antitheft
Latest
CabinR's travel bags keep thieves away with an annoying alarm
Not everyone is good at keeping track of their personal belongings, like a backpack or a messenger bag. So CabinR, a startup based out of Hong Kong, wants to help you feel safer on a journey. The company has created two bags, a backpack and a messenger model, that feature an alarm system powered by RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags to (hopefully) keep any potential thieves away from your stuff. It works quite simply: On the bag, there's an alarm device that you activate by pressing a button, and the only way to deactivate is by tapping an RFID plastic card on it.
Apple Watch getting the same anti-theft security as the iPhone
One thing Apple failed to mention last night at its WWDC 2015 shindig is that its WatchOS 2 update will have much improved security. Early Watch adopters noticed that all a thief would need to do to pair the wearable with a new iPhone would be to reset it. Although that's documented as a "feature" in case you forget your passcode, Watch will get the same Activation Lock as an iPhone when WatchOS 2 arrives this fall. Activating it will then require your iCloud Apple ID and Password, making it effectively useless for thieves. Apple may have also made the move because the new OS will support native apps, so more of your personal info could end up in the Watch's 8GB of internal storage.
Apple, Samsung and others to adopt anti-theft smartphone kill switch
Apple and Samsung are duking it out in court yet again, but there's at least one thing they (and a host of their smartphone making rivals) agree on: users shouldn't be helpless when their phones are stolen. That's why, starting in July 2015, all of the smartphones those companies sell in the United States will come with an anti-theft tool meant to help keep your data out of the wrong hands. The full list of backers includes the usual heavyweights: besides Apple and Samsung, there's Google, HTC, Huawei, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, along with the country's biggest wireless carriers. Those parties in total represent a tremendous chunk of the American wireless industry, so your next (or next next) smartphone will almost certainly let you stick it to the sticky-fingered. And what, pray tell, would such tools do? According to the CTIA, users will be able to remotely wipe and restore their devices (say, from a cloud backup), and prevent them from being reactivated or used by unsavory types. That seemingly simple move wouldn't just save us all anguish, it could save us a collective total of $2.5 billion a year in replacement costs and insurance fees. It sure sounds like a win for consumers, but some -- like Senator Mark Leno, who sponsored a bill to create a kill-switch for connected gadgets in the Golden State -- think such tools should be on by default rather than requiring users to opt-in. He's probably on to something, but at least all these companies have a few months to iron out the details.
Google patents Project Glass motion-based theft detection, locks up if it feels 'unnatural' movement
We know that you're never gonna take your Google glasses off, but if some nefarious lout feels differently, the boys and girls in Mountain View's X lab have got you covered. The company has patented a system whereby the device can identify "unnatural" movements and lock the headset if it feels the violent motion of them being wrenched from your face. Even better, while your would-be assailant is making off with the $1,500 gear, it'll be contacting the authorities to ensure that they can't get far with their ill-gotten HMD. If nothing else, we won't worry as much when pre-order customers 782 and 788 go out of an evening.
Apple granted patent for accelerometer-aided theft-detection system
Despite the added risk brought on by Apple's Find My iPhone feature, the iOS handset remains a frequent target for smartphone thieves, thanks to the device's resale value and compatibility with networks around the world. There's not much you can do to deter sticky fingers short of keeping your iPhone or MacBook in view at all times, but the issue does appear to have crossed the desks of Apple's design team, which was just granted patent number 8,217,792 for a sophisticated anti-theft scheme. The acceleration-based system would detect a "known theft condition" based on acceleration characteristics, sounding an alarm and disabling the device. The smartphone or laptop would ignore vibrations from passing cars or those caused by items being dropped onto a nearby surface, instead focusing on undisclosed scenarios that likely involve direct movement. The device owner would use a GUI to configure and disable the system, at which point the handset or computer would return to its pre-disturbed mode. Overall, it sounds like a fairly straightforward hardware/software solution, with the added benefit of a technique to filter out regular motion in an attempt to reduce the number of false alarms. You'll find the full patent at the source link below.
Intel demos Bluetooth-based anti-theft alarm for Ultrabooks, we go hands-on (video)
We interrupt our wall-to-wall laptop and Windows 8 coverage to bring you some news about... chips. Specifically, Intel's latest ultra low voltage chips, and new features they'll bring to Ultrabooks, in particular. Here at Chipzilla's Computex keynote, we just got a demo of a new security feature that causes an alarm to go off on your PC if a stranger attempts to move it. Using Bluetooth 4.0 and a custom Android app, you designate your PC as the one that needs protection, and then you set a threshold for when the alarm should go off (the range is customizable, but doesn't go beyond five feet). If someone tries to burgle your laptop, he or she will have to enter a password to silence the wailing. It's all worth a look in our demo video below, but we can think of a couple caveats. For one, in order to receive an alert on your phone, letting you know someone picked up your PC, you'd have to be within Bluetooth range, which means if you're covering a tradeshow in Taipei and someone robs your apartment in New York, you'll be none the wiser. Second, the technology isn't yet integrated with Intel's other security features, such as identity protection or its "poison pill" that prevents the PC from even booting. On that front, then, best to keep it up with those unguessable passwords.
That hotel towel you're stealing might have an RFID chip in it
For many travelers, stealing hotel towels or bathrobes is more pastime than petty crime. Hotels, on the other hand, apparently take it more seriously. So seriously, in fact, that some have begun embedding specially crafted RFID tags within their linens, just to help us avoid "accidentally" stuffing them in our suitcases before heading to the check-out desk. The chips, designed by Miami-based Linen Technology Tracking, can be sewn directly into towels, bathrobes or bed sheets, and can reportedly withstand up to 300 wash cycles. If a tagged item ever leaves a hotel's premises, the RFID chip will trip an alarm that will instantly alert the staff, and comprehensively humiliate the guilty party. The system has already paid dividends for one Honolulu hotel, which claims to have saved about $15,000 worth of linens since adopting the system last summer. But small-time crooks needn't get too paranoid. In addition to the hotel in Hawaii, only two other establishments have begun tagging their towels -- one in Manhattan, and one in Miami. All three, however, have chosen to remain anonymous, so swipe at your own (minimal) risk.
Blue Watchdog Bluetooth proximity alarm: 100 decibels of aural terror in a credit card-sized package
While we've seen (and reviewed) a few Bluetooth proximity alarms in our day, these guys are still pretty a much a niche product. The premise is pretty straightforward: paired with your handset, the device emits a shrill alarm on the event that the two are separated. Of course, this depends on you keeping the thing on your person, and not in the backpack or laptop bag in which your phone resides -- something that's presumably more likely to occur with the credit card-sized Blue Watchdog by Secu4 than it is with other solutions we've seen. Selling for €70 (about $95), is small enough to fit inside your wallet, and features a stand-by time of 120 hours, thanks to a 3.7 volt LiPo battery. It can be charged via recharger or USB, sports a 100 decibel alarm, and can be configured to go off if separated from your handset anywhere from one to thirty meters. On sale now from the company's website (which also has a complete list of compatible phones), but not so fast: you'll want to see it in action first, right? You're in luck! There's a video after the break.
nio Bluetooth security tag review: your phone's new muscle
Picture this scenario: you've just left work after a long shift, and have to endure the lengthy commute in the hot, crowded subway. The last thing you want is to doze off and wake up to the horror of your bag or phone gone walkies. This is exactly the kind of problem TenBu Technologies is trying to solve with its nio Bluetooth security tag. Announced at the Mobile World Congress back in February, this little dongle aims to create a personal security space by the means of proximity, linking your tagged belongings with your Bluetooth-enabled phone. Read on to see how we got on with the nio – a dramatic video awaits you at the end.%Gallery-75423%
Nokia N97 Cityman disguise knocks N97 back a good two or three years technologically
Americans probably associate Motorola-style brick phones with... well, Motorola, but Nokia had an equally vogue model way back in 1987: the Mobira Cityman. Like the N97, the Cityman was a dark gray beast from another era that combined the industrial design of a Mack truck with the user interface ergonomics of a PDP-11 -- but on the plus side, it made a terrific weapon in a pinch. It seems only fitting, then, that the two models would be united in holy matrimony through a wacky gag accessory for the N97 sent to The Nokia Blog from Nokia's WOM World, allegedly said to have antitheft properties by making your brand new Nseries look like a giant version of its great-great-great-great-great-grandfather. Ironically, an actual Mobira Cityman is probably worth more as a collectible in 2009 than an N97 is, so the effect might be quite the opposite of Nokia's intent -- but yes, of course we want one anyway. Follow the break for video of the Cityman not being stolen.
Ericsson's F3607gw wake-on wireless HSPA module offers remote kill switch and recovery for laptops
The big CTIA Wireless show in Vegas continues to crank out mobility news with the launch of Ericsson's F3607gw HSPA/GPRS/EDGE broadband module. The Windows 7 lovin' module's unique "wake-on wireless" feature allows your laptop to sleep until important messages or security updates are sent over the air. Combine that little trick with F3607gw's embedded GPS and your laptop is ready for a host of location-based services like traffic alerts, public safety warnings, and geo-fencing. Of course as we've already seen, the module works with Intel's Anti-Theft Technology so you can remotely disable (via SMS) the laptop you left behind at happy hour. The module can even send its location data to a central server for recovery. Once recovered, a second SMS will unlock your portable and make all your data accessible again -- your dignity, however, will be lost forever. Expect to see the first portables and theft-recovery services featuring the new module sometime after the F3607gw is released in June. Full press release after the break.Update: Dell, LG, Lenovo, and Toshiba have all signed on as customers with products expected by "mid-second-half" of 2009.
