Parke, 31, allegedly told troopers he got "a screaming deal" and had paid a guy named John at a Ninilchik bar $100 for the computer valued at $1,036. What he didn't realize was that the deal wasn't the only thing screaming.

So was the computer.

A stealth computer program called Computrace Lojack for Laptops, a product of Absolute Software, lurked in the laptop's memory. When the owner reported his computer stolen, he also notified Absolute Software. Even though Parke allegedly installed a new operating system, Lojack for Laptops reloaded itself in the computer from the BIOS, or basic input/output system module, a part of the computer's memory separate from the hard drive.

When the Fujitsu laptop on April 7 connected to the Internet, it sent a signal to Absolute Software indicating the Internet Protocol, or IP, address from where it had been used. Absolute Software provided troopers with an IP address assigned to ACS Alaska.

Sgt. Derek DeGraaf of the Alaska Bureau of Investigation, Anchorage, a computer crimes specialist, got a search warrant for ACS. ACS provided troopers with the subscriber information for the IP address -- information for Parke's father, including his street address off the Old Sterling Highway.

Trooper Henry said Parke was surprised to see troopers looking for the laptop.

"He didn't know how we found him until he got the affidavit read to him in court," Henry said.

Troopers allege Marshall Parke admitted the Fujitsu computer belonged to him. Troopers also found a laptop bag, cables, power cords and an external hard drive at Parke's house that the owner also had reported stolen.

Troopers seized the computer and equipment, and the owner identified the property as his. The owner said he did not alter the computer's serial number. Parke said he didn't notice the altered serial number.

The recovery time for Lojack for Laptop protected computers varies, but averages about 45 days, said Vlad Villanueva, a technical support representative for Absolute Software, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

DeGraaf said troopers have investigated several cases of stolen computers with Lojack for Laptops and recovered all but one computer.

The home version of Lojack for Laptops is $40 a year or $90 for three years. A more advanced version of the software also allows remotely deleting data on a stolen computer.

Parke was charged with second-degree theft by receiving and unlawful possession, both class C felonies.

Parke is in custody at Wildwood Pretrial Facility, Kenai.

There is nothing to show Lojack for Laptops is installed on the computer, Villanueva said. Because the software is in the BIOS chip and not on the hard drive, reformatting, wiping or even installing a new hard drive won't defeat the program. The stealth aspect of Lojack can even act as a deterrent for laptops that don't have the program, because thieves can't be sure it's not on a laptop, Villanueva noted.

DeGraaf advised computer owners to take basic precautions in protecting laptops from theft, such as not leaving computers in plain sight in cars and using password protection.

"It's always nice to be able to recover stolen property that's functioning properly and not broken and thrown in the ditch," Henry said of the recovered laptop.

Michael Armstrong can be reached at michaelarmstrong.@homernews.com.