A theft recovery service for laptops from Absolute Software Corporation, Vancouver, BC, Canada (www.absolute.com) that is made up of an application and annual subscription. After installation of the software, it is launched at startup, but remains hidden. When the user is online, it logs on to the LoJack server and identifies itself. If the computer is stolen and Absolute Software is notified, whenever it goes online, the LoJack server can identify the Internet address it is coming from. In order to pinpoint the thief, the ISP or enterprise generally has to be contacted by the police.

An extra level of protection is provided if the BIOS firmware in the PC supports LoJack. Included in many laptops from Dell, HP, Toshiba and others, the BIOS installation allows LoJack to work even if the hard drive is reformatted. In addition, an option that lets the original user delete data on the hard drive is available.

The Original LoJack
The LoJack concept comes from the theft recovery system for personal and commercial vehicles from LoJack, Westwood, MA (www.lojack.com). Named like an opposite word to "hijack," a transmitter is installed in a secret location in the vehicle that is assigned to the vehicle identification number (VIN). When reported stolen, law enforcement vehicles and aircraft with LoJack tracking computers in more than half the states in the U.S. and around the world can activate the unit and detect its signals within a range of up to 20 miles on the ground and 120 miles from the air.