A British company has patented a hi-tech version of the cash boxes which squirt dye or shoot out poles - in the form of laptop software. The software photographs the thief, pinpoints his or her whereabouts and quietly destroys sensitive data.
The system has already been tested following a number of recent high-profile cases involving government laptops taken home or left in staff members' cars against regulations.
A program available on license for £10 (NT$615) a month links to a control center, which takes action if a laptop is used outside designated areas such as a government office or even a specific employee's desk.
PHOTO: AFP
Once connected to the Internet, which with the latest generation laptops would happen automatically when switched on, the computer takes pictures of its surroundings while sending out its location to the control center.
"We guarantee to monitor the state and whereabouts of any laptop's electronic 'heartbeat,' and to trigger the destruction of any files in the case of unauthorized, or apparently unauthorized, use," said Dean Bates of Virtuity, the IT firm which has devised the scheme.
"There are millions of laptops out there containing valuable data. Most of them are not stolen because of that, but it's an obvious attraction if the thief wants to sell the computer on to more serious criminals."
The BackStopp program is claimed to be undetectable to thieves, both when sending identification data and while wiping sensitive files.
With the new generation of laptops, which use mobile phones' GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) system, the mechanisms would be in action as soon as a laptop left a room - even in the stairwell as a thief escaped from someone's home or office.(THE GUARDIAN)
一家英國公司申請了一款筆記型電腦軟體的專利權，該軟體就像高科技版的那種會噴射染料或伸出竿子的錢箱。它能拍下小偷、鎖定位置，並悄悄地銷毀機密檔案。
該軟體已通過最近一連串受矚目案例的考驗，包括公家筆電被違規帶回家，或留在員工車上。
參加月付十英鎊（約新台幣六百一十五元）的方案，筆電就可連結到控制中心，若在指定範圍外使用，防盜功能即會啟動，如公家辦公室、甚至特定員工的辦公桌外。
新一代筆電開機後會自動連上網路，一旦上線後，電腦會拍攝週遭環境，並將使用地點上傳到控制中心。
「Virtuity」公司的狄恩:貝茲說︰「我們保證能監控任何筆電的狀態和行蹤，並在未授權使用下，下指令銷毀檔案。」該科技公司發明了此系統。
「外面有數百萬台筆電儲存著珍貴的資料，大部分筆電雖不是因儲存的資料而被偷，但若小偷想把贓物賣給其他重大罪犯，這可是一大誘因。」
「BackStopp」這個系統宣稱，不論是傳輸識別或銷毀檔案時，小偷都不會知道。
新一代筆電使用的是手機的「全球行動通訊系統」，只要筆電一離開房間，系統就會啟動-- 就算小偷從某人家或辦公室脫逃時位在樓梯間也一樣。
（衛報／翻譯：張愛弟）
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