You can probably prevent it to be reformatted by installing the "firmware password" which is a utility in Mac OS X /Applications/Utilities/ on the disc.
Yes, the Orbicule FAQ states "If you install Apple's firmware password, your Mac can not be formatted without knowing your firmware password."
Assuming the thief is a bit mac savvy and determined, he could take out the HD and format it on a pc laptop. Or how about simply running a magnet over it to wipe it clean. still, as the site says, for only $29.99, it's a steal...
this seems to be a pretty good piece of software.. but i think we can't tell this yet until we get to read lots of positive user reviews about it being actually able to help recover a stolen laptop..
Some faculty and students of UP may be lucky to have Undercover, kind of like a benefit for being a UP Mac user
The firmware password is set on the logic board of the computer. Assuming someone installs a new Hard Drive on your Mac, you will still not be able to run the OS X Installer disc as the firmware password is required before you can start up the Mac using it.
anybody from the phil muggers actually had Undercover Orbicule's anti-thief installed on their macs and actually recovered their macs
mmm....it is not anti-theft since the device equipped with this piece of software can just as easily be physically taken as one without it (except for the alarm). At best, it is more of a denial-of-use software. In corporate lingo, it is a poison pill that makes the target unpalatable to predators, after the fact. Physical recovery is in no way guaranteed. At worst, it gives the user a false sense of security. Conclusion: save your $$$ and use common sense: at all times, do not leave your valuables unattended specially in unsecured locations.
The iOS version seems more practical. It can be remotely activated and tracked from the website. Of course, the same problem plagues sophisticated tracking systems like these... The thorny process of getting it back.
yup, i agree, keeping alert of your belongings is still a better preventive measure for theft. and in the event that the thief cannot work around the locking software, he can just throw it away out of anger or opt to sell the parts (of the macbook) instead, and if he indeed thinks of that, recovery is very slim.
