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One of the most popular items for thieves today is the mobile computer. The value of the hardware itself is already enough to attract a common thief but there is also personal information stored on the computer that often represents a significantly higher value. When your computer is stolen, your personal information is stolen with it. Laptop thieves are primarily opportunists, interested more in the quick money they can score by selling your computer hardware, rather than the personal information found on it. Recently however, experts are becoming more concerned with the new trend in computer theft where computers are targeted specifically for the data stored on them. This information is commonly used for committing crimes involving identity theft and fraud. Lost data can cost you or your company millions of dollars in legal expenses, loss of business and reputation. Regardless of the motives for theft, no one today is immune from computer theft. An average business can loose up to 5% of its mobile inventory due to theft and often it is with the involvement of an insider. Top law enforcement agencies are not even immune. The FBI reportedly experiences three to four laptop thefts a month. According to the Ponemon Institute, from 2005 to 2006 there was an 81% increase in the number of companies reporting stolen laptops containing sensitive information. As the world is getting becomes increasingly mobile, these numbers are likely to grow.
It is also important to keep in mind that law enforcement, the people who actually search and recover stolen computers, have different requirements and expectations from location tracking technology then most of us consumers do. It is much more important for them to secure court-credible evidence to obtain subpoenas for summoning witnesses, or to get important technical data rather than the approximate geographical location of computer on a map. There will be no SWAT team jumping on the thief from a helicopter to rescue your laptop. More important to them is precise and detailed information such as, serial numbers of computer and network devices, user activity and tracking records, network data, modem /cell phone serial and telephone numbers, cell and Wi-Fi IDs, network IPs, and if available, actual pictures of the thief or any other personal information that can be remotely identified and collected. It is also very important that this information is acquired through a reliable, trustworthy source. With these records police can not only quickly obtain search warrants but they can secure the precise location of a computer to make the arrest and recover the stolen property. Usually with a tracking system installed on a stolen computer these crimes are solved within 48 to 72 hours.
So what can be done to stop computer theft? What technology is available to track a lost or stolen laptop? Can a computer be tracked to find its location after it is lost or stolen? Can it be found and returned? These are the questions we usually ask. And the answer is yes. There are a number of technologies available. Each has its cons and pros depending on the application, circumstances, and how it is used. Ideally, the best results can be reached by combining the strong points of each technology into a single powerful location tracking solution.
True Security™ Laptop Location Tracking solution combines the most advanced location tracking technologies available today. Our tracking system is designed to provide the complete, accurate, and reliable information that law enforcement needs in order to do their work as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Only law enforcement has access to the accurate network and network based positioning information, whether it is Wi-Fi, GSM, or IP. Don't be mislead by other products that are designed to impress the user with elusive location tracking and colorful images of a lost computer on a Google map. These products may show a computer location correctly but this information is still not accurate enough for the law enforcement and serves no practical purpose in the recovery of stolen assets. Only network providers have reliable information about their networks and only law enforcement has access to that information.
True Security™ Laptop Location Tracking provides the following technologies to trace your computer anywhere in the world and effectively recover it if it is lost or stolen:
IP Location Tracking
Every device connected to the public Internet is assigned a unique number known as an Internet Protocol (IP) address. An external IP address can often be used to identify the Internet Service Provider (ISP), his region or country and registered address. An internal IP address can then be used to locate the actual address of the access point that computer is using to access the Internet. This information can be provided by ISP.
Wi-Fi Location Tracking
Wi-Fi location tracking works by obtaining the unique electronic serial number (BSSID) of the Wi-Fi router and comparing it to the database of known Wi-Fi locations. Using signals from several Wi-Fi transmitters with known locations and strength of signal, a more precise location can be calculated. However, geophysical conditions, signal obstruction level, and lack of up-to-date WI-FI database may produce significantly incorrect or no results at all. The common claims of high precision usually assume the perfect conditions, which is almost always not the case. It is a better location tracking technique to use dense, heavily populated areas with many public Wi-Fis such as the downtown area of a large city.
GPS Location Tracking
GPS tracking devices use the Global Positioning System to keep tabs on the precise location of an object. To track your laptop you need a GPS receiver. Some devices are portable, while others can be built into your computer hardware. GPS works practically anywhere in the world and gives you good tracking precision. However, it doesn't perform well indoors or in heavily built urban areas. GPS accuracy is a complex topic involving a variety of technical factors. All civilian GPS receivers (C/A code) are purposely downgraded to reduce accuracy. Horizontal coordinates of a C/A GPS receiver usually will be within 100 meters of truth 95 percent of the time, which is still better then other location tracking technologies.
GSM Location Tracking
GSM - Global System for Mobile Communications is built from single mobile network cells that overlap to cover large territories. The area of coverage can vary depending on the provider. GSM tracking uses information from the cell tower where the device (SIM card) is currently logged. Knowing the geographical location of the cell or overlapping cells, the network provider can calculate the device location with a great degree of accuracy. GSM is generally network based contrary to GPS tracking, which is device based. The device based GSM tracking is also available but it is much less accurate. The precision of the device-based GSM tracking depends on the size of the network cell and accuracy of the cell location database and can vary by miles. Network based GSM is much more effective in stolen asset recovery. Only a GSM service provider has accurate and reliable information about their cell (antenna) locations. And only they can calculate device location with a good degree of accuracy (less then 100 meters). This is why reliable information about the service provider, SIM number (telephone number), device-unique serial number, current cell and local area code is much more important for law enforcement involved in the asset recovery then approximate location of the device on a Google map.
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