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DEL.ICIO.USYour cell may be telling on you
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Judging from the e-mails I get, a lot of readers worry that giving away an old computer - even when the data is erased from the hard disk - exposes a lot of personal information to the new owner. Of course, that’s true. Simply deleting a file doesn’t do the trick.
But I’ve never heard from a reader who was worried about the data contained on a cellphone. Cellphones get sold and passed on just like computers. And, nowadays, the cellphone is just like a computer when it comes to the data stored on it. For most of us there’s a lot of our lives lurking around in the phone’s memory.
That’s why an AP story about all this caught my eye today. Security experts looked at some telephones purchased on eBay and - despite the fact that the cellphones seemed to be empty of data - there was plenty be learned. Among other things they found evidence of love affairs, secret details of business deals, text messages and passwords.
You can read about it for yourself here
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Comments
By frank123
August 31, 2006 12:58 PM | Link to this
Normally I put faked data and info on my computers, PDA, and laptops. I guess I will have to do the same with my cell phone about 10 years from know when I start text messaging.
By Lanette
August 31, 2006 03:38 PM | Link to this
What a shame. I am a member of a club that actually has collected used cell phones and donated them to the Abused Women’s Shelter in our area. They supposedly program them to only dial 911 so that these woman have some form of communication when needed. Now we’ll all be scared of such kind acts.