Another volunteer project: IIWPO (theft protection)

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I need (or in fact, we all need...) someone that can read and write to the registry and send SMS messages in C++. (A code example for sending SMS is here)


The objective here is to create a program which we can include in the ROMkitchen and which will allow for theft-protection of the device. Basically when you select this option, you enter the GSM number of a friend and your name at the time you create the ROM. The device regularly checks whether your name still appears in the Owner Information. If not, it sends an SMS to your friend, including the new owner info, and then it is silent until the Owner Information changes again.


More formally:

Loop forever
    SLEEP 1 hour
    IF reg-key '\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ControlPanel\Owner'
     value 'Owner'  != reg-key '\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\
     Software\XDA-developers\IIWPO' value 'LastOwner'
     THEN
        COPY 'Owner' to 'LastOwner'  (See above)
        IF value 'Owner' doesn't contain the string
         held in '\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\
         XDA-developers\IIWPO' value 'Name' THEN
            Send data from Owner field above
            via SMS to number held in '[...]IIWPO' 
            value 'Number' (REG_SZ)

Only slightly complicating factor is that the 'Owner' field is a binary field holding unicode, and that I'd like the 'Name' field in our own entry to be REG_SZ because ROMkitchen does that without hassle. But otherwise this is all pretty straightforward.

Because our IIWPO (which, by the way, stands for 'Interesting Interaction With Previous Owner') program is meant to be in 'Startup', it would be nice if memory footprint was as small as possible. Since it's going to sleep most of the time, performance should be unaffected no matter what.

The sleep is at the beginning so that you have one hour after a cold boot to set your name before it starts sending the SMS.

Ofcourse everyone that has read this could change the registry. We're assuming for a moment that it's much more likely that your phone will be stolen by someone that didn't read this. A little Security By Obscurity never hurt anyone.

I just wonder

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very interesting concept, very...

I can code this feature easy, but I just wonder: what to say, if your stoles device will stay hundreds kilometers away from you a few days later? ask the new owner to mail it to you? :cry:

hmmm? maybe it is worth?

improve the concept

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I have an idea to improve the above concept:

1. we can save the original owner and "sms to send" number in the random generated register key, encrypted binary - it will be hard to find and delete for most of users

2. we provide a shortcut to the application allows the oroginal user to run it and type the name and the above number and save

3. after the above point 2 happen once, the shortcut and even the application are deleting completely, so nobody can do that again

the quextion is:
the execute part of the application: to check the current name and eventually send the sms, have to be placed in the Startup folder to run after the reset. How to hide this shortcut?

Re: improve the concept

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Originally Posted by JGUI

1. we can save the original owner and "sms to send" number in the random generated register key, encrypted binary - it will be hard to find and delete for most of users

Nice idea: but any thief that knows about this danger will just cook themselves a new ROM and install it.

2. we provide a shortcut to the application allows the original user to run it and type the name and the above number and save

Why not just do it in the ROMkitchen?

And besides, it already done: a kind gentleman by the name of Charles Warner has written the app, and it'll be in the ROMkitchen later today, hopefully...