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XTREME computer guru needed - 6/23/2010 9:54:29 PM   
Termyn8or


Posts: 18681
Joined: 11/12/2005
Status: offline 		To start. I am a somewhat advanced user, but not an expert.

My neighbor's laptop got stolen a few months ago. It is a mac and he told me that the security feature was activated and the next time it gets online it will report the location to LEOs as well as send a picture from the built in webcam. I haven't heard any more about it lately but I'm sure the technology exists. Hell they busted a fugitive up in Canada because of an online game he played.

About a month ago one of my laptops was stolen. Now is there any way in hell I can trace that ? Somehow via connection logs, even though I might have to call my ISP, that thing has an IP address. What steps would I take to persue this ? To track it.

The current situation is thus. I paid $450 each plus shipping for these things, but they are worth probably a few bucks more. I was hoping to sell a couple to offset my costs but they all wound up in use or for some other reason did not get sold. My deductible is $500, so there is no point in filing an insurance claim, and the cops have not even been called. There is simply no good reason right now.

But one of the things I want to know is if someone I know stole it, and if so, who ? If I can find out, what happens next is nobody's business, unnastand ? But I'll be cool, I am not stupid.

If you can be found on a friggin video game, this surely must be possible. It is just beyond my knowledge right now.

T
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RE: XTREME computer guru needed - 6/23/2010 10:41:28 PM   
SaschaMarie


Posts: 87
Joined: 6/5/2010
From: Houston, Tx
Status: offline 		I dont mean to sound insensitive but for $500 i say let it go. Unless you got some kind of gps installed in it before it was stolen then there is basically not much you can do. Whyle it *IS* possiable to find someone threw a MMO, that was the police force looking for him. The guy prolly was shooting off his mouth about how he did (insert crime here) to all his online buddies and one of them wised up and called 911. Compaired to the $2-3k that the "average" computers used to cost 15 years ago, these new prices are so hard to complaign about. I remember buying 4mb(MB!) for $150 back in 1996... Three months ago i picked up a 2 gig stick for $30, yeesh how things have changed!

-Sascha

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RE: XTREME computer guru needed - 6/23/2010 11:01:01 PM   
Termyn8or


Posts: 18681
Joined: 11/12/2005
Status: offline 		Well I thought I'd throw it out there. Like I said it is more important to me to know who did it than the money.

But these are pretty nice laptops. They have 17" widescreens, built in everything including webcam and wireless. Also a dual layer DVD burner. All their stats were pretty much state of the art when I bought them about a year ago. They would still sell for at least what I paid for them.

But I want to know who dun it. Once you got the drop on someone, you can find out. That to me is more the point than the money. I might even let the person keep the damn thing, but who dun it owes me $600, and my possee will extract it from them, one way or the other.

T

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RE: XTREME computer guru needed - 6/24/2010 5:57:36 AM   
Aneirin


Posts: 6121
Joined: 3/18/2006
From: Tamaris
Status: offline 		That's an interesting question, and I have before wondered if computers have their own identification they transmit to various websites when on line aside from the I.P. address. But if there is such a thing, it can only work if the identity is registered with an authority prior to the machine's loss. Or maybe it is, but we don't know anything about it beyond the IP address.

If there is such a facility, that could be a boon for the various police authorities, easy busts to be had to assure the public they are actually doing their job by having such information on unauthorised users if the machine is reported lost.

But interesting what you say about Mac, for I am getting one of those tommorrow and I will sure look into such security features.



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RE: XTREME computer guru needed - 6/24/2010 8:11:14 AM   
heartcream


Posts: 3044
Joined: 5/9/2007
From: Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop
Status: offline 		Macs rock!

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RE: XTREME computer guru needed - 6/24/2010 8:47:10 AM   
pahunkboy


Posts: 33061
Joined: 2/26/2006
From: Central Pennsylvania
Status: offline 		Oh what a tangled web we weave.   The horror. 

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RE: XTREME computer guru needed - 6/24/2010 9:52:07 AM   
SaschaMarie


Posts: 87
Joined: 6/5/2010
From: Houston, Tx
Status: offline 		PC ftw.

-Sascha

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RE: XTREME computer guru needed - 6/24/2010 9:59:15 AM   
Arpig


Posts: 9930
Joined: 1/3/2006
From: Increasingly further from reality
Status: offline 		Every network interface has what is called a MAC address (nothing to do with Mac/PC) which is actually how it is found by other computers on a network so yes an individual network card can be traced, however if you don't know your MAC address then you are out of luck. I suppose it may be possible to track it down through Apple but not likely.

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RE: XTREME computer guru needed - 6/24/2010 10:01:22 AM   
mnottertail


Posts: 60698
Joined: 11/3/2004
Status: offline 		generally they steal it and try to pawn it.  did you save anything?  you got the serial number?  btw if you have the serial, many times the company can get you the mac. and your isp may have the mac in their cache yet. try and see if they do.

< Message edited by mnottertail -- 6/24/2010 10:08:05 AM >

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RE: XTREME computer guru needed - 6/24/2010 10:30:06 AM   
Arpig


Posts: 9930
Joined: 1/3/2006
From: Increasingly further from reality
Status: offline 		Actually if a person is using a router (either wired or wireless) then the ISP will not have the MAC of the computer, but only the router's as all the routing within the home is handled by the router. The serial should give you the MAC, but I doubt that Apple would give it to you unless you had somehow registered it, and even then getting all the local ISPs to search for that MAC would be very difficult, and I doubt the cops would do it for a $500 theft. And again if the thief is using any sort of router then the computer's MAC would be hidden anyway...sorry.


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Big man! Pig Man!
Ha Ha...Charade you are!

Why do they leave out the letter b on "Garage Sale" signs?

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RE: XTREME computer guru needed - 6/24/2010 10:30:25 AM   
thatsub


Posts: 176
Joined: 5/3/2010
Status: offline 		They could find the other computer not because it was a Mac, but because it had a security software on it. That software gets activated once you report your computer as stolen and will take photos with webcam, that will be sent to monitoring agency, which will try to assist the police in locating the laptop. Location of the laptop is usually found through IP addresses. Some private companies install GPS tracking on their laptops to locate them faster, so that important privileged information does not get stolen for too long.

Basically, unless you had similar security software installed on your laptop - it is gone.

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RE: XTREME computer guru needed - 6/24/2010 10:40:52 AM   
CalifChick


Posts: 10717
Joined: 10/28/2007
From: California
Status: offline 		File a police report, then go look at pawn shops.  If you spy it there, you can take action.  If you don't file a police report, then there isn't much you can do if you find it there.

Cali


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