| |
Stop
thief!
Software
lets
stolen
laptops
speak up
By
JESSICA
MINTZ
AP
Technology
Writer
Stolen
laptop?
Now you
can tell
those
thieves
exactly
what you
think of
them.
Front
Door
Software
Corp.'s
Retriever
program
displays
your
contact
information
as your
computer
boots
up.
There's
even
space
for a
plea to
a Good
Samaritan
— "$50
for my
safe
return,"
maybe.
In most
cases,
that's
enough
to help
an
honest
person
return
the
machine,
said
Carrie
Hafeman,
chief
executive
of the
five-person
company
based in
Evergreen,
Colo.
But in
the
darkest
scenarios,
Retriever
takes
off the
kid
gloves.
You can
log on
to a Web
site and
check a
box
indicating
the
computer
is
missing.
Now
during
start-up,
a big
yellow
and red
banner
appears
on the
screen,
boldly
declaring
the
laptop
lost or
stolen.
This
message
is set
to
reappear
every 30
seconds,
no
matter
how many
times
the
thief
closes
the
window.
You can
remotely
switch
on a
second
password
prompt
if you
fear the
thief
has also
stolen
your
regular
Windows,
Macintosh
or Linux
login.
Behind
the
scenes,
Retriever
uses
built-in
Wi-Fi to
sniff
out
nearby
networks,
then
suss out
what
Internet
service
providers
power
them.
With
that
information
in hand,
Hafeman
said,
you can
file a
police
report
and get
help
locating
the
criminal.
While
waiting
for law
enforcement
to come
through,
you can
even let
off
steam by
sending
new
messages
to the
nagging
"Stolen
Computer!"
screen.
"You are
being
tracked.
I am
right at
your
door"
was one,
Hafeman
said,
adding
that she
could
not
bring
herself
to say
others
that
came to
mind.
Customers
have
also
tried to
induce
fear or
guilt by
switching
their
contact
info to
"Secret
Service"
and
"Catholic
church."
The
latest
version
of
Retriever,
which
costs
$29.95
for
three
years of
use, is
even
more
aggressive.
Now,
when the
"stolen"
screen
pops up,
the
laptop
cries
for
help.
Use a
canned
message
("Help,
this
laptop
is
reported
lost or
stolen.
If you
are not
my
owner,
please
report
me
now.")
or
record
your
own.
"You can
say,
'Get
your
hands
off me,
you
S.O.B.'"
Hafeman
said.
___
On the
Net:
http://frontdoorsoftware.com |
