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Safety Week: Hidden

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment

Next up in “Safety Week” is Hidden. It is an app you store on your computer that, when activated, will track your computer’s location, collect pictures using your iSight camera and snap screenshots of your computer in use so you can see what the thief is doing with your computer. All the feedback on the site suggests that Hidden is very effective in tracking and retrieving a stolen computer within hours of a theft. Prices start at $15/yr for a single computer with options for multiple systems and businesses. Fifteen dollars a year seems like a small price to pay for a bit more piece of mind.

(via Hidden)

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Safety Week: STOP Tags

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment

For a nominal fee of $25, STOP tags offer a visible deterrent on any portable electronic device with a permanent adhesive sticker that requires 800lbs of pressure to remove. The sticker includes a bar code with the owner’s tracking data. Underneath the sticker is a permanently etched mark that says “Stolen property” asuuming a thief is able to remove the top bar code sticker. This combination makes it very difficult for a thief to resell your device and the sticker alone may be enough to deter someone form taking it in the first place.

This is probably one of the most cost effective methods of theft deterrents. I’ll have more options in the coming days.

(via tweet from our friends at 16sparrows)

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Safety Week: Find My iPhone

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment

I discovered some real advantages to upgrading to Lion OS following our break-in last week. Had I installed Lion and added the Find My iPhone app on my phone, I may have been able to track the location of my MacBookPro. Prior to upgrading to Lion, the app could only be used to track an iPhone, not a computer or iPad. Its a free app and upgrading to Lion is just $29 which seems like a small price to pay when I consider the cost of a new MacBookPro.

If you’ve been holding off upgrading to Lion, I recommend taking the chance. There are actually some really nice features and MacWorld has written some great articles about Lion including a cover article from the November 2011 issue about making the most out of Lion (and making it more Leopard-like, if you so desire).

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Safety Week: Require a password

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment

Step number one in Safety Week. If you have a portable computer (or really any computer for that matter) go into your preferences right now and set your computer to require a user name and password upon restart, waking from sleep or waking from screen saver. It is your first line of defense for identity theft. It makes it harder for someone to get your data (be it your email address, credit card number or baby photos) and they will be more likely to just wipe the drive than try to hack it. It sucks either way but it’ll suck a whole lot less knowing thieves cannot access your data.

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Safety Week: Tips to Prevent a Break-In

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment

Most of us work out of our homes at some point, or keep a home office. As part of Safety Week, I thought I’d share this article about where potential break-ins happen and inexpensive ways to deter them. Other simple tips are:

  • Make sure doors and windows are locked when you leave, even if you’re just going to the store.
  • Keep blinds closed when you are gone. Thieves are less likely to break-in if they can’t see what you’ve got.
  • Make sure you have secured valuables and important documents. If you decide to use a lock box or locking filing cabinet, make sure it is bolted down. Thieves will take a lock box hoping to find valuables inside it and smash it open later. If they can’t pry it off the floor, they are more apt to leave it.
  • Install timers for interior and exterior lights. You may not be home but it might look like you are.
  • If you are going out of town, make sure you have a friend or house sitter drop by regularly to collect your mail.

I’ve joked that I am a cautionary tale for all my friends (both IRL and on the internet) to start thinking about your own personal security, back-up systems and fortification. Learn from me and don’t learn safety by accident.

(via This Old House)

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Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment

I’ve been on the waiting list for the Noodler’s Flex Nib Fountain Pen and they are back in stock. If you would like to experience the joys (and agonies) of a flexible nib pen, this is a good place to start. Goulet Pens carries the full range of Flex Nib fountain pens from Noodler’s starting at $14. There are some videos on the site to show how they work and how to manipulate them to work beautifully.

(via Goulet Pens)