Recently, reports of theft and crime have been increasing at Portland State, compared with the past few years. As a result, Campus Public Safety Office is working on ways to prevent minor crimes on campus—the majority of which are related to theft of laptop computers.
“The crime trend for laptop computers gets greater each term,” said CPSO Chief Michael Soto. “Professional thieves are waiting for the wide-eyed new student who isn’t quite comfortable in the environment to leave their computer in the library or study centers.”
In order to curb this issue, CPSO has teamed up with the Office of Information Technologies to implement laptop security software. It acts as a tracking device for students’ personal laptop computers.
“The usefulness of the program is that it’s a high-tech recovery tool,” Soto said.
This free program is valid for four years once the student registers with their ODIN account through PSU. In addition, it works for both Windows and Mac platforms.
If the laptop is reported lost, an ownership tag, much like a dog tag, will appear on the home display stating the owner’s information. According to Front Door Security Corp, the creator of the software, chances of recovering the laptop are increased by 80 percent. Students can also update their information from home, campus or wherever their location may be at the time.
If the laptop is reported stolen, an alert message can be sent to the computer stating that it has been reported. The student can also set up the laptop to “yell” for help, or just lock down completely.
In addition, an updated text message can be sent to the computer’s home screen. The owner can communicate with the thief, or post a “lost computer” message so others around can see.
The student has the option of using a tracking system, which uses several features to help determine where the laptop is over a period of time. The system uses Wi-Fi positioning as well as cell-tower locating to acquire clues. Once the system gets a handle on the location, a message is sent out to Front Door’s security center, which places the laptop’s location onto Google Maps. The student can check the updates frequently, as well as call in to local authorities with the laptop’s whereabouts.
“It’s just nice to have the security available if I ever need it,” said student Mallory Rice. “I would have liked to have had the software last year when I left my laptop, along with my 75-page thesis paper, on the MAX. It definitely would have saved me a lot of heartache.”
Students can visit www.frontdoorsoftware.com/pdx.htm to register their laptop with Front Door Security. ?