Does an internal GPS device for tracking a laptop exist?
December 29, 2010 8:47 AM   Subscribe

What I'm looking to find out is if there is an internal GPS device which can go in an empty slot in my laptop in order to track it should it be stolen? I found some services here (some links work, some don't), but I think they all use WiFi as a way of tracking, which, correct me if I'm wrong, would be a problem for me in rural parts of Asia.

I'm not interested in an alarm like the one listed in my second link near the bottom. Thanks very much.
posted by gman to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)
 
Not a direct answer, but laptops have a lock port for attaching a cable lock. It's not a great lock, but will discourage some thieves.
posted by Mom at 8:58 AM on December 29, 2010


Best answer: If you're in rural Asia, you probably will have spotty cell phone service, which means even if you receive a GPS signal your only option for sending your location to anyone is wi-fi.

Something like Prey would let you track the laptop should someone be dumb enough to open it and attach to a wi-fi router, but it's not going to be completely reliable -- still, it doesn't hurt. I'd combine that with basic physical security (locks, safes, keeping it out of sight) and doing lots of backups to a USB stick you stash away on your person.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:27 AM on December 29, 2010 [1 favorite]


All the add-on laptop GPS receivers I know of require an antenna sticking out the laptop. The thief can simply unplug the GPS.

You can get laptops with built in GPS receivers, where the antenna is built into the laptop, but that gets built in at the time of production; I've never heard of an internal receiver that can be fitted later.
posted by Mike1024 at 9:56 AM on December 29, 2010


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