The LoJack is a well-known stolen vehicle recovery system. Not only does it make a great pet name (for both the fierce and cuddly animals of your life), but if you have it installed in your car, it’s possible for the good people of this country’s police departments to do an even finer job of tracking down your automobile in the unfortunate case that it is (momentarily) stolen. Of course, the LoJack isn’t the only marvel of the modern world’s systems for vehicle tracking. GPS systems have been built into many multi-function applications that it’s become nearly impossible to keep a straight count of them all. Probably the most ordinary device you own with GPS tracking capabilities is your cell phone.

But if you’re smart, or just happen to be one of those types that’s deeply committed to not ever, even for the shortest of instances, risking the loss of a beloved personal computer — and its stash of irreplaceable files — your laptop might, also, already have a safety system placed inside it. Such systems for computers work just as those developed for vehicle tracking and safety; they act like beacons of terrestrial displacement for the times when a computer is left behind on a subway seat or, through more poisonous action, hijacked by a third party from a school library desk while its true owner is away at a bathroom, primping or otherwise. Nobody wants their computer to travel away from its designated spot in a backpack or office without due proprietary consent, but such “travels” are known to be commonplace.

You have many ways to friend the multiple and diverse manifest antitheses of hijacks — let’s just speak plainly, the LoJacks of the world. But, still, sending the LoJack manufacturer’s site a Facebook friend request is probably going to be on the acutely weak end of the friending spectrum. Then, if you’re an individual dedicated to such so called — in a shout-out to all the Henry Jameses and Christopher Newmans of the world — “pursuits of peace,” as les affaires of mass shipping and transport are sometimes classified, then you’ll probably want to get on more personal terms with some fleet tracking systems; on occasion, a cleverly named guard-pet is not enough to protect, or to track down, the many important things that we own.

Sam Walters is a writer living in Los Angeles. Her writing appears in print and online