Stop iDevice Thieves With PadLock

iPods, iPhones and iPads are all expensive devices and contain a lot of personal information, but they are also very portable which makes them susceptible to theft. If you find that your iDevice is often in a shared environment like an open office or a dorm room you may want to use Padlock to secure your iDevice.

In my earlier article, Stop Laptop Thieves With LAlarm, I showed you how to protect your notebook from being stolen.  After that article my some friends and colleagues asked me for similar software to protect an iDevice like the iPad, iPhone or iPod. Luckily I was able to find Padlock, a free application that sounds an alarm when your iDevice is disconnected.

After installation of the PadLock application on your iPhone, iPod or iPad and connecting it to a computer an alarm will sound on disconnect if you haven’t approved the removal.

How it works:

Step 1: Visit kitchenbudapest.hu and download Padlock.

Step 2: Install the application on your iDevice.

Step 3: Run the application.

Step 4: Connect your iDevice with USB cables to your computer.

Step 5: Click the lock button to start protection.

Step 6: If your iDevice gets disconnected from the computer the alarm will sound.

Here’s a video of PadLock in action.

PadLock demonstration video – how does it work? from KIBU on Vimeo.

Please note that you need Mac computer with built in or external speakers and Mac OS X 10.6 for this software to work.

Limitation of PadLock:  PadLock is not foolproof solution to protect your iDevice from being stolen. This software comes with some limitations. Below are some limitations of PadLock.

• PadLock doesn’t come with password protection. So the alarm can be easily stopped by anyone having access to the software either by unlocking the software or by forcing the software to quit.
• Alarm can be easily muted by plugging headphones into the device.
• If thief also takes your compute then the alarm won’t go off.

This is the first release, so hopefully we will see a these improvements in future releases.