InvalidError :
dstarr3 :
Any reason a mobile carrier couldn't just intercept text messages containing the necessary code?
What motivation would they have to go through the extra hassle and expense?
You are afraid to get hacked on your no longer supported phone? The carrier offers you to upgrade to a new phone for a fee. You do not upgrade your phone, get hacked and get screwed by bandwidth, LD and other charges? The carrier most likely won't let you get away from it without spending some cash either way.
The carrier patches their servers to intercept malicious SMS? They have to eat the cost of those server tweaks, they lose one reason to nudge customers to upgrade their phones regularly and they may expose themselves to additional privacy inquiries about their SMS interception. Lose-lose-lose for them.
They already get every msg, and the expense of doing it is probably almost nothing but a computer checking for code on the way in. It's called customer service, and advertising it (in this insecure climate), would probably win some customers. No human needs to be involved past telling software (they already have running) to look for it and delete it. I can see the ad now "As a protection to our customers, that our competitors do NOT DO for theirs, we are now deleting virus X related texts". Followed by a promotion of their new models that have it built in...Boom, easy and maybe makes FAR more money than that check initially costs. "Customers can sign up with us now and protect themselves TODAY! Unlike our competition with weak security"
ROFL
Your way acts as though customers listen to "your insecure, upgrade now" messages. Ask MSFT how that went for winxp etc. Knowing this it's a dangerous way to operate that could affect multiple things including your OWN business operations at some point. What capabilities can be had from having half your users hacked?
News flash on ABC/NBC/CBS/CNBC : "10million verizon customers phones were used today in a massive attack on X (or every users info was stolen from verizon devices), we suggest users stop using verizon today and switch to company Y who already announced they delete these txt messages before you get nailed"...LOL. Something like that, but you get the point and it would be damaging to your company's rep. It is wiser to protect and advertise IMHO, gaining customers in the long run as a company looking out for US. It would be on my company website, I'd go on CNBC etc and discuss how "important it was for us to do this for our customers in light of recent massive hack attacks" etc etc...blah...A marketing campaign that pays for itself is always genius. Witness Donald Trump's presidential campaign (like him or not). He pays nothing, everyone talks about what he says (in just a few speeches or interviews), and goes on tv constantly which basically says what any candidate would say in a state to state advertising campaign, and then they all run the story repeatedly drowning out everyone else (including Clinton's scandals etc...ROFL). It costs him nothing, while news does his campaigning for him by accident to get ratings (even though most of them try to trash him...LOL). Pure marketing genius. Any company with these devices should wise up and USE this for an easy marketing message.
Clearly the rest would probably follow then you just alter the msg a bit
"Note how we took the lead for our customers, as we always will" blah blah...