Tech: "Undercover" software helps recover your stolen MacBook

So you coughed up some dough for that iAlertU program to protect your MacBook, but wouldn't you know it, your laptop got stolen anyway by a thief who cleverly removed the battery before taking off. Another program called Undercover not only sends out an IP-address-containing SOS if it's reported stolen, but actually uses your machine's built-in iSight to snap a photo of the perp before simulating a screen failure that makes the Mac unusable. Every six minutes, Undercover pings a database maintained by developer Orbicule to check if the machine it's installed on has been stolen; a positive reply from the server initiates a sequence of events that hopefully ends with law enforcement officials breaking down the door of the nefarious Macjacker's pad and recovering your beloved notebook.

That's safe!