Secrets Your Cell Phone Tells

I know what you did last summer.

And last week. And where you were last night. And where you're headed this morning. And whom you spoke with, and how you got here, and -- by the way -- I know when your kids birthdays are, and when you're planning your next vacation.

At least, I'd know all that if I had access to your cell phone, along with some not-too-hard-to find software. That's because today's cell phones, according to an article in New Scientist, contain an incredible amount of personal information. In fact, according to the article, "80 per cent of us carry information on our handsets that could be used to commit fraud -- and about 16 per cent of us keep our bank details on our phones." Between our daily calendars, our photos, our personal statistics and our phone contacts, we're making it awfully easy for the bad guys.

Of course, none of that is especially important if our cell phones remain safely in our pockets.

But what happens if we lose our phones? Or turn them in for recycling when we upgrade to the next level?

The answer could be a bit scary.

The truth is, though, that's it's not all that hard to combat possible misuse of telephone information. Devices like the BlackBerry come equipped with very effective security software. There is a problem, though, according to the article: "While BlackBerry users have the option of encrypting their data or sending a message to purge data from their phones should it be sold or stolen, many had not done this," And, as Andy Jones, head of information research at British Telecommunications, said, "Security is only any good if you turn the damned thing on."

The moral of the story is pretty simple. If you really, truly value your privacy you can protect it. It's not hard to do.

First: limit the amount of information you store on your cell phone, BlackBerry or Palm Pilot.

Second: you have security software. Turn it on.

Voila: a personal information device that doesn't tell tales out of school.

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