Cork-based electronics firm YouGetItBack.com has just launched two new products for tracking lost or stolen laptops or mobile phones.
The products, called Mobile Superhero and Laptop Superhero, are both in beta testing at the moment and can be downloaded for free for a trial period of three months.
The Mobile Superhero software, which you install on the phone itself, sounds pretty cool. Basically, you can remotely lock down your handset if you discover it has just gone walkies, so the thief will not be able to read your texts or emails or peep at your pictures.
Worst case scenario – the thief has already taken out your SIM card, dumped it and replaced it with their own. This service gives you an ‘online vault’ for storing a backup of your contacts (I know, nothing new) but it also can track your phone even with your SIM card gone.
The full list of supported mobile handsets, which includes the BlackBerry, is listed on the site.
Laptop Superhero does much the same job but appears to support only Windows XP for now. So if I lose my MacBook or my iPhone, neither of these products will be able to help me.
The core idea behind these products is great though – render your property useless to the thief and have a flashing message detailing a reward and how to send it back – if not, you can always track the bugger down.
“We’re living in a digital world where theft and data loss is constantly increasing because information isn’t locked down. Between late 2006 and early 2008, in the UK, there were data breaches on 27.2 million people,” said Frank Hannigan, managing director of Yougetitback.com.
By Marie Boran
