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GPS tracking for desktops?

B

BlackThought

Gawd
Joined
Jan 20, 2011
Messages
598
I don't live in best area, so its always in the back of my mind that ill come home to a stolen PC :mad:

Is there anything discrete out there that lets you track your desktop?
 
A stand alone gps tracker would likely require some sort of cellular service to send you its location.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dsscircuits/open-source-tracking-devicelive


There is lojack for pc and similar apps that report basic ip/isp locations. But it would require that whoever steals your PC uses it on the internet.

Here's an old video of how a guy eventually got his computer back because he was use a dynamic dns service among other things.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4oB28ksiIo
 
JohnleMVP said:
A stand alone gps tracker would likely require some sort of cellular service to send you its location.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dsscircuits/open-source-tracking-devicelive


There is lojack for pc and similar apps that report basic ip/isp locations. But it would require that whoever steals your PC uses it on the internet.

Here's an old video of how a guy eventually got his computer back because he was use a dynamic dns service among other things.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4oB28ksiIo
Click to expand...
Dang, was hoping there was a magical PCi slot GPS that would work
 
There are stand alone devices you could hide in your PC, but there will likely be a subscription service. These devices are neat though because you can setup a geo fence that would tell you when your computer has been moved out of a zone, like your house.

http://www.brickhousesecurity.com/gps-car-tracking-vehicle-logging.html

You could install a USB/PCI GPS device and have an application report its location everytime the PC is on the internet, but it would require the person to be using your windows install vs formatting it or selling it.
 
Johnle you sir are my hero

With some of the super powered rigs ive seen on here i thought this would be a standard thing now


EDIT: with that itrail thing you'd have to plug it in to see where its been
 
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Yeah you need to get the one that has a cellular connection (Spark Nano 3.0). Unfortunately it cost $30 a month for service. You maybe able to cancel service and if your device is stolen pay the $50 activation fee to start tracking it.
 
Never heard of Prey before.

My issue with software trackers is this.

Password requirement to login to my PC. so more than likely when they sell it to someone they're going to format.

I want something that doesnt look out of place and is tracked at all times if need be, maybe it doesnt need a internet connection, but once powered on it starts tracking

Internal USB or Pci card.

dammit i need to invent it lol
 
I believe Lojack based motherboards use basic NetBIOS services on a special Eithernet chip to access the network port and connect to the internet everytime the system is powered up. It might be even be embedded in the UEFI. They claim it is immune from drive formats or even fdisk.

The lojack software then pings the lojack server with the IP address everytime the computer gets an IP. This is the only way I can see this technology working.

I thought of something similar years ago.
 
GPS on the motherboard, with a call-home bios setting would be nice. But, not something I'd want to spend money on.
 
DigitalGriffin said:
I believe Lojack based motherboards use basic NetBIOS services on a special Eithernet chip to access the network port and connect to the internet everytime the system is powered up. It might be even be embedded in the UEFI. They claim it is immune from drive formats or even fdisk.

The lojack software then pings the lojack server with the IP address everytime the computer gets an IP. This is the only way I can see this technology working.

I thought of something similar years ago.
Click to expand...

Lojack works, but being immune from formatting has to be built into the BIOS. At least in 2007 you could defeat Lojack if you knew what to look for in the running processes and services (review where that was tested). I've confirmed myself that Lojack does survive a reformat if the functionality is built into system BIOS (as of 2007) and it does start phoning home even without logging into the system (it is a SYSTEM process that is enabled at boot time).

I seriously hope the software has been moved exclusively to the BIOS/UEFI level since it's worthless if the thief knows what to look for in the OS. There's a few other ways to defeat the software too (blocking Lojack's servers at the router level, etc).

Pretty much have to be a smart thief to get around it though, and most criminals are probably stupid :p.
 
Right now I am using this tracking solution: gps.weblocator.eu.

More info you can find here at weblocator.eu

This solution works on any major platform: PC / laptop (Windows, OsX), smartphone (Android, iOS, Symbian, Windows mobile, Bada, BlackBerry). So you could enjoy using this web based solution practically on any device.
 
My best suggestions if you're living in an apartment is Renter's Insurance and Truecrypt on your drive. Truecrypt will prevent them from gaining access to your information, and the Renter's Insurance will cover not just the computer, but everything in you own in the apartment as well. Keep a backup of your essential information on an external hard drive and hide it well or store it someplace safe, or subscribe to an online backup service like Carbonite, and in the event of a breakin/theft you'll be able to be made whole again. It'll take some time, as does all insurance claims, but it's the only way to be absolutely sure.

I love the idea of a device that looks like it belongs, maybe one day that will become a reality. Considering how small some of those micro USB flash drives are, this doesn't sound like it'll take years to develop.
 
Yeah i'll look into that thanks. But with the data caps by comcast, online backup isnt a good option for me, i have a few TBs of stuff, they'd cut me off for backing up my own files i bet.

And yeah,I don't know why its not main stream by now. Simple USB device, maybe a small battery to keep it charged in the event of no power, and it reports its location every xxx minutes/hours.

I know someone at [H] has to be able to make it :D you'll be wealthy if ya did.
 
Unfortunately, all major ISPs are moving to (or have already moved to) data caps. Even so, online backups of even 1TB would take an extremely long period of time. Best to get an external and do local backups.
 
Yeah, but CC is laxed with their caps, atleast for me. That will change in the future im sure.

But the problem with local backups leads right back to problem number one. If a person steals your stuff what good is a backup in their hands?
 
That's why I mentioned hiding the external or storing it someplace safe.
 
Move out of the ghetto?

I would regard my life before my computers security. I hope you have a .12gauge incase someone breaks in to steal your computer.
 
If you live in a bad area - odds are pretty much 100% that anyone breaking into an apartment looking for stuff to steal will NOT know what to look for on the inner workings of a computer to disable any tracking that might be setup. My money would be on them barely knowing how to even power it on or set it up correctly.

Your cheapest/easiest option that would cover you both data wise and financially:

Good renters insurance
3TB external backup drive - ziplock bag it and hide it in the air return vent if you are THAT worried.
TrueCrypt partition with any of your sensitive information on it.

You can get great renters insurance for 100-150 dollars a YEAR. throw in another 150-200 for a HDD and for not much money you are fully covered.

Say the worst does happen - would you really want your computer back after some crackhead lowlife had their grubby mitts all over it? And even more important is say the worst happened and you had some sort of GPS tracking on the desktop. Would you REALLY feel comfortable going to some strangers house knowing they are criminals? The cops won't help, and you will more than likely get hurt in the process. (Personally if something like this did happen it should be legal to track down the thief and chop off a hand or two)

Go with the renters insurance option -- it's cheaper/safer in the long run.
 
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