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JamesP.

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 13, 2012
122
0
Is there a way of having a tracker in laptop incase it gets stolen etc.

I think you can have it synced with iphone with icloud or something?

But I don't own an iphone.

Maybe a stupid question, but Its best way i could word it :confused:
 

AlexBass

macrumors regular
Jul 9, 2012
141
1
Which OS do you run? If it's Lion, it's already built in.

It also depends if you use iCloud or not.
 

Feed Me

macrumors 6502a
Jan 7, 2012
831
6
Location Location
Well if you have Lion, you also have a free iCloud account. Go into your settings and make sure "Find my Mac" is turned on.

You don't need an iPhone to track your Mac, you can do it via iCloud.com using your Apple ID and password from any computer/phone/whatever.
 

TheMacBookPro

macrumors 68020
May 9, 2008
2,133
3
Use Prey. iCloud's Mac tracking feature is fairly basic: Prey gives you geolocating of the computer and make the computer sound an alarm like Find My Mac, but adds the following:

-Webcam image of the person using it
-List of opened applications
-Screenshot of what the user is doing
-IP address
-List of nearby Wi-Fi networks
-List of things the user has modified in your computer

(all emailed to you every 10 minutes after you set the computer's status as stolen)

Best of all it's open source & free.

You can also look into Orbicule Undercover- I've heard good things about that too.
 

JTToft

macrumors 68040
Apr 27, 2010
3,447
796
Aarhus, Denmark
Use Prey. iCloud's Mac tracking feature is fairly basic: Prey gives you geolocating of the computer and make the computer sound an alarm like Find My Mac, but adds the following:

-Webcam image of the person using it
-List of opened applications
-Screenshot of what the user is doing
-IP address
-List of nearby Wi-Fi networks
-List of things the user has modified in your computer

(all emailed to you every 10 minutes after you set the computer's status as stolen)

Best of all it's open source & free.

You can also look into Orbicule Undercover- I've heard good things about that too.

- And here's the link: http://preyproject.com/
I just discovered it today and have found that it works quite well for laptops, but it's totally useless on an iPhone, since it requires the app to be running (at least in the background) and GPS to be on at all times.
 

JamesP.

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 13, 2012
122
0
yeah i have lion, MBP from 2011 late, didnt know it was built in.

Dont know how icloud works but will try it out, also downloading prey.

Ive a question, how would it work if you had password on login, and someong reinstalled over it, it be wiped or would it be hidden somewhere within?
 

JamesP.

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 13, 2012
122
0
- And here's the link: http://preyproject.com/
I just discovered it today and have found that it works quite well for laptops, but it's totally useless on an iPhone, since it requires the app to be running (at least in the background) and GPS to be on at all times.

I installed prey, and dragged to apps and installed and cannot see it AT ALL. enter in emails etc...
 

JTToft

macrumors 68040
Apr 27, 2010
3,447
796
Aarhus, Denmark
I installed prey, and dragged to apps and installed and cannot see it AT ALL. enter in emails etc...

- Well that's the point. It's supposed to be invisible. If you have installed it and set up your account, everything should be OK. The configurations are all done from the web interface.
 

TheMacBookPro

macrumors 68020
May 9, 2008
2,133
3
I installed prey, and dragged to apps and installed and cannot see it AT ALL. enter in emails etc...

Don't drag it to applications. Just install it straight off the dmg.

Of course you can't see it- that's the point. After initial registration it becomes invisible. You don't want the person who steals your laptop to know you have tracking software just for him/her to remove it, do you?
 

JamesP.

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 13, 2012
122
0
Don't drag it to applications. Just install it straight off the dmg.

Of course you can't see it- that's the point. After initial registration it becomes invisible. You don't want the person who steals your laptop to know you have tracking software just for him/her to remove it, do you?


I get that now.

If my login requires a password, this prey would be no good thoight, as the laptop would need to be on and in use. Maybe set up 2nd account on login or guest would suffice, prevent a thief from doing fresh install which would remove prey etc.
 
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