Re: [Announce] SMScon (control your device with SMS)
 

This is AWESOME

One thing I really wish is that I could choose in the SMS I *send* if I want locations as email, or SMS.

If my phone gets lost inside my country, I probably want to use email, coz I get the map, and I know it has a data connection.

If my phone gets lost outside my country, I do not have a data connection, so email wouldn't work, and I would want to use SMS.

I think the suggestion earlier in the thread, where we could send

Location foo@somewhere.net
or
Location +4670123456

...would be PERFECT, so that the incoming SMS would guide where the message was sent (+ indicates phonenumber, lackthereof indicates email)

Many thanks for an AWESOME program!

(Oh and by the way, for those of you using GMAIL to send mail, a good idea is to set up a separate gmail email account for this reason alone, coz otherwise the stolen phone contains the cleartext of your google password - not a good thing .... )

/Z

Re: [Announce] SMScon (control your device with SMS)
 

hello everybody, this app is becoming greater as days passes on.

actually, I'm encountering an issue related to email transmission: if I'm connected to wlan and press the "email" or "email with picture" button in the test page of SMSCon-editor, it disconnects from wifi and tries to connect via gprs. This is very bad since I don't want to permit any data connection through mobile carrier. Why doesn't it send the email via wifi?

Re: [Announce] SMScon (control your device with SMS)
 

A suggestion maybe already posted: the smscon_config file should be shomehow encrypted: too many sensitive data in there!
The editor would ask for the decryption password at start.

Re: [Announce] SMScon (control your device with SMS)
 

The philosophy behind the app is that it creates a possibilty to retieve your phone when lost (or even stolen).

Crusial in this case is a reliable data connection for sending the requested data back (for email or SSH connection setup). I have chosen for this a cellular connection (GPRS), because this (almost) always will work if there is phone reception. When your phone is lying in some remote area, a WLAN will ever help you, because it has to little range and can be restricted by firewall, passwords etc.

When valid SMS commands are send to SMSCON and has to send an email (or it must setup the SSH connection) it will use the GPRS data connection. If you are persitent never to use any data connection through mobile carrier, this app won't work for you.

But for not completely ruling it out:

I can change the way the test email uses a data connection:

• email test using WLAN if already connected.
• email test using GPRS when not connected to any data connection.

Re: [Announce] SMScon (control your device with SMS)
 

What interests me most in this app is the fact that you can fire up a reverse ssh in this way. But then I'd need a second cell-phone to send the SMS.
Can anybody think of an alternative method to signal the N900?

Paai

Re: [Announce] SMScon (control your device with SMS)
 

For information, I have been working since the last version only in one new feature.

That is to add a password protection on opening the smscon-editor. It requires a couple of new dialog windows (one for entering the password and a second to change the password.), buttons here and there, some serious change on the code to not execute things before authorized etc, and of course new code to handle and make those actions (read, save, compare passwords etc).

I'm quite there but I'm missing one important library to make it perfect. :)

Does anyone has a pointer on a simple and nice crypto library to propose?

Re: [Announce] SMScon (control your device with SMS)
 

that would be nice, especially because sms and GPRS connection aren't free ;)

Re: [Announce] SMScon (control your device with SMS)
 

you can send sms in many ways, for example by webservices or by skype clients. But at the end is enough to borrow the phone from a friend/girlfriend/mom/dad. Not so complicated imho...

Re: [Announce] SMScon (control your device with SMS)
 

That's a pretty good idea, i.e. using the currently working internet connection (you could even then send nice incriminating info such as the access point name, it's MAC address, and stuff ;) )

HOWEVER, there is one feature with the existing functionality that I like, which is why I would REALLY like you to keep the existing functionality as an option: This makes the phones IP public (well, on my ISP anyway) whereas it's IP on WLAN probably is private. So now after it has sent an email, I can then SSH directly into the phone (I have DYNDns set up for my phone)

Of course, one could also make this a new command:

"GetGPRSIP", would switch the phone to GPRS, try to connect, and sends that IP back in an SMS (or email, as configured).

Again, many thanks for glorious software. You should have a paypal tipjar!

/Z

Re: [Announce] SMScon (control your device with SMS)
 

Nope, if you require to "signal" your phone to stat a remote ssh, then SMS would be the only simple way. However, (as cipper mentioned above) you can use free web based SMS sending utilities to avoid the need for a second phone if all you want is to turn the ssh on/off (I don't use this app, but according to the doc's REMOTEON and REMOTEOFF don't send any return SMS, and even if they do, any return would be info only?).

Alternatively, you could avoid the need for SMSCON if you only really want the reverse ssh bit - just leave a reverse ssh connection permanently active. I do this (via scripts triggered each time a network interface comes up), it works OK and doesn't appear to use noticably more battery when the tunnel is idling (my n900 is set for "always on" data connection). See eitama's wiki at http://wiki.maemo.org/Reverse_ssh for more info on how to set this up.