[ale] lojack for laptops?

[Michael H. Warfield]

On Mon, 2009-06-15 at 18:34 -0400, Bob Toxen wrote:
> On Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 02:52:24PM -0500, Preston Boyington wrote:
> > Geoffrey wrote:
> > > Anyone use any software like this?  I'm considering it for my daughter's 
> > > macbook as she heads off to Tech in the fall.
> > > 
> > > Suggestions, recommendations?
> > > 
> > > Anyone know of anything like this for Linux??
> > > 

> > I would love a hardware solution.  That way the thief wouldn't need to
> > power on the unit for the locator to work.
> Uh, is that like the Pointy Hair Boss saying that he wanted the unit
> to have a light that comes on when the battery is dead?  Yes there was
> Dilbert about this.  Sorry I couldn't resist.

> Seriously, this would be a device physically attached to this but not
> electrically connected -- since all such PCMCIA cards and such don't
> have power unless the laptop is running.  Hence, it's not really laptop
> related as you could just as easily attach it to your pen (if it were
> small enough).

	Actually, that's not totally true.  PCI includes a backup power buss (B
Bus or something like that, I don't recall the exact nominclature) for
things like "wake on lan".  If you didn't have that, wake-on-lan
wouldn't work.  Certain very low level functions and powered and
operational even if you only have power to the device and don't have it
powered up.


	The really scary extension to that is the Intel ATM  / vPro technology.

	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Active_Management_Technology

"Almost all AMT features are available even if PC power is off, the OS
is crashed, the software agent is missing, or hardware (such as a hard
drive or memory) has failed."

Intel AMT supports these management tasks:

      * Remotely power up, power down, power cycle, and power reset the
        computer.[1]
      * Remote boot the PC by remotely redirecting the PC’s boot
        process, causing it to boot from a different image, such as a
        network share, bootable CD-ROM or DVD, remediation drive, or
        other boot device.[1][7] This feature supports remote booting a
        PC that has a corrupted or missing OS.
      * Remotely redirect the system’s I/O via console redirection
        through serial over LAN (SOL).[1] This feature supports remote
        troubleshooting, remote repair, software upgrades, and similar
        processes.
      * Access and change BIOS settings remotely.[1] This feature is
        available even if PC power is off, the OS is down, or hardware
        has failed. This feature is designed to allow remote updates and
        corrections of configuration settings. This feature supports
        full BIOS updates, not just changes to specific settings.
      * 
> > Early possibilities for this seem to be a company called S5 Wireless
> > (http://www.s5w.com/):
> > 
> > http://www.gadgetvenue.com/s5-gps-like-tracking-device-is-tiny-12174830/
> 
> Bob Toxen
> bob at verysecurelinux.com               [Please use for email to me]
> http://www.verysecurelinux.com        [Network&Linux security consulting]
> http://www.realworldlinuxsecurity.com [My book:"Real World Linux Security 2/e"]
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> Quality Linux & UNIX security and SysAdmin & software consulting since 1990.
> 
> "One disk to rule them all, One disk to find them. One disk to bring
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> -- The Silicon Valley Tarot Henrique Holschuh with ... by Bob
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-- 
Michael H. Warfield (AI4NB) | (770) 985-6132 |  mhw at WittsEnd.com
   /\/\|=mhw=|\/\/          | (678) 463-0932 |  http://www.wittsend.com/mhw/
   NIC whois: MHW9          | An optimist believes we live in the best of all
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