LoJack for Laptops Security Review

<!-- Generated by XStandard version 1.7.1.0 on 2007-06-02T16:00:21 -->

by Greg Ross

LoJack for Laptops Security Review

LoJack for Laptops is an easy to use anti-theft security software that promises to aid you and police in recovering your laptop should it get stolen.  At $49.99 for a single-year license, and $99.99 for a three-year license, CompuTrace’s LoJack for Laptops is a cheap and effective (but not perfect) way to help protect and recover what you hold dear.

What LoJack for Laptops Is Good For

Laptops get stolen every day.  According to the FBI, over two million notebooks are stolen every year.  That means that on average one laptop is stolen every 16 seconds!  They are very portable, very valuable, and potentially contain much more information about you than you care to give to a common criminal.

As far as security solutions go, there are two types of tools you have available:

• Those that reduce the chances of theft
• Those that increase the chances of you recovering your stolen hardware

While there are plenty of products that help prevent theft, there are very few tools that help to recover information or actual hardware in the event of theft.  LoJack for Laptops is one such product that helps you to track your hardware that has been stolen, and with a little help from police recovering your laptop is certainly possible.

Installing the Software

Lojack can be purchased online at www.lojackforlaptops.com and the installation is painless.  For this review, a complementary license was provided, but normally the key would either be displayed on your screen or emailed to you once your purchase is made.  After creating your account, registering your laptop and serial number, and providing your license key, the software is installed via an ActiveX control in Internet Explorer.

Yes, installation is that easy! (view large image)

 

The only potential problem is that this software DOES NOT work with several brands of notebooks.  Apparently, this is because of a software conflict with an OS Restoration utility found on Averatec, Asus, Twinhead, and Systemax laptops.  I do not know if that problem can be circumvented, but I have to say it is likely that this software will not work if you own one of these laptops.

Note that some laptop brands will not work with LoJack (Averatec, Asus, Twinhead, Systemax)

Once the software is installed, and one reboot later, LoJack will be silently running in the background.  CompuTrace claims that the software is hidden to the user and can never be found, but that is only partially accurate.  You are not going to find any information about LoJack in the Programs Directory, the Control Panel, or even as some part of IE in Windows.  But, you can see some evidence of the software if you know where to look.  It runs behind the scenes out of an innocently named file under the C:WINDOWSSystem32 directory, and under the Task Manager you can see an extra process running in the background.  While both the file and process is innocently named, this just shows if you know where to look you can find evidence of LoJack on the laptop.  However, the common criminal is probably not going to know where to look for this evidence (or even know that the evidence indicates the presence of LoJack on the laptop).

There is one extra process that shows up after installing LoJack

The above photo shows the only evidence anyone will probably ever see that LoJack is installed in the system.  The list of processes showing is organized in a non-alphanumeric order to avoid revealing too much information, and the process name is blacked out at the request of CompuTrace.

Obviously, I am not going to divulge the name of the file or the process that launches from it, but I do know it is there.  Again though, you have to be looking in one or two specific spots and have to know a little more about the software to even find a hint of its working.  But what irks me is that I do not know if I have found all the evidence of LoJack on my laptop.

How Does It Work

As discussed, CompuTrace’s LoJack for Laptops discreetly runs in the background without the knowledge or awareness of the user or a thief.  It silently “phones-home” to CompuTrace on average of once a day.  If/When you report your laptop as stolen to CompuTrace, which you can do by either calling into a toll free number or filing a report online on their website, the next time that the laptop does its daily check-in LoJack will see the laptop’s current status as STOLEN.  After that, LoJack will continue to phone-home much more often (sometimes as often as every 30 minutes) to report its location to CompuTrace.

Here is a brief overview of the information CompuTrace records (view large image)

 

According to the FBI, if a laptop is stolen most of the time that laptop will never be recovered.  With LoJack installed, CompuTrace claims about 75% of all laptops are actually recovered.  This makes sense, as many thieves are probably not going to be smart enough to wipe the hard drive.  They try to recover data from the laptop, or just pawn it off or eBay it.  Turn it on the first time, and the laptop will phone its location in…and it gets recovered by the police.

Do not think that a theft can hide behind a home network or corporate network in order to hide its true location.  Even though you may have a local IP address (which CompuTrace does collect), LoJack also reports the proxy IP address that is also associated with your laptop.  In the best case scenario, the proxy IP would give police enough information to accurately locate your laptop.  At worst, police may have to contact a network administrator that is responsible for the proxy to track down the physical location of the local IP address.  Just as an additional confirmation that a recovered laptop is yours, CompuTrace will give police the registered serial number for the laptop to do physical verification of ownership.

So What Happens if My Laptop is Stolen

Well, the sooner you report its theft the better.  In order to utilize the services that CompuTrace has to offer, you must also file a police report with your local precinct. When reporting the theft to CompuTrace, you have to also give CompuTrace the police report number and other information that will allow them to get a copy of the report.

You can provide that police report information immediately upon filing your theft claim, or wait up to two weeks to give the police report to CompuTrace’s Recovery Team.  Additionally, the more information you can give CompuTrace (last known location, last time you had it in your possession, etc) the better off you may be.

LoJack software reporting laptop as being stolen now (view large image)

Once the report is filed, the LoJack theft claim initiated and the LoJack software begins to phone home more often, CompuTrace will continue to track its IP location on the internet.  After that, there is nothing else you have to do.  CompuTrace’s Recovery Team will take care of the rest.  Using the police report that you give to the Recovery Team, CompuTrace will file a subpoena with the courts and get a court order forcing the ISP (Internet Service Provider) companies to reveal the physical address (or addresses) that belong to the IP addresses the laptop’s LoJack software reports.

Once that information has been obtained, CompuTrace will also contact the appropriate police department and notify them of the theft, give them the police report you filed, and also provide the location of the laptop as given by the subpoena-ed ISP information.  Finally, you will (hopefully) get a call from either the police or CompuTrace to notify you that your laptop is found and make arrangements for you to get your PC back.

Well, What Happens If I Do Not Get My Laptop Back?

If certain conditions are met and LoJack/CompuTrace fails to get your laptop back in your hands, CompuTrace does offer a money back guarantee on the license of software you purchased.  If the laptop is not recovered within 30 days, you are entitled to that refund.  However, you have to report the theft to CompuTrace within 30 days of the actual theft, and your laptop had to have checked in at least once in the 30 days prior to the day your laptop was stolen.  Obviously, the latter condition is a protective measure as they want some type of assurance that the laptop did have LoJack actually installed on it and was not disabled.

Unfortunately, CompuTrace does not refund the cost of the laptop back to you, so a private insurance policy would be useful!

When the Laptop was Reported Stolen

For the purposes of this review, LoJack was installed on my laptop and a theft was staged.  Before anyone cries foul, the simulation did not involve the filing of police reports or any subpoenas being issued.  It was simply a test of CompuTrace’s ability to resolve the IP location of my laptop, how often it phoned home, and how accurate the tracking data was.

To give the software a run for its money, LoJack was installed several days before a cross-country vacation to Arizona and the Grand Canyon.  Now, it gets confusing…

Currently, I am a student at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.  Shortly before the trip, I traveled to Columbus, Ohio where the software was installed.  I flew out of Columbus to Phoenix, Arizona before settling in at a hotel in Sedona, Arizona.  Two days later, on May 8^th, I filed a theft report “claiming” that the maid had stolen my laptop.

After that, I went silent when I traveled to the rim of the Grand Canyon.  For two days straight, my laptop was not plugged into the Internet.  Then, I reconnected to the Internet for one night in order to look up directions to travel back to Pheonix, Arizona.  The next time my laptop was online was for about 25 minutes before my flight out of Arizona, and I was connected to the airport’s WiFi network.  I intentionally stayed online for less than 30 minutes, hoping that the laptop would not phone home (it normally will call every 30 minutes when it is stolen).

I was finally back to Columbus, Ohio…but only for a few days.  The test concluded about a day or two after I got back home to West Lafayette, Indiana.

Review of Service Provided When the Laptop was Reported Stolen

For the record, all of the information contained in this section was derived from CompuTraces logs of my system calls that was provided to me upon request.  Using those IP logs, I was able to do a little research to get a rough idea of where the IP was located.  More accurate information would have had to have been obtained by subpoenaing the Internet Service Providers.

The same day that I installed the software, my laptop phoned home to CompuTrace and the IP address recorded.  Data collected included the Local IP, Proxy IP, Computer Time Stamp, OS Detected, and User Name that I was logged on into.  The IP address given to CompuTrace also was able to properly pin me down to Columbus.

In the morning on 5/9/07, when I turned on my laptop and it immediately phoned home as it had been more than 24 hours.  During the time in which the laptop reported all my location information, CompuTrace also notified LoJack on my PC that the laptop had been flagged in as stolen.  Immediately, LoJack began to regularly phone in to report its location.  90 minutes after it phoned home to find the theft report, my laptop checked in again.  That clearly indicated that the laptop knew something was wrong.  But, according to the CompuTrace I had been flagged as staying in Sedona.  The location that I was able to track it down to was slightly off from my true location, but there was no doubt that a subpoena to the ISP would have yielded the correct information; the IP that was recorded matched the IP address that I knew I was connecting to.

After my two day stay away from the internet, as mentioned I did move into a different town and I was hoping to fool CompuTrace’s systems.  The joke was on me, as I was properly flagged just outside of the Grand Canyon as well.  Even during my brief connection to the airport WiFi network was logged into CompuTrace!  That was a connection that was supposed to be short enough to prevent my laptop from calling home, but it got me anyway…

During my stays in Sedona and the Grand Canyon areas, I also turned on my system but did not log on initially.  I left the computer idle at the log in screen, hoping that LoJack would not start.  Unfortunately for me, LoJack starts up as a SYSTEM process so it is one of the first processes initiated during boot up.  Merely not logging in does not prevent this software from working.

Back in Columbus, my laptop had ample time to communicate with CompuTrace to reveal my location.  It also had enough time to trace me down to West Lafayette as well.  Overall, the information that was recorded accurately tracked me step for step when I was on vacation.

Trying to Break the Software

Throughout the trial run, I attempted to fool LoJack using several different methods that a thief might try.

• Don’t log in - Even if a thief were not able to log into your system, LoJack will still run behind the scenes.
  
  
• Connecting for short periods of time – Since the laptop only phones home every 30 minutes or so, you would think if you were on for less than 30 minutes you would not get flagged.  Wrong…the laptop will connect to the internet and phone home right away if it had not called in a little while.  Even if the laptop is only connected for a few minutes every once and a while, the laptop will still manage to get at least one or two calls in without the thief knowing.
  
  
• Moving around constantly – For the same reason that connecting to the Internet for short periods of time did not prevent LoJack from working, this method does not help either.  CompuTrace might have a slightly more difficult time tracking you down, but LoJack still phones home often enough to reveal a thief’s location or his/her general direction of travel.
  
  
• Re-installing the Operating System – This is the only one of two methods that can potentially defeat LoJack.  Fortunately, a theft is usually more concerned with pawning the laptop and does not bother to do wipe the drive.  At least one hopes not.  At the time of this writing, I cannot confirm that this method works but I expect it will when I test it.
  
  
• Shutting down the process associated with LoJack – This is the other method that can successfully defeat the software.  Remember how I said I was able to find the process that LoJack ran under?  End the process and the thief is good to go…at least until the next time that thief boots the computer.  However, this is an easy scenario to avoid…just put a password on all the accounts and the thief will not be able to do this.  Of course, this also requires that the thief even bothers to check for LoJack and knows how to defeat it.  It is very unlikely that this could happen.

Conclusion

Ultimately, LoJack for Laptops is an effective security solution that gives authorities enough information to track and recover your laptop.  It will provide authorities with reports that accurately pin-point your laptop, regardless of how you connect to the Internet.  Almost all attempts to defeat the software proved futile.  As long as you take the responsibility to put passwords on your operating system user names only the most extreme counter-method can even hope to succeed.

It runs silently in the background and very little evidence can be found that LoJack is installed.  In all likelihood a thief would never know…until the police are knocking at the door to recover the laptop.

Pros:

• Runs silently in the background.
• Cannot be detected unless you know exactly what to look for.
• With a little precaution and responsibility, LoJack can only be defeated with the most extreme of techniques.
• Accurately tracks your laptop and provides police with enough information to recover it.
• CompuTrace Recovery Teams take care of the entire recovery operation, file the required subpoena, and contact law enforcement.
• Runs on Windows and Mac computers.

Cons:

• Does not provide a mechanism to securely erase the hard drive (but the corporate version does support this).
• Most likely can be defeated by re-installing the OS.

 

I wish i had this 1 month ago before they stole my XPS 1710 :/
I would laugh at the theif's face and feel good about it !

 

well man.... if u have a password on ur account, the theif can't log in the computer can't connect to the internet either... then he comes to a computer repair and ask them to wipe the HDD.. ur laptop is gone by then.

Another one that can defeat the software is the theif is a knowledgeable computer user and he knows the software would make some folders on program files or Add/remove list, he'll wipe the hdd off immediately.

I'd prefer to install GPS chips in my laptop than software.

 

Wow Greg, you really did some detailed 'stress' tests. That's one hell of a great review job...

 

intresting peice of software
but i dont think the services are available where i live though
yet a good counter measure which may or may not work dpending on the theif knowledge of computers and ultimately fate
anyways thanks for the review greg
cheers

 

well than,this software can be bought separately,right?
some website stores offers Lo-Jack with a very expensive price and i can't afford it!
i'll go get this soon after a had my first one,probably 2 years or more.
money isn't important when i'll realize that my laptop was stolen.
great info,thanks

 

I have lojack installed on my dell e1405 but only because it was thrown in for free.

I wouldnt have bought it given an option.

i always put a password on my account and if the thief cannot login there is very little chance that a internet connection will be available for lojack to phone home.

 

This sounds like a great piece of software, but what would you guys recommend is the best security measure for preventing theft? I know LoJack is starting to be installed on Dell laptops, but it sounds pretty new. I was sure there were other software about. Is this true?

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but it makes for a really good conversation seeing as how most of us are either notebook users or potential notebook buyers. If you spend over $1000, it's obviously worth the investment to spend a couple hundred to keep it from being stolen.

 

Hmm...I can think of two more test cases that might foil the system:

1. What if there is no Internet connection (i.e. where the thief is there is no wireless network)? It sounds like LoJack reports home via the Internet, so no Internet, no recovery.

2. What if Windows is started in Safe Mode (or Command Prompt Only)? This is supposed to load only essential files and drivers, so would LoJack still work?

 

Great review! However, it'd be interesting if LoJack could installed onto the BIOS so only a wipe of CMOS memory could take it out.

 

hmm...thats true..
but if the thief is skilled..
actually,this software is easily tricked by placing the HDD into other notebooks

 

Good review but IMHO the LoJack would be even less effective :

1. Everyone becomes more computer savvy , including thieves
. Wiping the HD or taking it out ( like the case is with so many ebay notebooks ) is easy .

2. Was this product tested with a new firewall ? should a new user install any decent firewall it would block Lojack or at least alert for its presence .

3. Its simply a software , if it was embeded in the bios ( as suggested ) then it would be much better .

If I were to protect my laptop for now I'd go with one of those stickers or another permanent marking like etching , sure they are ugly but any thief would have to work hard before being able to sell it .

 

I normally wouldn't bother posting in this since I don't really have an interest in the software, but I gotta give you some props for the review. Very well thought out and detailed testing.

 

Actually, there is a very easy way to break a password without hacks. . . I probably shouldn't say it but, I've tried it on my brothers computer an it works, it's something that is involved with windows.

 

Perhaps Lojack works but it will only work with the stupidest kind of crook. Others have proposed methods to disable it. Here's mine:

1. Take the hard disk out.
2. Plug it into an ATA to USB interface.
3. Plug that into another computer that has already booted from its own HD.
4. Mount the drive from the stolen laptop.
5. Copy all the files you care about.
6. Wipe the stolen drive.
7. Put it back into the stolen laptop.

Bingo! Now the laptop cannot be traced and you also have all the files that were on the laptop. You can search through those files for passwords, credit card numbers, etc.

 

though it has numerous pros it does have its shortcomings too
as the software wont work until unless you are connected to the net
if by any chance the theif wo stole your laptop does access the net before cleanin wiping ur hdd it would be fine or else.....it would be futile
and the use of the software becomes zero at that moment

 

I've spoken with Computrace and tested this myself. Even if you do not log in, if it is connected to the internet it will signal. There are also a LOT of computers from all brands and types that support a BIOS based installation...so LoJack will survive even a reformat. It is also stored in part of the BIOS that does not get reset by removing CMOS...so the thief is screwed.

Thanks!

Well, there really are not too many products like this one...and after observing LoJack track my laptop cross-country I'd say this is probably one of the best chances you have of getting your laptop back. LoJack can track your laptop worldwide, but Computrace only supports the software in North America.

Yup, you can get it straight from www.lojackforlaptops.com and it installs easily. I've owned this computer for almost a year, and I just installed it last month.

LoJack is a system process, so it boots right with the laptop. Even if you cannot log in, it is running. I've checked.

LoJack has been around for at least three years (maybe more). They were around when I was shopping for my first laptop for college.

As for pre-theft prevention, Kensington locks are probably your best bet.

1) No internet...no recovery. That is correct. But I imagine a lot of people steal laptops to use or pawn them. I've read some recovery stories in which they recovered it after it was sold on eBay, no problem...the thief got rid of it quickly, and the new person thought it was a fresh install. Even if it was a fresh install, LoJack has a decent chance to survive.

2) I'll check into that and be back later on. Since it is a system process, I'm tempted to say it will still come on.

See above comments...it can go into BIOS, and resetting the CMOS shouldn't affect it. A complete list of BIOS-supported computers is found here.

BUT, when you do that (and Windows somehow successfully boots), the HDD will still have the software installed...so it will still call out. Putting a new drive into a stolen computer will not help either, if you have a BIOS supported lappy.

1) See previous BIOS comments. Putting a new drive in (or just removing it) doesn't defeat LoJack if it is BIOS enabled. Many computers support a BIOS-based LoJack.

2) Yes, two in fact. Neither of them recognized the software.

3) It does support BIOS on many computers.

You might have gotten to the data, but BIOS will reinstall LoJack if it is supported.

It doesn't have a file in the program directory either (I know where it is and you really would not be able to find it easily!), and even if you just somehow delete the file BIOS will restore it.

 

Computrace is not an unbiased source of information in this. Of course, they won't want to advertise the weaknesses of their products. We have no reason to doubt your honesty but that's precisely the point: you're not a thief trying to resell a stolen laptop so you don't have the motivation a thief would have to break this thing.

So 1) Lojack never prevents your data to be stolen and 2) ok, it requires more than a HDD reformat. Still, the BIOS is not an impregnable fortress. See:

http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/fulldisclosure/2006-06/0059.html

for an outline of how Lojack and be totally obliterated form the HD and how the BIOS can be altered. Yes, this is sketchy but it shows we're not talking about unsurmountable difficulties. Once somebody figures out the steps to disable it, it's easy to automate. It's just as easy to automate as it is to create rootkits that idiots can use. Given the prevalence of rootkits on the net, I infer that there is an industry of rootkit creators. It does not seem a stretch that some of those guys might want to spend some of their effort on Lojack.

 

Great job on the review Greg.

As everyone has noted, LoJack could be a victim of its own popularity. If more people buy it, more criminals will become aware of it, and then take preventive measures to avoid being tracked. The easiest way to do that is of course not to log on to to the Internet.

Still, I think using a cable lock (and never leaving your laptop unattended) and then installing software such as this are at least two small measures you can take to protect your laptop.

 

Hey do you guys know if there are BIOS supported installs for the ThinkPad T61? I only see the T60 on the page.

 

Just a guess, but I wouldn't see why it'd be different for the T61 than the T610. There's even an option to buy your T61 with Lojack preinstalled from the Lenovo configurator.

 

Ya thats what I figured, but just wanted to be sure. Either way I still think its a great way to protect it. It will combat some thefts, granted not all (if they are very computer savvy), but that is better than nothing.

Great Review!

 

Has no one thought of booting a live CD- windows or linux? They don't need your password, which they could easily reset anyway from said live CD. Will a bios install of lojack prevent booting from a live CD?

 

Well, despite what Computrace does or does not claim about the BIOS-enabled protection...

I just found out about that feature the same day I needed to submit the review. So tomorrow I'm testing that BIOS thing and I'll post. I don't know if it will work...but I'm gonna try.

But yes, this is better than nothing. That's the point.

As for the comments about the T61...that laptop just came out, so it will probably be a while before the BIOS-compatibility pages are updated. Santa Rosa is coming out, so they have a LOT of notebooks to test.

 

The data protection does bring up a good point though. The corporate version of their software does have the ability to erase data, but we didn't test that for obvious reasons. I need my data!

LoJack will never be foolproof, but it does work fairly well.

 

When they say that it's not compatible with Asus's OS recovery program, can we just uninstall the recovery program?

 

I actually purchase a copy for my fiancee's laptop because she was afraid to carry it around. I did not test the product for vulnerability but did grill Computrace for details. Here's some additional info:

1. Computrace has apparently made agreements with some laptop companies to link their software through the BIOS. This include Dell machines. It is written to the non-erasable part of the BIOS so that even if you erase the hard disk, it will recover.

2. The software is operating system specific. If you were to install Linux on top of it, it will not be able to phone home. At the time, it did not work with Vista either (Vista hasn't been release at that time), but I imagine Computrace would have fix the problem by now.

3. I have asked Computrace whether a firewall will block the call. They indicate that most commerical products like ZoneAlarm and Windows XP firewall will not block it and probably most routers. However, it is possible that some firewall products may block the test partner signal.

4. Computrace has contacts with various law agencies in the US (and probably Canada), but if you take your laptop outside of the US, this product may not be for you. I had ask them this because my cousin was going to stay in Rome for a semester and wanted to know if I know of any anti-theft measures for his laptop.

5. I often wonder why Police would consider laptop theft a priority. For example, in a big city, the police will often take forever to respond to a minor incident like a fender bender. Apparently, police respond because laptop theft may be part of a fencing ring, so the tracking down of one laptop may lead to a larger bust.

6. I have seen other reviews of the product where the reviewers attempted to kill off Lojack. One of the reviewer said he managed to kill it off, but it was not easy, so the protection isn't perfect but most laptop thieves are probably not computer experts.

Frankly, $99 seemed a bit steep for the protection since you can get insurance for the laptop at about $40 including theft. Still, the software is useful for the peace of mind and the satisfaction that the thief will have a better chance of being caught. For example, laptop are often stolen in a college area by other students. Having lojack means the laptop will most likely be recover and the student expelled.

Paul

 

It's pretty simple: Never keep your important information on your laptop. Spend the $20 to get a 1GB flash drive (or larger, depending on where you shop), and always keep that baby in a safe place. That way, if your laptop is stolen, they won't be able to get your important info.

 

Might I ask how you would plan to do that when data exceeds 15GB???

 

What kind of important data are we talking about? Unless you're talking about all of your files, or if you mean credit card and personal info, I don't see how those can relate. lol

If you have 15GB of personal info, grab an external hard drive and hide that, then. 80GB for around $50. Small price to pay.

 

So, Windows Vista boots up, and is waiting for me to swipe my finger to log-in.

Has Vista already connected to the Internet when I have not logged in? Would Vista connect to a new Internet connection without me logging in and allowing it to connect, to a new/different connection as would be available in a thief's home or whatever..?

 

After reading this review, I am buying the 3 year pack. I would never have bought one otherwise or have done the research to find all this information out. It was worth it for them to let you test it and review it.
I just bought another Kensington lock and this as a backup would be just enough measure that I can take. Thx for the great review.

 

If it is a physical connection, then you will not have a problem. WiFi networks are a little trickier though...

 

What kind of guarantees does Computrace give that the software is written to the BIOS? I'm just afraid that they may exaggerate the capabilities of this software to get people to buy it.

 

Well, there is a list of BIOS enable machine somone posted earlier. When I purchased it, I contacted Dell to make sure that it is in the BIOS. Short of trying rewrite the bios and erasing your hard disk, you'll have to trust that it works.

Paul

 

Just thought I'd chime in with my experience.

I have LoJack installed on my Dell e1705. I installed it on the hard drive that came with it. I put in a new 160GB 7200rpm drive a few weeks ago, and reinstalled Windows Vista, and LoJack was running and calling home.

I can confirm it does survive not only an OS reinstall, but even changing out the hard drive...

Nyceis

 

As a representative of a firm the provides an effective and affordable laptop-theft-prevention solution, I would be remiss if I didn't remind readers to be sure they have taken every measure to prevent the laptop from being stolen in the first place. With prevention and retrieval measures in place, the owner will have maximum protection.

There is no silver bullet, either in prevention or retrieval, but remember that it is easier to STOP a thief than it is to catch one.

Thanks,
Doug Belfiore
STOP – Security Tracking of Office Property
www.stoptheft.com

 

Just got an email from their support saying that the T61 is NOT supported for a BIOS install. Only the laptops on that page provided in an earlier post are supported.

 

Well, I've got some news for you guys...

After a lean and clean installation of my OS again, after completely obliterating my partitions and re-formating the entire thing...

LoJack is back.

 

Yeah, there is a silver bullet. Several, in fact. They're loaded in my .45 and pointed between the eyes of the person trying to jack my stuff. Heh. Oh, Kensington locks and LoJack software can assist, too.

 

How would you use Kensington locks? I mean, is there a space on the laptop? And could it actually wrap around a desk or something? I'd love to have them for college, but last school year, I couldn't really think of a way on how they'd be used.

The desks are pretty heavy, so I know that it can't be stolen by normal means.

 

First you run the cable around a fixed object - something that can't be removed or simply lifted, so that there's no way for the cable to slide off - and slide the end through the loop.

There's a security slot (actually called the Kensington security slot) on your laptop, usually towards one of the back corners. What it really is is just a tiny hole in your laptop that's slightly smaller than the expanded key of the lock. So when you depress the button on your lock, you reduce the size of the key, stick it in, let go, and the key expands, so that you can't just take it out easily. Then you lock the key somehow (either using a key or combination), and the button can't be pressed anymore.

Now basically, your laptop is attached to whatever object you looped the cable around.

 

What type of "obliteration" did you do? DOD or Gutmann? Or did you consider considered deleting partition in xp boot screen obliteration. Just wanting a clarification.

I think DOD or Gutmann will rid of the HHD lojack but there are serveral laptops that arnt bios enabled lojack, e.g. sony, apple, acer, etc.
Bios enabled would be hard to defeat unless the theif is very savvy and reflash with a non-lojack bios or writes his own?

 

We're talking erasing the partitions complete, and my restore discs re-wrote the entire disc.

 

This program is indeed impressive.
I doubt anyone who has a computer, wouldnt want to go online. After all, compter is quite boring offline.

 

lojack is great if you buy it with your laptop originally. that way its in the bios and is checked for on the OS during bootup. thats what i read from their website i belive...

im definitly getting it since my dell was just stolen about a month ago

i cant see anyone not using it to go online. even if they format it its still there thats my favorite thing...

although i do wish it had GPS as well

 

That's too bad Hopefully between a fingerprint scanner and kensington lock, nobody will take it anyways.

 

Invest in a really big dog with lots of pointy teeth.

 

the idea seems very appealing to me
http://www.lojackforlaptops.com/learn-more-lojack-for-laptops.asp
what do u guys think about it?
is it worth it? 50$s for one year...$100s for 3 years.

 

LoJack for Laptops Security Review

Feel free to ask questions in this thread after you read that.