Smartphones are a part of our daily life, and it is tough to imagine our day-to-day life without them. We all store a lot of personal data on our phone including our bank account information which can wreak havoc if someone else manages to get their hands on it. We all shudder at the thought of our phone getting stolen, and some unknown person getting full access to all our data. While it is not necessary that our beloved Android device will be stolen, it is always better to be prepared for such situations beforehand, rather than regretting later on.
There are tons of apps in the Play Store via which you can remotely protect your device in case its ever stolen or lost. Some of the popular apps include Lookout, Avast! Mobile Security and Android Lost. Plan B is a very popular anti-theft app that can be installed remotely on your Android device even after its stolen. However, the app requires a working data connection even after its stolen, chances of which are pretty slim. After all, the first thing a thief will do after stealing your phone will be to throw your SIM card and switch it off. Later on, in all probability he or she will reset the device to remove traces of any anti-theft apps.
Thankfully, most of the anti-theft apps are nowadays smart enough to even survive a factory reset, provided you have root access on your Android device. Cerberus is hands-down the best Anti-Theft app in the Play Store with many advanced features. However, the app needs to be pre-installed on your Android device before disaster strikes and someone steals your phone.
Setup An Anti-Theft App On Your Android Device For Protection Against Future Thefts
Step 1: Download and install Cerberus from the Play Store. The app is free for 7 days, post which users will need to purchase it for only 2.99 pounds. One license of Cerebrus will allow users to use the app on up to five devices. After downloading the app, start it and sign-up for a new account.
Step 2: The first thing that you need to do after installing Cerberus is to enable it. Under ‘Device Administration’, the status of the app will be shown as Disabled. Click on it, and then grant Cerberus Administrator access on your device. If you have root access on your device, then the app will automatically ask you for root access. Grant root access to the app if you want it to survive a hard reset and for other advanced functionalities.
Once you have enabled Cerberus, enable the ‘Remote Wipe’ feature as well. This will allow Cerberus to remotely format your device or its memory card, in case its ever stolen or lost.
Step 3: Head over to the ‘SIM Checker Configuration’ option in Cerberus. This option will automatically send you the location of your device and the SIM info to certain pre-defined numbers along with an email to your registered email ID, whenever an unauthorized SIM card is inserted in your phone. You can pre-define up to three different numbers here. In future, if your device is ever stolen, you can use either of these pre-defined numbers to remotely control your Android device via SMS.
If you regularly change SIM cards in your phone, make sure you authorize both the SIM cards. Otherwise, every time you change SIM cards, your phone will lock itself.
Conclusion
And you are done! Now, if your beloved Android device is ever stolen or lost in the future, you can still remotely control it or in worst case, wipe it. Cerberus will also automatically click a picture from the front camera and email it to you whenever someone enters a wrong PIN or Pattern unlock code, or dismisses a Cerberus message or alarm. This way you might just be able to catch the thief. Make sure to enable the option from under ‘Automatic Photo Capture’ sub-menu in Cerberus.
Keep in mind that Cerberus is not that effective on Android tablets since most Android tablets lack the ability to send or receive SMS’s. However, on phones, especially the ones with root access, the app will provide you fool-proof security in case its ever stolen.