GadgetTrak has relaunched as a paid subscription service that gives users the ability to track down stolen gadgets using social-engineering software installed on the gadget’s memory. The service, which I posted about last month, involves installing a piece of software on the device’s memory that, when plugged in and accessed, secretly reports the location, IP address, computer name and user host name — among other info — to a central server. It is up to the user, however, to provide the information to law enforcement to recover the device.
The fee for the service is $1 a month, which covers protection for five devices. Besides MP3 players and USB thumb drives, several cells phones like the Samsung Blackjack and Motorola Razer V3i, along with digital cameras and the Sony PSP are supported.
The site also offers sticker labels for those who are honest enough to go online and report the items as missing. I wonder what the odds of that are.
Unfortunately, the service still only is supported for thieves who use Windows-based machines. But on the plus side, the software can now bypass most firewalls.
As a whole, the service sounds promising. However, until it offers a more fool-proof method of tracking down thieves and devices — and OS X support — I’m going to pass.