GPS Tracker?

[JohnBoyII]

Is there a tracker type security device that can be put inside of laptops to track them in case of theft?

Its got to be reasonably priced and easy to fit/operate as its for a school to protect their laptops in case of loss.

 

[Alarm]

GSM trackers need the item to be switched on.

 

[JohnBoyII]

Given that the laptop will be switched on at some point, can you suggest any trackers that can be fitted to a laptop to signal its whereabouts?

 

[Igorian]

Whilst not a hardware solution, you could take a look at this.

Some Police Authorities often have schemes where they give it away foc.

 

[JohnBoyII]

Thanks for that, although a software solution still looks interesting. The only concern would be the subscription, we'd prefer to pay a one-off cost rather than annual subscription.

 

[^woody^]

Google for Prey or the Prey Project

 

[JohnBoyII]

Thanks, although Prey is free it has some major drawbacks

- can only install on 3 laptops (we've got more than 50)
- appears in Program Menu so can be easily deleted

LoJack seems better as it installs in the BIOS, so will survive a hard disk reformat. The company also provide support in terms of talking with the police, but all that doesn't come cheap at $30/- per laptop per year.

At that rate we can just as easily up our insurance premium and not bother with all the hassle. The laptops themselves do not hold any pupil data so the loss is only to cover the cost and inconvenience of losing the laptop.

 

[^woody^]

Prey can be purchased if more than three PC's - will be about £1.20 each for your 50 machines

Also, it installs a guest account which the 'thief' will tend to log onto first as it will not be password protected. This guest account will have no admin rights so the program can't be deleted - its not easy to find anyway by the average person

The idea of Prey is really to protect your data, with an added bonus of the potential to get an image of the thief and location details

Yes, the machine could well be just formatted, but in almost all cases a thief will try and browse the machine first. A BIOS password will make things difficult for formatting too

So, when used with encrypted data, then the loss will just be of the machine, but with a potential bonus of tracking and identifying the thief

 

[JohnBoyII]

Woody - I stand corrected!

By the way where did you get the pricing info, I didn't spot anything when I had a (quick) look earlier. I thought I might have to go for their subscribed Pro version for more than 3 units. Are you currently using it?

 

[^woody^]

Scroll down the home page just before the bottom - http://preyproject.com/plans

I'm using the free version, but have not "needed" it yet, but it works as described in tests

I have it set so that when the laptop starts up there are only icons for the main account (which is password locked), and then the guest account which would be clicked by a thief, or you can just rename it "No password login" or something as an enticement

 

[JohnBoyII]

Many thanks!

I also came across a YouTube clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7WDVciEwdQ) from BBC Click about laptop tracking, which picks up on Prey, LoJack and other options.