Methods, program products, and systems for proactively securing mobile devices are described. A mobile device can proactively determine whether the mobile device is associated with a security risk and the level of the security risk. Upon determining a security risk, the mobile device can transmit coordinates of its current geographic location to a server. To protect privacy of authorized users, the transmission can be disabled by entering a password. If multiple failed password attempts are detected, the mobile device can proactively increase a security level of the device, and selectively protect files or other content stored on the mobile device. In some implementations, the mobile device can be transitioned into a surveillance mode where the mobile device records or captures information associated with one or more of user actions, ambient sound, images, a trajectory of the device, and transmits the recorded or captured information to the network resource.