OS X Mountain Lion Bible

Locking or Wiping a Mac Remotely

Introduced in iOS 4 for iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches and then brought to the Mac in the OS X Lion 10.7.2 update, the ability to lock or wipe the contents of a missing Mac is a key security feature everyone should be familiar with. It's also very easy to do.

First, be sure that the Find My Mac option is selected in the iCloud system preference. If location services (explained later in this chapter) are turned off, you'll be asked to turn them on. After location services are turned on and Find My Mac is enabled, your Mac sends out a signal periodically to Apple's servers noting its current location.

Should your Mac be lost or stolen, you can go to www.icloud.com from any computer or web-capable mobile device and log in to your account. Then click the Find My iPhone icon button. As Figure 24.5 shows, a screen appears showing all your Apple devices that use the same Apple ID; click any to see its location, if available. You can send a tone or message to the device as well (to find an iPad that may be under a chair or pile of papers, for example) or to send a message to the person who found it to call you. If the device is not found (it may not be connected to the Internet), check the Email Me When This Mac Is Found option to have Apple send you an e-mail when the device is back online and located.

Tip

Apple's free Find iPhone app for iOS devices has the same features as iCloud.com's Find My iPhone service, so you can use that app instead if you ...