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Protecting My Daughter's Notebook?

Posted by Cliff on from the quick-phone-home-with-IP-scripts dept.

ctwxman asks: "My daughter enters college in the fall. This past week she spent three days on campus for orientation... and had her iPod stolen! That got me to thinking about protecting her brand new laptop. I'll physically lock it to something immovable -- that's simple. However, I've got a website and it's got a log. Is there a way to make her laptop quietly 'phone home' every time it boots so I can get the IP address and always see where it is? Her machine runs XP, but knowing Slashdot, suggestions for all OSes will be appreciated."

4 of 181 comments (clear)

  1. Wrong priorities by Little+Pink+Bunny · · Score: 4, Funny
    That got me to thinking about protecting her brand new laptop.

    You have a naive daughter (who let her iPod get stolen) and you're worried about her laptop computer? You need to be worried about her other laptop unless you want some worse surprises a few months from now ("Him? That's going to be the father of my grandchild?!?").

    Good luck, man.

    Signed,
    Father of two daughters approaching college faster than he wants to admit.

    --
    I am a
    1. Re:Wrong priorities by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      AS this is /. his daughter is probably fat and ugly anyway.

    2. Re:Wrong priorities by ottothecow · · Score: 2, Funny
      I supose I should also add that if they do connect to the university network and you get an IP from whatever method, it is probobly going to look just like one of the IPs your daughter usually gets.

      "Dear, I think I found out where your laptop thief is!!!"
      "Where dad?"
      "From his IP, it looks like he is at the University of BigState"
      "Dad..."

      --
      Bottles.
  2. An Interesting Fortune. by themassiah · · Score: 2, Funny

    An interesting fortune from Slashdot at the bottom of my page in this story:

    "A girl's conscience doesn't really keep her from doing anything wrong-- it merely keeps her from enjoying it. "

    --
    - Sometimes you're the pidgeon, sometimes you're the statue.