SMS commmands - password readable in clear text

Avast Mobile Apps Avast Anti-Theft for Android
1

This might have been answered before, but I haven’t found an answer…

I changed the SIM in my phone for testing and then send a command to the ‘new’ number the phone receives the command as an SMS in clear text, as in 2222 LOCATE (2222 replacing my password). The command is issued and works, but in real circumstances the current owner of my phone would see the password and be able to disable antiTheft?

I could lock it, but then the thief/dishonest finder would be aware of antiTheft and switch off the phone or flash it. If they are unaware I could track them.

I would have thought the command SMS were ‘silent’?

Cheers
t.

2

Of course they are hidden. Same issues with other commands?

3

Same problem here. Whatever code I sent to my mobile is received as a normal SMS, playing the SMS sound and popping up on the screen with plain text in it. None of the commands where actually “silent”.

Is there already a fix for that?

I’m on a modifed MIUI with a 2.6.3 Kernel

4

I see a lot of people have that issue. Myself included B-)
I was using GOsms app. It seems it doesn’t work well with avast anti-theft.
anyway, I uninstalled GOsms, and installed handcent (also a sms app which is basically the same thing). After that everything worked flawlessly!
Hope I could help…

5

yes its a problem with gosms - they use SMS in a way it is not supposed to, causing that troubles.