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Ask Slashdot: Good Tracking Solutions For Linux Laptop?

Posted by samzenpus on from the ping-home dept.

First time accepted submitter WillHPower writes "So I have ordered a new Ubuntu-powered laptop. I spent some extra bucks on lots of RAM and a good sized solid state drive. After putting money into it, I'd like to find a way to track this laptop in case it's ever stolen. Are there any good tracking software/services the run on Linux laptops? Also, are there any other techniques besides tracking for dealing with a lost or stolen laptop that I should consider?"

6 of 253 comments (clear)

  1. Prey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://preyproject.com/

  2. Stop Theft Plates by kullnd · · Score: 4, Informative

    I'm a big fan of these - - They deter the actual theft before it happens.

    http://www.stoptheft.com/

    --
    +++ATH0 NO CARRIER
  3. Insurance by L4t3r4lu5 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Encrypt the hard drive. Insure against theft. Forget about it if it's stolen.

    --
    Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
  4. Re:No by gothzilla · · Score: 4, Informative

    Sure there is. http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/services/prosupport/computrace?c=uk&l=en&cs=ukbsdr3 Computer will ship with the Laptop Tracking and Recovery software agent and a persistence module embedded in the BIOS. The software agent can survive operating system re-installations, hard drive reformats and even hard drive replacements. When a lost or stolen computer connects to the Internet, the software agent contacts the monitoring center to report the computer’s location. For systems with GPS technology included, Laptop Tracking and Recovery has the ability to capture and report more detailed location information. It also provides the ability to track your laptops as they change hands or move around the organization.

  5. PREY by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 4, Informative

    Prey is great. It is more effective than "Find My Mac" and runs on may platforms, including most Linuces. :-) Android, MacOS and iOS - besides teh usual vanilla from Redmond.

    http://preyproject.com/

    From the FAQ:

    Can Prey be removed by a thief?

    Not unless he has your administrative password.

    And what if he formats the computer?

    That's a different story. We encourage you to add a BIOS password and disable booting from removable devices on your PC, so that the thief will be forced to boot into the previous installation and thus, not be able to format your hard disk easily.

    If you have a Mac, there's a firmware password utility on your Tiger/Leopard Mac OS installation DVD (look for it in in Applications/Utilities). On OSX Lion you'll find the utility by booting from the recovery partition.

    --
    "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
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  6. Re:No by greg1104 · · Score: 4, Informative

    There's a list of where BIOS level Computrace is available on their BIOS compatibility page.