When we launched Pro accounts, we included a new feature called Active Mode which lets you keep track of each of your laptop/desktop check-ins. It’s pretty useful. It lets you know when was the last time your PCs pinged the server, so you can know if they’re actually where they should be or not. Active Mode is automatically enabled on Pro accounts which means you only need to log into the Control Panel and take a look at the timestamps.

The only problems is that logging in is not automatic. And that’s not good.

In order to be truly useful, Active Mode should work on its own, without you needing to log in every time just to check if everything’s in place. And that’s exactly what we’ve done: we’ve redesigned the whole notifications system on Prey’s Control Panel to make it easier for you maintain. You can manage everything in one place and forget about checking in personally: Prey will simply keep you posted whenever something happens.

Take a look.

All for one, one for all

First of all, we’ve decided we put together all notification settings in one place. Previously if you wanted to enable or disable reports notifications, you needed to toggle the checkbox for each of your devices. Now, settings apply for all of them at once so there’s only one spot where you need to go.

Secondly, we added the option to enable/disable the “Hardware modified” email and more importantly, the “Device marked as missing” one. Lots of people asked for this and so here it is.

Active Mode notifications

There’s two new notifications Pro users can enable which greatly enhance Active Mode:

The first one, “Devices are not seen for”, sends you an email whenever one of your devices hasn’t checked in for a certain amount of time. Options are 12 hours, one day, three days or a week. This means that if a device hasn’t given any “signs of life” for more than, say, half a day (depending on the setting you choose), we’ll send you an email like the one on the right.

The second one, “Devices check in after”, is similar to the one above, only the other way around. Whenever a device sends a request after being away for a certain amount of time, you’ll get an email. Options are also 12 hours, one day, three days or a week. To see an example click on the image at the right.

So there you have it. We’ve been testing these notifications for a while and they’re pretty handy. To set them up, click on the new Settings link at the top menu and, while you’re at it, let us know what you think! If you have any ideas or suggestions we’d love to hear them.