Adeona: Open-Source Approach to Tracking Stolen Laptops

With the exception of a Celine Dion concert, nothing sucks more than having your laptop stolen. Not only is there the physical cost of the notebook to consider, but there goes all your saved and private data into the hands of a crook. To help deal with this type of harrowing situation, LoJack offers a service for laptops that, once installed, will track your notebook anytime it's able to detect an internet connection. Even better, the software comes pre-installed in most BIOSes, so once activated, it will still be able to dial home even if the hard drive is reformatted or swapped out altogether.

That's well and fine, but according to a team of computer scientists at the University of Washington, your privacy could still be at risk by relying on a third party to handle your security. To alleviate this concern, the team has come up with an open-source alternative called Adeona, named after the Roman goddess of safe returns. With Adeona, the developers say users can install the software themselves without the help of a corporate intermediary. The service is said to work much like LoJack does (minus the BIOS integration), except that it's up to the user to track their stolen notebook. And best of all, it's free.

Which would you prefer - taking security into your hands, or ponying up a fee for professional assistance? Sound off below.

Image Credit:University of Washington