Think for a moment about how hard you worked to earn your assets. You had to put in a huge amount of time at the office to afford that big screen TV and MacBook Pro. Likewise, you’ve worked to build up a great credit score. The sad fact of the matter is that one person with malicious intentions could ruin all of that in a second. There are a number of great gadgets and services out there that are specifically designed to protect both your digital and physical assets.
Find My iPhone, iPad and Mac
Previously called “Find My iPhone,” Apple’s free “Find My iPhone, iPad and iMac” service now works for all devices with the iOS operating system installed. All you need to do is sign into a device with your iTunes user ID and password and the hardware in question will automatically be linked to an iCloud account. If you ever lose one of your devices, you can log on to the iCloud website, click “Find My iPhone, iPad and Mac” and locate it using the built-in GPS feature.
LifeLock
LifeLock offers a full line of identity theft protection services that are designed to safeguard everything from your personal finances to your credit score. If someone steals your identity, they could potentially ruin your credit and rack up thousands of dollars in debt in the process. LifeLock’s 1 Million Dollar Guarantee is incredibly valuable with regards to preventing that from happening.
MicroTrax
MicroTrax is a service that uses technology called MicroDots to allow you to track any asset that you may have from a device with an Internet connection. Once the MicroDots and labels have been properly attached to the device in an inconspicuous location, you can use any Internet connected device to view its current location regardless of where you happen to be.
1Password
1Password is billed as a detailed password management system, but in reality it is so much more. It’s an efficient way to safeguard all of your assets in the digital realm. 1Password will automatically generate a complex password for all of your important accounts that it will then store so you don’t have to remember them. Hackers won’t be able to get into your bank account, your credit card account or other valuable Web portals and you can keep track of all of your unique passwords from one user interface. 1Password can also be used to store credit card information, addresses and other data that you want to protect.
Prey
Prey is an anti-theft software that can be installed on the vast majority of the most popular electronic devices in existence. Computer versions exist for popular operating systems like Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X and even most popular distributions of Linux. Mobile versions also exist for Android, Apple’s iOS platform and more. Once the software is installed, it allows you to track your hardware using any device on the planet with an Internet connection. The most helpful part is that Prey isn’t something that a thief can disable. Once installed on your computer or other device, it leaves no traces that it is installed on the system at all.
