Most of us don’t take our Macs with us everywhere we go. My iMac sits on the desk. My MacBook is often replaced by my iPhone so it sits at home, too.
Now there’s a way to turn your stay-at-home (or office) Mac into a home alarm system that you can control with your iPhone. It features iSight camera capture and and operates as a motion sensor.
The Mother Of Invention
There was a time, back in the day, when my Mac notebook went wherever I went. Those days are gone. The Mac has been replaced by my iPhone.
Both Macs sit at home, usually on, and await my return.
Witness is a clever Mac app that takes your Mac, iSight camera and turns both into a motion sensor-enabled home alarm system.
Even better, it works with your iPhone or iPad so you can control Witness on your Mac while you’re truly mobile. And, Witness notifies you whenever there’s an intrusion.
The Mac Guard Dog
If you’ve ever been (or know someone who has) burglarized, you know that locking the barn door after the horse escapes only helps with your next horse.
Burglaries affect homes and offices every day. If you truly value what’s on your Mac, you’ll take a few extra steps to protect documents, photos, movies, and music.
The Witness app sits in the background and monitors what your Mac sees in your iSight camera. If motion is detected, Witness will snap a photo and notify you.
Witness can be armed by using a free iPhone (and iPad) app, and lets you view images and video when motion is detected. You can even browse through the Witness alarm history.
Witness responds to motion so if a thief moves your Mac a photo is snapped and pushed to your iPhone or iPad.
An added feature will lock down your Mac using a built-in lock screen. When you come back home and unlock your screensaver or Witness, it turns off the alarm.
Caveats? A few. Witness supports only the built-in iSight camera on your MacBook or iMac, but if you have a camera that works with FaceTime or iChat it may work with Witness.
Witness is not a theft recovery app. For that you could use Undercover, which works locate stolen Macs (and is made by the same company). Neither Witness or Undercover are inexpensive, so weigh that with the cost of replacing your Mac or stolen property.
About Ron McElfresh
Mac360's Comment Policy: Keep your comment on topic, relevant, worthy, and funny. Or, pick any three. Be pleasant, helpful, and only use your real name. Comments are moderated and will not appear immediately.