[ItKnows]

My mom is a published mystery writer and needs some information on blackberry's for the newest book she's writing. I don't want anyone to use this info for bad purposes, so hopefully we can keep it theoretical.

The heroine finds herself in possesion of a Blackberry and needs to see the data inside. It's someone else's phone. Possibly make a phone call, take a picture, and capture video. Is there a model type that would be most compatible with what she needs to do? From what I read, the 8130 has the video capabilities, but I wasn't sure if there was a better choice that would be less secure then the newer models.

If the phone is reported lost or stolen and the SIM is disabled, is there a way to access data on the phone? Could the data be stored on a SD card instead of directly on the blackberry so that the heroine could access the information through her computer? Are there other things users of Blackberry's do that negate the security features in BlackBerry's?

The RIM feature that will kill a device remotely when reported lost/stolen is a part of the BES? And the BES is cost prohibitive for regular users, correct?

I read that BBs can be located through the GPS. How often is that really done? And what things might hamper that from happening (other then the phone being completely off)? Could location be an issue? For instance, if in a big city, or remote mountain top? Would the person who lost the phone have to really jump through some hoops to get the unit located, or is it something fairly easy to do? Would you have to go to the cops to have that done? (i.e. villian would have to talk to the cops in order to have the unit located.)

Any other answers or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[JSanders]

Welcome to the BBforums.

If the user has NO password on the device, anyone can read and use any data they want to on the device. If a password is set, no one can use the data or access the data for any reason, without first entering the password. Enter it wrong ten times, and the phone self-wipes itself of ALL data, contacts, calendar, etc., and then the phone would be usable for a camera, etc., but all the previous users' info would be gone.

BBs can ONLY be located via the GPS only if a previous application to do so, has been loaded.

[ItKnows]

Thank you for the response, JSanders. I thought BBs had GPS service automatically loaded. So it would be possible that the heroine wouldn't have to deal with cops showing up or villian finding out where she is.

Can a user store documents or pictures on the SD card? And if the phone was password protected, could you still take out the SD card and read it in your computer?

[holden]

Originally Posted by ItKnows

Thank you for the response, JSanders. I thought BBs had GPS service automatically loaded. So it would be possible that the heroine wouldn't have to deal with cops showing up or villian finding out where she is.

Can a user store documents or pictures on the SD card? And if the phone was password protected, could you still take out the SD card and read it in your computer?

Data on the SD card can be encrypted but either the device has a corporate policy for this or the user sets up encryption on the data.

So to answer your question, yes, you could read data off the SD card if it is not encrypted.

EDIT: spellcheck

[ItKnows]

Hypothetically, the GPS is enabled because the original user had some kind of map application installed. Does the GPS find you through triangulation of tower locations? I thought GPS was satelite signals, not towers.

[John Clark]

This sounds very fishy to me...

[juwaack68]

Me too.

[MBW]

Let the character do a fast switch, pulling the MicroSD card out of the side slot on the BlackBerry (it would be very with-it to choose the Bold model 9000) and sticking a different memory card back in in its place - a clever person planning such a deed would prepare the substitute to incorporate a formatting error, such that it would look like a random failure of the card and not cause suspicion - it would be frustrating to the victim of the switch but not make the switch obvious - especially if there's some way of knowing that both cards are, for example, 8GB SanDisk cards.

[coreyoli]

Originally Posted by John Clark

This sounds very fishy to me...

I was thinking the same thing... But I'm a very untrusting kind of person, lol...

[ItKnows]

Originally Posted by MBW

Let the character do a fast switch, pulling the MicroSD card out of the side slot on the BlackBerry (it would be very with-it to choose the Bold model 9000) and sticking a different memory card back in in its place - a clever person planning such a deed would prepare the substitute to incorporate a formatting error, such that it would look like a random failure of the card and not cause suspicion - it would be frustrating to the victim of the switch but not make the switch obvious - especially if there's some way of knowing that both cards are, for example, 8GB SanDisk cards.

That is a great idea! It's plausible, and allows the heroine to avoid detection long enough to solve the murder.

You wouldn't happen to know how a person could create a formatting error on a SD card, would you? :\ I'll google it.

Thanks again!

[ItKnows]

Originally Posted by John Clark

This sounds very fishy to me...

I don't know how I'd convince people I'm not asking for ulterior motives. However, I don't own a Blackberry and I don't know anyone who owns one. So I was limited on getting information about security and data access from reliable sources. I stumbled on this forum doing a google search, and the replies on here are very knowledgable and informative. I don't want any information that could potentially be used to help someone steal a blackberry, or use one after they steal it.

I really appreciate the information that has been given. I passed it on to my mom and she said it was a great help. Thank you for the information and assistance.

[fonejunkie]

Originally Posted by ItKnows

I don't know how I'd convince people I'm not asking for ulterior motives.

Identifying your mother, the published mystery writer, would be a good place to start...

[juwaack68]

Originally Posted by ItKnows

I don't know how I'd convince people I'm not asking for ulterior motives. However, I don't own a Blackberry and I don't know anyone who owns one. So I was limited on getting information about security and data access from reliable sources. I stumbled on this forum doing a google search, and the replies on here are very knowledgable and informative. I don't want any information that could potentially be used to help someone steal a blackberry, or use one after they steal it.

I really appreciate the information that has been given. I passed it on to my mom and she said it was a great help. Thank you for the information and assistance.

Sorry to say that we can be a pretty pessimistic bunch. We get a lot of requests here, believe it or not, from people who have 'found' a device and want to know how to access it - rather than return it to the rightful owner (or even attempt to return it). With that sort of history, we get a little suspicious of those that try to access a device that isn't theirs.

That being said, if you want to PM me with information that will identify your mom, I will keep it confidential and post back here to let others know that you're on the up and up.

[juwaack68]

Thanks for the PM.

The information provided makes me believe that the OP is on the up and up.