Laptop Security

So I recently got a new MacBook Pro, and the thought of it getting stolen cross my mind after hearing stories about government laptops getting stolen (mind you I've nothing as important or confidential on my laptop like Social Security numbers or anything like that) so I decided to see what I could to: a.) mitigate that possibility of it getting stolen; b.) increase my chances of my laptop being recovered should it get stolen.

Well, let's talk about what I could do to prevent it from being stolen in the first place. Anything I could do would basically be physical in nature, such as Kensington laptop lock (though I've nothing to really chain it to), but those are not completely foolproof. So what else could I do?

First off, I don't have a typical laptop briefcase that screams, "I've got a laptop in here!!!". You know what I'm talking about...typically they have Targus or Dell written all over them. Granted I have a geek-looking knapsack but it doesn't look like your average laptop bag (at least I hope it doesn't). I'm thinking about getting a very low-key messenger bag that I saw on Amazon.com...and it's dirt cheap too!

So keep your laptop in disguise!

Let's say your laptop gets stolen...what do you do? Well, if you're like most people, you'd be SOL. Many of the products I've seen are recovery software programs that clandestinely alert a central operations centre that your laptop has been stolen once it connects to the internet (which most thieves do). They typically send the IP address of the laptop, and that normally can help the authorities locate the physical location of the laptop, and thus the thief.

The most well-known product is LoJack for Laptops (formerly Computrace). Their website indicates that they recover 3 out of 4 stolen laptops that have their software installed on it, which is a pretty good percentage. My only complaint (and it's not really a complaint so much as that I'm a cheapskate) is that they charge $39.99/year for the service, but one of the few software products that support Mac OS X.

The other piece of software that's gotten a lot of media attention is Undercover from Orbicule. The software sounds a lot like LoJack for Laptops, but there are a few differences:

1. They only support Macs


2. They charge a one-time fee of $39 instead of an annual service fee


3. For Macs that have an iSight camera, external or built-in, the software when reported stolen and becomes activated, will snap photos of the thief and will send screenshots of the desktop

Why take screenshots? Well, the thief might be stupid enough to use the e-mail software or chat software installed on the computer, and thus reveal some info about them. Check out this recovery story from Orbicule and you'll see why that additional info might be useful.

To me, the price is right, but given that the detection center is just a hosted server and, from what I can tell, it's a small operation, so the viability of the company might not be as stable as a well-known or more-established company.

Still, it's an ingenious piece of software that uses some other techniques to aid in the recovery of the laptop, like darkening the screen until it becomes completely black.

Note that neither piece of software will work unless the computer is connected to the internet, but given the proliferation of the internet, it's not going to take long for the software to be activated.