Protecting Your Business: How a Stolen Computer Taught Me the Importance of Security Apps

On Saturday at noon, I stopped by my office to pick up a computer and some client orders to work on while out of town for the weekend. The following day, I received a call from my office neighbor letting me know that my office had been broken into. I phoned the police, and my neighbor waited for them to arrive while providing the officer with a picture of the car with the license plate and a video of the thief loading the back of his car.

While on my way back to town, I received a notice that my stolen computer was in Hayward, CA. Apple has an app called Find My, which allows me to check on my phone to see where my other devices are located. As soon as the thief turned on the computer, it registered his location. I pulled up his location on Google Maps and immediately texted the officer a screenshot of the exact address. So now we have the car, license plate, video of him closing the trunk of his car, and the stolen items popping up in Hayward, CA (which also match his license plate holder - 510 area code).

When I arrived at my office, I found that the doors had been busted open, with wood chips from the walls on the floor. My heart sank as I realized that my cameras, computer, and other equipment were stolen. My Mac computer was not just a simple device that I use for work. It contained all my work-related data, client information, and personal files. It was an integral part of my business, and its loss could have been catastrophic.

As soon as my computer was turned on, I received notice of the exact location. I was able to use the Find My app to track down the location of the stolen computer, the location of the thief, and ultimately erase the data from that computer remotely. I opened the app and logged in with my Apple ID, which was connected to my stolen Mac computer.

In the meantime, I had to take action to protect my data. I was worried that the thief might try to access my files and steal my personal information. Thankfully, the Find My app allowed me to remotely erase all the data on my Mac computer and lock it for no future use.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much the police could do to help other than take a report. So I have the last known location of where my computer was, and Ring footage of the incident, but that’s as far as I can go at this point. I will have to accept that my cameras and computer are completely gone, but at least all the information was erased, and the computer is locked.

I hope my story encourages you to set aside an hour of your time to understand and back up your computer system. The Find My app, which is available on all Apple devices, is an excellent tool for locating stolen devices and remotely erasing data.

It saved me a lot of stress, time, and money, and I would recommend it to anyone who owns an Apple device. But don't forget to also take preventive measures, such as having strong passwords, backing up data to a cloud or an external hard drive. By being proactive, we can help to keep our businesses and personal information safe from harm.

I hope you find this helpful with your business.

Sincerely, Lisa Johnson