stolen mbpro (hopefully never)

[Deepsingh]

just spent about $3 G's on 17inch MBP. The last thing i want is for it to get stolen. how can i track it if it gets stolen.

https://hiddenapp.com/purchase/

http://adeona.cs.washington.edu/

any other free and easy ways.

my system password would be pretty hard for the thief to crack. Unless he is a hacking wizard or someone of that sort.
so the thief would have a hard time logging in and connecting to the internet.
Is there anyway for me to track the MbP if it gets stolen considering the above scenario if he is unable to login.

Now that i think about maybe the thief will login as a guest with no password required.

Let me know what you guys think.

 

[Eddyisgreat]

From the project page it looks like adeona is a dead project due to an unavailable dependancy.

Your system project won't protect against someone snooping your data, if that's what you're concerned about. Something more robust like file vault or enterprise grade like PGP WDE will be required.

I'd get a state farm personal articles policy or see if you can get something on your homeowners/renters insurance. If it gets stolen just assume it's gone.

 

[miles01110]

UnderCover ($) and Prey Project (free) are two very good recovery assistance programs. Both recommend that you have an "open" Guest account so a thief would be able to connect to the internet.

Undercover helped me recover a stolen Mac in Switzerland. You pay for the convenience of having UC's international staff deal with law enforcement, which is handy if there are any language barriers. With Prey you're pretty much on your own.

 

[Deepsingh]

have file vault activated.

 

[ashman70]

I have hidden app installed and it works quite well. I have tested it and it takes pics after you report your mac stolen. There was a piece on the news recently about a guy who's macbook pro got stolen and he had hidden app installed, and he posted the pics it took of the thief. You are definitely on your own though in terms of recovering your stolen property.

 

[Deepsingh]

undercover and hidden both sound good. Undercover is $49 i don't know if thats a one time fee or annually. how will these company's track the thief, if he finds a way to use a proxy or Tunnelblick or any other vpn service.

 

[miles01110]

undercover and hidden both sound good. Undercover is $49 i don't know if thats a one time fee or annually. how will these company's track the thief if he finds a way to use a proxy or Tunnelblick , something like that.

It's a one-time fee.

As for the proxy/VPN issue; there's no way to help you if they do this. However, most thieves aren't smart enough to do this. If they were, they wouldn't be stealing in the first place. Similar arguments apply to the inevitable whiners about replacing the hard drive. It just doesn't happen very frequently.

 

[DWBurke811]

Rather than the super slim chance of something like this actually working, you're better off not having your laptop stolen.

 

[Deepsingh]

i know. 9.5 out 10 scenarios it won't happen. It was just a thought. Prey project doesn't seem to bad either. am going to try that first and test it out.

 

[GuitarG20]

I have prey installed but have never had to use it, thankfully enough. We have it on all our computers in our family.

 

[Deepsingh]

Thanks guys i appreciate the help. Am gonna go enjoy this sexy beast now.

 

[Synergie]

Protect your data with backups to external HD and insure your MBP specifically for incidents that happen when it's out of your home. My home insurance covers my MBP and my guitar for me for theft outside the home since they are portable / mobile. I did have to ask specifically for this coverage though. But it only cost maybe a couple dollars more per month and gives me peace of mind. My data is always backed up to my Time Capsule at home, and if my MBP gets stolen I can claim it on insurance.

 

[NikonD3s]

Adding insurance coverage for a couple more $/mo doesn't sound bad for insurance, unless this only gives you what the computer was worth at the time it was stolen. What you want is full replacement cost, especially if you use it and need it for your work or business.

 

[Synergie]

Adding insurance coverage for a couple more $/mo doesn't sound bad for insurance, unless this only gives you what the computer was worth at the time it was stolen. What you want is full replacement cost, especially if you use it and need it for your work or business.

I got replacement cost on both the guitar and the laptop!