Someone Stole Your Tech? There’s a Chance You Could Get it Back! – Tech Tuesday EXTRA

So my friend Barb's house was broken into just this past Wednesday, July 4th at 9:30 pm on RT. 20 in East Greenbush, while she was enjoying the fireworks downtown in Albany. They took her laptop, and other assorted items as well as her new iPad she had just gotten a week before. But because she uses the free "Find my iPad/Mac" service, she has a fighting chance to get them back. The reason I'm writing this story is to educate as well as help Barb get her stuff back by posting a picture her Mac's webcam, using security software, caught of the intruder.

Find my iPad is just like Find my iPhone, in which it will send it's location when requested as soon as it's connected to a WiFi or 3G/4G cellular signal. With that service you can also lock down the device with a pass code that would need to be entered before you could get access to anything. Put in the wrong pass code too many times, and the device is useless. You can also have all the data wiped from the device remotely, as well as send it a page with a message letting whoever know you have it, that it's missing and you want it back.

There are also services like this for Android phones, like Plan B, iHound and Where's my Droid. Some like iHound will charge while others like Plan B and Where's my Droid are free or the author asks for a donation. Still these apps are great in giving you a chance to recover your lost or stolen device. But there is the chance it may have a happy ending. I recently met a women who lost her iPad getting off a plane at Albany International Airport. Just as an off chance, I asked if she had Find my iPad activated on her device. She didn't know, so we checked and sure enough she did, but because she didn't have WiFi enabled on the device, along with 3G cellular service, we were unable to pinpoint the exact location before whoever had it, was gone. Still, we sent the command to wipe the device protecting her personal info.

These devices are not inexpensive, and losing something like that would definitely take it's toll on your pocket book. So I encourage everyone with a smartphone or tablet, to use one of these services to give you some protection and a fighting chance to get your device back.

As for my friend Barb, keep an eye on this post as I will be posting  an update on the story when I have more. And if you do have any information on the person in the above picture, please contact the East Greenbush Police Department at 479-2525 or via email at info@egpolice.com.