With all the modern technology available today, one wonders why it has taken so long for developers to come up with fool proof security systems which will protect your computer. This week, a good friend forwarded me a URL of a site that specialises in protecting your computer.
Fork Ltd has developed a system called Prey Project, which is licensed under the Creative Commons license and is a offering that is absolutely free. This starts tracking your computer actions as soon as you activate the system.
The system obviously needs to be installed on your computer and registered on their servers for you to be able to locate and monitor your computer once it has been stolen or should we say……redistributed.
For day-to-day usage of your computer, nothing is enabled and system works as per normal. As soon as your computer is stolen, you log on to the Prey Project website and click one checkbox to say that the system is missing. Once the system is activated, you can see the status of your computer with the user that is currently logged on, a screenshot of the desktop at the time, and if your system has a web cam, you can also get a picture of the thief. There is also a way for you to send a desktop message to the thief, asking them politely to return your computer. Prey Project can also tell you which programs are open and which files have been changed and saved for any given time. Not only is the information reporting available on the Prey Project website, but you are also e-mailed on a regular basis as to the status of the missing computer.
What appeals to me with this system is the fact that when it is not being used it is completely dormant. Also the fact that Prey Project supports most Windows browsers, Apple Computers and Linux systems, makes it a system that can be used by just about anybody.
The website is http://preyproject.com and from what I can see it is an unobtrusive tracking device which is a step in the right direction for fighting crime and being able to retrieve your computers. To be honest, the cost of the computer is not the valuable possession; it is the irreplaceable data that is stored on your computer.
