Mac Geekery has a nice little article discussing how to remotely destroy data on your laptop should it be stolen. The concept is great, and the use of Perl could easily be replaced by other technologies. I like the idea of taking the machine down and notifying the user that the machine is stolen, in addition to gathering additional info as to the laptop’s whereabouts.
macbook pro
Mac Laptop Theft Recovery
For those with a Mac laptop, Orbicule’s Undercover software could prove a very useful bit of kit, should the computer ever be stolen. If someone absconds with your iBook/Powerbook/MacBook Pro, Undercover will reveal the Net location (IP address) of the machine plus “it also transmits screenshots, enabling you to closely monitor your stolen Mac… As these screenshots are sent at regular intervals, they will sooner or later reveal the thief’s identity (e.g. when chatting, reading e-mail,…) making it much easier to work with law enforcement in order to recover your Mac.” And if that doesn’t work, it will:
simulate a hardware failure, gradually making the Mac’s screen unusable. This erratic behaviour will be accompanied by a Mac OS X system message stating that a hardware failure has been detected. All this should urge the thief to bring the Mac to an authorized Apple reseller. At that point, Undercover will show a full-screen message alerting the reseller (or someone who bought the Mac from the thief) that the Mac has been stolen, that it has become unusable and that it needs to be returned as soon as possible.
Apparently it checks against their central server to determine if your Mac is in the “stolen list”.
Found via Gizmodo.