ACM TechNews

Free Laptop-Tracking System Hits the Streets

Linux Insider (07/14/08) San Miguel, Renay

A new open-source service has been launched that allows consumers and businesses to track lost or stolen laptop computers. Unlike existing commercial products, Adeona, named after the Roman deity of safe returns, does not require users to provide any personal data. When Adeona is installed on a laptop, encrypted connections are established to the open source OpenDHT storage servers on the Web. Tracking a laptop to its last-known Internet protocol (IP) addresses and Internet nodes that were used to connect to the computer involves another download and a password. Outside companies or law enforcement agencies will not see the information about the laptop. "We think that one of the cool contributions of this type of research is not only can you develop a system that successfully tracks your laptop, but it can do so with privacy mechanisms in place," says Thomas Ristenpart, a graduate student from the University of California, San Diego. Adeona, which is available for free, is a year-long project involving researchers from UCSD and the University of Washington.

http://www.linuxinsider.com/rsstory/63795.html

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