Laptop Theft Preventive Measures

[longtimeago 0]

Here i would like to draw your attention to one of the major aspect which we are aware of that is Laptop Theft. So this is a common issue which is seen in todays world. The main purpose of laptop is mobility. When people travel they can carry it along with them just like they carry a briefcase. But the threatening factor here is that there are people all round the town trying to flick some one lap top and use it or either resell it. At this juncture i would like to draw your attention to one important aspect that is buying old or used laptops from others. Make sure that you have the accurate details of the person from whom you purchase the laptop. Else you can be a victim something which you would have never expected. Now in todays technological world we have some softwares which can be installed and which can be used in the Laptops. These softwares automatically sends email to the previously specified mail addresses periodically. So when the laptop is stolen and when it is brought to the light of the internet then automatically the owner of the laptop receives the mail . By acquiring the header information of the mail the owner can easily take the originating IP address to the local police and can go about the case in finding his laptop.The above mentioned is not that very practical, because just imagine , every one ( almost all ) of us use a password for the Operating system on login. So when the person who had flicked the laptop switches on it , he will be unable to login , which simple means that the one who stole the laptop is going to format the computer. In this case i am very sure that the application which had been installed earlier , the so called anti theft application will also be erased on the format of the operating system. So in an overall view it can be seen that the first step taken after stealing the laptop is the removal of the anti theft software. So the conclusion here is that the anti- theft software which are installed as normal applications in the operating system provides no security for the owner of the laptop.So in order to over come the above issue now days we have some hardware devices for anti theft. This includes Anti-Theft PC Cards which unique and they provide more security to the owners of laptops. They operate by detecting motion of the laptop to determine whether a threat exists. The main advantage over here is that they are independent of the computer operating system and operate whether the laptop is switched on or off. Now this is kind of much advantage than the older method where we just install an application and say that the laptop is secure. This is considered better because majority of the people who flick the laptop do not open and see for the hardware and then switch on the computer. So here even if they format the computer security is provided. But still if the person who flicks laptop reads this i am sure that form the next time he is gonna make a through check of the hardware installed in the computer and then use it. So can there be a permanent solution for this ?

[BuffaloHelp 24]

I've read making custom web cam supplemental program to use built in web cam to capture a picture and then send via FTP to waiting server when a laptop is stolen. To kickoff this program, basically a login screen (not the windows but a script ran after windows login will be a dummy login. But without the right password it would trigger the capturing program. And it will resume with Windows so that the thief would think he/she has bypass the password). So now, there's IP address, the face of thief who stolen the laptop and probably other information tied to this quick background program. But this requires a long wait and if the laptop is reformatted or wiped out, your program is not effective.

I believe the better solution is in hardware. When no solution is perfect, you're hoping that the person who stole your laptop does not have the time or knowhow to disable the following hardware: GPS tracking device either via SMS or geotag. There are many free applications where hackers have used with Google map to tag away points using GPS receiver and etc. As GPS united are getting cheaper and smaller, you can implement the next hypothetical device easily. A simple battery powered or powered on when laptop powers on, with it's own SIM or micro SD chip to record the position vai GPS and stores it as cvs or whatever. And the first chance the internet is connected it uploads the data to designated place. Since it stores its own place, i.e. micro SD card, it will not be wiped out when the hard drive is restored. When this device is merged with one of onboard USB, it will appear and reappear as "media drive" even after the restore.

And similar to Sandisk's U3 launch, it can contain delayed autoexecuting, uploading script. This would be a cheaper solution.

The next evolution is to broadcast GPS coordinates all the time. This solution will drain laptop's battery but it's a trade off. And only the person who know's the GPS MAC address or signal will know the signature and track the device that's embedded to the laptop.

Anyway, if you have this much of time to develop it I would suggest looking into Lojack for laptops. It's already done and it doesn't cost that much. Right now, it's about $25 to $35 dollars a year.

[jlhaslip 4]

Sounds like a good solution for Windows and Mac, but Linux is not supported.

[rayzoredge 2]

For those of you who own laptops, I strongly urge you take a look at the Prey Project.
The Prey Project is, simply put, a way for you to flag stolen laptops and possibly figure out who stole your laptop and where it is (somewhat). What happens is that you go to the web site, register, and download a small application that you set up and sync with your unique device ID and your account, set up your parameters, and forget about it. If there is ever the chance that your laptop goes missing, you can go online to flag that device as missing, in which the application, which is always "checking in" with a server every X minutes (which you set the interval when you set the program up), will do a multitude of things every X minutes: take a screenshot, use the laptop's built-in webcam to try to take a picture of the suspect, leave a message for the perpetrator (optional), and report its IP address (which leads to the vicinity of where the laptop actually is). It's a pretty amazing program, and I strongly suggest that everyone take a serious look into what the Prey Project can offer you.

Of course, there are a few drawbacks. The laptop obviously has to be online for this to work, but since Prey runs invisibly in the background, the thief will not know unless he or she is savvy enough to shut it down within 2 minutes (which is the shortest interval between actions), and that's IF he or she even knows it's there. The thief could very well just disassemble your laptop and sell it for parts or do a straight format from the get-go, but most thieves keep the laptop for themselves and don't think to take measures to prevent this sort of thing or do an immediate search for personal info on the laptop, which gives Prey enough time to get the information you need. While this may not be pinpoint accuracy in finding your laptop and bringing justice to the person who deserves it, it gives more hope than wringing your hands for days on end, wondering why you ignored that post on Xisto describing something that could at least help you track your stolen laptop.

... from here.

Short from an actual burglary or just being careless, I don't see how anyone can actually have their laptop stolen. Then again, I'm a paranoid type when it comes to my things, so in the case of my laptop, I'm either on it or carrying it with me in public. At home, it usually is within site, so in the case that we have our house broken into, I can see how this would happen. Knock on wood, though...

I suggest that those of you with laptops install Prey as well as take common sense into effect by not leaving your laptop around in a public place, even if you're going to be gone "for a sec." Even though it may seem unlikely to you, I would think a lot of laptop-snatching happens at the local Starbucks, a school campus, or even a library. If you have to step away for a second, always keep a wary eye on it. If it does get snatched then, at least you will be able to confront the would-be thief.