Wi-Fi geolocation made easier
Absolute Software Corporation, a provider of firmware-based computer theft recovery, announced on Monday that it has added Wi-Fi geolocation tracking to its Computrace line of mobile computer antitheft products.
The software is compatible with Google Maps
(Credit: Absolute Software )If you were planning to take that work laptop of yours to some undisclosed location thinking your employer would be none the wiser, think again.
Absolute Software Corporation, a provider of firmware-based computer theft recovery, announced on Monday that it has added Wi-Fi geolocation tracking to its Computrace line of mobile computer antitheft products. Users can now track their computing devices on a Google map using either GPS or Wi-Fi triangulation location information sent from the laptop.
John Livingston, Chairman and CEO of Absolute Software, said: "The addition of Wi-Fi tracking enables organizations to track their Wi-Fi enabled computing assets, such as desktops, laptops, and Netbooks, on a single worldwide map. When used effectively, this intuitive tool can help them mitigate losses by enabling simple and timely identification of when an asset may have moved to unauthorized locations."
The way it works is the Computrace component that powers the tracking feature is embedded into computers at the factory during manufacturing via firmware. It can then be activated by users if they purchase a subscription with terms ranging from one to four years.
Then if the laptop is stolen, the software sends a silent signal over the Internet to the Absolute Monitoring Center, which lets Absolute mine the computer using key captures, registry scanning, file scanning, geolocation, and other techniques to determine who has the computer, how it's being used and where it is.
For a list of computers that support the firmware, check here. Also, each computer must be fitted with a supported GPS receiver. Check here for a complete list of receivers.
