Michael Jay Lissnerhttps://michaeljaylissner.com/2009-07-25T22:39:35-07:00Making Prey of Computer Thieves2009-07-25T22:39:35-07:00Mike Lissnertag:michaeljaylissner.com,2009-07-25:posts/2009/07/25/making-prey-of-computer-thieves/<p>Laptops get stolen. It sucks, but we know it happens from time to time.
Recently, I’ve been checking out programs that can help to catch the
thieves (and dabbling in writing my own).</p>
<p>One program that I found, called <a href="http://preyproject.com">Prey</a>, helps to do just this. Once
installed, every few minutes it will check a website to see if a page
exists. If that page exists, it will collect a bunch of information about
the computer, and send that (using <span class="caps">SMTP</span> of your choice) to an email address
of your choice.</p>
<p>So, for example, if I set up a web page at http://michaeljaylissner
.com/laptop-stolen, in a few minutes, Prey will see that page,
and will collect the following information:</p>
<ul>
<li>The <span class="caps">IP</span> address where my computer is connected (this is almost as good as
the thief’s physical address)</li>
<li>The name of the wireless network my computer is connected to, and a list of
the others in the area</li>
<li>The <span class="caps">MAC</span> address of the wireless router my computer is connected to</li>
<li>How long my computer has been on (uptime)</li>
<li>Any files that have been modified in the last X minutes</li>
<li>Any programs that are currently running</li>
<li>Any open connections to websites or online services</li>
<li>A picture of the thief, if you have a webcam enabled</li>
<li>And best of all, a screenshot at the time of the report</li>
</ul>
<p>Once I get the email with all this information, it’s just a matter of taking
it to the police, and convincing them to take action on it. </p>
<p>Of course, all of this could be useless if the thief decides to immediately
wipe the data on the computer, but it’s a good safeguard that can weed out
the dumb thieves at least.</p>