Randomn3ss » Stolen iPod? What if it could call home?

This article was written by Mike Panic and is about: Software, Technology

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We are no longer in a day and age where we carry small notebooks around, a good portion of us carry at least one electronic device at a time, such as a cell phone, MP3 player or Blackberry type device. These devices are getting smaller and smaller, but they are still relatively expensive and the contents can be invaluable if lost. Think beyond just the music in your MP3 player being gone if someone stole it from you. What if you used the advanced functions of the iPod to store your calendar, contact list and to-do�s? Whoever stole your iPod would have access to all of this.

A new by the name of Gadget Theft sells a piece of software that will try to find your lost or stolen item.

What if your device could phone home? Well now it can. Through our system, you simply register your device and install our agent files in the root of your device. If your device is stolen you simply log into our interface and flag it as lost or stolen. The next time the device is plugged into a computer it will attempt to contact us and provide critical forensic data regarding the system it is plugged into

In order for the software to work, whoever has possession of your item must

Plug it into a computer
The computer must have access to the internet

The company says that this could be used for

iPods
USB flash drives
Digital cameras
and others are hot items

This won�t work if you just lost your phone in the couch however. Moreover, you need to access the root direcotry of the device to install the software. This isn�t hard for something like a USB flash drive, but phones and digital cameras could be a bit more difficult. I�m not totally sold on this, but would love to hear from anyone who has used it.

Gadget Theft