What's worse than a lost or stolen iPhone? Uh, hello? Nothing! That's why Apple invented Find My iPhone--and charges $99 per year for it as part of the MobileMe service.
If you're not willing to spend that much but want some kind of insurance against an iPhone that goes missing, check out Orbicule's Undercover.
This $4.99 app covertly transmits your phone's location and IP information to your browser-based Undercover account (free), thus allowing you to bust in on the thief and, guns blazing, take back your precious.
By which I mean, of course, work with local authorities to recover your iPhone in a safe and law-abiding fashion. Of course.
You can learn a lot more in the above video. However, there are a couple caveats that aren't mentioned.
For one thing, your iPhone won't transmit its location unless the finder/thief runs the Undercover app or its companion Found app, or taps any of the push notifications you send. (I love the fake bank-account message Orbicule uses to entice thieves.)
Also, unlike MobileMe, Undercover offers no way to remotely lock or wipe your iPhone.
And let's not forget that all such recovery methods are dependent on your iPhone having a charged battery. If it's outta juice, you're outta luck.
That's why I recommend supplementing an option like this with an analog solution like a StuffBak sticker, which at least will help an honest person track you down.
That said, Undercover may not be perfect, and it offers no guarantees, but for five bucks it's almost a no-brainer for anyone looking for cheap insurance. I'm sold.
The Undelete Plus 3.0 software.
(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)I've been raving a lot lately about the importance of backing up, and it seems I still haven't done enough to get my point across.
Case in point: since my most recent backup-related post, I have received multiple e-mails asking how to retrieve files that have been accidentally deleted.
The right question is: Is it even possible to retrieve lost files? And the answer is, it depends. Once you have deleted a file (and even emptied the Recycle Bin), the information from the file is still on the hard drive. As long as the same spot of hard disk hasn't been used by another file, it's possible to get that file back. So, the earlier you try to recover, the more likely it is you will be successful.
Note that during a normal operation, a computer does a lot of writing to the hard drive, because it uses hard drive space as scrap notes for different computations. If you need to recover a lot of data from a main hard drive, where the operation system is installed, it's best to put that hard drive into another computer to do the recovery.
There are many software applications that can recover data, and I was given the opportunity to try out the new 3.0 version of Undelete Plus Tuesday. This is the update to the free version of Undelete Plus 2.93, which can be found at Download.com.
Compared with the free version, this update's new interface is much easier to use. ... Read more
(Credit:
Dong Ngo/CNET)
If you haven't been backing up your data because the economy is bad and you can't afford a decent backup software, I am about to open a can of no-more-excuses on you.
GFI Software launched on Thursday a free backup and recovery software for home users. Unlike other free software, which tends to be the stripped-down of the commercial version, GFI Backup Home Edition is a full-featured application.
The application gives PC users a few ways to safeguard data, including backing it up and syncing it with another location. I tried out this wizard-driven application and the feature I liked best is the capability to back up and sync a computer's folder with an FTP location. Very few other backup solutions offer this and none are free. Of course, GFI Backup also supports backing files to local folders, network locations, and other removable media.
Most backup software, including my favorite, Acronis True Image, uses a proprietary compression standard, meaning you will need the same software to do a recovery. GFI Backup Home Edition, on the other hand, uses the popular ZIP format to store backups.
... Read more
What becomes of the broken hard drive?
(Credit: Hhyuh Jin Lee)Losing your precious data to a corrupted file can pose a serious threat to your mental health, but Dr. Hard Drive Bag is here to mend your broken heart and recover all your lost files.
Right now, the tool is just a concept by Hyuh Jin Lee, but the idea is novel--in the event of a hard-disk failure (knock on wood), just wheel out this portable hard drive IV and hook up it up via USB to your bedridden computer. Antivirus software will immediately pop up and begin scanning files for corruption, and a feedback light will turn on inside the drip bag to let you know it's on the road to recovery.
At the risk of being tarred and feathered, I'll refrain from making a swine flu joke, but would you guys use this product if it ever came to fruition, or is it too kitschy? Sound off in the comments, check out more of Jin Lee's design portfolio, and peep more pics after the jump!
(Credit:
Crave Asia)
Like a really good reality show, the size of consumer devices has been dwindling to almost nothing. Notebooks morphing into UMPCs, prosumer cameras to point-and-shoot form factors, and even the PSP has undergone the slimming treatment. But portability brings along its own risks.
Enter theft recovery services. Bak2u, a Singapore-based company specializing in retrieving lost/stolen laptops, PDAs and mobile phones, can help you if the incident happened locally, but is hapless if the device is taken out of country. This is because such services depend on local law enforcement cooperation to work and this courtesy may not extend to other states.
Hence, its partnership with GadgetTrak, another theft recovery service based in the United States. Through this, they will have access to each other's recovery services and will be able to track devices within their respective zones. Mobile phones with Bak2u software installed will call to a predefined number when in use once the company is informed that the device is stolen. Other electronic items can deploy an identification label which allows the (honest) finder to return the item.
(Source: Crave Asia)
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