Slashdot on Laptop Tracking Software

A Slashdot user wrote in and asked for reviews on laptop tracking software. The user had been held up at gunpoint and had his laptop stolen, it was a horrible experience and he was looking for advice on how to protect his new laptop purchase.

There are 175 comments so far on the post. One user advises a self-made solution, out of fear that laptop tracking is an invasion of privacy. This is a bit of a paranoid stance, as laptop tracking is only activated when your laptop goes missing. And is invaluable during those times. One user addresses the fallacy of the argument with this example:

Your argument is weak, it is like saying “I don’t want to have an alarm in my house because they will know when I am not at home when I activate it”.

Encryption is a big part of the conversation, although this only covers the security aspect of the laptop, and not tracking and recovery.

It sounds like most of the comments come from the consumer perspective. Comments revolve around the physical cost of the laptop, not around the cost of the data it contains, or the cost of that data if it were to be breached.

Very little tangible advice has been given thus far about laptop tracking software solutions. Lojack and Computrace were mentioned in one reply, but no other products have been recommended. The conversation has become derailed from a dialogue comparing software solutions, as was originally intended, to paranoia about using any solution at all. When it comes to laptop theft, one cannot be paranoid enough – but when it comes to protecting that laptop, one should take practical steps to keep data secure by installing tracking and recovery software.

Learn more about the real cost of a laptop theft here.

Tags: laptop theft, laptop recovery, laptop tracking, absolute software, lojack, computrace