SMS Archiving Software
 

Hi Everyone,

I was asked by one of the moderators to put up a quick thread discussing our new software. Let me first introduce myself, my name is Barrett I currently work for a company called Dexrex LLC. My company has recently designed an application that downloads to your blackberry (it currently only works on OS versions 4.2.1 or greater) and then syncs with our servers to store your text messages. All SMS messages both incoming or outgoing are saved instantly to our secure online servers. These saved messages are then easily accessible, searchable and browseable from any internet enabled device. Our service is totally free and we plan on keeping it that way. I would like some feedback on how our software works for everyone and suggestions on improvements we can make. I would greatly appreciate all feedback.
Thanks
Barrett

You can download the app at http://www.dexrex.com/mget
To access your logs you need to log into dexrex.com

Got any pictures and link?

Here are some basic photos of the APP and the web service....

[edit: double post, sorry]

Also just as an after thought you need an Instant Message screen name to be able to create an account. We support all the major networks. The reason for this is because currently, their is no way to have a strong ID for a phone...Again let us know what you think were looking to make changes.
Thanks
Barrett

So I can use this to log the SMS texts on my 11 year old's Blackberry (not on a BES)? And how do I get a Dexrex ID or I need an Open ID to use it?

I see there is an option 'Dexrex ID' - how do we get one? No offense, but giving you one of my usernames and passwords for the IM network is entirely unacceptable, it's a major privacy concern and just not going to happen. I would happily sign up for some account on your system and authenticate against your databases (Dexrex ID) though.

rivviepop -- This is a serious issue, and security is one of our strong
concerns as well. Blackberry support is a very recent development, and
we're still figuring out some of the details. However, I'd like to mention
that we do NOT store your screen name and password -- we just check them
with the IM login server to make sure that they're valid.

The reason we validate accounts through your IM screen name has to do with
how the company started. Originally, Dexrex was designed to archive
messages from the major IM networks. Our authentication process is still
tied to that model.

It's true that a phone number is also an id, but there's no password to
validate it with. If we allowed logging in with just a phone number, then
anyone who knows your number could access all your SMS logs as well. This
would obviously be a tremendous security lapse.

While most of our users want to combine their IM conversation history with
their SMS history, we understand that this isn't for everyone. We're in the
process of adding OpenID support for people who don't want to use their
screen names. Many people already have an OpenID and don't even know it.
You can find out if you have one from a service you already use (such as a
Yahoo ID) with the list at OpenID - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

If you're not comfortable linking an IM screen name with your phone number,
we expect to have OpenID up soon. We're also open to other suggestions for
authentication. If you have a different idea, please post a reply to this
thread!
Thanks
Barrett

We currently only support BlackBerry OS 4.2.1 or greater. I am not sure if an 11 year old BlackBerry can but updated to that OS? We are working for support all the way down to 4.1, however, I am not sure how long it will be before we release that.

Right now to create an account you need to have a screen name with one of the major IM networks. Refer to the post right above this one and it should answer your question. We are working on OpenID support as well and yes you probably already have an OpenID.

If you don't have an Instant Message screen name, you can make one easily at aim.com / yahoo.com etc. Whether or not you use it doesn't matter but it will allow you to use our SMS archiving service.

So if I want to use it now for just Blackberry SMS... What do I need to do? I am a bit confused.

I think the user means that an 11 year old child is using the BlackBerry... not that the device is 11 years old.

Ohhhh haha wow my bad!

I'm sorry I didn't explain it well. Your 11 year old has to
have an instant message screen name on any of the following
networks: AOL, Yahoo, Google, MSN, Jabber or Skype. Type in their screen
name and
password, and it will log in to Dexrex. After this, you can link a mobile
phone number in the lower right-hand corner of the page.

If your child doesn't have an IM account go to Instant Messenger - AIM - Instant Message Your Online Buddies for Free - AIM, click the
drop
down menu titled "aim.com", select get a screen name and it's very simple to
finish.

Then you can use the screen name and password you just created to log into
Dexrex.
Hope this helps please post again if you run into any other problems.
Thanks
Barrett

The device is a new 8310. The user is 11 years old. :smile:

I will give it a try tonight. This service seems to be something I could use for his IMs as well. I am using a PC based web monitor for it now.

So how can you give this away for free?

I look forward to your feedback on how everything goes. Yes we do the exact same thing for IM as well. We built this software not so much as a parental monitor but rather as personal message database.
In terms of the software being free, this is the consumer version and we have multiple corporate solutions for compliance concerns and corporate knowledge management.
Thanks
Barrett

How much does it nibble on the battery or chomp at it?

Hi Sorry i am a bit confused.
I simply use the blackberry desktop manager to syncronize my calander... but now i have a huge amount of sms's on my phone and would like to delete them from the phone.
what i REALLY want to do is somehow save them onto my pc so i can see and read them and have it as a seperate file that i can add to.
These text msgs are very dear to me and i really want to find a way to keep them..
please help!!

Agblackberry, there really isn't an easy way, and this application in this thread and IBC AmberIPD converter are about the only two best choices to get your SMS messages to your PC.

Hi JSanders,
how is dexrex different to ABC Amber BlackBerry Converter?
is dexrex free compared to abc bb conv.?
also, i tried signing in and it doesnt allow me, dexrex is asking for IM networks.. im not sure what this is... sorry i am extremely out of tune in how everything works lol

Dexrex is free. ABCAmber is commercial.

I have never used Dexrex, although users here say it works well.

ABCAmbert Converter is actually a utility to extract many things, SMS included, from your BB backup files.

i just downloaded the trail of abcambet.. it looks very good to me... but i just dont understand what i need to click on out of the following 'order pages';

License for Full Version
SINGLE
License for one user.
Price: US $19.95
Order page: SWREG or RegNow or Emetrix

i can see what abcambet does.. what does dexrex do?

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP!

You're welcome, I wish I could help you further.

You need to choose what type of license for ABC Amber you desire. A single license for one user or ? I don't know what emetrix is , it sounds like a medicine for a bad stomach.

lol.. i agree.
so would it be easier to simply join dexrex?
can you tell me a bit more about dexrex?
and maybe why i cant sign in..

i know i konw.. i have a lot of questions.

You have more than I have answers for... but that is the glory of these forums. What little I know is offset by those who know lots about these applications and if you check back later, someone likely will have answers for you.

set up my account and downloaded the software to my 8830. the only option it gives me is to "stop recording" i'm assuming that means that it is archiving all my SMS's? the website just says i have not conversations yet. there doesn't seem to be any activity and the full menu option just says "close" do i need to just let it keep "recording"?

edit: already linked the phone number as well.

^ they're supposed to release a fix for it later today.. (thurs)

I dropped the guys at Dexrex a note, hopefully one of them will answer some of these questions.

Dexrex is designed to "nibble" on your battery -- it archives messages instantly when they're sent/received, and doesn't connect to the server at other times. The part of the application that "watches" for new messages is a background task, and shouldn't have any effect on battery life.

~ Cristos

Hi AG, I'd be happy to describe Dexrex in a bit more detail.

Dexrex is a service that archives text messages -- SMS messages on BlackBerry, or Instant Messaging on PC. We don't require you to "join" Dexrex -- you can sign in with a screen name from any of the major IM networks (AIM, Windows Live messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Skype, etc.)

We're working on a system that will allow you to sign in with your mobile phone number, but we had to delay the release. In the meantime, you can get Dexrex running on your BlackBerry with these steps:

1. Go to dexrex.com/mget on your BlackBerry
2. Download Dexrex Extensions for BlackBerry, and run it once on your mobile
3. Log in to http://www.dexrex.com with any Instant Messenger screen name
4. On the dashboard page, link your phone in the bottom-right corner (where it says "link your mobile phone")
5. Just follow the steps, and you'll be able to access your SMS archives online!

If you have any questions, please drop us a line at http://www.dexrex.com/Contact.php.

~ Cristos

Hi JGrauman & owningmonkey,

Our release was delayed due to an unexpected technical problem. I'll post to this thread as soon as it's up, and we'll also announce it at dexrex.

In the meantime, JGrauman -- Can you tell me what version of OS you're running? I'd be happy to try and resolve this issue for you before our next release.

~ Cristos

4.2.2.196 (3.0.0.84)
the menu on the BB started saying new messages were archiving as i received them, but were not being saved on my account online. did i read it wrong or do all my old sms's save as well or is it just as you receive new ones?

For now, we're only able to archive new SMS messages (after Extensions is installed). We're completely revamping our app, and we're looking at ways to import old SMS texts off the phone as well. We'll be posting updates to our blog at dexrex, or feel free to contact us (http://www.dexrex.com/Contact.php) with any specific questions.

~ Cristos

Dexrex Extensions for BlackBerry (redux) is out of beta!
 

A few months ago, we released the first version of Dexrex Extensions for BlackBerry. A lot of you at BlackBerry forums had questions about it, so we took your feedback and went back to the drawing board. This is the fruit of our labors, and we hope you like it!

When we released the original version, some international users experienced problems installing the application. We fixed that in the back-end, and took it a step further by adding a setup wizard to guide users through the configuration process. Also, users can now create an account with their phone number if they don't want to capture their IM history as well.

Feel free to check out the new version at https://www.dexrex.com/download/blackberry. You can also drop me a line with your thoughts at http://www.dexrex.com/Contact.php if you have any questions.

~ Cristos