Laptop Superhero

If you ever happen to forget your laptop in a public place, you can only hope that a nice person finds it and arranges to return it, or that a masked and caped protector of justice simply flies it back to you directly. Laptop Superhero ($29.99/year, direct) can't leap tall buildings at a single bound, but it will help recover a lost or stolen laptop. In testing, though, not all security features worked perfectly, and I had no trouble disabling it the way a wily thief might.

Protection begins with registration at www.YouGetItBack.com. A 7-day free trial is available. Once you've registered, you download and install the local software on your laptop.

You can keep track of one or more protected laptops by logging in to a Web page called "My Vault." From this same page you can also track Android, BlackBerry, Symbian, or Windows Mobile devices protected by the company's Mobile Superhero app.

Location Tracking
Like most laptop antitheft products, Laptop Superhero determines the geographic location of the device by analyzing nearby WiFi hotspots. In testing, I found it took quite a long time to initially locate the laptop in my home office, even though I clicked a button to re-send the find command.

It displayed the laptop's location on a Google satellite view, with a shaded area representing the estimated accuracy. It even added a Google street view image of the house (yes, it got the right house).

I tried logging in from a nearby public library, to get a different location, but ran into trouble. Although I stayed there for 45 minutes, working on articles and repeatedly re-sending the find command, it never did manage to determine the laptop's location.

Tech support at YouGetItBack said this means that their WiFi location providers simply didn't find the second location in their databases. However, Laptop Cop ($65 direct, 4 stars) and GadgetTrak Laptop Security ($34.95/year direct, 3 stars) managed to place the laptop at this location?and quickly, too.

Lost and Found
Laptop Cop and LoJack for Laptops by Absolute Software ($39.99/year direct, 4.5 stars) install in stealth mode, with the aim of gathering information about a thief secretly. Laptop Superhero focuses more on working with a helpful stranger who may find the laptop and want to return it. It adds an "If Found Click Here" button to the Welcome screen, so anyone who turns on the laptop will see it.

Clicking the button brings up a dialog box for the finder to enter contact information along with details about where the laptop was found. The finder can choose not to share those details directly with the owner, in which case YouGetItBack acts as intermediary. They can even arrange to ship the laptop back, if necessary, at no charge.

Here's a nice touch. A finder who supplies an email address gets a reward consisting of a year's subscription to Laptop Superhero.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/s4d_ES3JrQE/0,2817,2387564,00.asp

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