Software to prevent PC theft.

[olefarte]

If you travel a lot with a laptop the way I used to do, this might be something you should think about. This is new software that will track down your computer if it is stolen and then connected to the internet. I can say from experience that if you travel through large airports, the chances of a laptop being stolen is going up every day. Just by luck, I caught a man trying to get away with mine, while I was checking in. Ten seconds and he would have been gone, and I would have bought a new computer.

Read about the new software at C-Net News

TheftGuard is..... meant to help victims of computer theft track down a perpetrator, if he or she uses the stolen machine to go online. "You know how he's accessing the Internet through his ISP, and then you can get the cops involved," said Timothy Eades, senior vice president and general manager of San Jose, Calif.-based Phoenix.

 

[Nic]

Very useful, though unfortunately its not something you can add to an existing laptop, as its hardware based, which prevents it from being disabled by the thief.

 

[LNCPapa]

I am currently testing several of these types of applications at work and I would just like to add that you would be surprised by some of the capabilities these apps have. Most of them out there are no longer hardware based, but of course a truly savvy thief would be able to disarm your loaded laptop before it could ever yell for help. I've been working with some of the vendors (going through scenarios) and have been really surprised with what they've added to a seemingly simple application. Beware, though, that the developers who claim their products are "FORMAT RESISTANT" are really kind of stretching the terminology. All of the resistance depends on boot order and bios/firmware passwords. Like I said earlier, a truly savvy thief would be able to bypass all of this, but how many really experienced computer users would go out stealing laptops in the first place?

LNCPapa

 

[Nic]

LNCPapa: I don't suppose you could post some comments/recommendations once you've finished with testing (software solutions only).

 

[negroplasty]

I think I read this somewhere else a while back, I think it was Neowin, though I am not sure. They stated that this TheftGuard system will be planted into the BIOS of Phoenix BIOS's and some other companies I can't recall. Nevertheless, this system could be very dangerous to have enabled; for instance, a hacker gains control of a TheftGuard system/server, he/she/it would have control over millions of computers deciding whether to render the computer "crippled" or "crippled with all data erased". It's is quite a scary thing, however unlikely it may be - never say never!

Ahh, there we go, it seems I have found the source of my claims! Read it for yourself here.