SyNET nTracker You Are Here — Or Are You? Joseph Moran
You Are Here — Or Are You?
Upon opening the attachment you're prompted to enter the user credentials provided to the nTracker software when it was initially installed, and after doing so you can then view the information contained therein.
It consists of your own contact information, some information about your computer, and, likely to be of the most value, your computer's local and public IP addresses. When I traveled to my criminal lair with my notebook (which of course uses a different Internet connection), I promptly received another e-mail with the new IP addresses. The global address is really the useful tidbit here, and a link is provided to look up the latter address via an ARIN (American Registry for Internet Numbers) WHIOS query.
But here's the rub: the information you get may be of dubious value. For example, although I am located in Florida, my computer's IP address came back to the ISP's home address in Herndon, VA. It's not nTracker's fault, but there's no information in the IP lookup that will allow you to pinpoint where the computer actually is geographically, and while you could probably eventually glean that information by calling the ISP, SyNet recommends that you leave that to the police.
Also, once a notebook turns up at a new e-mail address and a tracking e-mail is sent, you won't receive additional e-mails if that IP address doesn't change. This more or less leaves you in the dark after the initial notification, not sure whether the notebook is even being used anymore. It would be better to have periodic e-mails sent even if the address remains unchanged.
Moreover, even after a week of using my "stolen" notebook at the new address, I was only challenged with a password and prevented from using the system after several more days had passed. Presumably this is because I did not reboot my machine the requisite five times during the first week. I typically put my notebook into standby or hibernate mode, as is the case with many notebook users. This means that theoretically, the lockout mechanism may never be triggered — or it may only kick in after a thief has had plenty of time to access your information.
Competing Laptop Anti-Theft Solutions
SyNet takes a different tack to notebook security than some other products. Take for example zTrace, which similarly tracks your computer but then does all the legwork with the local constabulary for you in the unfortunate event your hardware gets filched. On the other hand, zTrace is a subscription service that starts at $50 for the first year, and file encryption capabilities are available, but only at an additional cost.
In contrast, SyNet maintains a server to forward the information from the tracked computer to the user's e-mail address, but it doesn't centrally maintain any of your personal information, which may be good or bad depending on your views on privacy. SyNet also doesn't interface with law enforcement on your behalf in the event of a theft.
You can think of nTracker as the Home Depot option of notebook security — if you're willing to do the work yourself, it's cheaper than hiring someone. $49.95 doesn't seem like much to pay to at least have some recourse if your machine gets swiped, but the information nTracker provides may or may not be useful in locating your computer.
Given our experience with nTracker, while it might ultimately be of some use in helping to track a computer's whereabouts, we honestly don't expect it will substantially increase the odds of recovering your stolen computer.
As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In the case of nTracker, an ounce of prevention may be worth a lot more than the cure.
Pros: Relatively inexpensive, no ongoing subscription required
Cons: Confusing documentation, questionable operation, questionable value to user, no company assistance after theft
