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LocatePC: Free Theft Recovery Software For Your PC

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Nighted:
LocatePC is free software, and runs unobtrusively on your computer, with no icons, popups or saved emails. If your computer is stolen then the thief will not even know that LocatePC is running, and as soon as they connect to the internet a secret email is sent to you containing the details that you need to track your hardware.
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Freeware from Iconico, who make some really awesome screen measurement tools.

Example emailSpoilerMessage sent: 7/19/06 11:43:06 (universal time: 7/19/06 19:43:06)
Computer's host name: John_Desktop
Logged in Windows account name: John

Found 2 network connection(s) on this computer (this list may be incomplete):
   1 Name: MyISP Type: Dialup modem Phone number: (555) 555-4321 User name: JSmith
   2 Name: BigCo Type: PPPoE Service name: MySvc User name: (empty)

Computer's web IP address reported by ip.locatepc.com: 216.239.142.3
   To learn more about this IP address, use the IP tests at www.dnsstuff.com.

Computer's local IP address(es):
   Adapter 1: 101.151.8.92

Computer's MAC address(es):
   Adapter 1 (ZX-11 Ethernet): 00-21-54-17-64-26

Trace route to www.locatepc.com:
Hop Name/IP Addr
   1 Router [101.151.2.1]
   2 101.151.8.92
   3 cust-quik.pdx.or.uspops.net [216.239.161.82]
   4 fe1-1-300.gw0.pdx.or.uspops.net [216.239.161.81]
   5 206-169-234-45.gen.twtelecom.net [206.169.234.45]
   6 core-02-ge-3-1-0-508.ptld.twtelecom.net [66.192.248.108]

Identifying information (owner name/address, computer model/serial number):
This computer is the property of:
John Smith
123 Elm Street
Anyville, NY 12345

Computer brand: ABC
Computer model: Megazoom 10000

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IF YOU RECEIVED THIS MESSAGE AFTER YOUR COMPUTER WAS STOLEN:
Show this message to law enforcement authorities. They may be able to use it to identify the ISP, and the ISP can probably find out which account was using the computer when the email was sent. This may lead to the identification of the perpetrator(s) and the recovery of your computer.

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This message was automatically created and sent by LocatePC v1.4.5
LocatePC web site: http://www.iconico.com/locatePC

justice:
Great for college laptops I reckon. Thanks for the find.

Of course as always if the thief is smart enough they will just format it before connecting to the internet. However in most caes and in case of accidental losing work computers this could come in very handy.

steeladept:
Great for college laptops I reckon. Thanks for the find.

Of course as always if the thief is smart enough they will just format it before connecting to the internet. However in most caes and in case of accidental losing work computers this could come in very handy.
-justice (June 20, 2007, 03:44 AM)
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That is why I think some kind of MAC address tracker would be a better result...You upload your MAC address to a database and then if your laptop gets stolen, you send out a query looking for the address...

Tekzel:

That is why I think some kind of MAC address tracker would be a better result...You upload your MAC address to a database and then if your laptop gets stolen, you send out a query looking for the address...
-steeladept (June 20, 2007, 09:15 PM)
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I don't see how that would work, since the mac address isn't used past the local subnet.  Even if the software intercepted each outbound foreign packet and inserted it in there somewhere it wouldn't be any more identifying than the IP address.

steeladept:
I don't see how that would work, since the mac address isn't used past the local subnet.  Even if the software intercepted each outbound foreign packet and inserted it in there somewhere it wouldn't be any more identifying than the IP address.
-Tekzel (June 21, 2007, 09:45 AM)
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What do you mean?  Are you certain that it is not used outside the subnet?  The IP address is just a packet that makes it easier to route from my understanding.  In fact, if IPv6 is used (not that it will be soon, but theoretically speaking), the MAC address (well part of it at least) is a part of the IP address.  Besides, with DHCP so common now days the IP address may get you to the city, but that is about as far as you can get reliably.  The MAC address, however, will get you to the NIC.  The only way to get around that is to clone a MAC, and it still becomes pretty site specific.

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