Cell Phone Spoofing (Source: posterous.com)

The first method implies restricting incoming calls. This means that you’d have to save all the phone numbers you regularly use to your phone’s contact list. Make sure you enter all the potential phone numbers that might call you, including institutions like banks and other such places. Then, you have to change your phone's security settings so it will allow incoming calls only from the contracts from your address book. The calls that don’t appear in your contact list will be rejected or sent to voicemail. If you do have a voicemail, before calling back the person who left a message, make sure you know who you’re calling.

The second method implies a bit of social skills, but nothing too out of the ordinary. You’ll have to tell the caller you're busy at the moment and ask for their contact information so you’ll be able to call them back. Customer services for the businesses or organizations always have valid numbers, so you can call that company and ask someone from their client relations division if the number is a valid number for their company. If the number is invalid, it means you were about to get spoofed. Also, when receiving a call, listen for background noise. In many cases the background noise gives you the indication if the person calling you is really calling you from where he says he’s calling from.

Cell Phone Spoofing (Source: img.ehowcdn.com)

Finally, ask the caller to send you the information you need by mail. If they refuse, it means something is fishy and you shouldn’t give them any information over the phone.

Cell Phone Driving Laws (Source: statehighwaysafety.org)

Some studies show that driving while using such a hands free cellular device is not much safer than using a hand held mobile phone. These studies show that phone users are not distracted by the fact that they have to hold the device in their hands while driving. The distraction comes from the conversation itself, which in 36% of cases makes the persons brain activities focus in other directions than driving the vehicle.

Another test, made by Plantronics, showed that test subjects used the breaks much faster and steered much better while using a hands free device against those who held the phone in their hands. Because of the inconsistency between these types of tests, no common agreement was made and that’s why each state and each country in the world has its own laws when it comes to talking on the phone while driving.

Cell Phone Driving Laws (Source: handsfreeinfo.com)

Many studies have shown that in some of the cases it’s not the speaking that’s causing the driver to lose concentration while on the road, but the moment in which they make the actual call. This lead to the conclusion that even more dangerous than speaking on the phone is the typing of a text message while driving. Most people agree and studies are backing them up, that text messaging while driving makes the driver loose almost all of his focus regarding the traffic and the surrounding environment.

In most states in the United States, calling or texting while driving is against the law, especially if there is no use of a handsfree device. Some states only apply this law to beginners or bus drivers, but in many cases, a policeman can pull over a driver just for speaking on the phone, without him breaking other traffic regulations.

Android Phone Compass Accelerometer (Source: voo-doo.net)

First off, the accelerometer is a component that can be used for various tasks, but which has two main purposes. The most common place where the accelerometer is used is the phone’s internet browser. Anyone who owns an Android phone with an accelerometer knows that when you surf the web a lot and you need to have a better view of the screen, you just turn your phone sideways and the browser window will change orientation, allowing you to view your web a larger portion of your webpage. Besides this function, the accelerometer is widely used when playing games. Many of the recent games and applications enable the use of the accelerometer, this way the user being able to “feel” the game better. For instance, dice games can be played just by jerking the phone a bit in order to spin the dice, or the cars in racing games can be controlled by tilting the phone sideways.

Android Phone Compass Accelerometer (Source: cdn.androidtapp.com)

As for the compass, this component is only integrated into the more recent Android phone models, but users are already getting the hang of it, especially those who like to venture into the great outdoors.  The compass is based on a magnetic chip that can be used with a lot of compass applications available in the Android Market. These applications allow you to change the way the compass looks and change the background of the compass. These applications work fine without the GPS, but if you use them in combination with the GPS you can find out you’re exact location, you altitude and other useful information. You can also set the compass to point to the magnetic north or the true north. The compass can be easily calibrated using these apps, most of them requiring that your draw a virtual figure 8 with your phone, this way the calibrating itself. Other cool features include the ability to save certain locations or determine the speed with which you are traveling, if you use the phone’s GPS.

Cell Phone Unlock Vehicles (Source: img.ehowcdn.co.uk)

The myth says that if you own a car that comes equipped with a Remote Keyless Entry system and you accidentally lock the remote in the car, you can unlock the doors if you call someone who has the spare remote, and they press the unlock button on the remote, while holding it towards the mobile phone. If you are holding the phone next to the car’s door, it will unlock using the signal transmitted by the spare remote through the mobile phone.

There have been many videos made on the subject proving that it works, but because video files can be tampered with, to be sure, we should check this out from a scientific point of view. How does a car remote work? How does it open a car’s door and can the signal be transmitted through a cell phone? The simple answer is NO, this cannot be achieved in normal conditions with a standard car that has a standard remote keyless system. Even though many people swear by it, the signal from such a remote control is transmitted through a radio frequency, a signal that cannot be picked up by the phone’s microphone and forwarded to the other mobile phone that is next to the car.

Cell Phone Unlock Vehicles (Source: cellphonedigest.net)

The method would work if the system were based on a sound signal that could be picked up by the phone and transmitted through the phone’s frequencies. This not being the case in standard vehicles, many people unwillingly confuse people with their tests that seem to work. Actually, the tests that work are not made properly because the person that presses the remote’s open button is standing too close to the car and the signal is transmitted directly and not through the mobile phone. Car remote controls are known to work on a distance of over 300 feet in the newer models, in most cases the people doing the test are within the mentioned range and the car’s door opens when the unlock button is pressed. Fortunately, the more recent car models have a system that disables the automatic locking system if the remote is located inside the vehicle so there is no need for these theories that confuse people.

Cell Phone 911 (Source: 911phone.net)

If you make the call to 911 from a landline, the 911 operator can easily determine your location. If you call from a cell phone, your location is available but with a larger margin for error as the only thing that will give your position is the triangulation made with the help of cell phone towers. Many people don’t know that you can dial 911 even if the phone’s keys are locked and even if you don’t have credit or if the phone hasn’t been used for a long time. There are many people who know this and they keep an old cell phone in their cars in case something happens. There are also many people who don’t know this and they make the mistake of paying a monthly bill to the wireless service carrier just to have a phone that they can use in case of an emergency.

Cell Phone 911 (Source: 911phone.net)

Wireless carriers are forced by the FCC rules to make the 911 calls available even to people who haven’t paid the bills or people who haven’t used their phones for a longer period of time. Aside the point, if you have an emergency that is not worth calling the authorities for, some carriers give you the opportunity to make calls anywhere by charging directly your credit card.

Also, there are 911 special cell phones. These are mobile phones that have only one function and that is to call 911. They are small mobile phone-like devices that have a single button that you can use to call the emergency number. These are cost free, as you don’t need any type of contract in order to call 911, like we mentioned above. These phones are great for senior citizens who are known to have health issues, as they can wear the phone around the neck at all times in case they have a problem. These phones take a lot of shapes, but basically they all do the same thing, so if you are in need of such a phone, take a look at www.911phone.net .