How to Defeat The Thieves after Your iPad

With your iPad, the place to start is to enable the iOS Passcode Lock under Settings. This will force you to enter a four-digit code when you start your device. If you don't want to be prompted to enter your code every time, you can use the auto-lock setting to only require the code if your device is off for a certain period of time.

You can also choose to have all the data and applications wiped from the iPad if the code is entered incorrectly 10 times. If you think a four-digit PIN is too simple, you can turn the simple passcode off and use a stronger alphanumeric passcode.

Apple has made the Find My iPad and Find My iPhone services available for free to all iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch owners. This uses your iPad's GPS to send the device's location to Apple so the device can be tracked.

This service requires that you enable the Find My iDevice option in Settings/ Mail, Contacts, Calendars. Once that's done, you need to download the free Find my iPhone app from the App Store. The only problem with this is that you need access to a second iOS device to find a lost device.

For MobileMe subscribers, access to tracking lost devices is available through any web browser. MobileMe costs $99 a year. Another option is to look at apps such as GadgetTrak and Security System.