How to trace stolen notebooks over the
Net
Date: Thu, Jun 28 @ 10:05
PM
Topic: Security
Software which pinpoints the exact location of
laptop thieves via the Net is due to land in Europe by the end
of this year. The software, developed by US company zTrace,
activates a tracing technology when stolen laptops are
connected to the Internet.
Computer owners sign up to zTrace, then notify the company
if their machine is stolen (a police report must also be
submitted).
The tracing technology inside the laptop, which zTrace says
cannot be detected or uninstalled, is then activated the next
time anyone tries to get the notebook online.
Within seconds, zTrace's call centre is alerted and the
company is able to locate the machine through either the IP
address or the dial-up connection being used.
zTrace has a batch of retired police officers at its
disposal at its Massachusetts HQ, and their job it is to
contact the police department nearest the stolen laptop. It
says that in the past year the three laptops that have been
reported stolen to the company, which claims to have around
25,000 users, have all been recovered.
According to zTrace, this included the laptop of a company
employee, who claimed his machine had been stolen while he was
at the airport. The tracing technology kicked in, only to find
the laptop was located in the same employee's house. The
laptop was recovered and the worker, previously unaware of the
software inside the machine, was sacked.
zTech currently operates only in the US and Canada, but is
in talks with German distributor Softline in regards to
selling the products in Europe.
The company is also talking with distributors in South
America and South Africa, while in the US the software can be
bought direct or through resellers such as Athena Corp or
Meyring Corp.
The software, which costs $49.95 per year, is available
solely for Windows-based applications, but a verson for the
Palm operating system is in the pipeline.
From: The
Register
|