from the String extra cmd.

Anti-Theft always tries to start an Activity first, if none is found it tries to start a Service, if this fails it will reply with an error SMS.