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PrintSpecial Report: Laptop Theft
Laptops - they're valuable, portable and often contain vital, confidential information. And every seven minutes one is stolen.
Alexander Kesler, zTrace Technologies
"Once the laptop is stolen, it's like losing cash. You know you'll never get it back."
Joel Hannon's laptop serves as a lifeline to his Nashua insurance business.
Joel Hannon, Cyber Angel Customer
"Everything that I do is on that laptop."
So when he learned it'd been stolen from the back of his car... he was devastated.
Joel Hannon, Cyber Angel Customer
"I was pacing a lot. I was definitely desperate."
Laptop theft has gone up 52 percent in the last two years - with more than 600,000 stolen each year. And that can lead to identity theft and corporate espionage.
Tim Rapoza, Eweek Director of Illegal Ops
"There's definitely a possibility that information you don't want out in the public could wind up being out there."
But Joel's laptop had a secret hidden on its hard drive. A tiny program designed to track down the laptop if stolen.
Joel Hannon, Cyber Angel Customer
"He assured me that they would find the computer within two or three days."
Several companies are offering this kind of laptop locator software. Similiar to how the Lojack system works for cars, this software acts as a beacon, broadcasting the laptop's location back to headquarters.
Alexander Kesler, zTrace Technologies
"Once the laptop is stolen, we activate the tracing functionality on our server."
As soon as the stolen laptop is connected to the Internet... the tracking program sends a silent signal back to its headquarters... revealing its location
Alexander Kesler, zTrace Technologies
"We're able to trace the exact physical location of the laptop down to a street address and apartment number."
Once it has an address, the software company contacts the local police and they retrieve the laptop.
Alexander Kesler, zTrace Technologies
"We find with our software installed on a laptop, the recovery rate is between 80 to 90 percent."
Joel's laptop was found miles away in Fitchburg.
Joel Hannon, Cyber Angel Customer
"They were able to obtain a warrant, get in there and obtain the computer."
He believes he'd never have gotten the computer back without the help of this software and says that in this case it's better to be safe than sorry.
Besides locating the computer, the software also locks it down so a thief can't access any vital information before it's retrieved.
For more information:
http://www.ztrace.com/