Safety first: Keeping your gadgets secure

The number of articles and websites dedicated to which gadgets to purchase are endless. But without security, it’s easy for possessions to be misplaced, lost or even stolen. Investing in security gadgets FOR your gadgets is therefore becoming a popular choice – and manufacturers are coming up with better products to do just that.

Wireless Leash Plus

US$89.99

www.zomm.com

Technology company ZOMM has a range of products designed for personal safety. Its award-winning Wireless Leash Plus, on the market for under $90, is the ultimate in safety and security.

It wirelessly tethers to almost every Bluetooth®-enabled mobile phone to alert you if you ever separate from it. Also, in case of an emergency where you don't have time to pull out your phone and dial for emergency assistance it features a simple one-button press and hold system to get you in touch with the emergency services.

Small and compact, the Wireless Leash Plus also allows you to answer your phone hands free when it is out of reach. Working together with an app available on iPhones and Androids, you can geotag items to track them later to make sure you don’t lose your car keys and purse ever again.

Kensington MicroSaver Keyed Notebook Lock

US$49.99

http://www.kensington.com

Kensington is world famous for its security locks, and this one is no different. The patented T-bar locking mechanism and super-strong carbon tempered steel cable provide maximum protection that attaches to the standard Kensington security slot found in most notebooks.

The 6ft, 5.5mm carbon strengthened steel cable anchors your notebook to a desk or immovable object. As well as proving a very difficult task to break through, it acts as a great deterrent to potential thieves, stopping them form stealing your laptop and all of the personal information on it.

Find My iPhone

FREE

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/find-my-iphone

The best things in life are free, so they say. This handy app from Apple certainly lives up that adage. Most people with an iPhone literally take it everywhere, but of course this means you can lose it anywhere too.

Find My iPhone makes tracking it down easy. By going to Settings, tap iCloud, and enable Find My iPhone. Then if you misplace your iPhone, you can sign in to icloud.com from any computer web browser or use the Find My iPhone app on another iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to display its approximate location on a map.

The app also enables you to display messages or play sounds. Say you locate it at a workplace; you can just display a message on the home screen, which will appear even if locked, to say you have left your phone and provide a number to contact you on too. If it shows up somewhere in your home but you have no idea where, it will override any volume settings to play a loud sound so you can follow the noise.

Apple has thought of almost everything, allowing you to set a passcode remotely so if your iPhone has been left in a public place you can protect its contents until it’s safely back in your hands. Even more extreme, you can remotely wipe the entire contents, restoring it from an iCloud back up when you regain possession of your phone.

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