Symbian Review

The question of mobile phone security worries every mobile user. But there are not so many of them for Series S60.3. Each of them has its special features and ways of mobile protection.

We have chosen the Advanced Device Locks application from WebGate and Advanced Phone Lock from Tektronic to be reviewed, in order to see how those two program locking applications differ from each other.

Here is brief information about the application to be analyzed:

App name	Vendor	Price	Size, Kb
Advanced Device Locks	WebGate	Buy $11.90	56
Advanced Phone Lock	Tektronic	Buy $10.99	405

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We analyzed the following list of aspects and application details:
• Installation
• Trial period
• Interface
• Help and Support
• Application in action
• Testing results

• Conclusion

Installation

You can install Advanced Device Locks and Advanced Phone Lock applications easily; just follow the corresponding instructions on the screen of the mobile phone.

App name	Score
Advanced Device Locks	10
Advanced Phone Lock	10

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Trial period

The trial version of the reviewed application is limited to 7 days. The full version of the software is unlocked by a registration key provided upon purchase.

Advanced Phone Lock trial version lasts 5 days.

App name	Score
Advanced Device Locks	7
Advanced Phone Lock	5

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Interface

The main screen of the Advanced Device Locks application has the following view:

It shows the Locks screen with the corresponding buttons.

Clicking left soft key Options user will see the following buttons:

• Auto lock interval – to select the activation of the automatic lock after the specified period of inactivity in minutes
• Protect Applications – if turned on, the device lock is activated when someone tries to access certain protected applications
• About
• Help – brief information to navigate in the application
• Check for update
• Activate – to enter the registration code
• Exit – exits the application

When starting the Advanced Phone Lock application you will see the following screen:

This screen shows the main application menu, which contains the following buttons:
• Phone Lock
• Applications Lock
• Change password
• Help
• About

App name	Score
Advanced Device Locks	7
Advanced Phone Lock	6

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Help and Support

Advanced Device Locks application has the Help file, which contains full information about the application and its functions; it has an e-mail (support@webgate.bg) to contact a developer in case of any questions or suggestions.

Thanks to the efficiency of the support department I received an answer to my question in the course of 1 business day.

The Help file included into Advanced Device Lock application will help you to orient yourself in it; support e-mail - contact@tektronic.ro

The answer to any question about the application is delivered by the support department in the course of about one business day.

App name	Score
Advanced Device Locks	10
Advanced Phone Lock	10

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Application in action

The Advanced Device Locks application has a default lock code 0000. You are strongly recommended to change it with a new code of your own:

• Enter old code – to enter the old code (at the beginning the default code 0000 should be entered)
• Enter new code – to enter the new code
• Confirm new code – to confirm the new code

The main screen of the Advanced Device Locks application has the following view:

• At power on – to choose whether your phone will ask for the code every time it is switched on
o Off – to turn the function off
o Always – to turn the lock on; each time you turn on the device, it asks you for a lock code
o When SIM changed – to turn the lock on if you have changed SIM card
• Auto lock – to select the activation of the automatic lock after the specified period of inactivity in minutes (default is 5 min)
• Protect Applications – if turned on, the device lock is activated when someone tries to access certain protected applications which you may choose from the list of all applications installed.

To check the efficiency of Advanced Device Locks I ticked the Contacts and File Manager applications as those to be password-protected against the outsiders’ access:

When I tried to open the Contacts item, I saw the following screen:

Here you will have to enter your lock code, only afterwards you will be able to use the Contacts screen. If the code is incorrect, there will be no access to the needed application.

I have also checked that when you choose Always in the At power on option, then switch the phone off and start it again, you won’t be able to use your mobile phone until you enter the correct lock code.
If you choose Off – the lock code is not asked to be entered when the phone is started, but still you will have to enter it when you want to access the protected applications.

As we can see the Advanced Device Locks application works well, so you won’t have to worry about the phones data security with it.

When entering the Advanced Phone Lock application for the first time, you have to enter your new password, which consists of 4 digits (the default password is 1234), and which will protect your phone and applications on it.

The main screen of the Advanced Phone Lock application has the following view:

This screen shows the main application menu, which contains the following buttons:
• Phone Lock – to activate the Phone Lock mode
• Applications Lock – to activate the Applications Lock mode
• Change password – to change the password
• Help
• About

This software operates in 2 modes:

1. Phone Lock – this mode locks the phone, only after entering the correct password you will be able to unlock the phone and continue using it.

When you select the Phone Lock button on the main screen, you will be able to modify the following settings:

• Lock phone at boot – if activated, after you reboot the phone, the Phone Lock mode is activated in 30 seconds
• Phone autolock period – the period after which the Phone Lock mode will be automatically activated
• Phone lock hotkey – to define the hotkey, which you can long press in order to activate the Phone Lock mode
• Lock if case closed – if activated, the Phone Lock mode is activated when you close the phone cover
• Lock keypad also – if activated and when the Phone Lock is On, the keypad will be locked also
• Disable lock if charge – if activated, when you plug-in the charger you will be asked for the password, after which the Phone Lock mode will be disabled temporarily as long as the charger remains plugged in

If you activate the Phone Lock mode and reboot the phone, you will see the following screen:

Only after entering the correct password you will be able to continue using your phone.

2. Applications Lock – to lock the selected applications

When you select the Applications Lock button on the main screen, you will be able to modify the following settings:

• Lock applications – if activated, the Applications Lock mode is enabled and you can select the desired applications to be locked
• Applications to lock – allows to select the applications which will be locked when they are shown or used
• Lock mode – if set to When Shown, every time a locked application is about to be shown/used it will be locked and you must enter the password to unlock it; if set to Use autolock, the password is asked only first time a locked application is about to be used/shown
• Close app. if Cancel – if activated, when you press the Cancel button the currently locked application will be closed
• Disable lock if charge – if activated, when you plug-in the charger you will be asked for the password, after which the Applications Lock mode will be disabled temporarily as long as the charger remains plugged in

If you activate the Applications Lock mode, choose the Bluetooth function to be locked, and try to open it, you will see the following screen:

Only after entering the correct password you will be able to open the Bluetooth application and use it.

App name	Score
Advanced Device Locks	7
Advanced Phone Lock	9

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Summary of the test results

Having analyzed all components and settings and given them the scores from 1 to 10, we have multiplied the scores by a corresponding importance factor in order to get the total score value of the application.

We have used the following Importance factor (IF) values:
• Installation: IF 2
• Trial period: IF 4
• Interface: IF 5
• Help and Support: IF 6
• Application in action: IF 10

The total possible score for an application would be 270 points.

Multiplying the score by Importance factors we have got the following table:

	Advanced Phone Lock	Advanced Device Locks
Installation	20	20
Trial period	20	28
Interface	30	35
Help/Support	60	60
Application in action	90	70
Total	220	213

Test winner according to the overall application test is Advanced Phone Lock from Tektronic.

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Conclusion

Both applications have much in common, but still Advanced Phone Lock application became a winner for offering nicer interface including the full screen for entering the password and more features, such as Disable lock if charge, Close app. if Cancel, Lock if case closed, Lock keypad also, etc.

Advanced Device Locks is very easy and simple in use. It is very important that the application works efficiently and you are calm about the access to the applications on your phone.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 25th, 2007 at 14:58 and is filed under Software Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.