This post brought to you by Sprint. All opinions are 100% mine.

How many times have you dropped, lost, or damaged your phone, or worse, had it stolen? We once had a housesitter who stole our mobile device and sold it, and it had all our business contacts on it - big mistake.

Your information should always be private and secure -- never give your phone number to someone you don't trust, and always make sure that you keep your own phone contacts list confidential. 

Sprint has come up with a solution called Total Equipment Protection that offers you peace of mind and reliability.

• If your phone is lost and you think it's nearby, you can sound a beeping alarm to find it.
   
• If it's missing, you can locate it on a map using GPS coordinates.
   
• If it's stolen, you can remotely "wipe" the phone contents: this is particularly helpful if you have sensitive, private, or confidential numbers stored on your phone.
   
• If someone unauthorized takes the phone, you can "lock" it.
   
• If it's damaged, you can get a replacement phone.

The Sprint Total Equipment Protection App is available only until August 30, 2011 to add as a feature to your existing phone. Any current Sprint customer can add the Total Equipment Protection feature.