>>>>> "SM" == Steve McIntyre <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
SM> On Sun, Jun 22, 2003 at 08:22:43PM -0400, Joseph Barillari
SM> wrote:
>>
>>>>>>> "SM" == Steve McIntyre <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>>
SM> I've been using the following for a while, which does just
SM> what you suggested. Run it out of /etc/ppp/ip-up.d and
SM> /etc/cron.daily and redirect the output to mail. This approach
SM> does need mail to work, which is another problem entirely. If
SM> you're on a foreign network or whatever, then mail may be
SM> awkward. I've set up the mail system on my laptop to batch
SM> things and send via home over ssh when available, which
SM> probably has a good chance of working in most places.
>> Does it require the thief to know how to bring up a PPP
>> connection? I would assume that most of the time, the laptop
>> might be booted once --- to see if it worked --- and then the
>> hard disk would probably be wiped, to make it harder to trace.
SM> Good point, yes. Any suggestions on how to improve it?
Sure -- suggestions are easy. I'd add a tiny network stack to the
bootloader and have it pull in an IP via DHCP as soon as it loads. An
even more aggressive approach would sniff the network for a few
seconds, briefly hijack an IP (in case there was no DHCP server), and
quickly report home with that IP address.
Actually /implementing/ anything like that in a bootloader might be a
bit more difficult.
As for PPP connections, given that it takes a non-trivial amount of
time to bring one up, I suspect there is little chance of bringing one
up clandestinely. Better to take advantage of any connection that the
user initiates.
Best, --Joe
--
Joseph Barillari -- http://barillari.org
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