According to current FBI statistics, once every twelve seconds a laptop is stolen and once it is gone, there is only a three percent chance of recovery.  That is, of course, unless the laptop’s owner has installed the Retriever Computer Security Product onto the computer.  In that case, the chances of retrieving the missing computer increase to 95%. “By providing the Retriever security product, we can help offer peace of mind and reassurance that people’s laptops, information and identity are better protected,” said Carrie Hafeman, CEO of Front Door Software Corp.

The Retriever, from Front Door Software, “Locks Your Laptop’s Front Door” when a user reports his or her laptop lost or stolen. Users can visit http://www.frontdoorsoftware.com to download the Retriever program, and currently, the first 25,000 subscribers can download the program for free. Once an account is created, a virtual ownership label appears each time the computer is rebooted.  This label has up to eight fields of recovery information in which the owner can put his or her information, which can be changed at any time by the owner.

If the laptop is lost and found by an good samaritin, that person will be able to contact the laptop’s owner via the information provided on the virtual ownership label. If the laptop is stolen, the owner can then login to http://www.frontdoorsoftware.com, access their account and notify the program of the theft.  Then, owners have the option of sending a blast message saying “THIS COMPUTER IS REPORTED STOLEN,” which will appear on the ownership label. A lock down code can also be created to protect any information on the computer from being hacked into by the thief. For businesses and corporations, this is an especially handy feature since 57% of all corporate crimes are linked to stolen laptops.

The newest, and perhaps best, feature of the Retriever is the ability for the stolen laptop to be tracked by Google Maps. This additional download to the Retriever utilizes Google Maps to pinpoint and display the location of the laptop based off of its Internet activity.

Front Door Software boasts a 100% success rate, and claims that simply by downloading, customers increase their retrieval success rates by 95%, although exact numbers are unavailable. While the first Retriever download is free, the second will cost $19.95, and for purchases of 500 or more, prices are as low as $7.95.  And school districts and universities can purchase a site license for $10,000 a year to protect all of their PCs and laptops. 

Comments:

Another alternative is www.absolute.com’s Lojack for Laptops, which operates using an agent preinstalled in most laptops’ BIOS, so is undeletable. They have a tracking centre and remote data delete.

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