Tech: LoJack for Computers - And the catch is?

Subject: Tech: LoJack for Computers - And the catch is?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Oct 07 - 12:16 AM

The catch is, this stuff must be "phoning home" all of the time in order to get the message to phone home with more information after it's stolen. This probably slows the functionality of the computer, etc. What does anyone know about this, and are there other programs out there that have a similar function (to track stolen computers) and do they all operate in the same way? And cost as much? Having lost one computer in recent years, I find this an interesting subject.

SRS

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Laptop rats out thieves
LoJack for Laptops helped recover a local man's laptop and catch two suspects in the case.

From the Herald (Everett, WA)

LYNNWOOD -- The crooks likely watched Michael Pierson walk into the mall before they smashed out the window of his car and made off with his laptop. There was no way for the thieves to know someone would soon be watching them. Hidden in Pierson's computer was software that eventually led police to the crooks' hideout.

Two people were arrested Saturday at an Everett motel. Police found Pierson's laptop, another stolen computer and what appeared to be an identity-theft operation. The arrests came after a month of remote spying on the thieves through Pierson's computer.

The Lynnwood man had installed LoJack for Laptops anti-theft and tracking software just a few months before it was taken. The software allowed Lynnwood investigators to pinpoint where the laptop was logging on to the Internet as the suspects moved from location to location. It even passed along pictures of what the suspects were viewing on the Web. "It was extremely helpful and will be in the prosecution as well," Lynnwood police officer Scott Dilworth said. "We wouldn't have had any leads without it."

The break-in happened in late August. Pierson had gone to the mall after work and was gone less than a half-hour. He found a window smashed out of his Honda Element and his computer, a cell phone and a digital camera gone. "I did a stupid thing by leaving my backpack in the car," Pierson said. When he realized his laptop was gone, he worried about the sensitive information kept inside. There were tax records, his Social Security number and information about his condominium association, including key codes. "It's everything an ID thief needs," Pierson said.

Stolen and lost laptops have gained national publicity in recent years. Government agencies and businesses have admitted that sensitive client and consumer information had been jeopardized after laptops were stolen. Last year The Boeing Co. reported that a laptop with personal information of 90,000 employees had been stolen. Employees were offered credit-monitoring services. Earlier this year a government report found that 500 laptops were missing from the Internal Revenue Service.

Pierson had taken steps to protect the information by encrypting files, he said. He didn't take any chances and took a day off from his computer job to cancel all of his credit cards, change his bank account and put a fraud alert on his credit. Pierson also was able to get some extra help to track down his computer using software that came with the laptop. Once he reported the computer stolen to police, he also contacted a monitoring center for LoJack for Laptops. That's when the stolen computer was told to "call home," said Ben Haidri, a spokesman for Absolute Software, the company that sells the product.

The computer is remotely programmed to secretly contact the monitoring center's server every 15 minutes when it's connected to the Internet. Even if the thief erases the computer's hard drive, the software can still operate, Haidri said. The laptop is instructed to send information about where it is accessing the Internet. The computer also captures pictures of Web sites the user is accessing and sends the screen shots back to the monitoring center.

Lynnwood police were able to see two names of local people who had criminal history, Dilworth said. They saw that the users were attempting to open credit cards using other people's information.

Screen shots also showed that the users were logging on to LimeWire, a free file sharing program generally used to exchange music, videos or games. It appears the suspects were stealing private information from people who were unaware that they were allowing other LimeWire users access to all of their computer files, not just music or videos, Lynnwood police detective Doug Teachworth said.

Police believe the suspects were using Pierson's laptop along with stolen mail and information they hijacked from other people's computers to make fraudulent purchases. It also appears that the suspects were able to access the Internet from wireless connections that were not secure, Teachworth said.

It isn't uncommon for police departments to find more than a stolen computer using the LoJack software, Haidri said. The software has led to identity-theft rings and chop shops, Haidri said. The software, which has been around for about 11 years, helps recover about 50 stolen or lost computers a week, Haidri said. It costs $50 a year.

The key is providing law enforcement with as much information as they need to track down the thieves, he said. "It's one thing to know where the computer is, it's another to actually go get it," Haidri said. Lynnwood police used the information from screen shots to track down the suspects to the Everett motel, Dilworth said. They were able to determine that one had checked in and the other's vehicle was parked outside. Both suspects were inside the motel room when police knocked on the door.

One suspect told police she had bought the laptop from a man for $250. She said she and the other suspect were using stolen mail and other information they'd gleaned from people's computer files to commit fraud, according to police affidavit.

The two suspects were booked into jail for investigation of possession of stolen property. The investigation continues. Police expect there are numerous victims. The two suspects, who both have extensive criminal history, also could face fraud and identity theft charges.

Pierson said he initially was skeptical about the tracking software. He now recommends it to all of his relatives and friends. He also reminds people not to leave anything valuable in their cars and put a password on everything. "You just have to be careful about the type of data you're carrying around," he said.

Subject: RE: Tech: LoJack for Computers - And the catch is?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 04 Oct 07 - 02:01 AM

Putting "laptop antitheft" into Google will get you a number of similar services. These systems are intended primarily for laptops, which are subject to relatively easy theft. While they could, in principle, be used for office machines, it appears to be relatively uncommon. Some of the better ones have been reviewed by my "usual sources" but I don't have a quick trace to find the recent ones. Where appropriate, the good ones are apparently able to do what they claim, and are generally "recommended for consideration" especially by the "road warriors" who carry laptops with them to strange places.

One warning: A number of somewhat similar systems are offered as "administrative tools" to allow a system administrator to view what's on machines within a network and to see what individual users are doing with their machines. A few apparently reputable programs of this kind have been "cracked" and appear in malware, only slightly disguised. Some are extremely powerful, and allow full keystroke logging, saving/viewing monitor images, and remote control/operation of the computers.

BE VERY CAREFUL if you're looking for a service of this kind to make ABSOLUTELY SURE that you're dealing with a reputable provider. This stuff is far too powerful, once installed, for me to feel safe with anything "freeware" or "bargain class." You may be almost certain that the distributor will be able to get into your machine, so buy only from someone you trust to be there. This is not the kind of stuff for which you want to look for bargain basement deals.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: LoJack for Computers - And the catch is?
From: treewind
Date: 04 Oct 07 - 03:27 AM

"Even if the thief erases the computer's hard drive, the software can still operate"
I'd be scared of installing software that did this if it's true.
Frankly I don't believe it, and wiping the drive is the first thing a laptop thief would do, unless using/stealing the owner's id is the reason for stealing the laptop.

The passworded encryption idea is a good one though.

Anahata

Subject: RE: Tech: LoJack for Computers - And the catch is?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 04 Oct 07 - 04:14 AM

Erasing the drive as usually done doesn't necessarily clear the root sector, and if the "program" is installed in the root sector above the position that will be occupied when a new boot/sys is written, it likely will survive the cleaning. That particular bit of information suggests that the program installs as a "root kit" - a legitimate(?) use of what sometimes is one of the nastiest of malware techniques.

Password protection of individual files/folders in Windows is sort of a double-edged sword. It protects your data from others, but there are several places where what would ordinarily be minor - and recoverable - file corruption can render all password protected files completely unrecoverable even by you. The file itself can drop a bit. The "key" file that knows how to unencrypt the file can get lost. The user def file that tells which user the password is for can get mangled. etc. etc. etc. ... (An encrypted file that's part of a backup is almost never readable in a restore - at least in my experience.)

Windows encryption, in recent versions, is very strong so if any accident happens, the file is COMPLETELY AND PERMANENTLY LOST.

If you have so much information that you have a lot of things needing passwording and encryption, you've just got to accept the risk; but for ordinary use I'd suggest that any individual files worth encrypting should be stored as an unencrypted backup off the machine just in case. (Burn a CD, etc, lock it up somewhere remote from the machine, and then apply the password/encryption only to the "working" copy left on the machine.)

It gets to be cumbersome, but obviously anything you need to protect with a password is valuable enough to merit a little extra care in backup, as well as in protection(?).

Using a logon password, especially for an administrator account, is an entirely different matter. It may be inconvenient to work around a lost or corrupted logon password, but no data is likely to be lost. Encryption of messages during transmission is also safe, since the source file remains unaffected if something gets lost in the transmission.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: LoJack for Computers - And the catch is?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Oct 07 - 08:35 AM

Lots of little "this sounds risky" bells went off when I read the first article. The "this could be a good idea" thought was tempered with by the "I bet it has some real drawbacks" voice. Your remarks confirm it.

SRS

Subject: RE: Tech: LoJack for Computers - And the catch is?
From: treewind
Date: 04 Oct 07 - 10:12 AM

I can't remember the name of it, but there a program for encrypting a whole disk, not just files. Without the key you can't even tell what file system is on a partition; in fact it may be (I don't remember) that you can't even see the partition table without it. It works for different operating systems too.

I think might have been this: truecrypt

A lot more sophisticated than password protecting a file.

Anahata

Subject: RE: Tech: LoJack for Computers - And the catch is?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 04 Oct 07 - 01:56 PM

Anahata -

In WinXP, if you password protect a file, the file IS ENCRYPTED, and the encryption is very strong. You don't need any junkware extra program to do it for you.

If you want, you can apply a password to an entire drive, and the entire drive is encrypted.

The encryption is VERY STRONG and if anything goes even slightly wrong, NOTHING IS RECOVERABLE from the password protected parts of the drive.

If you run CHKDSK in any Windows version, or run the WinXP "Check for errors" without checking the "automatically fix errors option," you wil find "lost clusters" on any hard drive that's been run for a week. Hard drives use a lot of very sophisticated error correcting code, and are very tolerant of minor bit errors. Lots of errors occur. Such errors are no problem in ordinary use since the drive controller can correct things. If any of those errors, however, occurs in a "password protected" file (encrypted) or in any of the several "password management files" the password protected part of the drive is GONE FOREVER.

If your "add-on" program is even remotely as effective as the built in protections that Win2K, WinXP and later offer, it will have the same "features."

WinXP includes some very powerful "recovery tools" that, hopefully, you've never needed to know exist. Most files can be recovered, using the built-in tools even from drives so far gone that the computer can't even recognize that they are a hard drive. NO PASSWORD PROTECTED FILES can be recovered by these tools.

Wear your chastity belt when you must, but recognize that it's going to cause boils and bruises and chafing if used excessively.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: LoJack for Computers - And the catch is?
From: treewind
Date: 04 Oct 07 - 02:45 PM

"In WinXP, if you password protect a file, the file IS ENCRYPTED"
I knew that. Sorry if I appeared to suggest otherwise.

As for the hardware protection against errors, you still get that with an encrypted driver. The errors are corrected (as you say, by the hardware) before the encryption software has to decipher it. Data errors are completely unacceptable from the disk whether or not encryption is involved. Think about it - a single bit error while reading the code for an ordinary Windows executable could cause havoc. It really doesn't happen significantly often.
(memory errors in high throughput servers are a different matter, that's why they use ECC memory)

Anahata

Subject: RE: Tech: LoJack for Computers - And the catch is?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 05 Oct 07 - 12:06 AM

Yes JiK

Some of us 'old farts' remember those cute apps (I'm talking original PC - and AT days here!) that 'compressed drves' to 'squeeze' more files into the limited space of the time. We're talking units or 10s of Megabyte here... :-)

You only needed ONCE to have the 'compression index file' get toasted to realise that this was not as clever an idea as you first thought.... :-)

Robin

Subject: RE: Tech: LoJack for Computers - And the catch is?
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Oct 07 - 10:55 AM

I believe LoJack (don't know about the others) is actually run in firmware, where the BIOS is, so even replacing the hard drive won't bypass it. I'm inclined to trust it, especially since it came with my new Dell M1330.

Regards,
Mike Sharp

Subject: RE: Tech: LoJack for Computers - And the catch is?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 15 Oct 07 - 03:02 PM

I'm not sure that it adds a lot of "assurance" but it might be of interest to note that at my last visit to CompUSA (not really a recommendation - it's the only computer store in my town) they did have LoJack on display.

That might imply that it's the "mainstream product" that users have found of some value(?) - or at least that you've got the correct spelling to weed out the "imitator malware" versions.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: LoJack for Computers - And the catch is?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Oct 07 - 09:07 PM

Our CompUSA went away. I used to compare their prices with Fry's regularly. They were pretty even on most things. Good store, we miss it. I bought a lot of computers and peripherals there over the years.

SRS

Subject: RE: Tech: LoJack for Computers - And the catch is?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 15 Oct 07 - 11:26 PM

There are still advantages to being able to look at the package before you buy, so I usually check out CompUSA before making a purchase. For some things they can't offer an in-store price that can't be beat on the web; but they're often "close enough" to justify the local purchase.

I have a "current problem" with Lin's sewing machine, which is theoretically able to import "programs" so that she can flip the switch and then brag about being "creative" after the machine does it all. Unfortunately, it came with a "dongle" for the parallel port, and when she bought it we didn't own a computer that had an available parallel port (other than the one in-use). While I could have "synthesized" a port, there wasn't an IRQ available that wouldn't have conflicted.

She recently "won" a doorprize consisting of a program to "make the programs" for the sewing machine, and it has a USB dongle. That's not much help when the sewing machine has only a serial connector, the computer doesn't, and you still have to have the parallel port dongle on the computer for the main program; but I tripped down to CompUSA and found some "minor accessories" necessary to connect her up with her "free" program. (We still don't know if it will work.)

(I'm amazed at the professionalism of the sewing machine people, who have produced a program that will run only on Windows, protected by a dongle that prevents primary functions in Windows from being functional, with instructions that can only be read using Apple QuickTime, but that's a side issue.)

List price of about $148, and at the CompUSA "business desk" I got out for $104, so I can suggest that they do make an effort - if you can be creative enough to "be in business." Even without the business discount the prices were fairly competitive.

(Discounts aren't always that good, but I got an eager young kid to ring it up this time. He didn't even have his business cards printed yet, so he had to add his name to a generic one - (but in crayon?).)

The closest other "almost a computer store" in my town is Best Buy. After a couple of trips in (unsuccessfully, to my great surprise) for the "Bait" in their usual "Bait and Switch" ads, and having listened to them "work" a few customers, I can attest that they'll sell you $2,000 worth of stuff for $1989 and make you think you got a good deal. The problem is that they'll sell you $2000 worth of stuff and make you think you need it all when all you really need is a $29 plug-in for the system you've got. They have the best trained, and most thoroughly polished, cut-throat/predatory sales crew I've seen outside the local used car dealerships. I dont' buy much there.

Actually, thinking back, I haven't bought anything there, and it's unlikely I ever will.

John