Like many others before him, Guy Louthian, of Columbia, South Carolina, learned that a laptop in a parked car makes a tempting target for thieves. He returned to his car to find that it had been broken into and his Dell laptop stolen.
Though he immediately filed a theft report with his local law enforcement agency, Guy said, “It was not until several hours later that I remembered I had subscribed to LoJack for Laptops.” He reported his laptop stolen and immediately received a reply informing him that the Absolute Theft Recovery Team was on the case.
“My laptop had been wiped clean, yet LoJack for Laptops was still intact and working,” Guy said. In fact, persistence is a key feature of LoJack for Laptops. If the software is maliciously removed from your hard drive, it can silently reinstall itself so that we can continue to track your computer.* For Guy, that made the difference.
Police tracked down Guy’s laptop and recovered it—in another state. “The investigator stated hands down that LoJack is the best recovery tool out there. It is pennies compared to the cost of replacing a laptop!”
I am very glad that i got Lojack for laptops.Additionally,i am happy with the recovery team as they show such dedication in helping owners to retrieve their laptops.
Greetings, i purchesed lojack for laptops with my new dell laptop, but I would like to know what to do if it does get stolen. I know i get a olice report but then how do i get in touch with you?
thanks
Brent
Hi Brett. Thanks for your question.
If you are a LoJack for Laptops customer with an active subscription and your computer has been stolen, you should complete the following steps:
1. Report the theft to local law enforcement as soon as possible.
2. Report the theft to us. Log in to your account (www.lojackforlaptops.com/login) and complete the Recover Computer information.
If you experience difficulty logging in to your account, you can contact us by phone to report the theft.
I have an account with lojack. Dell has had to replace my harddrive twice. I would like to know how to download lojack onto the new harddrive so I have my full protection.
I donot remember my acct information or password.
Thank you,
Michelle Rice
Michelle,
Thanks for being a LoJack for Laptops customer.
Please visit our LoJack for Laptops Support page where you can create a support case and our Consumer support reps will be happy to assist you in recovering your account information and password and answering all your questions.
http://www.absolute.com/en/support/consumer/contactus.aspx
Since Lo-Jack is so persistent and can’t really be uninstalled, I was wondering: supposed after a 4 year contract I mistakenly allowed my license to expire and my laptop was stolen. would it be possible to recover it? (For a fee, or I imagine reactivion of license would probably be necessary)…but could you get it back?
Donna,
We can only recover a laptop that has an active LoJack for Laptops subscription.
Once a license has expired, our software removes itself from the computer (persistence will prevent the software from being removed while the license is still active, but will not reinstall the software if it is expired).
Thanks
Kelly
I have forgotten my initial purchase date. Please send so that I may update my files.
I had a break-in and one of my Laptops was stolen on 10/2009. Since then I have purchased TWO laptops. Are they both covered or just one? What do I need to do to cover both of them?
HELP!!
Please visit our LoJack for Laptops Support page where you can create a support case and our Consumer support reps will be happy to assist you in determining if you have any subscription term remaining on your original LoJack for Laptops subscription and how to transfer that license to one of your new laptops.
http://www.absolute.com/en/support/consumer/contactus.aspx
Will this also work for Linux based notebooks ? Like running Novell’s SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop v11 ?
Ed,
Thanks for your question. At this time, LoJack for Laptops is compatible only with a Windows or Mac OS based systems.
Thanks
Kelly
Uuuuhhhh…Guys; having a “LoJack for laptops” notice pop-up at the bottom right of my computer screen; on my LoJack for Laptops” computer, every time the computer starts, and you have a new LoJack for Laptops” notice, kind of defeats the purpose of the “Concealed Program” doesn’t it?
Just checking, love Fred
Fred,
Great question. If your laptop is stolen, and you’ve reported the theft to us, the LoJack for Laptops Notifier icon will be hidden from view and will not appear on your desktop and no messages will be sent to you.
Let me know if you have any additional questions.
Kelly
yeah, the thieves will probably start messing with the laptop without connecting to the internet, so there is no way to get the pop up window to dissapear; so Fred’s concern stands
JV
I have a copy of LoJack on my computer but have a few questions.
Since LoJack doesn’t work with anything but Windows/Mac systems, what if the thief installs lets say, a Linux based operating system? Will LoJack still work? Or if the thief flashes the BIOS (which is where LoJack keeps replicating from apparently) and then wipes the hard drive? Will it still work in that scenario? Does the thief actually have to log-on to the computer (through the operating system) or will just booting the BIOS be enough for the program to work its magic? Or what about the simple act of removing the internal wireless card in the laptop? Will LoJack still be able to track down the culprit?
Side note: I love LoJack!
Jacob,
We are happy that you love LoJack! Let me try to answer your questions.
1. Since LoJack doesn’t work with anything but Windows/Mac systems, what if the thief installs lets say, a Linux based operating system? Will LoJack still work?
LoJack would not work in a Linux environment.
2. Or if the thief flashes the BIOS (which is where LoJack keeps replicating from apparently) and then wipes the hard drive? Will it still work in that scenario?
A BIOS flash shouldn’t affect anything, so if the computer is persistent, then it will reinstall after the HD is formatted. For a list of all computers that are manufactured with our agent embedded in the BIOS, visit http://www.absolute.com/en/partners/bios-compatibility.aspx
3. Does the thief actually have to log-on to the computer (through the operating system) or will just booting the BIOS be enough for the program to work its magic?
Our investigation relies on the usage of the computer, so the thief needs to log on to the computer.
4. Or what about the simple act of removing the internal wireless card in the laptop? Will LoJack still be able to track down the culprit?
If the laptop isn’t connecting to the internet, we won’t be able to get a connection from it (whether it is through the internal wireless card or a direct cable connection to a modem
You can find a answers to many other questions by visiting our global support site at http://www.absolute.com/en/support/consumer.aspx or reading our frequently asked document http://www.absolute.com/Shared/FAQs/L4L-FAQ-E.sflb.ashx
Thanks
Kelly
Kelly,
I’ve had lojack for years. I had a friend install it on her computer as well. It was recently stolen, and has been getting hits through Lojack. Becuase of the encription we had on that computer and the way it was stolen (smash and grab) I doubt the robber had the skills to crack the log-in codes. But I had wondered what would happen if they installed a new OS and wiped the drive. So is it true that even if they wipe the drive lojack still works? Is it resdeint someplace, if so that is a GREAT feature and makes me even more glad I have it.
Matt,
Thanks for being a customer. Persistence is a key feature of LoJack for Laptops. If the software is maliciously removed from your hard drive (for instance, an O/S swap or a wiped drive), it can silently reinstall itself.
For a listing of BIOS compatible computers, visit http://www.absolute.com/en/partners/bios-compatibility.aspx
Thanks
Kelly
I want to turn the notifier off now and not wait for it to get stolen. It is possible that a thief will turn on the computer before I get to report it so it is imperative that no notifications be seen. Without this ability it offers much less protection.
Brian,
The icon that you see is called the LoJack Notifier – a helpful tool which will allow you to perform tasks such as signing into your account, performing a Test Call or viewing your Last Call Date. Some things about the Notifier that I’d like to emphasize are:
- It is completely optional and is not needed for LoJack for Laptops to function
- It first silently makes a connection to our Monitoring Centre and does not become visible if the computer is flagged as stolen (meaning a thief will not be tipped off about LoJack for Laptops being on the computer)
- It can be removed from the ‘Uninstall a program’ list (this affects only the Notifier – not the actual LoJack for Laptops, which cannot be uninstalled unless done so from your account)
For more information about the Notifier, visit http://www.absolute.com/en/lojackforlaptops/offer/notifier.aspx.
Thanks
Kelly
i have lojack for my laptop. id like to know how it works. like most people i have a password to log onto the only user account on my computer. if my laptop were stolen would it send signals through any access point even though nobody logged on and manualy connected to one?
Hi, I was wondering how LoJack affects the performance of laptops?
Thanks,
Ed
I have a MacBook Pro and I am thinking to get the service, but I see that Persistence is not compatible for macs Is it true? The model I have is about a year old and is just one model before the last one they have.
[...] Another popular tracking agent is LoJack for laptops by Absolute Software. This option, although slightly more expensive, provides extra features. LoJack comes with a Theft Recovery Team that works with you and local law enforcement. It also locks your computer remotely and you can remotely delete personal files, pictures, or confidential data. It is also the only software that offers a persistent patented technology. What does this do exactly? Well, thieves have gotten smarter over time and the first thing they may want to do with your laptop is wipe it. What if that happens? A testimony obtained from LoJack’s website states that “if the software is maliciously removed from your hard drive, it can silently reinstall itself… [...]
Hello,
I just bought a tailor made laptop which does not have a brand name. However as the individual components and the Bios are produced by well known manufacturers that are found in a wide range of laptops, is “LoJack for Laptops” going to work with this laptop?
Thank you very much
Hi gabi,
As long as the motherboard has a unique serial number programmed into it, and you’re running a supported Window OS, it should work fine. If you have additional technical questions, you can contact our support team at http://www.lojackforlaptops.com/support. Also, if you order LoJack for Laptops from our website and it doesn’t work you have 30 days to get a full refund.
Cheers,
-Tara
I was wondering if the laptop has to be on in order to be detected ? Assuming you forget your laptop somewhere, and you;re tying to find it but its off, does lojack software still works ?
i see that the lenovo thinkpad tablet android is included in the list of preloaded persistent laptops, but surely the device i quote runs android os not windows or mac. so how is this possible and are android/google/chrome etc operating systems to be added to lojack/persistence recovery program anytime soon?