Thieves could find it harder to steal laptops this semester due to the University Police Department.
UPD is giving UF faculty, staff and students the chance to download free software that will help locate computers if they are lost or stolen.
The No. 1 crime on campus is theft, with bicycles topping the list of stolen items, followed closely by electronic devices like laptops, said Capt. Jeff Holcomb, commander of UPD's community services division.
Students can access the software, called FrontDoorSoftware Laptop Loss and Recovery, on the UPD website.
UPD used budget funds to buy a site license that allows university affiliates to download the program to their computers for free.
People can put stickers on their computers showing the devices are protected by the software to deter thieves.
The software could also help people who find laptops that have been lost get in touch with the owners more easily.
"If someone found a laptop without knowing who to give it to, when somebody boots up the system it will have all of the contact information for the owner," Holcomb said.
Some of the program's safety measures include a "stolen computer" message that will show on the laptop screen when it is used, as well as a Google maps tracking feature.
Hazel Canete, an 18-year-old biology major, said the software sounded like a good way to help students who fall prey to theft.
While the library is an easy place to have one's laptop stolen, Canete also said the software could help people whose possessions are stolen in dormitories.
"A lot of people think their stuff is safe in the dorms and they leave stuff in the common area (that gets stolen)," she said.
Joel Corazon, a 25-year-old UF master's student in architecture, said the software sounds like it could be helpful. However, before downloading it, he said he wanted to know whether someone could wipe the software from the computer and restore it to its factory settings, thereby rendering it useless.
Holcomb wasn't sure if this could be done but said typical thieves probably wouldn't have enough expertise to remove the program from the computer.
Patrick Reakes, chair of Library West, said the library has had problems over the years with students having their computers stolen while studying. During finals week he usually sees increases in theft because of the increased number of students coming to the library. He said the FrontDoorSoftware program sounded like it could help deter thieves, especially if it is well publicized that people on campus now have this protection on their computers.
Holcomb said it takes only a minute or two for someone to steal a laptop, and recovering one can be difficult without the aid of programs like FrontDoorSoftware, he said.
"Students who leave for a few minutes to go to the bathroom or take a phone call and step outside have things stolen," he said.
For more information, visit http://www.frontdoorsoftware.com/ufl/.
Electrical engineering major Sean Comerford, 22, sets up an online class on his laptop outside of the Reitz Union on Monday afternoon.
