As the program’s name says it will lock the computer when the temperature in the surrounding area – basically where the sensor is pointed at – drops. You can set the temperature threshold as well as the amount of time before the PC auto locks, e.g. you can set it to lock the computer when the temperature drops to 20ºC and below, and if that drop is sustained for 5 seconds.

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The sensor’s responsiveness is impressive. The advantage that the Bluetooth-based unlock program has over LockIfNotHot is that it can both lock and unlock a computer automatically. But Stevens probably realized that making his program work both ways – i.e. unlock the computer if it gets warmer – would be quite dangerous, since any object that causes an increase in temperature will trigger that function, so he just left it as it is. Once the PC is locked you’ll have to log in the normal way and enter the password.

You can download LockIfNotHot for free from Stevens’ blog, but of course it’s useless without the IR temperature sensor, and that’ll set you back almost $90 (USD).

[via Ubergizmo]

And that’s why I’m not impressed by the software. First of all, just how hard is it to manually log out or lock your computer? If you have sensitive data then it should be worth the ” annoying effort required to constantly lock and unlock your PC with passwords or finger swipes.” Second, if you want to protect your data, why give potential thieves another way to steal it? If your phone is stolen then your data’s security is also compromised.

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In a way, it’s cool because it’s like your computer can detect your presence. Unfortunately it’s just like that, but not really. If you have sensitive data then by all means take measures to protect it. Make a hard-to-guess password and don’t give it away. If you want to check out Phoenix Freeze, you can download a trial version on Phoenix Technologies’ website. Just make sure your phone doesn’t get lost or stolen.