Posts Tagged ‘LoJack for Laptops’

Absolute recently recovered a laptop for a Surrey, BC customer. Upon hearing of the successful recovery of his computer, the customer sent us the following recount:

If you use a laptop computer at work or at home, then I’d advise you to read the following story.

In July 2006, my associate and I suffered a break-in at our office. We lost numerous monitors, gadgets, and other stuff – including my new laptop. The police had no workable evidence, leads, or suspects, and so considered our stuff to be long gone.

Luckily, when I bought my laptop, the salesman had suggested I also buy a nifty little product called LoJack for Laptops. Basically, it hides in the laptop’s firmware and pings the Absolute Monitoring Center with its whereabouts whenever the laptop logs onto the Internet. This allows Absolute to track down the laptop’s location – and was a smart purchase, as I later discovered. 

In the months that followed the theft, I gradually became resigned to the loss of the laptop, and more painfully so, the years of family history research it contained. The backup disk was also in the laptop case at the time of theft, so I was more or less pooched. Big time. It was very discouraging.

Then, on February 16, 2009, the Absolute Monitoring Center heard a lonely little ping from the Internet. The Absolute Recovery Team was able to use this to determine the laptop’s location, which they passed on to the RCMP. Yesterday, RCMP visited the identified address, knocked on the door, and got the computer back. 

The machine was recovered, and all of my family data remains intact.

If you get the idea that I am promoting this product, you would be right. If you value your laptop, I would whole-heartedly suggest that you visit the LoJack for Laptops website and grab a copy.

                                                                                                                       Ian Wraight, B.Sc, C.G.A

                                                                                                                       Nutri-Lawn South; Surrey, BC

An Albuquerque news station recently reported on a LoJack for Laptops success story, after the laptop security solution led police to the three suspects who had allegedly stolen over $40,000 worth of items in a home burglary. Click here to view the complete newscast.

Learn more about the Absolute Theft Recovery Process.

Please note that indictments and criminal complaints are merely unproven accusations and the accused, in all cases, are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

SBTV recently aired a segment about Absolute Software’s consumer laptop security suite, LoJack for Laptops. The video was made at CES 2009. The host, Mario Armstrong, describes how LoJack works and how important it is to think about protecting your technology devices.

Armstrong also points his viewers to Absolute’s Computrace product for corporate customers looking for even more laptop security solutions.

A LoJack for Laptops equipped laptop began to call in to the Absolute Monitoring Center just days after its owner reported that it had been stolen in a home burglary. The Absolute Recovery Team deployed a series of forensic tools to mine information on the laptop’s unauthorized user and whereabouts, and uncovered several pieces of evidence that indicated the laptop was being used to perpetrate credit card fraud. Absolute passed these details over to the County Sheriff’s Forgery and Fraud Unit for further investigation.

The County Sheriff’s office was quick to act on the information that Absolute provided, and within a week, was able to obtain a search warrant for the identified user’s address. The warrant was served, and after detaining the location’s occupants, a thorough search was conducted.

Police recovered the stolen laptop from the scene, along with narcotics, stolen auto parts, handguns, a special machine that reads and re-encodes credit cards’ magnetic strips, and hundreds of documents which contained names, addresses, and social security and credit card numbers. The user was arrested and charged on several counts of Credit Card Fraud, ID Take-Over, Receiving Stolen Property and Narcotics Possession. Detectives estimate the amount of known fraud on the compromised credit cards to be in excess of $100,000.

The laptop has been returned to a happy LoJack for Laptops customer.

Learn more about the Absolute Theft Recovery process.

Please note that indictments and criminal complaints are merely unproven accusations and the accused, in all cases, are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

A LoJack for Laptops equipped laptop was recently stolen in a string of home burglaries committed during a busy religious holiday. With a number of homes left vacant while residents attended religious services, thieves capitalized off the opportunity to make away with a number of computers and electronics.

The day after the theft was reported, the Absolute Recovery Team was able to forensically mine the stolen laptop to determine its current user and exact location. This information was passed on to police, who used it to obtain a search warrant for the identified residence.

As police stood at the suspect’s door and served the warrant, the house’s occupants began to desperately throw bags of contraband from the windows in a feeble attempt to keep the illegal substances from authorities. These bags were quickly scooped up by police, who entered the home and were able to recover the stolen laptop – among other items. Four additional laptops were also seized, along with several pounds of marijuana, a large quantity of cocaine, and thousands of dollars in cash. Four arrests were made in connection to the case.

Just four days passed between the time that the customer reported the stolen laptop to Absolute, to the date that the laptop was physically recovered. The laptop has since been returned to its rightful owner.

Click here to learn more about the Absolute Theft Recovery Process.

Please note that the above indictments and criminal complaints are merely unproven accusations and the accused, in all cases, are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

A LoJack for Laptops costumer was recently the victim of a home burglary that left her without a laptop and several other electronics. She reported the burglary to local police and informed the Absolute Recovery Team of the laptop theft. Absolute began to track the laptop’s location, while the proactive customer let people know her laptop was stolen.

The customer worked diligently to get word out across her small town that the stolen laptop was equipped with LoJack for Laptops, and that this tracking software would swiftly locate the machine and identify its unauthorized user.  The local PD followed suit, publicizing the laptop’s use of LoJack for Laptops and its ability to track criminals and facilitate their persecution.

Although Absolute was quick to identify the laptop’s unauthorized user as a individual known to both the customer and police, “word on the street” caught up with the suspect before police were able to. Upon hearing that the stolen machine was equipped with LoJack for Laptops, the thief safely returned the laptop to the customer’s front steps.

Click here to learn more about the Absolute Theft Recovery Process.

Please note that indictments and criminal complaints are merely unproven accusations and that the accused in all cases are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

When a LoJack for Laptops customer used an online auction site to sell her laptop, she assumed that the transaction was complete. The laptop was shipped to its new user and was said to arrive three days later. When it was soon discovered, however, that the buyer had used a false online payment account and that the supposed payment was never processed, the customer turned to LoJack for Laptops for help.

The Absolute Team worked with investigators to trace the original shipment of the owing laptop, only to determine that the shipment recipient had promptly resold it upon arrival. Luckily, the laptop began to call into the Absolute Monitoring Center soon after the resell, allowing the Absolute Team to determine its current user and location. This information was handed over police, who visited the provided address.

The current user was cooperative with authorities, returning the laptop and helping to identify the shipment recipient. Although the user faced no indictments, police have since charged the fraudulent buyer. The laptop has been returned to its original owner, who is reconsidering the prospects of a sell.

Click here to learn more about the Absolute Theft Recovery Process.

Please note that the indictments and criminal complaints are merely unproven accusations, and the accused, in all cases, are innocent until proven guilty.

After a laptop equipped with LoJack for Laptops was stolen from a California university dorm room, its owner was confident that the Absolute Recovery Team would be able to track the thief and recover his computer. Indeed, within weeks, LoJack for Laptops had recovered the laptop and uncovered the thief – among other things.

Absolute recovery tools revealed the name and location of the laptop’s unauthorized user, providing police with the details necessary to launch a further investigation. This additional inquiry revealed that, beyond a computer thief, the user was also a known fugitive with an active warrant in the United States. An illegal immigrant with a criminal record, he was subject to deportation.

Using the address that the Absolute Recovery Team provided, police were quick to obtain a search warrant and visit the user’s residence. The user claimed to have purchased the laptop online, and as was later revealed, used it to help gain employment under false identities. The laptop was recovered, and the user arrested and charged.

The original owner has been reunited with his laptop, and the unauthorized user has since left the country. The detective who worked alongside Absolute for the duration of this case has recently begun work on a new LoJack for Laptops recovery file.

Click here to learn more about the Absolute Theft Recovery Process.

Please note that the indictments and criminal complaints are merely unproven accusations and the accused in all cases are presumed innocent until proven guilty

Absolute Software is happy to announce that its popular consumer laptop security solution, LoJack for Laptops, will now be available to U.S. customers at Best Buy!

LoJack for Laptops will be available at all 1,010 Best Buy locations in the US as well as online at BestBuy.com. Best Buy is the largest specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the U.S. which will make it convenient for consumers to purchase the security suite when they are getting their new computer.

Best Buy will be carrying both the  Premium version of Computrace LoJack for Laptops. The Premium version of the software offers the following services:

• Tracks and recovers lost or stolen computers.
• Remotely deletes sensitive data.
• Comes with our Service Guarantee of up to $1000.*

As mentioned a few months ago, US customers can also find LoJack for Laptops at Costco.

Learn more about LoJack for Laptops

*See terms

Absolute Software has just revealed three behind-the-scenes laptop theft experiences by customers of LoJack for Laptops, its consumer laptop theft protection solution.

The three success stories include:

1. The Yom Kippur Burglaries: Jeffrey’s Laptop Theft Story – A laptop, among other possessions, was discovered stolen after a weekend away. Jeffrey was a victim of a string of break-ins over the holidays. Jeffrey’s laptop was recovered and 4 arrests made!
2. I Bought It From ‘Some Guy’: Niyonu’s Laptop Theft Story – LoJack helped trace a stolen computer to a computer repair store. Not only was the laptop recovered, but investigators now have more information in their burglary investigation.
3. Dorm Room Rip-Off: Stefanie’s Laptop Theft Story – This story tells of a computer stolen from a dorm at Delaware State University and transported to New Jersey. Three arrests were made and the laptop recovered.

Here’s a quote from Jeffrey Alexander, the customer whose theft is featured in the first story:

“After thieves broke into my home and made off with my laptop, I really never expected to see it again, let alone catch the criminals who had it. I wasn’t aware at the time, but as soon as I reported the theft to my local police and Absolute’s Theft Recovery Team, an amazing investigation began. Not even four full days after I reported the theft, Absolute’s technology had led police to the home of an alleged thief where my laptop was recovered – along with four other laptops, a large quantity of drugs and cash. Not only did I get my laptop back, the investigation also resulted in four arrests! I can’t really imagine a better result.”

Learn, in each case, how the Absolute Theft Recovery team was able to work with investigators to recover the stolen laptops. In each story, the Recovery Team provides some commentary on the case and how Absolute Software can help you in similar situations.

You can read the rest of the details of these stories from the press release on Yahoo. Then head over to learn more about how LoJack for Laptops can work for you.

Also, if you’re going to be in San Francisco for MacWorld or Las Vegas for CES, come stop by the Absolute booths!!

Meet Absolute at MacWorld Expo

Location: Moscone Center, San Francisco
Booth: 325
Dates: Tuesday – Friday, January 6 – 9, 2009
Time: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

Meet Absolute at CES

Location: Las Vegas Convention Center
Booth: 36808, South Hall
Dates: Thursday – Sunday, January