“Old books” will protect your laptop from theft
Alexandra | 5:13 pm | February 2, 2010 | Laptop Accessories
There is no need to buy a portable metal safe or a steel chain with a solid bracelet, in an attempt to prevent loss of your laptop and your data. Twelve South, the company that manufactures accessories for Apple computers, released BookBook, a new leather case for laptops. It looks a lot like an old book with a worn cover.
According to the information from the manufacturer, BookBook has sufficient rigidity to protect your notebook from mechanical damage, and soft interior finish to keep the laptop scratch-free.
Cover of this case is decorated with leather subjected to artificial aging, so each BookBook gets some exclusivity (it’s a vivid example of handicraft). The Twelve South Company offers two variants of its hardcover case for 13 and 15-inches Apple laptops. But nothing prevents you from using BookBook for any other mobile computer. You can check if your laptop fits it:
- 13-inch model – 330 x 232 x 28 mm,
- 15-inch model – 364 x 249 x 28 mm.
Moreover, by paying $ 80 for a new accessory for your MacBook or MacBook Pro you also get theft protection, because thieves don’t like books as much as modern laptops. 
Source: Twelve South
Virus Fun
Sasha | 8:52 pm | April 11, 2008 | Security
The name Virus or Worm itself bears the symbol of danger. But there was a time not so long ago when viruses were written just for the fun of it – not to create any real harm, but rather to see if they worked. One of the first virus ever created was a pure joke, it only displayed a message on the computer screen “I’m hungry!! Please insert a burger into the floppy drive”.
Even now we come across this relatively harmless unusual software. Here are some examples.
A Trojan – Burglar.A – besides stealing passwords and doing other malicious actions, gives the user of the computer his/her exact location using Google Maps. The computer is infected, but at least you are not lost. Might be of some use after a Friday night out.
The Caric-A Worm: Former US president Bill Clinton provided a lot of fodder for the gossip mills and so this famous worm proved. This malicious program was activated after opening an email’s attachment and displayed a cartoon of Clinton playing the saxophone equipped with a bra popping out of the sax’s mouth. The writers of this worm tried to be clever by adding a line to the end of the email, presumably from anti-virus vendor McAfee, which claimed the email contained no viruses.
Undercover agent aka perfect surveillance tool – the XPCSpy – saved each button pressed, made screen shots, made a log of visited web-pages, opened windows, launched applications and read e-mail and chat messages. Nothing can be kept to oneself.
Ketawa.A became the joker of the year. While doing its dirty tricks, the Trojan displayed a joke to entertain the user. Unfortunately users where not quite eased with the joke, as it was in Indonesian. Let’s hope at least Indonesians had a laugh.
Next worm – BotVoice.A can be also called a polite swindler, because after the dirty job was done, it said: “Your computer has been infected, I repeat, you computer has been infected and your system files have been erased. I’m sorry! Have a nice day!”.
However, we only find this software creative and ingenious when other people experience it. Even though many of the above make us smile it’s better to keep away from this kind of threats.
Anyone seen my laptop?
Boris | 6:17 pm | February 16, 2008 | Laptop News
A notebook is stolen in the
Finding yourself laptopless can cost a lot more than just the laptop. All of us have been there, at least to some extent, with important files missing and days of work wasted for nothing. What is then the best way to prevent the worst-case scenario, the theft?
The first thing that comes to mind is to tie the laptop up to the table leg. However, there is a better strategy to prevent your data getting into the wrong hands, and it is just a piece of software.
A thin client application is used to transmit physical location of the laptop to a monitoring network. It is possible to remotely delete information or limit the usage of the machine by locking it up after a certain amount of time. This feature can be a lifesaver if a laptop with sensitive information is stolen.
GadgetTrak Verey will start recording via connected camera (e.g. iSight) and send emails to the owner’s email address. The email will contain all the necessary network information as well as nearby wireless networks and video clips captured by the camera.
Nobody is safe from having a computer stolen – Marks & Spencer, Nationwide, Prince Charles and Salma Hayek have become the latest victims of laptop theft. But this time, at least you will have a picture of your thief, which you can later microwave or throw darts at.
Starbucks Dilemma Solved
maksim | 11:29 pm | December 3, 2007 | Laptop Accessories
Should I go to the bathroom now, while there is nobody around? Or should I take my laptop with me? I can hold it with my left hand, probably. I will not wash my hands, not a big deal. Or maybe I can wait? I used to be able not to pee for days when I was small…
The Starbucks dilemma will be much easier to solve when you have Belkin USB Laptop Security Alarm with you. Plugged into your laptop’s USB port on one side and tied into something like a table leg, for example, it sounds a shrieking alarm when disconnected. Which can later be turned off with a key.
The best thing about the device is its portability and ease of use, which can be really helpful in situations when you need to only leave your laptop for a minute or so, to give you piece of mind.