Tracking Down Your Laptop with No-IP

Shawn Powers demonstrates how dynamic DNS services like no-ip.com can be used to find your computer if it goes missing.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• linux
• dns
• techtips
• linuxjournal

[madhi19]

Humm That would only work if the "thief" did not format everything and install his own OS. The first thing I would do to protect a laptop is to password protect the bios to stop anybody else from booting a live cd or usb!

[arnolddisco]

set boot device to HDD, and set a bios password

[abhepali]

this is sad but No-one can stop a thief

[axel1973w]

yep. of course this is no 100% "lockdown" for a notebook. any advanced computer user can crack and clean a PC even the Disk are encrypted and all. BUT of course you would be interested into not to have your personal or business data on the streets or on the internet. so adding more hurdles will not bring back your notebook, but makes life harder for the thief/dealer :)

[madhi19]

I agree even an encrypted drive will not protect much you could pop the drive out mount it on an external enclosure format and install your own OS on it pop the drive back in and that will fool the Bios into booting up your OS.

With OS access you could flash the Bios and reinstall it to remove the Bios password. If you know where to find the right tools I guess using a stolen laptop even one that has been locked down is not that hard. Kind of scary is in it?

[penguinistas]

Just in case some neanderthal overwrites Ubuntu with (achhh) Window$, wouldn't it be great if providers would agree to track your MAC address which is unique to each NIC card regardless of the OS.

[trunkboy]

I actually open the video with that advice.  :)

[axel1973w]

indeed. this thingy here is DDNS (dynamic dns). not realy thief tracking . i agree to madhi19, i also think it would be better to protect your notebook so it becomes nearly unusable for a thief AND even more important, encrypt your whole disk, so NOTHING will run until the correct pw. of course, it will not prevent him to replace the HD and reinstall. however these number tactics makes it inconvenient for the thief.

[frvfilms]

make a tutorial of how to connect to the net through the cell phone

[frvfilms]

assuming they aren't haxors and know how to remove it