How it works

Setting up Undercover

Upon purchasing an Undercover license, you will receive an email with a link to set a password for your account at https://www.undercoverhq.com. To add your Mac to this account, you can download the installer, follow the steps and login on that Mac with your account details.

Not stolen

When your Mac is not marked as stolen, Undercover will transmit the Mac's location to your account every 30 minutes. If you prefer, however, you can change these settings in the Privacy tab in your account. You can also obtain photos, screenshots and locations on-demand, to test these features.

In case of theft

As soon as your Mac is stolen, you login to your Undercover account at https://www.undercoverhq.com and mark your Mac as stolen.

The first phase

The next time your stolen Mac goes online (using dial-up, WiFi, ethernet, Bluetooth, ...) it will notice that it is flagged as stolen. This will initiate the first phase, in which Undercover will send photos, screenshots (every 8 minutes), key logs (continuously) and location information based on the built-in Wireless location technology. In addition, Undercover transmits network information, which the police can use to obtain the exact location of the stolen computer from the Internet Provider. With Undercover 5, you may also request iSight photos, screenshots or location information on-demand, whenever your stolen Mac is online.
You can view all information in your account at https://www.undercoverhq.com and you can easily download the complete theft report, so you can provide the police with all information.

Plan B (What if recovery fails?)

If law enforcement fails to recover the stolen Mac - which is quite rare given the huge amount of information we provide them with - you can switch to plan B. In this mode, Undercover will simulate a hardware (backlight) failure. At this point, we think the thief has two options: to send the computer to a reseller for repair, or to try to sell it. Undercover can also block the Mac and show a full-screen message, stating that your Mac has been stolen and should be returned to the rightful owner. This message can be fully customized by the user, and if the thief tries to dismiss it, it will instantly reappear.

Recovery

As soon as you get your Mac back, simply report it as recovered on https://www.undercoverhq.com. Your Mac will immediately start to behave normally, as if nothing happened.