# Tracking Stolen Laptop



## pulkitpopli2004 (Feb 23, 2011)

Guys
A Laptop/Notebook is stolen or lost every 12 seconds. 
According to a survey done in India 90% of the Laptops are being lost/stolen during the travel. In 90% there is a share of 1 laptop from my friend side.

The Laptop loss is not limited to its cost but it also includes the loss of sensitive and creative information/data in it. This data could be your important documents, presentations, credit card details, financial information or maybe a tender document.

Does Internet and Networking has any method to Track Stolen Laptops With a mac or IP Address or some other s/w tools or anything?


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## gagan007 (Feb 23, 2011)

I do not think it is possible to track/find any device based on its MAC address (which is, by the way, unique for all devices in network).

After I nearly lost one of my portable hard disks which contained my personal pictures, I decided to encrypt all my personal data. So created a separate encrypted partition where I would kept such data.

To my relief, after couple of days the hard disk was found buried under clothes in the house itself!


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## pulkitpopli2004 (Feb 23, 2011)

there should be some software.. 



gagan007 said:


> After I nearly lost one of my portable hard disks which contained my personal pictures, I decided to encrypt all my personal data. So created a separate encrypted partition where I would kept such data.
> 
> To my relief, after couple of days the hard disk was found buried under clothes in the house itself!



this thing happen with many other items like mobile(thankfully,we can call that), bike/car keys.. some important paperr..etc etc..


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## Zangetsu (Feb 23, 2011)

@pulkitpopli2004: google for the keyword & see what results u get.
Just do an R&D on laptops hardware address such as any serial no etc....


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## pulkitpopli2004 (Feb 23, 2011)

yes on the other side... m searching on net.. got some free software.. but doesnt seems to work out.. still finding something new.. 

BTW do you generally install such anti theft s/w on mobile and laptops?


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## gagan007 (Feb 24, 2011)

Mobile yes. Laptops, I have never heard of.

Mobile anti-theft software includes mechanisms like locking the mobile if unauthorized person changes sim. It asks for password when the mobile is restarted and locks mobile if wrong password is entered. In some programs, it formats the memory of mobile. Some programs send an sms to pre-defined numbers about the network/location info. There is one free application which i used earlier, it would tell me the location of my mobile on Google maps.


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## SlashDK (Feb 24, 2011)

Post Deleted


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## pulkitpopli2004 (Feb 24, 2011)

video is worth watching.. thanks for sharing

---------- Post added at 09:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:29 PM ----------




gagan007 said:


> Mobile yes. Laptops, I have never heard of.
> 
> Mobile anti-theft software includes mechanisms like locking the mobile if unauthorized person changes sim. It asks for password when the mobile is restarted and locks mobile if wrong password is entered. In some programs, it formats the memory of mobile. Some programs send an sms to pre-defined numbers about the network/location info. There is one free application which i used earlier, it would tell me the location of my mobile on Google maps.



but have you heard some1 got his mobile back?
every1 can jst do either the software update or complete format.. and it starts working..

splly in mobile cases.. police dont even block IMEI number of stolen phone..


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## pauldmps (Feb 24, 2011)

That video was pretty entertaining (offensive as well).

Anyways, that guy had a mac stolen which has special locks to prevent software installations, etc. Also the guy didn't have a Mac OS disc for a clean install or else he didn't bother to do so. 

This is not the case with Windows Laptops. Pirated OS discs are available everywhere & almost everyone knows how to do a clean install making recovery very difficult.

It is best to set up a BIOS password so that the laptop cannot be used even if stolen.


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## Zangetsu (Feb 25, 2011)

pauldmps said:


> It is best to set up a BIOS password so that the laptop cannot be used even if stolen.



Resetting the CMOS will reset the password....


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## SlashDK (Feb 25, 2011)

I'm sorry for the offensive content (even i skipped a the majority of the video) but I thought it may help the OP in a way. BTW deleted it.


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## pauldmps (Feb 25, 2011)

^^ There was no need of deleting the post. I think now-a-days, movies & games are much more offensive than this. Also the video was featured on Gizmodo.

@KaranTh85

Never knew that. But is it easy to remove the CMOS battery of a laptop as compared to a desktop ? (I have no experience in internals of a laptop)


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## pulkitpopli2004 (Feb 25, 2011)

yeah ryt.. who know about removing CMOS battery of Laptop.. 
BIOS password can be a good alternative 'coz after 2-3 tries.. the Windows need to be installed again.. 

@cybertonic - there was no requirement to delete that post.


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## gameranand (Feb 27, 2011)

pulkitpopli2004 said:
			
		

> but have you heard some1 got his mobile back?
> every1 can jst do either the software update or complete format.. and it starts working..


Yes I have heard about it. You know if the anti theft software is strong enough then you can actually track the mobile. Yes the thief can do a clean install and he would be good but anyone wants to check first if there is some security or not. Like a software it don't want any lock code you have to register your sim first or it will show you. *Hello Sir* and then send message about the location and all the details about thief and the thief won't even know if he is tracked or not. Also its process don't show in open applications. Its hidden so if someone uses this kind of app there are chances that he would get his mobile back.


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## vinayan (Apr 1, 2011)

Fitting a GPS device inside your Laptop will be a good idea..not sure about the cost and size of the GPS object..i am looking out now..


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