Secure your BlackBerry with AppLock and BlackBook

The connection between these two apps is that I don’t want to put a password on my BlackBerry. I lock the thing a lot. It goes into my pocket, and it comes out at regular intervals. Some users can deal with entering a password on every unlock. I cannot. Yet I understand the need for security. That’s why I prefer apps that protect certain aspects of my BlackBerry.

BlackBook is one app that I can’t imagine deleting. It basically gives you a hidden address book — so hidden that it can only be seen by typing in your launch-key. That is, there is no indication whatsoever that there is anything like a hidden address book on the device. It’s even listed as Clock in your applications list. You can have these hidden contacts, and even converse with them via SMS in complete privacy. If someone picks up your Berry they’ll have no idea that there’s anything more than what appears in your contacts list and SMS history.

Even if you have hidden contacts, you’ll likely want to lock certain aspects of your Berry. That’s where AppLock comes in. You can password protect specific applications so that others can’t access them. This includes the messages app, which you can do as a whole, or just set it to lock messages from certain contacts. This way you only have to enter in a password when it is necessary.

Not only do both of these applications protect your BlackBerry, they are also currently discounted. You can get AppLock for 99 cents, down from $2.99. It works with BlackBerry OS versions 4.2.1 and above. Similarly, you can get BlackBook for $1.99, down from $4.99. This works only with OS versions 5 and 6.