Need tracking software....

[clgy15]

Hey everybody,
Im a sysadmin for a school that has around 150 laptops. I need some free tracking software that will send me an email if it leaves a certain location.

I would make my own but unfortunatly im a noob at windows programming :P

[amauk]

this sort of thing is by-passable
all anyone would need to do is wipe the disk, and reinstall a fresh OS

surely it's better to ask the parents for a security deposit before giving a child a laptop
Lose it, break it, whatever, then they lose their deposit

Figure you'll lose 1 in 10 laptops (probable worst case scenario) - then the deposit is 10% of the laptop price

[donkyhotay]

Hey everybody,
Im a sysadmin for a school that has around 150 laptops. I need some free tracking software that will send me an email if it leaves a certain location.

I would make my own but unfortunatly im a noob at windows programming :P

Umm... you say you're bad at windows programming but you're looking for a linux tracking software? Might want to clarify what you're doing a bit there. How do you expect to track where someone is located? The closest thing I can think of would be a system where the computer pings a server every so often and the server tracks the addresses to determine the area where someone is located. This isn't the most accurate thing in the world though. Be aware there are legal issues with using tracking software on school computers (http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/07/webcam-spy-scandal-broadens/). Also, any person that knows anything at all about computers will be able to bypass *any* tracking software with a simple system wipe or (to avoid evidence of the wipe after returning the computer) using a liveCD. Probably best to just have them pay a deposit or something.

//edit: Ninja'd!