Two Texas A&M Students Get Their Stolen Laptops Back Thanks to Computrace LoJack for Laptops

In 2007, two Texas A&M University students had their laptop computers stolen in separate incidents, and Computrace® LoJack® for Laptops was instrumental in getting them back. While one of the thefts occurred in College Station, TX, the other took place thousands of miles due south – in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In the first instance, a thief broke into a College Station residence by forcing open a locked bedroom window. By the time the residents returned, all the expensive electronics had been removed from the home, including a Dell Latitude notebook computer belonging to a female A&M student.
 
Fortunately, the Dell notebook had Computrace LoJack for Laptops installed on it, a computer theft recovery service by Absolute® Software that tracks, locates and recovers missing computers. If the computer is stolen, Computrace LoJack for Laptops reports its location using any internet connection.
 
Following the theft, the student reported the break-in to local police, and then notified Absolute’s Theft Recovery team. When the computer went online, a Theft Recovery Officer provided the IP address of the stolen machine to Detective Todd Van Dresar of the College Station Police Department.
 
Det. Van Dresar used the information provided by Computrace LoJack for Laptops to prepare a subpoena, then visited the subscriber’s home address, where the stolen computer was recovered in early March.
 
In an unrelated case, Texas A&M student Steve Kinard Jr. was studying abroad in Buenos Aires in June 2007, when his laptop computer was stolen. It was a brazen theft in broad daylight, as his Dell Inspiron computer was taken from the bag sitting beside his chair while he ate lunch at a restaurant.
 
Because Computrace LoJack for Laptops works by identifying IP addresses of computers connected to the internet, the Absolute Theft Recovery team had little problem identifying precisely where the stolen computer was when it touched the Internet, even though it was in the southern hemisphere. Then, working with Buenos Aires police officers, the Theft Recovery team provided critical location information, leading to the successful recovery of the stolen computer – Absolute’s first computer theft recovery in Argentina.1
 
Steve Kinard Sr. is convinced that his son’s purchase of LoJack for Laptops was critical in ensuring that his laptop was recovered after its theft.
 
“My son and I are extremely grateful to Absolute Software for the return of the new laptop,” said Kinard. “Computrace LoJack for Laptops works even in other countries! I recommend it to everyone I speak to, especially students.
 

“Thank you, Absolute Software.”