Laptops are lighter and more powerful than ever; they're also easier
to steal. Luckily, a genuinely versatile and powerful track-and-recover
application is also free. Here's how Prey works, and how it could save
you a month's rent in new laptop cost.
Why Prey?
There are
obvious reasons to like Prey. Chief among them, it's free to use for up
to three devices of any kind, from computers running Windows, Mac, or
Linux to Android devices. But that wouldn't mean anything if the
tracking Prey provided wasn't really solid. It's not fool-proof,
especially if the thief wants to entirely wipe your computer or phone,
but if that's not the case, it gives you a fighting chance.
We'll tell you why in readable text, being a blog and all, but we think our video walkthrough, embedded above, tells the tale even better—with old-timey music, too, courtesy of Incompetech.
On a laptop
with a webcam, a Wi-Fi chip, and Prey installed, it's a good bet you'll
have a photo of your thief and an approximate location on them just as
soon as they have your computer running for a few minutes. You don't
have to actively search, either—devices with Prey installed in the
background "phone home" to your web-based account every 20 minutes by
default (you can decrease this interval), spilling their guts about
everything they're doing.
Webcam
snaps, desktop screenshots, lists of modified files and running
programs, network data galore, and much more are provided to those who
want to quietly track their, uh, prey. If you'd prefer to think that
maybe someone just found your device, you can set read-aloud
alerts, fire off alarms, change the system wallpaper, lock it with a
password, and remotely wipe out your browser data—all from any browser
you can get to.
The basics of installing and using Prey are covered in the video, but here's a brief run-through:
Step One: Set It and Forget It
Head to Prey's download section,
grab the package for your system (again, Prey supports Windows, Mac,
Linux, and Android), then install it as normal, creating an account as
you do so. The only major issue to address is how you want to control
your system and track it if it goes missing. Most people will want to
stick with the default, web-based standard method, but those who would
prefer an email-based, server-controlled tracking setup can explore an
"Advanced" option. I'm focusing on the default Prey + Control Panel
setup.
Because
it's tracking software that doesn't want to be seen, Prey is almost
invisible when it's running on your system, without any configuration or
executable files to be seen. In fact, once you've deleted the
installer, you shouldn't be able to find Prey at all in your system,
because that's the idea. It quietly and quickly checks in with Prey's
servers in the background, at an interval you decide, to see if the
owner has logged in and marked it as stolen. That's all it does—until
you flip the switch on Prey's servers to note that it is, in fact,
stolen, or ask for an update on the hardware profile.
After you've installed Prey and set your defaults, log into Prey's web center,
and peek at the basic configuration tools. You can give each of your
devices a unique name, clarify its details, and change the frequency of
its reporting time. You can set the frequency to a reasonable 20 or 30
minutes now, but don't worry—you can update it as soon as your device is
swiped, so you won't be wasting those precious early minutes wondering
what's up.
Step Two: Set Your Modules
The
Modules menu on Prey's site determines what happens when your device
checks in and notices that it's stolen (if only computers could
recognize their strange meta-existence). There are two types of modules:
the quiet, informative "Report" modules, and the more aggressive
"Action" modules that secure your data, and likely let the thief or
finder know that you know your stuff is missing—and that you've got a way to track it.
Report Modules:
In general, you'll want to switch all these on. You never know what
might come in handy, and it's not too much more effort for Prey to grab
any one item more than the others. You can set limits on how much raw
modified data and running program information is thrown your way, but
the defaults are fine, if voluminous. The most important module to turn
on is Geo, which uses Google's Wi-FI location API to try and triangulate
a laptop's location—or the GPS chip in an Android for very accurate
positioning.
The main
exception would be the "Webcam" option. If your laptop has a webcam that
must activate a very distinct light or LED before snapping a picture,
it could be an obvious give-away and tip your hand. MacBooks, for
example, turn on a green LED when grabbing images from the webcam. If
you wanted to go stealth and not let the unlawful owner know you had
them, you could shut this off—but you'd likely be better off trying to
grab at least one picture of the thief unawares. (He or she may not be
perceptive or paranoid enough to catch what's going on.)
Alarm modules:
When subtle won't work, Alarm Modules provide you with your next best
chance of alerting the thief, the person who bought stolen goods from
the thief, and potentially anyone near them, that your laptop is your
laptop. Failing that, some alarm modules can at least wipe out any
potentially revealing information about you.
Alarm,
Alert, Change Wallpaper, and the password-protected Lock are pretty
self-explanatory. Our volunteer "thief" Whitson reported that the alarm
is, in fact, quite loud and attention-getting, and that the pop-up alert
comes up over anything else you may be doing.
The
"Secure" module is where you make your big security decisions. You can
set Prey to wipe out your entire password keychain, delete data from
Firefox, Safari, or Chrome (sorry, Opera users), or wipe down Outlook or
Thunderbird. A total account wipe-out would be a nice option, of
course, but there's likely a compromise between making Prey still active
and having data deletion access.
Android SIM Protection
Android
phones set up with Prey actually have fewer reporting and alarm modules
than laptops, but they do have one unique feature: SIM card protection.
If a thief attempts to swap out the SIM card in your phone, the new SIM
number is captured and text-messaged to a contact you set up in the Prey
options. With that kind of data and a police contact, you're pretty
close to tracking down your phone.
Step Three: Using Your Reports
So
you've registered Prey on your laptops and Androids, and if it gets
stolen, you'll get an email announcing a new report is drawn up every X
minutes. Now what?
First
things first, report your laptop or device stolen to the police. The
cynical may assume they don't care or don't have the know-how to track
your gear, but the cynical often aren't shielded members of a law
enforcement agency. Give the police everything you have on your device,
including serial numbers, identifying stickers or characteristics, and
the last place you knew you had it. It never hurts. When using the
similar "Find my iPhone" feature of the MobileMe service, police in
Madison, Wisc. were able to track down two iPhones stolen from a store. Your mileage will vary, but it's best to head through official channels first.
If you're
on your own, you can hope that the thief or other person toting your
laptop makes a regular run of certain Wi-Fi spots. You'll have the IP
address they're connecting outward from, the name and details of the
Wi-Fi spot they're connecting to, and a list of the programs they're
running, connections they're making, and other details. Your best hope
is that geo-location through available Wi-Fi can point you somewhere
unique in an uncrowded neighborhood, or that the Wi-Fi they connect to
is unique and identifiable—"JoesCoffee", "246JonesSt", or something
similar would be ideal. If your webcam can grab a clear snap of the
thief, all the better. If you've got nothing quite so unique and
helpful, a visit to the traceroute and other tools at network-tools.com (or nearly any site resulting from a "traceroute" Google search) can potentially get you closer to your missing goods.
In any case, contact your local police rather than try and pin the phone down yourself. One blogger snatched back an iPhone with some help from friends, but he suggests your journey might not have such a funny ending.
Here's hoping you never need to use Prey, but if you do, you'll likely find it useful to at least secure your computer and force some second thoughts on a thief or owner.
Got a great
idea on how to use Prey more productively, or get more useful
information out of the data it shoots back? Share your tips and recovery
strategies in the comments.
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