Stolen Lenovo laptop

[Tom Metro]

James Kramer wrote:
> A friend of mine had his laptop stolen.  
> Can he locate this computer over the internet?

Like Eric said, unless he got lucky by having some existing application
- email, IM, ssh - setup to automatically connect to some server where
you can inspect the logs, *and* that application starts up when the OS
boots without having to login (unless there is no login prompt), then he
is out of luck.

To do this reliably requires some planning. You'd want a process that
runs on boot, before X starts, that gathers some information about the
local environment such as:
 -a scan of visible WiFi networks (can be used to determine location
with the aid of a database, like Skyhook[1]);
 -the machine's IP address, of course. Perhaps other information about
any LAN it attaches to;
 -perhaps grabbing a still frame from the built-in web cam;
 -perhaps recording 30 seconds of audio;

Then it should package up the info and attempt to send it "home" using
one or more methods, such as an HTTP POST, and email.

1. http://www.skyhookwireless.com/howitworks/coverage.php

A recent Linux Journal (November 2010, I think) had an article on
locating a lost or stolen Nokia N900 that covered much of the same items
I list above.

Unlike a cell phone, with a laptop, one of the challenges is going to be
establishing a network connection. Ubuntu, for example, by default
doesn't connect to WiFi networks until after the user has logged in. If
the thief has a fairly secure environment without any open WiFi
networks, what do you do? Sit in the background and wait until the thief
configures a WiFi connection?

All this effort is pointless if the thief just boots from a CD or
reformats the hard drive, which they are likely to do if they can't login.

Still, I'm surprised someone hasn't created a Debian/Ubuntu package for
a utility that does this. It would have a shot at working at least some
of the time.

 -Tom

-- 
Tom Metro
Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA
"Enterprise solutions through open source."
Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/