May 1, 2024

Your Mac Now Locks Itself When You Walk Away

Posted December 1, 2009 at 1:44pm by iClarified · 9051 views
The MHA has released the first version of Airlock, a smarter kind of Mac security solution that allows a Mac to automatically lock and unlock itself as a user comes and goes. Airlock uses advanced Bluetooth proximity detection that interacts with a user's iPhone or iPod Touch to determine the approximate distance between the user and his or her Mac. When the user leaves the preset range, Airlock locks the Mac's screen, and upon the user's return, Airlock automatically unlocks the screen. As a fallback for when the user's iPhone or iPod Touch's battery is dead, Airlock can be configured to accept the user's account password to unlock the screen.

Airlock runs completely in the background and is configured through the System Preferences. From the Airlock preference pane, users can configure many aspects of Airlock to suit their needs. For example, the Airlock preference pane features a radar screen which allows users to easily configure the distance that Airlock considers in-range, while displaying the location of the user's iPhone or iPod Touch in realtime.

In addition to locking the screen, Airlock can be configured to perform custom actions as the user comes and goes. For example, when the user comes in-range, he or she could automatically be logged-in to iChat, a favorite news site could be refreshed, or a daily snapshot could be taken of the Mac's surroundings. On the other hand, when the user goes out-of-range, he or she could be logged-out of iChat, or an email could be sent logging the time and date that the user left.

Pricing and Availability:
A free, full-featured demo of Airlock is available. Airlock can be purchased for $7.77 (USD).

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