PC tracking to net thieves By Miranda Wood, Sun Herald Education Reporter August 25 2002 The Sun-Herald An innovative computer tracking system will be trialled at NSW public schools in an effort to reduce the number of machines stolen. The Education Department will test the ground-breaking software package at high-risk schools in Sydney and regional areas. PC PhoneHome software, developed in the US, finds missing computers through the internet. Every time a user logs on to the internet from anywhere in the world, a central monitoring system can identify it as a missing computer and log the unique internet protocol (IP) address being used, allowing police to trace the machine via the phone line being used and retrieve it. The new technology, known as "stealth" software, will be installed on about 100 school computers. The monitoring system will be based at the department's Security Unit at Blacktown, in Sydney's west. This comes as the department begins to roll 11,250 new machines out to schools across the State. The software company's Australian spokesman, Terry Quinn, said other NSW Government departments, universities and private schools were evaluating the product. "It is a deterrent to thieves," he said. About 8,000 computers have been stolen from NSW public schools in the past six years, costing taxpayers $15.8 million. Mr Quinn said the software worked by sending a burst of information to the monitoring base when a computer was connected to the internet. The information could then be passed on to police. Mr Quinn said the software can't be detected by thieves. "When you go into the computer, you can't see it," he said. "It also resists most reformatting, so when thieves clean the computer up it's still there." Mr Quinn said schools in New York tested the software this year and, of 40 computers stolen, all were retrieved. Apart from the software, the State Government is to use locks to secure computers to desks. Opposition education spokeswoman Patricia Forsythe said the software was not the solution. "It would be fine if the thieves always took whole computers," she said, "but some of the loss in schools includes parts going missing." Ms Forsythe said the Government should have introduced new security devices for computers sooner. "The best approach is the preventative approach," she said. A spokeswoman for NSW Education Minister John Watkins said he could not comment on new security measures. PC PhoneHome is available to individual users and costs $99, which includes three years' monitoring. END Something similar's just come in for cell phones. http://smh.com.au/articles/2002/08/24/1030052993538.html