Protecting Laptops

A free software program is available to PSU students, staff and faculty to download onto laptops that will help in the case of a computer being stolen or lost.

FrontDoorSoftware is a program offered by the Oregon Institute of Technology and the Campus Public Safety Office that increases the odds of recovery for stolen or lost laptops. FBI statistics state that once a laptop is gone, there is a 3 percent chance of recovery. Chances of recovery can be increased by up to 80 percent through FrontDoorSoftware.

This software allows students, faculty, and staff to register for laptop security that can be accessed anywhere, even on vacation. FrontDoorSoftware protects computers in up to 100 countries and universities and is used to protect information on the computers in the U.S. Army and Navy.

This software is available to download online at www.frontdoorsoftware.com/pdx.htm. Once registered, students are guaranteed this security program free for the entirety of their education at PSU.

“CPSO is aware that a large number of thefts are of items under $5,000. [Office of Information Technology] liked the option of having the program for students and agreed to cover it for up to $10,000,” said CPSO Director Michael Soto.

He believes that there should be no limit on the protection of student or faculty property on campus.

With the power of GPS, cell tower triangulation, and Wi-Fi positioning, this software is capable of tracking down a laptop’s location and of recovering it as soon as it’s turned on. FrontDoorSoftware works through Google Maps to find the exact location of a stolen computer.

Through this program, one also has the ability to customize the security options by creating a screen message and a lockdown code that would appear after a laptop is stolen. The program turns the monitor into an ownership tag, allowing no other users to operate it.

Nearly 12,000 laptops are lost in airports every week, and 200 in taxicabs, according to Dell Inc. and the Ponomon Institute report on frontdoorsoftware.com. The recovery process can not only help in the retrieval of stolen laptops, but lost ones as well.

“We are also hoping to have a program to protect not only individual equipment but departmental equipment,” Soto said.