Originally posted on July 22, 2011 @ 11:07 am
LockItTight
Everyday, when I check out the news online, I see at least one piece talking about a stolen laptop and related topics. In spite of the widespread use of laptops (or perhaps because of that, actually), thefts seem to be more prevalent. Perhaps the temptation is too strong for thieves, and perhaps there is also some negligence on the part of some users.
What the thieves do is beyond our control, but as for negligence, there is a lot we can do about that. Just a short while back, I wrote about the SAFElinkTM Anti-Theft Service, which is a good way to secure your data and even possibly retrieve your laptop in case of theft. There are other similar options, but many of them are, understandably, offered for a fee.
Here comes the good news – I just discovered a laptop security service that you can use for free. Yup, you read that right – FREE. It is called LockItTight, and it functions pretty much the same way that other security services do.
You first have to download LockItTight ((Download it here.)) to your laptop, after which, you can totally forget it – until your laptop is stolen, maybe. This tiny program is virtually untraceable, making it the perfect tracker. What it does can be summarized in six points:
- Location Tracking. The software reports the laptop’s location to your LockItTight account regularly. If you can’t find your laptop, you only have to log in to your account using another device and pinpoint your laptop’s location.
- Screen Shots. This feature gives you an idea what your laptop is being used for.
- Webcam Capturing. The ultimate proof – a web cam photo of the person using your laptop, who is presumably the thief as well.
- Key Logging. This will give you data to make it easier for you to hunt the culprit down.
- File Tracking. This allows you to retrieve and wipe your data remotely.
- Encrypted Reports. LockItTight employs high security measures to ensure that your data in their servers are locked down tight.
Again, the best thing is that all this is for free, but yes, there is a catch. One, you can only use the free version for one laptop. Two, the free version reports the laptop’s location only every two hours. To use the software for more than one laptop and to customize the settings, you can get the paid version for as low as $1.99 a month per laptop. Another thing is that it is only compatible with Windows.