Microsoft and Google to introduce the “Kill Switch”

20140622-173955-63595162.jpgSince the introduction of Apples “kill switch” preventing iPhones from being wiped or services being disabled while “find my phone” service is configured, iPhone theft has dropped dramatically. Giving owners the ability to render their phones stolen at the push of a button, turns a high value device into something a little harder to sell on.

Microsoft and Google have both recently announced they’re planning on following suit, and introducing similar systems into their own handset models.

Google recently launched their very own find my phone type system, which proved to be a little buggy at times. It’s believed that this system will gain the additional functionality of being able to disable phones on users request. Something Apple have been doing for sometime now.

This will be closely followed by a tightly bing maps integrated system by the guys over at Microsoft.

It would be great to fully stamp out phone theft, or at least make phones seem less desirable to thieves. Although this is properly unlikely to stop opportunist thieves it may stamp out some crime.

Read More

Orbicule Undercover now 64-Bit

If you’re like me you will be constantly worrying about your MacBook and what you would do if someone stole it. That’s where Orbicule’s Undercover comes in.

Over the many years of laptop thefts there has been many variations on the ‘phone home’ technology. One of the most early applications I can remember was called ‘ET Phone Home’ which literally dialled a preset telephone number every few hours from your computer. If the line was engaged then the app new it was still at home and all was well.. However with technology moving on the way it is doing, relying on the machines modem now would be madness.
Applications like Undercover use local wireless network access points and IP Address geo-locating to pin point your devices location with up to a 10 meter accuracy, but also cover the modem and bluetooth for any tethered connections!
However, now there are so many applications like this on the market, developers are always looking for that little bit extra. Undercover not only reports back to Orbicules online tracking website, but is capable of taking screenshots of the PC, taking shots from built in webcams, faking hardware failure and displaying messages on the screen offering finders fee’s etc.
Orbicule are confident that they will help local law enforcement find your stolen MacBook, so much so that they offer a money back guarantee if they don’t! So really, you have nothing to loose! $49/£31.75 is a small price to pay in my eyes.
If your worried about privacy and would rather not have an application reporting back your location constantly then Undercover is ideal, as it only starts reporting once you have notified Orbicule that it has been stolen!
Orbicule also offer an iPhone variant, so you can feel assured in the knowledge all of your tech is covered.

Read More