
List of laptops which come pre-installed with BIOS tracking agent - paulgerhardt
http://www.absolute.com/en/products/bios-compatibility.aspx
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What is the "Computrace Agent" for?

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pasbesoin
I was curious enough to have a quick look. It apparently is a tracking agent
that pings Computrace / Absolute Software (who subsequently purchased the
right to use "Lojack for Laptops") upon the establishment of internet
connectivity.

Apparently, a number of manufacturers agreed to carry the code in BIOS. On a
Windows PC, if you remove the disk based code, it gets restored from BIOS --
unless you jump through a few hoops to disable it that are probably beyond the
ability/motivation of the indiscriminate thief or burglar.

From what I saw, there's no BIOS component in the Mac version. In that
version, wipe it from the disk and it's gone.

Supposedly, you have to pay a subscription fee for the service. Some people
commenting online claim they find the service running (or, at least, listed as
"active" in their BIOS setups) without knowing what it is or how they got it.
There is a significant "WTF, don't track me!" component to these comments.

I was curious because I had a laptop stolen that appears to match the listing
of models having BIOS support. But, as I never knew about Computrace and never
paid them anything, I doubt that would be of any help -- unless they are
indeed tracking indiscriminately, and willing to pull my machine's records
regardless of my account status or lack thereof.

I do, more generally, have reservations about a tracking feature that probably
comes in BIOS regardless of whether one purchases it, and that -- per some
comments at least -- may be tracking regardless of my election of same. I
don't know whether to be concerned, or whether I've wandered into tin foil hat
territory.

BTW, Absolute Software is/was Vancouver, BC based, FWIW.

P.S. I forgot to add that it can also remotely initiate a hard drive wipe. And
if you pay a bit more (essentially insurance), they'll pay up to a grand if
they can't recover your machine. (Many people may be just as well off relying
on coverage they have under other insurance policies they already carry, I
would guess.)

