Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Which Lost/Stolen Laptop Trackers Do You Like?

Posted by Zonk on from the come-back-vorpal dept.

saudadelinux writes "I was held up at gunpoint in July, and my laptop was stolen. There are companies out there which, for a fee, install tracker software on your laptop. If it's stolen or lost, they track its whereabouts whenever it gets on the 'Net and work with local law enforcement and ISPs to find the machine. I'm wondering: has anyone used one of these services? Does anyone have a recommendation for which company to go with? My new laptop is a a dual-boot Ubuntu/XP machine, and the couple of companies I've looked at do Windows-only. Are there Linux options?"

11 of 572 comments (clear)

  1. Hmmmm... Selfmade solution? by jawtheshark · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A pack of semtex in your laptop.... If you fail to write the correct password after three times, it explodes...

    I'm kidding... If those programs can track muggers, they can also track you and that's why I wouldn't trust them. The best way to handle this is to encrypt all your data and insure your laptop against theft. Oh, and daily backups of your data on trusted media which you lock away in a safe.

    Essentially, only your data is worth something. The hardware can be covered by insurance.

    --
    Ahhh...the great dumpster continuum. Many a free computer will be found there. -- sowth (748135)
    1. Re:Hmmmm... Selfmade solution? by jawtheshark · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I forgot to mention: for encryption you don't need to shell out big bucks like the dolts at the IT department did where I work. Just install Truecrypt and encrypt your data partition. Let that partion map on your My Documents folder and you're done.

      I use it on my USB sticks.... Love it

      That said, while Truecrypt exists for Linux, I'm sure there is a native way to do encryption without additional software. If anyone has more information about that, I'll be glad to hear of it. (Migrating to Ubuntu full-time, so one day I'll need it)

      --
      Ahhh...the great dumpster continuum. Many a free computer will be found there. -- sowth (748135)
    2. Re:Hmmmm... Selfmade solution? by ThinkingInBinary · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Your comment seems to miss the point. First, DRM, like encryption, can be used for good or bad purposes. Properly controlled, you can use it to deny thieves access to your laptop or deny them the ability to remove the DRM, while still allowing you (with cryptographic authentication) to modify it. The point of tracking down the thief is to recover the laptop, since it is worth quite a bit of money. Sure, insurance will cover it, but if you can save the deductible by just finding it, why not? I also disagree that laptop trackers "betray" the free software philosophy by definition. As long as *you* are in control, and could uninstall the software if you wanted, there's no problem.

      Second, please don't try to explain how we shouldn't be annoyed when people steal our stuff because they need the money. That's a slippery slope that leads in a bad direction. Besides, like I said, it's about getting the data back.

      --
      ttuttle is a rankmaniac
    3. Re:Hmmmm... Selfmade solution? by Creedo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      don't complain when someone needs a few hundred bucks, more than you need a PORTABLE INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE!!!!!
      He was held up AT GUNPOINT! This wasn't a "broke the car window and swiped a laptop" type of crime, this was someone brandishing an instrument of death. Yes, sir, I want that person locked up until such time(if any) as they can be rehabilitated.

      --
      All that is necessary for the triumph of good is that evil men do nothing.
    4. Re:Hmmmm... Selfmade solution? by darkonc · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Then don't complain when someone needs a few hundred bucks, more than you need a PORTABLE INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE!!!!! The guy had a gun. If he really needed the money, he could have sold the gun.
      --
      Sometimes boldness is in fashion. Sometimes only the brave will be bold.
  2. Don't bother. by Bartab · · Score: 4, Insightful

    First thing that happens is the laptop gets wiped.

    --
    Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo.
  3. I have a question for the question... by lena_10326 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There are companies out there which, for a fee, install tracker software on your laptop. If it's stolen or lost, they track its whereabouts whenever it gets on the 'Net and work with local law enforcement and ISPs to find the machine.
    I've been the victim of a stolen vehicle before... and I know police really don't give a diddly squat about stolen vehicles. Sure, paperwork will be filed but that's all they do. When a stolen vehicle is recovered it's almost always recovered due to happenstance. So, my question is.. what makes anyone think police care about your $1000 laptop when they barely care about your $20,000 vehicle as it is?

    Even with an IP address, postal address, and mapquest directions to the thief's house, I have a hard time believing an officer will put down his chocolate iced donut to go knock on doors over a laptop.
    --
    Camping on quad since 1996.
    1. Re:I have a question for the question... by garnetlion · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Seriously! How many times were the police on my ass and my friends' asses when we were 12 or 13 smoking cigarettes? And where were they when my house was broken into? Probably out hunting down truant teenagers.

      In all fairness, it probably has to do with complaints. No one but me bitches that some jerkoff broke into my house, but I bet the whole neighborhood calls in to report loitering teenagers. As public servants, they have to follow the guide of public interest.

  4. The problem with your risk/return analysis by benhocking · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Your car might drive you into the ground first. Please make sure, for your sake and others', that you're at least keeping your car safe.

    --
    Ben Hocking
    Need a professional organizer?
  5. The actual product tracking companies are selling by jmorris42 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    > I'm willing to bet a free program could be almost as useful, with maybe a bit more work if the thing is stolen.

    No it couldn't. The software is trivial. A program that sends a web request with the serial number embedded in the url a few seconds after a network interface comes up is all that is needed. But once you know your laptop is at IP x.x.x.x that doesn't do YOU a damned bit of good. No ISP is stupid enough to give you the IP+timestamp to physical connection point mapping for liability reasons. Think it through and imagine the Pandora's Box doing that would open. That is what you are actually buying from the tracking company, their preestablished relationships with law enforcement and the ISP community. Once known and trusted as a laptop tracking company they CAN get that info into the hands of law enforcement. Although I bet for legal reasons the tracking company itself NEVER sees the phone number/node/physical address.

    --
    Democrat delenda est
  6. Re:Agreed by Sen.NullProcPntr · · Score: 3, Insightful

    IANALT but If I were I would try to get the Laptop away from me and turned into Cash as fast as possible. Not wast time Installing an OS, or trying to get pass the password. Also most people who rob others at gunpoint are usually so desperate that they wouldn't think about doing such.... Being that you could do such activities you could at least get a job at CompUSA fixing these things. The thief may not have time to do this but the fence probably does. After all most car thieves don't strip the car they steal - they take it to a chop shop (is there an equivalent for PC/laptops?).

    Your $1k laptop may only get the thief $50 (more than enough for an addict to risk pointing a gun at someone), but the next guy in the chain maybe gets $200-$300 after he reformats the drive and alters the serial numbers, MAC address, etc.