Password Strength

• BlackBerrys have certain restrictions when it comes to available password selections. These devices won't let you set a password if it is too simple. This means you can't use a password that is made up of the same letter or number repeated such as "00000." You also can't use simple sequences like "ABCDEF" or "123456." By requiring a more complex password, you are protected against people trying to randomly guess your password by entering common and simple sequences.
  
  

Password Activation

• By going into the "Security Options" section of the "Options" menu, you can set a password. You can also set a security timeout. This means that your phone will automatically lock itself and activate the password after the amount of time that you set in the menu. You can also manually put your phone into password-protection mode by clicking on the "Lock" icon on the Home screen. After your phone is locked either by timeout or manual activation, your 10 attempts begin, so make sure you know the password.
  
  

10 Attempts

• You have 10 attempts to type in your password. If the password is entered incorrectly, a counter appears next to the password input field that shows you how many attempts you have used out of the 10 available. If all 10 attempts are used, your phone's security measures take over and all the information on the phone is deleted. This includes contacts, messages and application data as well as photos and videos. The phone assumes that a person who has incorrectly guessed your password 10 times should not have access to your data, so it deletes it to keep it safe.
  
  

Preventing Erasure

• Protect your phone to prevent this security measure from affecting your information. Write down your password and keep it somewhere safe so that you can refer to it if you forget your password. This will prevent you from trying to guess at your own password and accidentally deleting your own data. You can also back up the information on your phone by using the BlackBerry Desktop Software (see Resources). This way, even if somebody tries to access your phone and causes everything to be erased, you will have a cop that you can restore to your phone.