Actually, 98% of what's needed to trace a system is already present in not only the
laptop, but almost any computer.
It's called an Ethernet connection or port, and it has a unique hardware address. I
am not sure, but I think that this is called your IP address, and in addition, I
believe that there is also a MAC address.
This hardware address is used anytime that anything is sent thru this port over any
network of any kind, including the internet.
This is what the Laptop Recovery people are using. Every time you boot your machine
(or at other specified time periods) a little program is executed, and it calls home
with a little "packet" to Laptop Recovery, thru that port, which has it's unique
address, and every step along the way, other unique addresses are added to the
"routing" of the little "packet", all of which information is saved for a specified
period of time, so that when you call Laptop Recovery and report your laptop or
other computer stolen, then they just look at the "routing" information of the
latest "packets" sent in from your laptop, and trace the route the "packet" took to
get there all the way back to the Internet Provider your laptop was connected to,
and thru them they can get the actual phone line or other connection that your
laptop was actually connected to, which they give to the police, etc.,. etc., etc..
The obvious problem with this approach, is that the Laptop Recovery or other similar
programs can probably be easily detected and disabled by any smart thief, and will
almost certainly be deleted by any formatting of the hard drive, especially if the
disk partitions are cleaned out and re-partitioned.
The other thing to consider, is that your Laptop, if it's hard drive is not
completely wiped and a new bootlegged OS installed, is probably going to go the same
route that most cars do that get stolen, which is that they will either go
immediately out of the country (not very far from Lake San Marcos (Exam Site) to the
Mexican Border, where nobody cares if it was stolen, and where US Law Enforcement
can't reach), or it will go the way of the "chop shop", where just like a stolen
car, your Laptop will be stripped for parts and either show up on "ebay" as an
auction for a keyboard and a battery etc. (which can't be traced), or sold to
refurbishes and repair shops, just the way stolen car parts are.
The real problem here, is that the solution to the problem needs to come in the form
of legislation, or as voluntarily implemented program, where an IP Provider would
voluntarily or as required by law, check your hardware address or MAC address
against a "hot sheet" every time you logged in, and immediately report it and the
"access location" to the local police or FBI if there was a "match".
The truth be told, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if such a program already exists as
a part of "Echelon" or "Homeland Security", that is used to track "terrorist" (and
other subversive democrats), but which would never be used or revealed for such a
minor inconvenience as the loss of your laptop (since it would expose the existance
of the program), unless of course you were a "terrorist" (or subversive democrat).
Anyway, enough for that subject, except to say that the Laptop Recovery is only as
good as the installed software base on your hard drive is, since once reformatted or
otherwise detected and disabled, it will no longer call home.
As to the software approach, probably one of the simplest approaches would be to
write a little program that would load at boot up, and if not disabled by the
execution of another program (possibly requiring a separate password), would wait 30
minutes (so that it wouldn't be immediately detected and the hard drive reformatted)
and then by software turn up the volume of the internal sound card full blast, and
start screaming something like "Call the Police, this Laptop is Stolen" from an
embedded MP3 file, and make other car alarm type sounds.
A really good approach to this, would also take into account the software power
disabling capabilities, such as "Suspend Mode" and other things such as an
executable program that would continue to scream every time your laptop booted up,
or went into "Suspend Mode" rather than powering off, so that it would scream again
in something like 1 or 2 minutes, even though the "lid" was closed, as the thief
though he or she was safely retreating.
Then of course there is the "embedded exploding purple die pack" for your laptop,
like the banks use for stolen money.
If the truth be told, and if there wasn't the chance that we ourselves might forget
and be caught off guard, there is also the trick of embedding a small brick of C3
into your laptop so that the thief would get his.
Getting back to the issue of your laptop calling home, another sneaky little trick
would be to embed a program that would literally email home yourself once a week,
using an "alternate email address", one that you would not have to change, and one
that you could set up on your ISP email account in addition to your regular email,
so that when your laptop was stolen, it would wait for the first ISP connection that
was made after every one week time interval, and write you an email home with at
your alternate email address with a new copy of your address book, so that you would
not only have the "routing" of the email, but also any new additions to your address
book, made by the thief, so that you can turn all of his friends and aquaintances
in, or send them an email threatening to expose them everyday until they "give him
up".
This could be very easily done on the order of how many viruses work today, in that
it could cause your "outbox" to add a "footer" to every email that notified the
recipient that the email was generated on a stolen laptop, and to call you for a
reward, or better yet just "explode" like a regular virus and send everyone in the
address book a message that says this laptop has been stolen from you, please notify
you and then call the police and identify the sender. Just make sure that your
"alternate" email address is in the address book.
Back tio the Exam site, I suggested to Bill and Mary on the following day that we
should put another laptop out under similar conditions and appear to all go to lunch
again whilst someone hid in the room to catch the thief if he came back for the new
bait, but they didn't think that would work.
Realistically, this is a problem that really could be solved, especially by the
laptop manufacturers, but the truth is that on the one hand nobody wants the
invasion of privacy that would be involved, notwithstanding that invasion of privacy
is probably currently going on right now already, and on the other hand, they really
would rather sell you a new laptop anyway.
Oh well, life is to short for the hassle and high blood pressure brought about by
even thinking about the things that we all have had stolen from us by the scum of
the earth.
Maybe the actual course to really resolving this issue would be a brick of C3 hidden
in the stolen laptop that could be remotely detonated by an email sent out to the IP
or MAC address after it was stolen, by some service like Laptop Recovery.
I wonder how many times this email will be "tagged" by "Echelon" or some other
"Homeland Security" monitoring system.
JaMi
* * * * * * * * * *
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brooks,Bill" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2004 10:11 AM
Subject: Re: [DC] Warning... when attending events
> Great idea Dee!
>
> If someone picked it up and moved it could have a screen pop up that
> indicated the Alarm system was activated... start screaming a siren noise
> and dial your cell phone to notify you... then transmit its location so it
> can be tracked. If the Lap top had a 'cell phone' type video camera built in
> you might even get a shot of the perpetrator!
>
> I like it...:)
>
> Best regards,
>
> Bill Brooks - KG6VVP
> PCB Design Engineer , C.I.D.+, C.I.I.
> Tel: (760)597-1500 Ext 3772 Fax: (760)597-1510
> http://www.dtwc.com
> http://pcbwizards.com
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dee Stover [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2004 10:03 AM
> To: (Designers Council Forum); Brooks,Bill
> Subject: Re: [DC] Warning... when attending events
>
> A motion sensor - transmitter / receiver so the you have an idea when the
> laptop first gets on the move. Alarm goes off and tracking starts. That
> way you can get on the move to find it as soon as the alarm goes off.
>
> At 09:46 AM 10/19/2004 -0700, you wrote:
> >Thanks George,
> >
> > The theft of Laptop computers seems to be more common than I suspected...
> >This could be an opportunity for a EE, a programmer and a PCB designer to
> >come up with an add on product that would protect or at least help recover
> >your laptop in the event someone tired to steal it.
> >
> > I like the idea of some sort of 'LoJack' tracker built into a Laptop...
> >I was discussing the subject with a friend of mine... One idea was some
> sort
> >of a virus-like program that occasionally pops up and asks for an ID and if
> >it's not forthcoming, the first time it's connected to the Internet it
> sends
> >e-mails out to the authorities with your Laptop's GPS location...
> >
> > Another idea was some sort of radio beacon that can be tracked with the
> >right equipment, but that might be rather expensive, how about say
> something
> >built into your cell phone for example... With text based cell phones it
> >could give you direction finding information... right over your phone...
> >that might make the chase more possible... and immediate. (you can't run or
> >hide... we will find you).
> >
> > I don't know if there is anything like this out there, but it sounds like
> a
> >great product enhancement... Laptops cost as much as Cars used to... in the
> >1970's anyway, and they are expensive enough that they qualify as 'Felony
> >Grand theft' larceny.
> >
> >Maybe if there is someone out there that wants to work on a project like
> >this we could get together and create a product and sell it to the Laptop
> >manufacturers.
> >
> >GPS receivers are very small now and easy to add into the Laptop
> geometry...
> >
> >It could work.
> >
> >Thanks for the kind words, George... I could find great satisfaction in the
> >'thermite charge' idea.. but I want my Laptop back... :(
> >
> >
> >Best regards,
> >
> >
> >Bill Brooks - KG6VVP
> >PCB Design Engineer , C.I.D.+, C.I.I.
> >Tel: (760)597-1500 Ext 3772 Fax: (760)597-1510
> >http://www.dtwc.com
> >http://pcbwizards.com
> >
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: George Patrick [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> >Sent: Monday, October 18, 2004 11:09 AM
> >To: [log in to unmask]
> >Subject: Re: [DC] Warning... when attending events
> >
> >What a drag...
> >
> >It is an absolute hassle to lug everything around with you when you leave
> >the room, but with the way things are now it's the only way to keep things
> >like this from happening.
> >
> >Too bad they don't put thermite charges in notebooks that are set off by
> >cell phone (or LoJack trackers, but that's less fun to think about) ;D
> >
> >--
> >George Patrick
> >Tektronix, Inc.
> >Central Engineering, PCB Design Group
> >P.O. Box 500, M/S 39-512
> >Beaverton, OR 97077-0001
> >Phone: 503-627-5272 Fax: 503-627-5587
> >http://www.tektronix.com http://www.pcb-designer.com
> >
> >It's my opinion, not Tektronix'
> >
> >
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: DesignerCouncil [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
> >Brooks,Bill
> >Sent: Monday, October 18, 2004 10:52
> >To: [log in to unmask]
> >Subject: [DC] Warning... when attending events
> >
> >
> >Designers,
> >
> >I know some of you use laptop computers in your work as I do, and I just
> >want to share this experience with you so you do not have to experience
> what
> >happened to me and Mary Sugden last weekend...
> >
> >Mary was leading the CID+ Workshop and exam in San Marcos California, and I
> >was attending it along with some other fine designers. We broke for lunch
> >and were gone from the room for a very short time... only to return to the
> >room to find that someone of low scruples decided that our laptop computers
> >would make a great addition to their personal collections... Mary had to
> >continue the workshop and test from her hand written notes... it was a very
> >difficult experience. Mary was a real trouper and still did an excellent
> job
> >of covering the material and we went on to take the exam on Saturday.
> >
> >The most painful realization occurs when you recall that you left your
> >checkbook(s), and your personal information in your carrying case, and they
> >now know where you live, what your home phone number and work number is,
> >what your bank account numbers are, e-mail, stocks, you name it... etc...
> >etc.. Not to mention the data that you have on your hard drive, that you
> >have not backed up... Laptops are terribly portable... it takes only 30
> >seconds for someone to pass by and grab them and stash them for later
> >retrieval. We looked high and low and searched the entire area for the
> >thief(s)... and they had vanished.
> >
> >Mailing lists, passwords, lost reference information, jobs you may have
> been
> >working on, etc... this can be a very sickening experience...
> >
> >The laptops can be expensive, mine was over 2,700 dollars (a Dell Inspiron
> >8200 with 64MB DDR ram, 40G hd, leather case, high end video, extra
> >batteries... ugh...)and they are targets of thieves, who seem to watch and
> >wait for you to make a mistake or get careless for an instant, even when
> you
> >think your stuff is safe in the confines of a classroom environment...
> don't
> >let your equipment out of your sight... And think about what you have on
> >your computer... and what it would mean if someone managed to walk away
> with
> >it.
> >
> >Please don't let this happen to you...
> >
> >Best regards,
> >
> >
> >Bill Brooks - KG6VVP
> >PCB Design Engineer , C.I.D.+, C.I.I.
> >Tel: (760)597-1500 Ext 3772 Fax: (760)597-1510
> >http://www.dtwc.com
> >http://pcbwizards.com
> >
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