Tracking Laptop Thieves Safely

ACM TechNews reports on free laptop-tracking software developed by researchers at the University of Washington (UW) and the University of California, San Diego. The software is called Adeona and it transmits the location of a device back to a central server.

However, some experts worry that, without additional security measures, this type of tracking technology could inadvertently make users more vulnerable to spying.

"If you lose your laptop, a commercial service can tell you where it is right now," says Tadayoshi Kohno, an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Washington, in Seattle. "The issue, from a privacy perspective, is that this also means that someone who might break into or have access to the commercial service's database might be able to track you even before the laptop leaves your possession."

For details, see Technology Review.