McAfee WaveSecure (Trial)

Summary

Every year over 20 million people lose their phones and along with them their contacts, messages, call log, and pictures.

Is all of this now a thing of the past?

This is at least what WaveSecure Mobile Security is setting out to do.

P.S. If you register before March 31st, 2010, you'll receive a lifetime subscription for free.

The current beta-version of WaveSecure offers you the following options on the start screen:

• Backup
• Upload Media
• Restore
• Lock Down Phone
• Wipe Now!

Backup
Here you can select which files you would like to secure. You can secure your contacts, text messages, or call log.

Upload Media
With this option you can view all your available photos and videos in a list. You can then select individual pictures or videos and have the uploaded to
the WaveSecure server.

Restoring Contacts and Text Messages
Here you can restore previously saved contacts as well as text messages. As part of this test, I first saved all my messages and then restored them to my phone. Despite a warning message about the possibility of duplicate messages, I didn't encounter any problems of this sort. I had the same results with my contacts, as well.

Phone Lock
With this feature you can lock your phone at any time. You'll need your six digit WaveSecure PIN to unlock it. The importance of this feature is explained later in the test report. All I can say is, the phone lock is combined with an extremely loud alarm signal. Believe me when I tell you that it's a horrendous sound...

Wipe your Files
All your contacts, text messages, call logs, videos, and your entire memory card are wiped clean. This function could be really helpful in case your phone gets lost or stolen as you can access it from any computer.

In the settings, you have multiple program options that you adjust to your needs. Let me just name a few of them. You can, for example, activate a sim-lock that prevents other sim cards from being inserted into your phone. A loud screeching noise can also be added to this feature. What's even better is you can create your own little warning message that will show up on the screen of your phone when someone else tries to use it. A possible message could be:

"This phone is locked. Please contact (***)***** **** to return this phone"

You could also be a bit blunter by saying:

"This phone is locked and being tracked. Please drop it off at the closest police station".

Feel free to have fun and be creative with your writing.

There's also the possibility of sending an automatic text message to a friend's number informing them about your lost or stolen phone.

The best thing about this program is that all the features are accessible online on your computer. This means that with a click of a button you can wipe your phone before a thief or passer-by with bad intentions has the chance to access your information. Make sure to regularly secure your phone's data in order to be able to restore them at any time on a different device.

PC Features:
Once you're logged in on the WebSecure website you can access even more information:
Track: Here you can see what sim-card is currently in your phone.
Location: View your phone's current location (unfortunately did not work in our test).

Bottom Line:
I wasn't the only one to find the idea behind this program good. Based on the Android Developer Challenge jury ratings, this program ranked 2nd among all the individual category winners. At the moment, WaveSecure is available in beta-version. Therefore not all of its features seem to function well (i.e. phone location-finder). During the test, the phone also significantly drained the phone's battery life. It is important to keep in mind that your personal data gets uploaded to the WaveSecure server. Although WaveSecure promises you the highest security standards, you should exercise caution when selecting which files to upload to their server. Theft-protection can be activated without uploading any files to their server, but then there won't be anything to restore.

My tip:
Register now and secure yourself a lifetime subscription to this service. Start using the program only once the beta-phase is over and all the little bugs have been taken care of.
 

In this section, WaveSecure also deserves some extra points. The program has a really solid look to it with a clear and self-explanatory menu. A real advantage is being able to use the program on your computer as well as your phone. If worst comes to worst and your phone simply disappears from the face of the earth, you can prevent any potential harm to your phone by deleting all personal data with a single mouse click on your PC. The online version of this program is just as easy to navigate as the one on the phone.
On the whole, a program you'll hopefully never have to use, but always want to keep around.

The app speed is good and stable. Since the beta-version works well, we can expect the full-version to be even better. On a less positive note, the program really depletes your battery. Also, the location-finder feature didn't work a single time during the test. I'm hoping these drawbacks will get taken care of in a future update.

WaveSecure offers a free lifetime subscription to all Android users that register before March 31st, 2010. 

Communication with your phone is done via text message. Users don't have to pay anything for incoming text messages. Uploading files to the WaveServer may incur extra charges if you don't have an unlimited data plan.