Ever had a laptop stolen? Then you know the creative vengeance fantasies it can inspire. Fortunately for Mac users, a company called Orbicule has created a program called Undercover 3 that violates laptop thieves’ privacy in ways you’ve never dreamed of.
Here’s the process: Once you discover that your laptop is missing, you notify Orbicule and they remotely activate the software. At that point Undercover 3 uses wifi positioning to locate your MacBook: the company claims accuracy within 10 feet. (This requires wireless, of course, and assumes that the thief’s first instict is to run to the local wifi cafe to start Facebooking his friends. Status update: “Just totally stole this SWEEEET computer!”)
In case ‘within 10 feet’ isn’t good enough—there are a lot of people with MacBooks at Starbucks, after all—your computer will automatically start sending screenshots at regular intervals. This will allow you to read the theif’s email and chats as he accesses them, which could reveal his identity. It will also give you insight into his personality, since you will also get regular screengrabs of the movies he is watching, the album covers he is purchasing via your iTunes account and, let’s face it, the porn he is downloading onto your computer. Soon you will know him better than you know your own friends. Adding a whole other level of whammy is Undercover’s hijacking of the built-in iSight camera (on all newer MacBooks) which will snap pictures of your new buddy every 6 minutes: watching movies, purchasing albums and… downloading porn. Great.
If, after all of these things, you are still unable to identify the perpetrator, Undercover 3 will simulate a hardware failure, dimming your screen until it is unreadable. Take that, villain! The philosophy here is that the thief will bring the stolen laptop into the Apple Store. You know, for repairs. Hey maybe, thinks the thief, this is on warranty. Or maybe the thief will shell out the $300 it’s going to cost to fix the stolen laptop. Orbicule does not expect him to do what any sensible criminal would do at this point, which is to throw the laptop that you are so desperately trying to get back in the garbage.
Fortunately, the company offers a full refund policy if they can’t locate your machine. That’s right: You’re down a laptop, but you get the $45 back for the software.
You do realize that when you install this you are giving a company access to activate your camera and that your photos and location are sent to a companies server, a company with a history of massive security oversights?
http://www.google.com/search?q=orbicule+security+issues
The “server” that your system talks to is also a shared hosting account, with little security measures in place. No product liability insurance, does not comply with a list of data security laws and run by a small company in Belgium.
I did sound cool when I looked at it to, but there were way too many red flags.
to Kevin:
good point. I thought of it too but promptly forgot as I read to the bottom. (!)
Interesting concept though. Don’t know if we would ever trust any company enough, or if I would, to to do this though, even if it wasn’t orbicule.
Also I’m guessing most thiefs steal to pawn - in which case they’ll probably just delete most of the data (a fairly quick process?), turn it off until it gets sold, etc.