Microsoft to Introduce Anti-Theft Features for Windows Phone By Mid 2015

By Prarthito

| Published: Friday, June 20, 2014, 16:27 [IST]

The curious case of smartphone thefts have successfully been able to keep us on our toes. But major smartphone companies are now doing whatever they can to offer some kind of resistance to the that. And now it seems like Microsoft also has some security-based plans of its own.

As reports suggest, Microsoft is currently planning to introduce its own anti-theft features for its proprietary Windows Phone operating system-based handsets before July 2015.

Microsoft to Introduce Anti-Theft Features for Windows Phone

According to Fred Humphries, Vice President of US Government Affairs for Microsoft, the Redmond company had already signed along with CTIA's Smartphone Anti-Theft Voluntary Commitment a few months ago.

Apart from that, he also confirmed that Microsoft will be able to meet these commitments before the CTIA goal of July 2015. So basically, Windows Phone's "Find My Phone" feature will now be improved with a few anti-theft features.

"We've been focused for some time on helping to protect our customers and their phones. Windows Phone, and before that Windows Mobile, have included a free service provided by the Find My Phone feature, which allows the owner to remotely find, ring, lock or erase their phone from the Web," said Humphries.

"Lock and Erase help keep user data from prying eyes while Find and Ring help users locate a lost phone."

Here's a list of all that will be on offer via the new anti-theft changes made to Windows Phone-based devices:

- Remotely erase personal data from the smartphone;
- Render the smartphone inoperable by unauthorized users, except the ability to call 911;
- Prevent reactivation or setup of the smartphone without the authorized user's permission;
- Reverse the inoperability if they recover their smartphone and restore user data stored in the cloud if the smartphone was erased.