I like my MacBook Pro to be secure, so I’ve enabled “require password when waking from sleep or screen saver”. It’s a pain to have to type the password every time I open the lid, but I feel better knowing that a thief would have a harder time getting my files if they did manage to pry my beloved MBP out of my cold, dead fingers.

So I’m relatively happy with the security features. But there is one thing that would make me Really Happy: I guess you could call it “network-context security” or “location-based security”

Location-based security basically means that the security settings would change depending on what network you’re connected to. So if I’m at home, connected to my home wifi network, the security would be at its loosest. I could open and close the top all day long without putting in my password. But as soon as that network goes away, or I get out of range of my house, the tougher security would kick in. So if I wind up at the coffee shop, the computer would automatically know to bump up the security settings. Returning home again, my security settings would be reduced.

How sweet would this be? It seems like one of those sugary little features that Apple would bake in to make people feel really warm and fuzzy, but I’d settle for a shareware app. Anyone know if such a thing exists? Is there a hidden feature in Leopard for this?