Clark Smart security apps for smart phones

With the popularity of smartphones, it's important to put safeguards in place on your phone that could help you track down a stolen phone or even take a picture of the criminal to help the police track him or her down.

I recently read a story in The New York Times  about a woman who downloaded an app called iGotYa to her iPhone that takes a picture and e-mail it if an incorrect password is used to unlock the phone.  The woman was able to give the picture of the alleged thief to police as they tracked him down. (iGotYa is available online, but not through the official App Store. It is, however, available through Cydia, which is a third party app marketplace.)

Then I read in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution  that the same thing happened in Georgia. The Find My iPhone app led police to an apartment that contained a stolen iPhone 4. In addition to the phone, authorities found five stolen handguns, an assault rifle, oxycontin and marijuana, plus a scale for weighing and selling the drugs.

Similar apps include Where's My Droid, InstaMapper and MyLookout.

Meanwhile, there are some paid apps that are being used by parents and businesses to shut off cell phones while in motion in cars being driven by teenagers and employees. These are not free. They tend to cost $20 or so a year. But as a parent, if you want to keep kids safe, this is a great way to do it.

• Cellcontrol
• iZup
• Key2SafeDriving
• Trinity-Noble's Guardian Angel