# Laptop Lojackesque Security Programs **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 4, 2001, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-lojackesque-security-programs/85400 "2001-10-04T16:54:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2001, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-lojackesque-security-programs/85400/1 "2001-10-04T16:54:30Z")
Are they worth it? I have a new laptop, and though I’ll stand by it whenever I am in a completely public setting, here at school there will inevitably be times when I have to leave it at a desk in search of a book. This justifiably terrifies me. Though there is limited security at the entrance, and though ‘everyone else does it’ it is still at risk. I just installed ZeaSoft’s [Homing Pigeon](http://www.zeasoft.com/products/hpgnLE.htm) which will requires a $25.00 registration fee at the end of the 30-day trial. It loads quasi-invisibly at startup (I can see it under msconfig though) and promises to passively e-mail a selected account every time it detects a TCP/IP connection. The email it sends contains IP and traceroute information that in theory, could help me (or the police) locate the machine. It claims to be able to survive a typical reformat of my hard drive, and work through a firewall. Of course, nothing is perfect, but it seems to be able to survive a run of the mill (as opposed to professional) theft. Are these programs worth it? Has anyone heard or know of real success stories? How does Homing Pigeon compare to other similar programs? $25.00 is really nothing compared to the piece of mind I would get. But if it is superfluous software that wouldn’t really do me much good in the first place, I’d rather buy beer. Thanks, Rhythmdvl ---
**Author:** ![breaknrun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbce88/32.png) [@breaknrun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/breaknrun)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2001, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-lojackesque-security-programs/85400/2 "2001-10-04T18:01:28Z")
Well considering that I would completely wipe out your disk and reload my preferred OS were I to steal your laptop, I don’t see much value in it. ---
**Author:** ![breaknrun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbce88/32.png) [@breaknrun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/breaknrun)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2001, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-lojackesque-security-programs/85400/3 "2001-10-04T20:21:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rhythmdvl \* > \*\* > It claims to be able to survive a typical reformat of my hard drive, and work through a firewall. Of course, nothing is perfect, but it seems to be able to survive a run of the mill (as opposed to professional) theft. > \*\* OK I obviously missed this the first time. I don’t see how it could survive a reformat though. Does the test version have this capability? If so, I’ll be happy to test it on my laptop and give you a better review. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-lojackesque-security-programs/85400/4 "2001-10-05T01:13:31Z")
It seems that there are two ways Homing Pigeon tries to prevent being removed by a thief. They are clear in their descriptions and whatnot that it is not a perfect method, but seems to be a good measure that would work if the thief was not a professional and not on the lookout for such methods. From their [FAQ](http://www.zeasoft.com/FAQ/HPGNFAQ.htm) page: > [@](#): > > Tier #1: ZeaSoft’s proprietary HDRS (Hard Disk Reformat Suppression) technology. > With HDRS, Homing Pigeon[sup]™ [/sup]can set your PC so that: > [ul] > [li]Only you, while logged into your Windows ID, can format the c: hard drive.[/li][li]No new Windows IDs created on the machine can format the c: hard drive.[/li][li]Password Control Panel access is blocked except to you.[/li][li]The machine cannot be booted from the floppy drive.[/li][li]The Windows boot process cannot be interrupted from the keyboard.[/li][li]Only you, while logged into your Windows ID, can open DOS windows or can have the machine boot in DOS Only mode.[/li][li]DOS Format command is disabled.[/li][/ul] This seems pretty dramatic. I don’t know if I’d want to give up the ability to boot to a disk or boot up in safe mode. The other method is much more basic, though I wonder how much RAM it would take up. The machine has 256 on it now, so it probably wouldn’t be too much of an issue. The second method is: > [@](#): > > Making a program like Homing Pigeon[sup]™[/sup] so it is capable of surviving a hard drive reformat is pretty easy, the technique having been around for decades…and exploited in PC’s since the earliest viruses in Apples and IBM PC’s. All you do is keep the program, and any support files & settings, resident in the computer’s memory. If the program (or virus) sees the hard drive has been reformatted it simply rewrites the proper files and settings. In the case of viruses, the bootstrap was usually rewritten as well. The second tier seems much weaker and easier to spot if someone is on the lookout. But again, if someone is savvy enough to check for it before using the laptop, not much would help out. It seems to be designed for the case where a thief sells it to a third party- the thief doesn’t need to do much cleaning in the first place, and the third party wouldn’t be on the lookout. I’ve logged in and out a few times today, and every time I did it I received an email shortly afterwards. Thanks for any help/ opinions. Rhythmdvl