- but, when it gets to your handset, encryption won't keep the data safe unless you lock your device with a password. If you install applications, such as Yahoo Go, that store your password for their service, or a password vault for sites and services you use on your BlackBerry, it's particularly important to set a BlackBerry password because, otherwise, anyone who picks up your handset will have access to your account on any of those services.
Depending on which version of the BlackBerry software you have, you can set a password by choosing Options > Password or Options > Security Options > General Settings. Change the password setting to 'Enabled', then press the menu key and choose 'Save'. The BlackBerry will ask you to type in a password and confirm it; after this, you will have to type in this password every time you turn on your handset.
Your BlackBerry password has to be between four and 14 characters long, and you can't have a sequence such as 12345 or repeat the same letter several times - the device will reject it because it's too easy to guess. Use a mix of letters and digits, but don't use obvious words or numbers (such as your name, favourite pet or date of birth) - ideally, don't use a word that's in the dictionary. However, don't make the password so complicated you have to write it down. Taking the first letters of a sentence and combining them with random numbers will give you a secure password that's hard to guess, but that you can remember.
By setting the Security Timeout, you can choose how long your BlackBerry must be idle before it locks and you have to use your password again to start it. Don't make this such a short time that you are tempted to turn off the password, but don't make it so long that someone could pick up the handset after you have put it down and not need the password. The default time is two minutes and the minimum time is one minute - but if that's longer than the time you set for the Backlight Timeout, the password timeout won't kick in until after both. So, if the Backlight Timeout is two minutes and the Security Timeout three minutes, your BlackBerry won't lock for five minutes.
If you use the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES), you can push a policy to all of the handsets to enforce the use of a password and set their minimum length, force the BlackBerry to reject passwords with an obvious pattern of numbers or letters, choose how long users can keep a password without changing it, and set the minimum timeout and prevent users from changing that.
If you get your password wrong 10 times in a row, your BlackBerry will assume you are a thief and wipe itself. If you are concerned someone could guess your password within 10 tries, you should probably think up a more secure one, but you can also reduce the number of password attempts allowed under Options > Password or Options > Security Options> General Settings.
Each BlackBerry has a unique eight-digit PIN that identifies the handset. This is different to the PIN code you use to lock the SIM. To set or change the SIM PIN - which stays the same if you put the SIM in another handset and means no-one can make calls with the SIM if you lose your BlackBerry - choose Options > Advanced Options > SIM card, then press the menu key and choose 'Enable Security'.
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