How to protect my laptop from potential theives - remote wipe, and webcam capture

[Nvidiaguy07]

I read about prey a while back, but is that the best tool for getting back your laptop?

I just bought a new macbook air, and because its a wanted item, i feel like theres a higher chance of it getting stolen.

The kind of protection i want is banking on the fact that the party stealing the laptop is too dumb to wipe the drive, and will probably just attempy to use it as is.

- The first and most important thing i need the software to use is to remove my personal data/unlink and remove the files in my dropbox. I would like to be able to initiate a command that would wipe my saved passwords, history, and maybe even bookmarks etc from my computer. I also have sensitive information in my dropbox, and im not sure if "unlinking" a device will wipe it.

- Secondly, i want features that prey supposedly offers. I would like it to capture pictures of the thief from my webcam, try to connect to a wifi network and attempt to get an ip/location. Try to get any personal info of the person, so i will be able to get my laptop back.

I should also note that im using bootcamp to use Windows as well (boots automatically into osx) They probably wont be smart enough to boot into windows as it goes into osx by default, but i may want to install some software there as well.

Right now i have basically no protection, and even my admin account doesnt have a password. I want them to be able to get in if it gets stolen, so increase my chances of getting it back, but i need to protect my personal information as well.

 

[mechBgon]

It's not quite what you asked for, but a hard drive with onboard full-disk encryption is one option. Or BitLocker, if you have Ultimate. And then renter's insurance (make sure it covers full replacement cost, not market value).

 

[FoxFifth]

Some of that in Lojack: http://www.absolute.com/en/lojackforlaptops/home.aspx

 

[wayliff]

This might sound more complicated but here is what I think...

If you opt for full disk encryption: You're protecting your data but "I think" your chances or recovery are not so good because the thief is unlikely to be able to boot into the OS and therefore prey or lojack would not work.
(Note: it does look like lojack has a feature that survives OS reinstalls, so might be something to consider for sure)

If you opt for lojack or prey only then data protection is not good if the thief does not connect to the computer to the internet but first snoops around your hard disk. I would not assume the thief does not know what to do to get around security.

My suggestion is a combination of things...

1. Prey\Lojack, or whatever, that allows you to track the machine if the user connects to the internet.

2. A 2nd HD partition, or encrypted folder, using TrueCrypt (don't know if it works for Apple). You should not mount this automatically but mount it yourself with a strong password.

3. Also how about a cable lock for extra hassle for a potential thief.