Telstra exec's stolen WinMo 6.5-equipped HTC phone remotely wiped?

Remember that Windows Mobile 6.5-equipped HTC phone that was stolen from the Telstra exec at MWC? Well it looks like you can forget about any hands-on videos popping up -- to quote the immortal words of Will Smith from Men in Black, the device has apparently been flashy thing'd, from afar. According to an anonymous Microsoft staffer speaking to APC, the company remotely wiped all traces of the operating system and user data from the mobile as soon as it was reported pickpocketed, so unless the thief was smart enough to immediately place it in a faraday cage, this phone's probably a bit too frazzled for the limelight right now.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 23rd 2009 8:06PM]

Dave

That was Gold Jerry, gold!

[Riley Posted Feb 23rd 2009 9:34PM]

no, the only reason you would need to hide in a refrigerator is if there was a nuclear bomb about to go off nearby...
also, um, couldn't think of a relavent joke about aliens...

[lazybones Posted Feb 23rd 2009 6:18PM]

Hmm unless they changed the way WM wipes or did not put in a backup firmware on the protected partition that would be different than how normal WM devices wipe.

The iPhone on the other hand does that by default when you use the Enterprise Active sync feature, you need to restore the whole OS from iTunes when the kill command is sent.

The obvious thing to to is disable the 3G radio or take the SIM out (if it is GSM) of a device like this as soon as you nab it so it can't receive the kill command.

[Silverfox2000 Posted Feb 23rd 2009 10:50PM]

Has MS announced what technological enhancements/innovations they are bringing in WinMo 6.5?
What's the difference between 6.5 and 6.1? I mean, besides that honeycomb thing...

[Gonzie Posted Feb 23rd 2009 6:18PM]

i'm surprised it worked properly to be honest

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 23rd 2009 6:38PM]

Might be worth noting that not only has WinMo 6.5 been added on to ROMs, but the new TouchFlo has been ripped too and is being converted to work on VGA phones.

[ai4281 Posted Feb 23rd 2009 6:39PM]

I don't think they can wipe out a whole OS or the rom... unless their os was in emulation over 6.1. But I guess the most they can do is to delete all the data they can from the device.

whether 6.5 is on it or not, that's a sexy device, and the thief is probably happy. hopefully he'll put it up on ebay, and Engadget will pick it up :)

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 23rd 2009 6:45PM]

Windows Mobile & Microsoft Exchange do not allow a phone to have it's Operating System erased. You can remotely wipe all user data from the phone, but that is only when that device attempts to connect to the Exchange Server again - they (Microsoft/Telstra) would have had to wipe it instantly or else the thieve would have hard reset or pulled the battery on the device.
Therefore the person who stole the phone will still have a fully functional copy of Windows Mobile 6.5 - just no personal information/data.

[Giroro Posted Feb 23rd 2009 6:48PM]

Wouldn't airplane-mode work as well?

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 23rd 2009 8:32PM]

Yes, airplace mode would work fine aswell but they would require a pin to get into the device, standard security policy for devices connected to Exchange.

More details on remote wipe can be found on Microsoft's TechNet site where it clearly says "A remote device wipe returns a device to its factory default condition" it does NOT allow for the operating system to be removed from the device. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124591.aspx

[va jj Posted Feb 23rd 2009 7:02PM]

well will smith disagrees with you.

[balls Posted Feb 23rd 2009 7:39PM]

Dear Will Smith: Plz to be keeping ur sex toys in pocket.

[looselycoupled Posted Feb 23rd 2009 7:45PM]

lol... They should make phones with little capsules of gun powder and an electronic ingnition system inside so you can remotely scare the hell out of somebody when stolen.. and destory the phone in the process ...That woulds serve the thieving bastards right!

( ring... ring... 'Hello?' *BOOM* !!!!!)

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 23rd 2009 7:46PM]

user data will be gone, big deal. Plus 6.5 is already leaked out, so asside from some potentially leaked numbers, theres nothing to be gained/lost.

[yoko1324 Posted Feb 23rd 2009 7:52PM]

The OS wipe feature must be stored on a partition other than the OS ... a feature not currently shipped with stock devices.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 23rd 2009 7:55PM]

news straight from engadget:
Employee steals Microsoft software for whipping out the OS and sets it loose. Wide spread epidemic of useless phones with no operating system now apparent.

[Kelemvor Posted Feb 23rd 2009 9:45PM]

I know you can do a remote hard reset but didn't know you could remove the entire OS and everything. Sheesh.

[reddyroc Posted Feb 23rd 2009 11:11PM]

why not just have it self-destruct? way cooler. plus the pick pocket would have a nasty burn in their pocket, haha.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 24th 2009 12:08AM]

This shouldn't come as a surprise, after all Microsoft pushes the "remote wipe" feature as a main function for business travelers, I wonder if the person who stole it was able to copy the ROM before it was wiped out. What is kind of cool is that the Remote Wipe killed the entire OS, usually it just kills the user data, very cool!

http://www.fanaticalgear.com

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 24th 2009 12:30AM]

I can only remotely lock my 5800 with an SMS, is the remote wipeout a standard feature in all winmo 6.5?

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 24th 2009 4:29AM]

anyone think that it may have been microsoft who arranged the nabbing to market their new remote wipe feature....?

forget faraday cages weres my tinfoil hat