March 19,2013-One of the biggest challenges of our connected lives is to secure our data at all times and in all situations. So, a big fear that grips most connected people of losing a device – either a laptop, a smartphone or tablet – that contains personal data that can be misused.
A solution could be the McAfee Anti-Theft software that comes pre-loaded in Acer ultrabooks running on Intel core series processors.
One of the first things you need to do is activate your account on Mcafee.com with an e-mail ID and password. By logging into the account you can see your devices protected by McAfee and those that have the anti-theft software activated.
We tested the pre-loaded software on the Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook.
In case a protected device gets stolen you have two options: one, to lock down the device and two, to go into stealth mode where the device will be open but your data secure.
In both modes, we were able to log into the account from another laptop and see location of the S5 minutes after it accessed the net. The location shown was accurate to about 25 metres, which might not be a big help in a big city like Delhi, but can still go a long way in helping reclaim your device.
We locked down the device after which we could see just a black screen of death with two password options. Since we had set an anti-theft password before we locked down, we were able to key this in and restore the laptop. The other option is to key a 26-digit code showing on the black screen into your web console and secure a password.
There is also a stealth mode in which the computer can run, even as you track down where it is. In this mode, most of the files are disabled. We particularly liked the repair mode which provides some access to everything except your data.
The problem we found with the software is that it works on the premise that whoever has taken your device will invariably connect to the Internet. That might be asking too much of a thief, especially in India. Thankfully, you can programme the console to lock down the device if it does not access the internet for a set period. At least, you will have the consolation that whoever stole your device won’t be able to use it for anything gainful.
Sadly, the product is not available off the shelf and only comes pre-loaded in Acer ultrabooks at the moment.
INDIA TODAY
