Months ago, when we began drawing sketches, trying to imagine what the iPhone client for Prey would look like, well it sure looked easy-peasy. It really did. But when we actually put our hands into it, we bumped into a number of things we had to sort out to make Prey work the way we wanted to, and of course, without breaking any of Apple’s rules. So it took longer than expected but the work is now done, and the wait finally over.

Prey is now available for iPhones and iPads at the App Store. Open source, for free, tested and ready to kick some burglar butt. Check it out.

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Good news Ubuntu users! If you already upgraded to Ubuntu Natty Narwhal (11.04) then you’ll be able to install Prey directly from Ubuntu’s official package repositories. We’ve been working side by side with the Debian devs so now you’ll be able to find Prey in Ubuntu’s Software Center or get it by opening up a terminal and typing the famous one-liner:

$ sudo apt-get install prey

The package is listed on Ubuntu’s universe repository so be sure to enable it through Synaptic it (Settings > Repositories > check Community-maintained Open Source software) if you want to use it.

Now, there’s a few differences between the official Prey version and the one bundled in Debian and Ubuntu. Keep on reading!

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Yup, it’s here.

It took as a bit longer than expected but the iOS client is ready to run in the wild, and we want you to help us try it out. If you have an iPhone running iOS version 4 or above, you can be one of the first to see Prey running on Apple’s platform. You’ll also get a Personal Pro account for a whole year and we’ll only ask that you fill in a form a week or two after installing the app.

Want to give it a shot? Then send us a Direct Message through Twitter with your registered email address (the one associated to your Control Panel account). If you get a DM back from us then it means you were one of the selected few who made it!

Update: Registration is now closed. Thanks everyone who signed up!

0.5.2 is out! A while ago we pushed this release update which includes a couple of security enhancements, lots of code cleanups and a small fix for On-Demand mode, as some people were having trouble switching back to On-Interval after going to stand-by mode. Lets take a deeper look at the changelog:

• Response encryption: Prey now supports 128 bit AES decryption for response bodies, which means that all data sent by the Control Panel will be encrypted with a salted secret key, rending theoretical man-in-the-middle attacks impossible. We’ll be deploying this gradually during the next days!
• We also added a check to prevent malitious code execution through config values in the response XML. (Issue #85)
• Better way of knowing if On-Demand is still active or not, using timestamps from the keepalive pings sent by the server. This should fix the issue that prevented some users from switching back to Interval mode.
• Lots of code cleanups, removed duplicate or unused stuff. We’re also switching backticks for $() calls, which is much easier to read.
• Small improvements to the auto update process.
• Initial support for Prey to be run as a non-root user. On Ubuntu we were able to run as a third user with some sudo permissions. Once we get it working on Mac we’ll switch over and not run Prey as root any more (yes, we heard you guys).
• Support for SMTP servers which don’t require authentication. Simply leave the SMTP user/pass fields blank and you’re set. Passwords with spaces should also work.
• Added a simple SMTP user/pass verification routing in check mode (Standalone users).

That’s about it! For the full commit list check out the comparison view on Github. As always, any questions or comments are welcome.

Happy hunting!

Update: 0.5.1 was just pushed. Fixed an issue regarding password on Standalone mode and checks for On Demand mode.

Good news for all Prey users. Version 0.5 is available for download and ready to roll. Codenamed “Cloud Strife”, 0.5’s changes include:

• On Demand support for laptops/desktops (via a secure, persistent TCP connection) and Androids (via Google’s Cloud To Device messaging system).
• Updated Lock for Mac to make sure it triggers deactivation of module on Control Panel when successful password is entered.
• Offline actions support: You can now force the actions to be kept running even if the device goes offline.
• CronService for Windows optimizations and fixes (read note at the bottom!).
• Android: Lock module support for 2.2+ Androids. You need to grant permissions on your phone after updating, otherwise it won’t work.
• Android: can now reassign current SIM as the valid one, so you don’t need to disable the SIM lock function to stop getting alert messages when switching SIMs.
• Windows Lock binary rewritten in C#. Better focus management. Task Manager disabling works as it should in XP and Vista/7 as well. As we’re not bundling WinLock.dll any more, there shouldn’t be any more false positives.
• Mac Geo Module: support for weird chars like slashes.
• Mac & Windows screenshot grab in JPG which is lighter than PNG. Reports should get faster to destination now.
• New strategy for capturing webcam shots in Linux (waaay better image quality and lightness). Thanks to everyone who helped on this.
• Linux: Change the delay to give wifi time to work when using autoconnect (thanks Drew!)
• Linux: When using autoconnect mode in the config, Prey will use the network with the strongest signal available (again, thanks Drew!)
• Fixed file sending in SCP mode (screenshot, picture). (#76)
• Mac installer fixes. You shouldn’t get any more “Unverified” states anymore.
• Removed rubbish on Mac/Linux log files.
• Linux: Fixed Wifi device getting (using iwconfig now).
• Linux: Lock module should work on distros with Python 3 installed.

And a couple of other smaller fixes too.

Important: On Windows, running Prey as a system service –rather than at user-level — should not only be the default option but the way of running Prey on Windows, so we’re deprecating it on next release. If you’re still running at user level we strongly encourage you to switch modes. You don’t have to if you don’t want, but Prey will refuse to auto update until you do. :)

That’s it. Hope you enjoy 0.5 and, as always, happy hunting!

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!

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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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!