Abstract: A method 29 is disclosed of protecting against the mistaken dialing of a cellular telephone 10 by an inadvertent keystroke. A user may inadvertently place a telephone call or activate another function by accidentally pressing a key 15 on a cellular phone 10 while it is in a standby mode. If the key 15 pressed remains depressed for over a predetermined amount of time, the cellular phone 10 disregards the action and places the phone back in the standby mode. While in the locked mode, the cellular telephone 10 may receive a call, then upon termination of the call, the cellular telephone 10 will display a query to the user if it should be in locked mode or active mode.