Tech Tuesday Tip

I've never had a laptop stolen. But just in case.....

This tip is from Kim Komando. I installed the program last week on my laptop.

Track your stolen laptop for free

Owning a laptop is a great convenience. It lets you work, have fun and connect with people from anywhere. But with this mobility comes danger. I'm talking about theft. It's bad enough when someone steals from you. But your laptop likely has tons of personal information. This is why Prey was developed. It's a free program that works to track your laptop should anyone try and steal it.

As soon as the thief turns on the laptop, Prey will try to broadcast its location. Even if it isn't connected to the Internet, Prey will try to find the nearest open hotspot.

All you need do is send the laptop a message from your phone or another computer.

Prey gives you a slew of other features as well. You can take screenshots to see what's happening on the screen. You can hide personal information like stored passwords remotely. You can even activate the Webcam to get mug shots of the criminal.

Cost: Free

System: Windows XP, Vista, 7, Mac OS X

Link: preyproject.com

Note: This program can cause a false positive with some antivirus programs. Don't worry; it is virus free.