Re: Laptop

[Kevin Shalla <kshalla () UIC EDU>]

Computrace sounds like a very interesting product.  I'm curious about
how you get the machine back.  I can understand how Computrace would
be able to locate to some degree where a machine is (just based on
the IP address), but does it have a GPS or something else to actually
get a physical location?  Does the police then seize the computer
(and hopefully the criminal also)?

At 12:20 PM 6/12/2008, Sherry Callahan wrote:
> Safeboot (now called McAfee Endpoint Encryption) is also working on
> Mac encryption, with an availability timeframe of 1Q09.
>
> We've been rolling out Safeboot to staff and faculty laptops that
> were reported as being used to store or access sensitive information
> since early 2007. Very recently, we announced that we are going to
> expand the program to include all University-owned laptops (personal
> laptops are prohibited from use with sensitive info by policy.)  The
> only exception to the personal device rule is that we will be
> encrypting the student-owned tablets that they are required to
> purchase, as they will be using those during clinic rotations.  When
> all is said and done in September, we'll have 1300+ encrypted laptops.
>
> We also install Computrace on every laptop and have been very
> successful in working with them to recover stolen laptops.  As one
> previous poster mentioned, we've also worked with Absolute to
> recover another University's laptop that showed up on our
> network.  One thing to know is that having CompuTrace in the BIOS is
> what makes it persistent and able to survive a hard drive reformat,
> repartition, or drive replacement.  Only newer laptops and those
> listed by certain vendors are able to have it BIOS-resident.  That
> doesn't mean that you can't install it - just be aware that if the
> thief formats the drive and reinstalls Windows, CompuTrace won't be
> on there any more.
>
> Also, we ran into a problem with the interaction of Safeboot and
> CompuTrace on the same machine, particularly on Vista, because they
> are both playing in the master boot record.  The installation order
> is key - you need to install CompuTrace first, make sure it goes
> active in the BIOS, and then encrypt the laptop.
>
> If anyone is interested, our mobile device security page is at
> www2.kumc.edu/security/mobilesecurity and I'd be happy to answer any questions.