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.

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We just pushed version 0.4.4 which fixes some things and also makes it even tougher than before.

• In Windows, the uninstaller will ask either for the user’s registration password or API key before proceeding. This is a request we received in the early days, so we’re glad to finally deliver as requested. On a sidenote, remember you can choose to not generate Start Menu entries for Prey during installation.
• Lots of path fixes in all OSs. In Windows there shouldn’t be any more problems running Prey from a path containing spaces (e.g. C:\Program Files).
• Fixes for Geo in Linux for Access Points with weird chars. Also, the module now supports all output formats from iwconfig.
• Secure module doesn’t delete browsers’ data, it simply appends .backup so you won’t lose any information if you activate the module by mistake.
• Interface improvements for Configurator in Linux. Thanks Delwin for all the code!
• Fixes for Windows Service mode 64 bit Windows, which prevented some modules from working correctly (such as alert).
• No more WScript for Alert’s message box in Windows. We dumped it for a much stronger C version.
• Prey Lock in Windows and Linux has been greatly improved. Always on top, full screen support and Alt-Tab protection, among other things.
• When unlocking with the right password, the Lock module will be automatically deactivated on the Control Panel.
• System module enhancements. RAM check in 2000/XP has been fixed. Also, we now grab Motherboard information in PCs (Windows and Linux), as they contain a different set of Serial Numbers/Versions than the core system’s info.
• Better char escaping logic for standalone emails. Thanks Tom Wood for this one!

That’s all guys. For the whole list of commits click here. Happy hunting!

About a year a half a little GPL laptop tracker was born. It was called Prey and it didn’t even work in Windows. Six months later, the Control Panel was launched, and some weeks later the first mobile client appeared. During this time, more than 800 commits from around about 20 developers were made, and there’s already support for all major OS’s, while new ones are on their way.

We’ve received some good attention on the media and nearly two million reports have already been gathered and sent to the Control Panel. The number of registered devices nearly tripled in the last five months, passing the 100.000 mark, and we’ve already needed to upgrade our servers exactly seven times. It’s really been a hell-of-a-ride and we’re more than amazed with the way things have unfolded.

Today we’re giving a new step towards making Prey not only better but also bigger.

We’ve been thinking about this for a long, long time, and we finally realized that you guys were right. There should be an easy way to track more than three devices with Prey. Yes, it’s time to get serious and to do things right. We’re launching today Pro accounts for the Control Panel, not only to help us cover the server costs an to invest in more infrastructure, but to insure a continuous development flow in order to keep making Prey what we all want. That is:

An open, free, robust, featureful and easy to use tracking solution for everyone.

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It’s been over a year since we launched the Control Panel and it was about time we made some changes. During the past months we’ve been noticing which things work and which needed to be looked at, thanks to the constant feedback we’ve received from you guys.

So, first of all, thanks everyone!

Here’s a brief list of changes we’ve made to the Prey Control Panel, which hopefully will make it easier for you to manage Prey and keep an eye on what’s going on with your stuff.

Here we go.

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A while ago we pushed a new release that addresses some issues and also makes Prey a bit tougher.

• Screenshot grabber in Windows was replaced by preyshot.exe, a lighter version which is based on this code.
• The System Service in Windows now actually runs as the SYSTEM user, and calls programs as the logged in user only when needed (such as for taking the screenshot).
• Patching logic for auto-updates is now more fail-safe. Hopefully this will fix the issues we’ve been seeing on the mailing list. Another important change is that auto-update only will work if the device is not marked as missing.
• New Ifconfig.exe binary for Windows, which allows getting always the right Private and Gateway IP addresses, either if your Windows version is in english or not.
• Creating a new account through the Linux configurator should have problems dealing with strange characters in the password.

You can check the full list of commits over here.

That’s all. Happy hunting!

Hello everyone!

The latest and greatest of Prey is packed and ready to go. Codenamed “Solid Snake”, version 0.4 features two new modules, a lot of fixes and enhancements and some important code optimizations. If you wish to know how to update you can scroll to the bottom. Otherwise lets cut to the chase and see what’s new!

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Did you know we’re one of the 25 finalist startups that were chosen to present at The Next Web 2010 conference in Europe? Hell we are! Thanks to an invitation from our good friends at Maestros del Web, we were able to get a spot on the main stage at this year’s event in Amsterdam.

We’re very excited to be here and meet new people, and let everyone know about Prey. Holland is great and the mood is awesome, and we’re looking forward to know what Queensday is all about. We’ve been hearing amazing stories!

Just a little info on the event

TheNextWeb.com is Europe’s #1 resource for innovative Internet Start-up news. With over 600,000 monthly visitors (data: Sept 2009) who view 900,000 pages and an average of 10 new articles a day. No website inspires more Internet Entrepreneurs and customers than TheNextWeb.com.

Some quotes from earlier conference atendees:

• “What sets the The Next Web apart is a focus on the internet as a key driver for a global market. Their international view is unique, making their blogs a must read and their conferences a must attend for professionals like me who do business around the globe”
  – Werner Vogels, Amazon
• “Best audience in the world. Tall, beautiful and very smart” – Andrew Keen
• “I met more interesting companies than at any other such event” – Robert Schrimpff, TVM-Capital

Big news ahead

We’re actually going to announce a couple of things on Thursday, so stay tuned for news! You can follow the event on Twitter by using the #tnw hashtag, or watch the live coverage at http://now.thenextweb.com/.

We hope to do well on our presentation, and send us your support if you can!

Good news everyone. As of today Prey officially supports Wifi geolocation for Mac, Windows and Linux PCs. Check it out.

Original picture by Borya.

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We told you this had been some crazy weeks! Well, we’re happy to start off this new year with the announcement of the first mobile version of Prey. That’s right: Prey now works in Android phones, thanks to the amazing work of Carlos.

Why mobiles

Simple: because you asked for it! It was also the natural next step, considering that we already have Prey running on Windows, Apples, and penguins as well.

Why Android

Because we think it’s a good place to start. Google’s platform looks very promising (amazing phones are available and even more are on the way), the documentation is quite good, and they have helped us all along with the development — we were lucky enough to get one of the Magic’s they gave out last year!

What it does

Basically, Prey for Android works the same way as it does in Portables and Desktops. The only difference is that there’s no standalone mode (yet), and the activation is not done via the Control Panel, but by sending an SMS to your phone with any message you want. By default this is “GO PREY” but you can (and should) put something else that will keep your friends from pulling jokes on you.

The good thing is that Android phones are geo capable, which means that we don’t need to try to grab a picture of the thief, we can just fetch the exact current location using the phones GPS or by using GSM triangulation. And it works!

So basically, when installing the app, you can attach it to your current Prey account (if you have one) or you can easily create a new one from the phone. Then you set up the SMS messages for activation/deactivation and, whenever the time comes, you just send an SMS message from another phone to yours and the reports will start coming in.

If you then want to disable Prey, you can do so by sending another SMS (by default, “STOP PREY”, which you can also change), or by unsetting the missing status on the Control Panel. That’s it.

What’s the catch

None! As the Windows, Linux and Mac versions, Prey for Android is free as in free beer. Our goal is to have a complete tracking solution for all your different devices, so that you have a centralized location in which you can monitor not only your computers but your gadgets as well, phones, cameras, microwave ovens, who knows. This is just getting started!

How do I get it

You can scan the QR below, follow the link on the image above, or just look for it in the Android Market. You can find it by searching for “Prey” or browsing the Applications > Tools menu.

What’s next

Exactly what’s on your mind: other mobile platforms. We’ve already started playing around and hopefully we’ll have another one rather sooner than later. Right now we want to focus in making the Android version work smooth as silk, and see what response we get from our users. So go on, try the application out, and let us know if you experience any issues. While you’re at it, you can always take the time to give it a couple of stars too! :)

If you have any questions, as always, feel free to ask in the mailing list. Happy hunting!

We’ve been a bit silent lately, and that’s not because we’ve been cruising the Cayman’s or riding with Santa. The truth is we’ve been working like monkeys on Prey, and now the time has come to begin unveiling what’s been done under the hood.

This time it’s the Control Panel’s turn. We’ve heard all of your requests and that’s why we decided to take a while and polish all the rough edges, to add new features and thus make it easier for you to manage Prey and track your computers for when the time comes.

‘Nuff said. Let’s start from, well, from the beginning, shall we?

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