That’s the
promise behind a system called Stealth Signal, which is
now available in Britain from Podsystem, a company that
specialises in tracking vehicles, assets and people. It
has already been recognised in the UK by Fujitsu-Siemens,
which has adopted it as standard in its Connect2air mobility
package for laptops. Other original equipment manufacturers
of both laptop and desktop computers also showing keen interest.
The core
Stealth Signal product, XTool™ Computer Tracker, is designed
to address the fact that computers are highly vulnerable
to theft – especially laptops – and often contain not just
sensitive corporate information, but also indispensable
data that may not have been backed up. The full package
from Podsystem allows users not only to find stolen computers,
but also to delete sensitive information from them remotely
to ensure it does not fall into the wrong hands: and all
this for an annually monitored cost starting at just £49
for one computer.
Stealth Signal
is both a software product and a service. The software is
available as a modest Internet download, or can be installed
by computer suppliers as part of the "disk image" containing
the operating system and basic software. It supports all
major Windows versions since 98 including XP, and all Macintosh
OS versions including OSX.
Once installed,
the system reports regularly to a remote server over the
Internet, passing back information about the machine’s whereabouts,
its configuration and other details.
Users can
access this information routinely to monitor the computer’s
system setup and perform other management tasks, and can
get further use out of the system with two optional software
tools: Xtool™ Data Protector, which allows users to encrypt
files and conceal them on hidden "virtual drives"; and XTool™
Asset Manager, which allows them to keep track of their
computers and the software on them remotely.
If the computer
should be stolen, the theft recovery system swings into
action. The owner alerts the Podsystem control centre, which
then detects the location of the computer, alerts the local
police, and can if necessary help with recovery.
Stealth Signal
works by automatically contacting the control centre over
the Internet every time the computer is booted up and plugged
into a phone line or broadband Internet connection, or linked
to the Internet by GPRS-based mobile connection (ideal for
field workers). If the computer is left on constantly, the
software reports to the control centre automatically every
24 hours.
When it makes
contact, the system reports the IP (Internet Protocol) address
of the connection, and with this information the Podsystem
control centre can find out the physical address of the
user from the ISP (Internet service provider). Free dial-up
lines have been established in the UK and various other
countries. On dial-up Internet connections Stealth Signal
can also detect the user’s telephone number where caller
ID technology is available, helping to track down the location
and the identity of the thief.
Stealth Signal’s
great strength is that it works transparently, and is undetectable
even to thieves who are familiar with computers. Its program
files are disguised as innocuous system files, and there
is no evidence of its activity in use, even in standard
system tools such as Windows’ Task Manager. It dials the
Internet silently, using its own dial-up program, so it
is not affected by any new configurations set up by an illicit
user, and it gives the user no indication that a connection
has been made.
Equally impressive
is the fact that Stealth Signal can auto-detect many of
the most common proxy or firewall settings, so a stolen
computer can even report its location if it has already
been set up unsuspectingly by a legitimate new corporate
user. It can also bypass personal software firewalls such
as those of Zone Alarm, Norton and McAfee.
Whilst Stealth
Signal cannot prevent a hard disk being removed from a stolen
computer, it will continue to work when the original disk
is installed in a new computer, so it can still report on
the location of the thieves. Even if a new version of the
operating system is installed, the system can detect its
configuration automatically and keep on working.
The only
unauthorised way to remove Stealth Signal is by formatting
the hard disk, so the system includes advice on inhibiting
formatting through the computer’s BIOS (basic input-output
settings). If the original owner wants to delete the system,
this can be done over the web with the right password.
The optional
services have been added in order to give Stealth Signal
value as a management tool that is useful all the time,
rather than just when a computer is stolen.
Xtool™ Data
Protector allows users to create hidden "virtual" hard disks
and encrypt the data stored on them to 3DES (192-bit key)
and Blowfish (32-448-bit key) standard. Data Protector also
allows users to back up valuable data over the Internet
from anywhere in the world to a secure FTP (File Transport
Protocol) web site of their choice.
XTool™ Asset
Manager allows users to record, track and maintain the configuration
of their corporate computers remotely. Hardware items tracked
include, amongst other details, processor, hard disk space,
available memory, serial numbers and operating system. On
the software side, Asset Manager tracks version numbers,
modifications, path statements and similar information.
It can also provide up-to-the-minute web-based inventory
reporting and licence compliance tracking for local, mobile
and remote computers connecting across any network.
Asset Manager
can also monitor who in an organisation has which computer,
where it is located and when it is moved.
Stealth Signal
was developed in the United States by a Texas-based company
of the same name, and has already notched up a track record
of successful computer recoveries in the US and overseas.
On its US launch it received highly favourable reviews,
which found that its performance far exceeded that of previous
covert computer tracking systems, and that it genuinely
lived up to its claim of being virtually impossible to detect.
One described it as "the first signal and recovery service
I've seen that I would strongly recommend."
Podsystem,
which is the exclusive UK distributor and also handles the
tracking, is offering the system on an annual subscription
basis which works out at about £4 per unit per month. According
to managing director Charles Towers-Clark: "It’s a tiny
price to pay for the peace of mind of knowing your computers
don’t have to disappear forever if they’re stolen."
For information about running
a free trial or evaluation of Stealth Signal, please contact
Charles Towers-Clark on 01295 711001, or email ctc@podsystem.com.
Press Release [1][2]
IT Backbones - The IT Shield - IT Security:
[2]
IN BRIEF: A Podsystem covert tracking
system that can find missing or stolen goods even inside
buildings has helped industrial tool supplier Buck|Hickman
InOne to recover a power drill stolen from a warehouse within
hours (as well as solving numerous earlier cases), and has
also worked as a deterrent against further theft.
The incident is seen as a classic demonstration of the compact,
self-contained mtrack tracking device used by Podsystem,
which is not much bigger than a cigarette packet, and can
monitor assets unattended for several years if necessary.
It avoids reliance on GPS tracking, which can be unreliable
in buildings, and instead uses a novel combination of GSM
phone tracking and radio-frequency technology to provide
very precise location.
A
Podsystem covert tracking system attached to a Bosch power
drill has not only helped its owner, Buck|Hickman InOne,
to recover it within hours; it also guided police directly
to a thief who was found to have stolen 400 power tools
and similar products from other companies in recent months.
And it has had "a dramatic effect" in reducing theft for
the company.
Buck|Hickman
InOne’s facilities manager Colin Buckley explains: "An event
like this sends shock waves through the company which last
for months afterwards, deterring subsequent thefts."
He
says the system has proved much more effective in this respect
than alternative measures such as closed-circuit television.
"People inevitably see you installing CCTV, and get some
idea of where the cameras are. The mtrack tracking system
by contrast is small and hidden, and people don’t know which
products are being tracked."
Buck|Hickman
InOne, part of the Premier Farnell group, distributes Britain’s
widest range of industrial tools and supplies through a
nationwide network of branches, and had been experiencing
losses from its Coventry base. The company had already been
trialling the Podsystem product in another division, and
decided to apply it here.
mtrack,
the battery-powered device at the heart of the system, is
a self-contained tracking unit about the size of a cigarette
packet. It can be attached to or embedded in theft-prone
products or their packaging in a way that ensures it will
not be evident to a casual thief. Buck|Hickman InOne slipped
the device into the Bosch drill’s packaging, restored the
unit to the high-bay racking where it was stored, and awaited
events.
One
evening soon afterwards, the built-in motion detector in
the mtrack device transmitted an alert to the company, reporting
that it had been moved to a nearby town. Having checked
that the product had not been sold and removed legitimately,
the company invoked the second stage of the tracking process.
This involves calling out a mobile "finder" unit from the
mtrack tracking centre team, who can locate the mtrack device
with a high level of precision, homing in from an initial
800-metre radius to as little as one metre. Distance permitting,
under normal circumstances the centre aims to be in attendance
within three hours.
The
mtrack finder officer was quickly on the scene, and was
able to pinpoint the signal source to a private house. The
local police then arrived in force and found the missing
drill, plus a host of other goods that subsequently proved
to have been stolen. The thief was subsequently convicted
for the crime.
Podsystem’s
tracking device uses GSM mobile phone and RF technology
to provide the tracking information. The motion detector
triggers an alert message to the control centre, which notifies
the customer with an SMS text message, and the customer
can view the location via the internet.
Tracking
is done by cell-site location – the system that is becoming
popular in mobile phone-based tracking systems, which Podsystem
also provides. This uses information captured automatically
by the mobile network operators about the whereabouts of
all phones on their systems, which it gathers by tracking
the devices in relation to nearby transmission masts.
Because
it uses GSM technology, the mtrack device avoids most of
the drawbacks of GPS satellite-based tracking. It can be
incorporated in metal enclosures, it works indoors, it is
not susceptible to signal loss in "urban canyons", and it
requires no external antenna – all issues that can compromise
the effectiveness of GPS tracking.
The
device is fitted with a high-power lithium-ion battery with
a nominal life of four years, so it is genuinely a "fit
and forget" system. It can be set to send an alarm to the
user automatically whenever triggered by its inbuilt motion
detector, or to conserve battery life further, can be activated
remotely by the control centre in the event of theft.
"It’s
a really good system," says Buck|Hickman InOne’s Colin Buckley.
"Not only has it recovered our goods, it has also proved
a highly effective deterrent to further theft."
He
says it has already revealed other benefits, too. "We are
able to track vehicle movements over Web, and found one
trunk driver was making an unauthorised two-hour detour
on one of his regular trips, yet charging us for the overtime."
The mtrack tracking system is available
from Podsystem’s network of resellers on a range of terms.
Leasing a single unit can cost as little as £7 per week.
Further resellers are being sought, and are encouraged to
contact the company at sales@podsystem.com.
