(KMOV) -- A local computer company says a tracking program helped catch a thief.

The company founder showed News 4 how a small piece of software tracked him down.

The laptop computer, stolen from Kirkwood, had a secret inside that landed a thief in jail.

Engineer Brad Butler of Acropolis Technology in Wood River, IL, handles computer security for the St. Louis executive who owns the laptop.

It appears the thief did not know the stolen laptop was equipped with a piece of software that allows it to be run remotely, from a different location. The software allows a remote user to watch everything that happens on the computer.

An alert sent emails to the security company as soon as the thief used the laptop to access the internet.

The owner wanted to track it down, so they watched every keystroke and every website the thief used.

Butler says the thief updated his MySpace and Facebook web pages, typing in so much personal information that Kirkwood police found him and the computer within a few days.

Acropolis Technology says the tracking software installed on the laptop is not cheap and is available only for business customers.

It is unclear what criminal charges the accused thief is facing.