[plh121]

Very good info here I never thought of before.....going to password protect now TX!

[meierjn]

Every portable device i use has a password.. Why? Simple. You can't steal my info, look at pictures or browse emails if you can't access that part of the device.

If you don't have a password, you will wonder why you didn't when the device it stolen, lost of misplaced.

I'm a Network admin so a password is the norm for me

Ditto here. We have a lot of higher administration staff that tend to gripe a bit at times until they are asked if they would like someone their emails becoming public.

[manofice1]

I use a pw, then again I have work documents on mine.

[Draconianfire83]

I use a password as well, I have work docs on there with confidential info of clients.

However, a word of caution... When I first got my 64GB device, I put a password on it, at the time I only had minimal info and apps loaded. Some family came over with their kids. Amazing how a four year old LOVES to put in passwords and play with tablets . So, then I had to reload everything... wipey wipey.

[kenshaw]

No password here. At 199, who cares if it goes missing.

[wet_coast]

so some smarta$$ could just see a PB and then try 5 (incorrect) passwords and then force a wipe of the device?

I use a password as well, I have work docs on there with confidential info of clients.

However, a word of caution... When I first got my 64GB device, I put a password on it, at the time I only had minimal info and apps loaded. Some family came over with their kids. Amazing how a four year old LOVES to put in passwords and play with tablets . So, then I had to reload everything... wipey wipey.

[yurguis]

I use it at home without password but sometimes I take it to the office and once there I enable the password to be in the safe side.

Maybe RIM can add the option to select if I want to show the email or any other contact info in the password screen so the user can be found in case he looses his PlayBook.

[FF22]

No password here. At 199, who cares if it goes missing.

It is not the device you protect with a password. A passworded device can be lost or stolen. It is the DATA/FILES which some may not want accessible.

[FF22]

so some smarta$$ could just see a PB and then try 5 (incorrect) passwords and then force a wipe of the device?

YES. That is the potential tradeoff. It is the reason, so far, I have not password protected my phone. It goes places where I don't have easy access to a computer for restoration. I recall my 3 week trip to Europe and I really debated protecting my 8830 with a password. No computer so a loss of all data would have left it in a much less useful state (no emails, no home addresses, NO DATA). I did not protect it and did not lose it. I guess with the phone it has been a matter of convenience to use it as a phone quickly. But I should reconsider, I guess.

And back to your original question - some "smarta$$es" have turned out to the be drunken OWNER who blew away their own data - there have been threads about such mistakes in the past.

[The_Adventist]

I don't lock mine because of the 10 strikes and your SOL part. This should be adjustable. If I want to change it to 100 times before wipe or never, there should be a option for that in the security setup.

Coming back to your device and seeing "1 more password attempt before wipe" makes for an interesting few moments. Thanks son.

Sent from my BlackBerry® PlayBook™ using Tapatalk

[xDragonZ]

I set my pb with password and the next day I woke up my pb is wiped out all my apps and files are gone. I asked my family and I was my brother took my pb while I'm asleep ... LOL. Maybe RIM should allow user to set they want pb to be wiped out after 10 password tried or just lock for a day.

[mikeplus1]

As I said before I use real simple passwords on my PB and BB because I do have business documents on them, but I also have a business card taped to the back of each as well as a business card thrown in every case of every gadget I own with the word "REWARD" written in large letters on them. If an honest person ends up with one for any reason, they have a way to contact me with my work address, phone, fax and email address. Too bad PB doesn't have anything like BB Protect or BuddyGuard Pro (free trial available) like I have on my BB phone. Even BuddyGuard Free is better than nothing if you don't want to spend $3.99 for the Pro version.

[VeniceBB]

I set my pb with password and the next day I woke up my pb is wiped out all my apps and files are gone. I asked my family and I was my brother took my pb while I'm asleep ... LOL. Maybe RIM should allow user to set they want pb to be wiped out after 10 password tried or just lock for a day.

Actually, I think that's a pretty good idea. Or give users the option to change the number of tries that are allowed before it's wiped. Maybe a tiny little warning 'you have x tries left'

[TBone4eva]

It does tell you how many tries you have let (something like Wrong password, Enter Password (2/10) ) and IIRC on the last try it warns you that the data will be wiped. This is what RIM is known for, SECURITY. Like F2 said, it's a tradeoff. If you don't ever want the potential of losing your data due to you not remembering your password then don't password protect it.

However, you can mitigate the potential lost and still password protect your PB:
1) Do a complete backup once a week.
2) Make a copy of that backup and store it on an external HDD with at least one other backup from a previous week.

[nano404]

I don't have my playbook yet (hopefully tomorrow or Friday), but I was thinking. Maybe if there was a setting that said on the 10th (or whatever number the user chooses) try to enter the password, it's impossible to unlock the device from the device itself. An email is immediately sent to the email address linked to the device's blackberry ID with a link to a page where the user has to login with their BB ID, answer a security question and then it unlocks the device wirelessly (wifi or whatever method).

I haven't put extensive thought to it, thought it up in 5 minutes, but I think it can be done.

[FF22]

I don't have my playbook yet (hopefully tomorrow or Friday), but I was thinking. Maybe if there was a setting that said on the 10th (or whatever number the user chooses) try to enter the password, it's impossible to unlock the device from the device itself. An email is immediately sent to the email address linked to the device's blackberry ID with a link to a page where the user has to login with their BB ID, answer a security question and then it unlocks the device wirelessly (wifi or whatever method).

I haven't put extensive thought to it, thought it up in 5 minutes, but I think it can be done.

Yes, there have been a number of similar suggestions for the bbphones. But Rim maintains absolute security by wiping any device where the password is not provided within the number of tries permitted.

No "ands, ifs or buts"! GONE! Again, there have been more than a few breathless threads about "Did it really wipe all of my data? Everything is gone? Can I recover?" And yes, you can, if you have a backup, go home/office/wherever and do a RESTORE.

I guess Blackberry Protect may now help with some restoration when remote.

[TheStrider]

Too bad PB doesn't have anything like BB Protect or BuddyGuard Pro (free trial available) like I have on my BB phone. Even BuddyGuard Free is better than nothing if you don't want to spend $3.99 for the Pro version.

This is one 'app' that needs to get built. SmartGuard / SnapSecure would be my choice, since their interface doesn't require text'ing.

[southlander]

You can always do like I do with my phone. Set a password with the longest possible lock timer. Then you are annoyed by it the least. Yet if you lose the tablet, chances are by the time someone picks it up the PW lock will have kicked in.

On a BB phone the lock can be set as long as 1 hour. I basically only have to unlock in the morning on my phone. But I know if I lose it there is a very decent chance it is protected.

[cafemag]

When I dropped my playbook, its all because I didn't had a password. The user was able to learn gesture, found out my blackberry ID, email me and I got it back.

Click to view quoted image

If any of your devices are password protected, add a small sticker with contact info so it has a fighting chance of being returned to you.

[derrickps3]

I only set my password when going out in the public just in case i lose it, i also set the lock time to 0 secs so it lock right away when the screen goes off

[FF22]

Okay, you folks drove me to Password my BB PHONE. I'm not sure that I like it but I will give it a few days. The pb has been password protected almost forever.

[cdelcampo216]

I think I'm going to Lock mine down today!!!

[Manic99]

At home PB has no pasword, but if I take it out, always on password. Torch is never without passowrd. Sometimes it is an inconvenience, but better safe then sorry.

[rbrooks86]

Mine has a password unless I know it wont be leaving the house. I did use the earlier suggestion and added my email address and phone number to my wallpaper photo so it shows when its locked, just in case I lose it.

[smartie88]

Don't use password when you have little kids, otherwise, you are waiting wipeout