I have a Nexus 7 that has WiFi capabilities, but does not have 3G or 4G data capabilities. I noticed that avast! Mobile Security can take a picture when too many unsuccessful attempts are made to unlock a mobile device, and wondered if it were possible to apply a similar (albeit limited) mechanism to devices without data plans.
My idea is for rooted devices (with WiFi only connections) to have a feature that is activated when too many failed attempts are made to unlock the device. This feature would cause the device to constantly search for an unsecured wireless connection to upload any information that can be used to retrieve the device. If the device could not establish an internet connection within a set number of attempts, it would try any other connection that it could find. The device would upload a log of it's prior GPS coordinates, as well as a picture (if bandwidth allows.)
This would be useful if your device was left at a restaurant or cafe that offered free WiFi, or if someone stole your device and took it to (or near) one of these places. It would be even more useful if, when the perpetrator tried to turn off the device, it entered a faux "Power Off" state that gave appearances of being powered off, but was really looking for an open WiFi connection. One could get a lead as to where their device was just by the thief walking past a Starbucks!
I hope that someone out there thinks of this feature as "worthy" of consideration, as my last Nexus 7 was stolen and this feature could have helped me to get it back. I use the Pro version of avast! Mobile Security for all of my mobile devices, and this feature would give me great assurance should I misplace another one of my WiFi-only devices. Thanks.
