Guardian Angel

Use an iPhone to lock your Mac

We all look for convenient ways to keep our Macs secure when we're away from them, and this app uses your iPhone as a tool to lock and unlock a Mac. It's much like the Atama Sesame 2 wireless proximity lock we've already looked at in this issue (page 94), just without the extra piece of hardware to keep in your pocket. For anyone with an iPhone and a Mac, Guardian Angel seems like the better solution. Plus, it's way cheaper.

When running Guardian Angel for the first time you can choose the lock range (much like Sesame), but the range map is a bit hit and miss, with your Bluetooth device (iPhone) jumping around struggling to be pinpointed. Forgot your phone? Well, your master password will get around that problem. The options to tweak are plentiful, but also a little overblown for something that's supposed to be mostly free of admin. Still, it works without any hiccups and is a very inexpensive proximity solution. Christian Hall

A useful app, using your existing devices, but a few niggles prevent it from being the best solution.