Tracking Software for stolen software

DarrenMSP

Hi Folks!

What's the best software for tracking laptops which have been stolen?

I was thinking of using LogMeIn but I wanted to see is that suitable or is there something else I should be looking at?!

CptSternn

Prey!

http://preyproject.com/

It's free and works brilliantly!

Fysh

Computrace is a commercial package that you configure in BIOS on supported systems - you have to pay for a subscription to the service but it's supposed to be pretty good. That being said, I haven't tried it myself so can't swear to its effectiveness, but I'll be signing up when I buy my next laptop.

M three

CptSternn wrote: »

Prey!

http://preyproject.com/

It's free and works brilliantly!

Has anyone tried this?
I'm looking for as straightforward a way as possible of finding my laptop if it did happen to be stolen. Preferably a free program that wont plague me with pop ups afetr I install it.

Any pointers appreciated

matt-dublin

apparently some guy caught a thief using prey. took a picture of the fella while he was in bed from the laptops web cam and send it to the cops.

Fysh

Prey seems nice - the free account lets you register three systems to track and you can configure multi-boot systems to have the same profile.

I'm not sure I'd opt for a free service over a commercial package like Computrace, though, if money wasn't an issue. I don't have it on my current laptop because it doesn't support it at BIOS level, but security at BIOS level > security at OS level.

Ideally you want security at all levels, which means:

• Password required to boot
• Different password required to access BIOS/boot from removable devices
• Password protection on hard drive to prevent access from an alternative device
• All guest access in any installed OS disabled
• Physical security mechanisms applied to chassis (eg Kensington lock)
• Tracking software configured to use network information to phone home in event of theft

None of which stops a determined thief from nicking your machine, but it makes it bloody hard for them to do anything useful with it.

Capt'n Midnight

thumb print scanners are nice too

where's my droid is similar for android phones


lots of other freebies here
http://techpp.com/2009/04/05/4-free-tools-track-recover-stolen-laptop/

FSL

No offence Fysh but what you are suggesting will keep your machine safe from unauthorised access.

If it's stolen and the the tracking software isn't running because the machine won't start it can't be tracked.

If the machine is stolen then all the thief needs to do is a hard reset on the bios and a reinstall.

If it's stolen to access the data then unless the hard drive is encrypted it can just be connected to any another machine.

Fysh

FSL wrote: »

No offence Fysh but what you are suggesting will keep your machine safe from unauthorised access.

If it's stolen and the the tracking software isn't running because the machine won't start it can't be tracked.

If the machine is stolen then all the thief needs to do is a hard reset on the bios and a reinstall.

If it's stolen to access the data then unless the hard drive is encrypted it can just be connected to any another machine.

If you're up against:

• thieves who know to carry bolt-cutters with them
• thieves with enough expertise to know the hard BIOS reset mechanisms for current hardware (non-trivial)
• thieves who can bypass hard drive passwords

then normal security measures like I've outlined above are not enough.

Modern machines don't necessarily have the BIOS security issue of removing the CMOS battery, so I wouldn't bet on that. Similarly, if a hard drive supports HDD passwords and has a good password enabled, it's not as simple as hooking it up to a USB>SATA/IDE adapter.

To a certain extent you have to make a judgement call with these matters - the chances of getting a laptop back after it's stolen, even with something like Prey installed, are low. If you want to go for something that works at an OS level you'd need to lock down any option for reinstalling the OS, enable a guest account, and hope the thief is very stupid.

If you worry that data on the machine will be a liability in that context, then you lock it down in such a way that recovery tools probably won't get it back, but you can be reasonably sure that your data is safe. (And yes, this means adding something like Bitlocker or Truecrypt to the steps described above).

Security is about good habits and deciding what to prioritise in the event of a computer being stolen.