Mar/April 2009

Whilst most security systems for mobile phones concentrate on encryption, a company called Sonaworks has come up with a somewhat simpler solution.

With its Ghost Pigeon system, contacts, messages and other data on the phone can simply be hidden from anyone not in possession of a special numeric password; so if the phone is stolen, the thief won't know the data was ever there in the first place.

It works by creating a 'ghost' menu structure, identical to the real one, but including icons and details that are seen only by the password holder. If anyone else switches on the phone without having password access, the normal menu is displayed, and all the sensitive information is invisible.

The effect isn't limited to menus alone; call logs, saved messages, video and audio files, contact lists and photographs are also concealed.

 

The system is said to work on all mobile networks. Initially it is available only for Symbian-based mobiles, but the company says support is under developments for Windows Mobile phones, Apple's iPhones and other brands such as Samsung and Sony Ericsson.

Ghost Pigeon costs only £10 in the UK, and can be downloaded in response to a text message.