I am a member at one of the help forums where there have been several posts about laptops being lost, asking for help in locating it. I know that a laptop is a very valuable asset – emotional, monetary and educational asset, but there are ways to circumvent these so called “fool proof” ways to locate a stolen laptop!
Sorry to disappoint you all, according to me, there is not a single, cheap, fool-proof way to locate your stolen laptop. Correct me if I am wrong with a comment. Here is why I said what I said:
1. Most of these systems rely on internet connectivity for their success. No internet connectivity, no success.
2. If you happen to use a software solution such as “zTrace”, etc. a format of your operating system will render it useless! Even if the system is not formatted, it can be accessed from a LiveCD or your USB stick. For a 50$ service, you get nothing more than false promises. So, for me, any software solution is rendered out!
3. An add-on GPS/GSM/CDMA/EDGE/HSDPA hardware can always be tampered with/removed. Plus they cost a lot and consume atleast some additional power, thus hampering your laptops battery life.
Looking at these three points, there does not seem much choice. But, if you do value the information that your laptop holds, you might consider something like the Toughbook from Panasonic. Ofcourse, you might not get this laptop in any store as these are directed at law enforcement agencies and trust me it does cost a bomb! But, if the information that it will hold is important, you might buy it.
But wait! What what if some one were to log into your Windows installation using Kon-Boot or such tools, disable your GPS/GSM/CDMA/EDGE/HSDPA hardware, or simply uninstall the drivers! What do you do then? Probably there should be a way to have the BIOS to boot only if the device is found working. But, again, if the BIOS was flashed. Where does that leave you?
Just my thoughts.
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