| dc.description.abstract | The way of computer usage has changed a great deal in recent years due to the mobility
and convenience provided by mobile computers. Unfortunately, because of they are portable,
the risks, such as theft and its associated loss of data, have increased as well. The data stored
in the computer is usually far more valuable to the owner than the hardware itself; therefore,
the protection against the loss of data is an important research issue.
In this paper, we designed and implemented a Network Anti-theft System (NAS). The
NAS allows the mobile computers to connect to the internet through wired or wireless
network, and transmits their current router IP addresses to a backend server. From the server,
the IP addresses can be used to find the positions of the users. Our system can not only protect
the data inside the computer but also the user can retrieve or delete the data remotely, or to
lock the computer preventing from further access. NAS has three primary modules,
NAS-Core, NAS-EOS, and NAS-Server. Security is achieved through the interactions
between these three modules. NAS-Core is the kernel module for security check process in
the firmware layer. By combining the System Management Mode (SMM) and Hidden Disk
Areas (HAD), it prevents the user’s password or key from being viewed and changed by
malicious software. NAS-EOS is an embedded system that allows the system to connect to a
remote server without relying on the operating systems. Lastly, NAS-Server is a web and
database server which stores status of the computer and allows the user to remote control
through its web interface.
This system stores the security status of the computer into non-volatile memory. Since
the firmware is difficult to be removed or shut down, it increases the safety of our system.
Experiments have shown that the proposed system can activate immediately upon the loss of
mobile computer and allows the user to track its position and remote control the lost
computer.
| en_US |