Mac Security Alarm System

RogueAce writes "A program named iAlertU sounds a screeching siren when someone attempts to steal your Macbook. Thanks to the sudden motion drop sensors that Macs use to park the hard drive, iAlertU can detect when your Macbook is being picked up, moved or closed. Also, by using the handy remote that comes with the Macbook, you can turn the alarm on and off like you would a car, which the Macbook responds to by making the all too familiar chirping sound and a flash and flicker of the screen. The code behind it is from a guy named Christian Kleins."

nice feature

[v1]

That's a nice novel use for an otherwise unrelated technology. I'm sure the SMS wasn't intended for security, but it works well for it.

As for being off... I wonder, does anything run while the laptop is asleep? My powerbook has probably spent less than 5 minutes turned off in the last four months. Most users close the lid and sleep it. (my powerbook draws the same 2 watts when it's asleep as when it's off, so why bother turning it off?)

A firmware hack might enable the alarm to wake up the book if it's moved. I assume the PMU/SMU is controlled by flashable firmware. Also, the SMS is in the older powerbooks also - this article only mentions the macbook pros, I wonder if it works in the older models also?

More Mac Theft Software

[pHatidic]

I'd recommend Undercover by Orbicule [orbicule.com]. It runs continuously in the background, and if your laptop is ever stolen then you call up the company and they set it to transmit it's location every time it connects to a network. Of course since my laptop has never actually been stolen I can't really tell you whether it works or not.

Re:One Tiny Loophole:

[tonydiesel]

Aah, but see here's a difference for Mac users. Most of us never turn our computers off, we just put them to sleep...

So, the real question is... what happens when the computer is asleep?? Does it still work?

Re:One Tiny Loophole:

[havardi]

Nope. I think everything shuts down except the memory is kept alive. That's why they can sleep forever, unlike PC laptops that may or may not sleep for very long at all (or wake up for that matter). I've seen a mac sleep for more than a week and still have plenty of juice

Re:One Tiny Loophole:

[friedmud]

Not too deviate too far from the conversation... but all _real_ PC laptops (ie those with mobile chips, not those "desktop replacements") can do this as well...

My tabletPC _never_ gets turned off... and can sleep for well over a week and still have plenty of juice after a full charge.

Friedmud

Just hold down the power button for a few seconds

[iamacat]

This turns off the notebook without any software overrides (otherwise you wouldn't be able to restart after a bad OS crash). Then steal all you want.

Video of it in action...

[antdude]

The poster didn't mention it, but there is a streaming video [youtube.com] showing this alarm in action. Quite amusing to me.

Re:Good to know...

[Phroggy]

When you plug headphones into a Mac, the audio is rerouted away from the speakers in software, not hardware. This allows things like USB speakers to work, so when you plug headphones in, it mutes the USB speakers. So, in theory, this software should be able to override that and always use the built-in speakers even if headphones are plugged in. (I doubt the current feature has this feature, and it probably wouldn't be easy to implement, but it should be possible.)

Re:Just hold down the power button for a few secon

[he-sk]

Even better, hit Ctrl-Apple-Power which reboots the Mac instantly (kinda like Ctrl-Alt-Del on MS-DOS).

Re:Turn on and off with the remote?

[phillymjs]

With the Apple remotes, you can pair the remote and the computer so it only responds to your specific remote.

~Philly