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What Is the Best Way To Track Stolen Gadgets?
An anonymous reader writes "Now that gadgets can determine their location and phone home, many companies are creating tools for finding lost and stolen gadgets. It sounds like a simple process, but this NY Times article describes a number of wildly different approaches. Some report all of the information back to the owner while others deliberately keep the owner in the dark to avoid dangerous confrontations. Some start grabbing pictures from the web cameras and logging keystrokes. Others just record IP addresses. Some don't do anything but record serial numbers to make it easier for the police to do their job. Are sophisticated systems dangerous because the tracking mechanisms could be misused to violate the privacy of the owner? Are the stakes different when a company purchases the software and gives the IT manager the ability to track everyone in the company? What are the best practices that are emerging? What should I recommend if my boss reads this article and wants to track our laptops and Blackberries?"
Build it in... When for x time no 'special' password is given the termite gets an ignitionsource. It should be quite easy after that to spot the thief. Whoever smells like bacon most is the one you're after :)
In Italy a person got his car stereo stolen twice in 1 week, the 3rd time he mounted some sharp knifes as a defensive mechanism. Two days later he found 4 fingers in his car. The police was not happy. I'm not sure how the story ended in a court.
Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
Not made up. My friend did almost the same thing with double edged razors on the back of his stereo. He had 3 stereos stolen from his car over the course of 2 years and was determined to not let it happen again. He went out one morning to find his car door open wide, and a gratuitous amount of blood all over the interior of his car. His stereo was still there - the thief had started to steal it, then reached around back to pull it out and cut himself badly. The unfortunate thing was that it cost quite a bit to get all the blood cleaned out from his car.
"But this one goes to 11!"