MOBILE PHONES

The author asserts his right to publish this information in the public interest
No responsibility is taken for consequences resulting from using any information contained herein

USEFUL INFORMATION FOR CELLPHONE OWNERS

Virtually everybody has a mobile phone, however most people have no idea how to set various functions and features, such as call diversion or voicemail facilities. Most users resort to calling their mobile phone provider to set or disable these functions, however, they could easily learn to do this themselves straight from their phone keyboards at no cost or time wasted waiting for an operator to answer.

Australian mobile phones operate on the GSM system and the keyboard codes for all networks are literally the same. The Star "*" and Hash "#" keys are used, along with the numerical codes, to send the various commands to the network or to the phone.

So below are the codes that most people will use to set the various facilities on their phones and networks. Most of the commands will need the user to press the SEND button after the codes are entered.

GLOSSARY

• Bluetooth - Wireless connectivity protocol - Usually used for cordless headsets with mobile phones
• IMEI - International Mobile Equipment Identity - Unique electronic serial number for every mobile phone
• PUK - Personal Unblocking Code - Used to unblock SIM cards
• PIN - Personal Identification Number - Network security number
• SIM - Subscriber Identification Module - Electronic card that activates a mobile phone
• WiFi - Wireless Fidelity - Standard for wireless networking

VERY IMPORTANT THINGS THAT ALL MOBILE PHONE USERS SHOULD DO

Most people seem to be completely oblivious to the fact that if their mobile phones are lost or stolen, not only could it cost them a lot of money by thieves running up massive bills from international calls, but especially with smartphones, a lot of crucial and confidential data could fall into the wrong hands. Therefore it is most important to secure your phone to the utmost and make it a very hard task for a thief to profit by your loss.

Mobile phone owners should always be aware of the fact that if their mobile phones are misused by people who have found or stolen them, for instance by them making unauthorised calls, the owners are completely responsible for paying for those calls until they have reported the loss of their phones to their service providers and the police and taken steps to have those phones remotely disabled.

Obviously nobody wants to have their phones stolen and misused but steps can be taken to protect themselves if it occurs. Follow these steps and you should feel a lot more secure about your mobile phone and what it contains.

• Record your phone's brand, model, colour, serial number and any distinguishing features. It is embarrassing if your phone is stolen or lost and you can't even describe it to police or identify it.
  
  
• Place a permanent identifying mark in an inconspicuous place on the phone, for instance your initials scratched in the battery compartment. If a thief alleges that the phone is his, you can easily prove it is yours by being able to describe your identifying marks, which the thief hopefully would not have noticed and removed.
  
  
• Write your contact details on a small piece of paper and stick it onto your phone with tape or laminating paper. At least the finder will know how to return the handset even if the battery has died. Inside the battery lid is a good spot for such a sticker.
  
  
• If your phone is capable of having a customisable background picture, put a contact number and reward message on it, so that whoever finds the phone will see this first and hopefully contact you and return it.
  
  
• Record the SIM card number so that it can be blocked if the phone is lost or stolen. If this is done, people who find or steal your phone will not be able to make calls and run up your account with international calls. Not only that, they can be located by the signals sent by the phone to the network.
  
  
• Record the IMEI number so that the phone can be disabled if it is lost or stolen. If this is done, people who find or steal your phone will find that they are holding a piece of unusable junk.
  
  
• Obtain and record the Personal Unblocking Key (PUK) so that you can unblock your SIM card if necessary. If you accidentally kill your SIM card by entering the wrong PIN code more than the required times, the PUK can unblock it again.
  
  
• Activate barring on outgoing international calls unless you need to make them. If somebody finds or steals your phone, they will not be able to make very expensive international calls on your account before you get a chance to kill the SIM card with your network provider.
  
  
• Set a phone security PIN and record it. If somebody finds or steals your phone, they will not be able to change any of the security settings and in some cases, even use their own SIM card.
  
  
• Set a PIN locking code if possible, so that your phone is locked to your SIM so that a password has to be entered before another SIM can be used. This will render the phone useless if you have blocked your own SIM when the phone is lost or stolen.
  
  
• Set a SIM card PIN and record it. If somebody finds or steals your phone, they will not be able to make any calls if they don't have the SIM PIN. If they try to guess the code more than the required number of times, they will kill the SIM.
  
  
• Encrypt and password-protect all confidential data stored on the phone. If the phone has a removable RAM card, ensure that such confidential data is secured by encrypting and password-protecting it.
  
  
• If the phone has Bluetooth, disable Discovery Mode. If this mode is left enabled, people in close proximity can hack into your phone with ease and steal your contact list and even alter settings in some cases. There are also mobile phone viruses that are very damaging, such as SMS.Python.Flocker, that are spread by Bluetooth and text messaging, that secretly texts premium numbers, costing users of the infected phones a lot of money.
  
  
• If the phone has Wi-Fi, disable it until you need to use it and install a firewall if required (Apple iPhones do not need this). If your phone inadvertently automatically connects to a network or the Internet without any security, somebody could hack into your phone and steal data from it, including sensitive information. Obviously once a hacker has access, he can install all sorts of mobile phone malware. When connecting to any website, a firewall is essential for security.

CALL DIVERSION - ALL CALLS

• Activate - Star 21 Hash
• Deactivate - Hash Hash 002 Hash

CALL DIVERSION - CONDITIONAL DIVERTS

• Activate - Star Star 004 Star Destination Number Hash
• Deactivate - Hash Hash 004 Hash

DIVERT ALL CALLS TO DESTINATION NUMBER

• Activate - Star Star 21 Star Destination Number Hash
• Deactivate - Hash Hash 21 Hash Status - Star Hash 21 Hash

CALL NOT ANSWERED

• Activate - Star Star 61 Star Destination Number Hash
• Deactivate - Hash Hash 61 Hash
• Activate call diversion - Star 61 Hash

DIVERTS FOR ALL CALLS TO DESTINATION NUMBER

• Activate - Star Star 21 Star Destination Number Hash
• Deactivate - Hash 21 Hash
• Status - Star Hash 21 Hash

DIVERTS WHEN PHONE IS UNREACHABLE

• Activate - Star Star 62 Star Destination Number Hash
• Deactivate - Hash Hash 62 Hash
• Status - Star Hash 62 Hash

DIVERT WHEN PHONE IS BUSY

• Activate - Star Star 67 Star Destination Number Hash
• Deactivate - Hash Hash 67 Hash
• Status - Star Hash 67 Hash

BARRING ALL OUTGOING CALLS

• Change password for call barring - Star Star 03 Star 330 Star Old PW Star New PW Star New PW Hash
• Activate - Star Star 33 Star PW Hash
• Deactivate - Hash 33 Star PW Hash
• Status - Star Hash 33 Hash

BARRING ALL CALLS

• Activate - Star Star 330 Star PW Hash
• Deactivate - Hash 330Star PW Hash
• Status - Star Hash 330 Star PW Hash

BARRING ALL OUTGOING INTERNATIONAL CALLS

• Activate - Star Star 331 Star PW Hash
• Deactivate - Hash 331 Star PW Hash
• Status - Star Hash 331 Hash

BARRING ALL OUTGOING CALLS

• Activate - Star Star 333 Star PW Hash
• Deactivate - Hash 333Star PW Hash
• Status - Star Hash 333 Hash

BARRING ALL INCOMING CALLS

• Activate - Star Star 35 Star PW Hash or Star Star 353 Star PW Hash
• Deactivate - Hash 35 Star PW Hash or Star Star 353 Star PW Hash
• Status - Star Hash 35 Hash or Star Hash 353 Hash

BARRING ALL INCOMING CALLS IF ROAMING

• Activate - Star Star 351 Star PW Hash
• Deactivate - Hash 351 Star PW Hash
• Status - Star Hash 351 Hash

CALL WAITING

• Activate - Star 43 Hash
• Deactivate - Hash 43 Hash Hash
• Status - Star Hash 43 Hash

RINGS UNTIL ANSWERED BY VOICEMAIL

• Set number of rings - Star Star 61 Star Voicemail Number Star Star N Hash
• Cancel previous Setting entered - Hash Hash 61 Hash
• N =Ring Time up to 30 seconds

SEND OR PREVENT YOUR NUMBER BEING SENT

• Enable - Star 30 Hash Destination Number
• Disable - Hash 30 Hash Destination Number
• Status - Star Hash 30 Hash

SEND OR PREVENT INCOMING PHONE NUMBERS BEING SEEN ON YOUR PHONE

• Enable - Hash 77 Hash
• Disable - Star 77 Hash
• Status - Star Hash 77 Hash

SECURITY CODES

• Change PIN - Star Star 04 Star Old PIN Star New PIN Star New PIN Hash
• Unblock PUK - Star Star 05 Star PUK Star New PIN Star New PIN Hash
• Display IMEI Number - Star Hash 06 Hash