Destructionator XIII wrote:I have to admit, if it was me, I would have been very tempted to install some spyware on the computer and see what the thief does with it.
Which would probably eventually get some identifying information on him too; probably a matter of time before he punches in his name somewhere (make an online purchase, etc).
From the article:
Duplaga then signed onto another computer and used Back to My Mac to confirm that her stolen MacBook was, in fact, logged on, and that someone was using it to shop online.
These thieves don't seem to be the sharpest tools in the shed, probably just a couple kids (mentally, at least) who thought they could get away with it, not actual professionals.
Maybe installing a GPS inside the laptop might be an idea. Then just call the cops on the guy. I've thought about doing that with my car, the nice one that is.
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Stark wrote:Haven't there been a few news stories where government or military laptops have gone missing in trivial ways (stolen from a parked car, if I remember right). In cases like that, destroying the drives would make a lot of sense, however impractical it'd be. Imagine the lawsuits when the criminals left it on a gas main in a block of flats or something...
You wouldn't need them to blow up or burn... a Kill Disk utility that could be remotely triggered would do the trick. That would protect your information: you detect your laptop connected, you remotely connect to it and trigger the Kill Disk.
Another option would be like the one Blackberry has for its devices: on them you can activate a feature where the device locks if it hasn't been used for 15 minutes, and the only way to unlock it is with a password (defined by the owner). If you enter the wrong password 5 times the device wipes out its memory. A feature like this would be nice just in case the thief is smart enough to know he shouldn't connect the computer to the internet.
That does seem like a useful feature if you really lose something critical. Probably good for high-risk financial data and other types of sensitive information.
Do they sell these utilities anywhere? I am out of the loop.
ANGELUS wrote:Another option would be like the one Blackberry has for its devices: on them you can activate a feature where the device locks if it hasn't been used for 15 minutes, and the only way to unlock it is with a password (defined by the owner). If you enter the wrong password 5 times the device wipes out its memory. A feature like this would be nice just in case the thief is smart enough to know he shouldn't connect the computer to the internet.
A vanilla Mac meets you halfway here: On the Security control pane, there is an option to require the user's password to wake the computer up from sleep, or the screen saver. Won't kill the hard disk if you fail three times, though...
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