How to track and recover stolen laptops .

Track and recover stolen laptops with LoJack for Laptops, Computrace, GadgetTrak and Undercover.

I hadn't heard of Computrace / Absolute until about two weeks ago, when we found two computers at my office talking to "search.namequery.com" several times a second. What I find is interesting: A program that installs without my permission or knowledge, takes orders from a 3rd party (up to and including "wipe the hard drive"), and actively resists removal.

One computer was brand-new (MPC/Gateway M685), the other just over a year old (MPC/Gateway E475). The first one they claim was "accidentally" activated at the factory, the second got a motherboard replacement that had this little program "activated" from its prior owner.

The sales rep at MPC/Gateway got the Absolute/Computrace rep on the phone and they both claim that it isn't a virus. Okay, fine, it doesn't self-replicate. Seems to fit darn near every other part of the definition! Their tech-support guy ordered the two computers to disable their BIOS component and uninstall, which THEY DID! The files in C:\Windows\System32 vanished before my eyes.

They were back the next day.

Gateway/MPC doesn't seem to understand my frustration. We spend so much time and money securing our computers and making sure they run only the software we WANT them to run. Now you want me to feel safe with a BIOS-level program that copies itself to FAT32/NTFS partitions and tricks Windows OSes into executing it? This same program that calls a 3rd party and requests instructions? I know of only three instructions it can accept, but what if there are others? ("Stolen, check in every 15 minutes", "Stolen, wipe hard drive", "Disable and uninstall" we know of)

I asked how they secure the disk-wiping function and was not impressed with the answer. They use an RSA token to verify that the right customer called in. I said 'Ok, what about the link to the computer? Is it signed or encrypted?' No answer, they just went back to the RSA token.

Heck, we have BlackBerries that can wipe themselves on remote command but RIM makes a big deal of how the communications are encrypted between the BB and my server. I know that J. Random Cracker isn't going to trick my BB into nuking itself. But what if he spoofs "search.namequery.com" and returns the code for "Nuke HD"? Will their little 200kb program accept the order?

I read that someone found and disabled Computrace/Absolute's BIOS code in a firmware dump and then re-flashed his machine. If I can't pull that off with Gateway/MPC I will have to recommend that we find a vendor that does NOT pre-infect the computers we purchase.

============================
The real Lojack system, for cars, predates the Internet and GPS. It's pretty good. About 90% of Lojack-equipped cars are recovered when stolen. When you buy Lojack, an installer comes out and installs a little box somewhere on your car. You don't know where, and they have many alternative locations. It gets power from the car, so it keeps itself charged.

The unit finds an FM broadcast station with the Lojack subcarrier and listens for a message with its serial number. If your car is stolen in an area with Lojack coverage (which includes most major US cities), a police stolen car report is copied to Lojack's computers, which then tell the subcarrier transmitter at the broadcast stations to start broadcasting messages with the unit's serial number. The unit in the car then starts emitting a beacon signal.

Lojack has good integration with big-city police departments. They equip police cars with Lojack receivers at Lojack's expense. Any Lojack receiver that's emitting turns on indicators in police cars, showing direction and approximate range. When you see a police car with four antennas in a square on the roof, that car has a Lojack receiver.

In Los Angeles, the LAPD's air force, both rotary and fixed-wing, has Lojack receivers. This has resulted in some dramatic stolen car recoveries. [wsati.org] Cops like the system, because not only do they get cars back, they often find someone they want driving the stolen car.

But "Lojack for Laptops" doesn't use that system. It just reports IP addresses when the unit connects to the Internet. A company called Absolute Software seems to have just licensed the Lojack name; it's apparently not part of Lojack Corporation at all.
=============================