Pretty good protection.

    Notebooks are the easiest of all computers, perhaps only after PDAs, to steal. Leave one alone in a public place for just a minute and most likely you will never see it again. Locking the thing with a chain is not very practical and sometimes impossible – there is simply nothing to wrap the chain around. There is an easier way however. The Caveo Anti-Theft card. Bits and pieces of school knowledge tell me that “caveo” means “in fear of”, therefore the full name of the device can be understood as “in fear of anti-theft”. Let’s leave this mishap for manufacturers to deal with.

    Caveo looks just like any other random modem or Ethernet adapter: a plain PCMCIA Type II card. Inside, however, the card has several sensors which can determine speed and direction of movement. Coupled together, these sensors create a very comprehensive and reliable protection system. When the owner leaves the room, leaving notebook on the table, Caveo gets activated as soon as the screensaver does. If a thief tries to take the computer, then as soon as he leaves the “work zone” [its boundaries can be set manually], Caveo will activate the siren. All system sounds are customizable, so if you are used to scaring thiefs away with your thunder-like voice, don’t hesitate to do so.

    The system can also be engaged even if the computer is off. This feature is very useful: there is no need to check the presence of your briefcase every half second when you put it under the desk in a bar or during a visit to some rather strange company. Of course theoretically, the card can be extracted, and the computer stolen without it, however if you do not have a lock on the extension slots on your notebook, don’t moan about it – you deserved it. On the other hand, any random thief is not likely to check the computer for any futuristic anti-theft devices, so when the object of his desires will unexpectedly start shouting “put me back you idiot” into his face, he, most likely, will get scared and leave the computer alone. If the bastard runs faster than you do, Caveo will encrypt all contents of the hard disk and will block the computer in such a way that turning it back on again will be very, very problematic.

    In US, Caveo Anti-Theft is priced at $99, notebook is fifteen times that, and data – data is priceless.