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[Timeriffic] Schedule unlocking of the phone #69

Closed GoogleCodeExporter closed 8 years ago

GoogleCodeExporter commented 8 years ago 
Application: timeriffic

Suggestion: ability to remove permanent phone locks at scheduled intervals.  I 
have an android phone with no internet connection.  When the security pattern 
fails to 20 times (by being jogged about in my pocket) I am unable to unlock 
the phone, since I can't authenticate against my gmail account.

20 times is hardcoded in LockPatternUtils.

public static final int FAILED_ATTEMPTS_BEFORE_RESET = 20;

It is only because of a silly bug that allows the password "null" for any user 
that I have aphone right now without having to flash the system. Presumably 
this bug will be fixed soon.

I don't want my phone to ever be unusable because of the lock pattern. I use 
the lock pattern to prevent making calls in my pocket since the drag screen 
seems to open in my pocket as well.

It would presumably be fairly easy to implement removing the permanent lock 
flag at, say, hourly intervals in timeriffic, and still not really reduce the 
security much. This would mean worst case is that I don't have a phone for an 
hour. The security is pitiful in the pattern lock anyway so I don't consider it 
a security feature, just a better KeyGuard.

It seems from looking at the code in LockPatternUtils that if timeriffic could 
run

android.provider.Settings.System.putInt(
               mContentResolver,
               "lockscreen.lockedoutpermanently",
               0);

The phone would unlock.

Original issue reported on code.google.com by teknop...@gmail.com on 19 Sep 2010 at 5:16

GoogleCodeExporter commented 8 years ago 
Feel free to implement this feature and contribute it.

That being said, it's seems like a very specialized request and not of general 
use. I can see the feature being activated by users without understanding it 
and leaving their phone unsecured. 

I am not going to debate on whether the lock pattern is secure or not. That 
subject has already been debated to death. In any case since Froyo, Android 
also comes by default with a more regular PIN lock, which solves the lack of 
perceived security.

Original comment by ralfoide on 2 Oct 2010 at 6:26