[grizzly75]

Just got the new Bold 9650. Should I have the firewall enabled, and the encryption enabled? What else should I do to make sure that my phone is secure?

[RegE]

I've often wondered the same thing. I'm surprised that I haven't found any documentation relating to either subject matter - not even the owners manual. I decided to [one day] enable both and see how it affected the device; I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I'm sure that while it may enhance security, there's gotta be some sort of drawback. Glad you posted ...brought it back to the forefront of my mind.

[grizzly75]

Yeah I'm hoping someone can shed some light on if it is needed or not. I know the default was set to disabled for both, but that doesn't really mean it's still secure

[ntrzcinski]

***bump***

[John Yester]

The BlackBerry firewall is a simple application that is embedded in to each BlackBerry device. This application provides an additional level of security to help protect the end user and their data.

The firewall allows you to setup rules to help protect from receiving unsolicited SMS, MMS, PIN and Email. It also protects you against applications accessing the Internet without permission.

Although BlackBerry hosts one of the most secure mobile operating systems, there have been and will be attacks that can lead to loss of data or network breaches. The firewall, when properly enabled and configured, is a powerful defense tool. In addition to preventing malware from hijacking a data connection, it can be used to block malicious messaging and/or SMS spam. In fact, is more proactive then the antivirus products currently available for the BlackBerry operating system.


The BlackBerry has advanced features to protect your confidential data. They are just deactivated by default. You enable the BlackBerry’s internal content encryption and so assure that your data is not saved in raw text on a device. Saving raw data on the device’s memory makes it very easy for crackers to read it once they obtained possession of your BlackBerry.

[RegE]

...You enable the BlackBerry�s internal content encryption and so assure that your data is not saved in raw text on a device. Saving raw data on the device�s memory makes it very easy for crackers to read it once they obtained possession of your BlackBerry.

When you say, "obtained possession", do you mean physical possession or control of the device wirelessly? If the device is set to encrypt its contents and data and the contents are accessible by me - assuming that the device wound up in the wrong hands - what prevents it from being accessible to someone who's not authorized to access? Can you please expound a little more on the dynamics of the encryption security?

[John Yester]

Take a look at this and it should help.

http://docs.blackberry.com/en/admin/...yption_STO.pdf

[RegE]

Yester18 - Thanks for the info! That was very informative. I guess I see why all the nuances of the BlackBerry are not in the manual - it would be like reading 'War and Peace" and the size of a Physician's Desk Reference.

Thanks again. I think I'm gonna entertain utilizing the encryption - it can't hurt.