<![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves - Gizmodo Comments]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves - Gizmodo Comments]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> @Syrus28:

What options do you have with Dell, HP, Gateway? $0 a YEAR for no such service?

And, by out-of-the-box, I meant that Leopard comes pre-installed and you get a free trial of .mac, so yes, this would work out of the box for a few months anyway. Then you can pay. Either way, it is nice to have such an option.

justinpe

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> So her roommate ended up IDing the guys... How well does it work when the perp is a stranger and doesn't look like anyone you or your roommates know? Giving the police a picture of someone who lives in the area seems like an especially efficient idea in a major metropolitan. I'm sure they'll tape the screengrab to the dashboard of every cruiser. Better yet it's stolen by professional criminals and you get a nice view out the window of a room in some foreign country. I wonder how long you would go back and watch the new 'owner'? hmmm. Until the government gets face recognition DB that has everyone in it, I'll say IP addresses FTW.

Archer_TJ

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> @LJKelley: Yes, but...

1) Most thieves aren't computer-savy. They sell the stuff or use it themselves. They would probably just assume it's a normal computer without can way to identify it like 98% or so of the consumer PC market.

2) More & more business-class computers are having hardware-level tracking built-in. For instance, on newer Dell Precision desktops, you can permanently enable, via the BIOS, a tracking device that connects to the tracking device's systems. It can also permanently disable access to the machine and/or data until the company installs a new board (in case you get the computer back). The company charges an annual fee for the service. The device sends the signal directly through hardware, so reinstalling or using any OS or any software can't prevent it. Once enabled in the BIOS, it can't be disabled without changing the hardware. If this catches on, it won't matter how smart the criminal is unless they start physically killing the network ports on the desktops or sell it for parts (minus the mobo).

geowrian

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> How did they connect to the Mac without knowing the IP address it was acting on? Does the system automatically connect to a website where it makes the information available to its owner?

YasminEleazar

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> @LJKelley: The ones that make good news stories are the stupid ones. The ideal solution is while the device is booting up, turn off the wireless (most have a button/switch for this) and make sure it's clean before allowing internet access. And dump your cookies while you're at it, before going to Flickr/facebook/MySpace/etc.

@Makkuro: "...when three roommates returned to their Ridgeview Avenue apartment..."

linoth

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> Real Thieves DISABLE uPnP on their routers BEFORE they steal LAPTOPS!! And a post it / piece of tape would have solved your info leak even if you're too stupid to disable uPnP...

Basically.... If you're dumb, DON'T STEAL ANYTHING!!!

... DON'T STEAL ANYTHING!!

xr900

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> Wait a second, this intelligent WOMAN has 2 laptop, owns 2 flat-screen TV, loaded with other gadgets, AND play console / computer game?? Is she hot (and still single)???

Makkuro

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> @Kaiser-Machead:

You mean like this guy?
[www.engadget.com]


Unknown2U

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> @justinpe:

Haha. Out of the box? You have to pay $100 a YEAR to have Back to My Mac along with the other .mac services... Sorry.

Syrus28

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> The suspect turned into a Caucasian! Good job Giz, innocent till proven guilty, I like that.

MagnoliaBoy

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> so she ended up getting the ipod(s!) back? what a shame, it's like that movie "the gods must be crazy"..the stuff just won't dissapear. and I live near westchester county...it's NOTHING like the city for those who are wondering.

Tsumi91

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> @SuperCollider:

[poor] Rye Brook here XD

I knew there had to be at least one other Giz commenter in Westchester county

discounteggroll

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> @AmbroseP: I wish there was an edit function. Fatigue FTW!

AmbroseP

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> @OGHowie: Do we not include white-collar or corporate crime in the pool of thieves? Such criminals, quite often, are intelligent or the at the very least, educated, and cause more overall harm than those of the blue-collar persuasion.

AmbroseP

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> @IphtashuFitz: Or set it off in your own face, which would concern me more than getting caught at the airport with it. :)

yougottabekidding

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> @LindsayJoy: "There are many perverted uses for Back to My Mac screen sharing..."

Oh? Please do tell us some....

Mandatory_Field

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> @LJKelley:

Fortunately, most thieves aren't smart.

OGHowie

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> hahahaahha What a moron, let the little prick thief rot in jail for a few years to take him down a peg.

Faslane

Faslane66

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> @homerjay: You forgot about the $100 annual web presence fee for serivces you could find for free elsewhere aka ".Mac"

draconis2941

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> Tasty girls in tube socks... This just made my shitty day!

tamoko

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> it's LOhud.com... not Iohud.

Lower Hudson Valley.

stinkyboy

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> jason chen?

rainfever

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> @Coder4Life: well, a clever person might also get their IP address from the IM session. she's just lucky they weren't behind a firewall with that port blocked.

Accelerata

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> Wouldn't a smart thief just reinstall the OS (be it Linux, Vista, or OS X) and get rid of any software that tracks you. If they don't have the discs they would STEAL them off Pirate Bay. The only thing then of course is the Serial Number and a smart theif would just not register the device.

Thats why I never bought into software that tracks your device (unless they have software in the Bios) but maybe I should since thiefs seem quite stupid.

LJKelley

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> @N@tedog: Sure but it has to be downloaded and enabled by the thief and it won't work unless he purchases a license and enables cookies using only IE.

Oh, and you need SP1.

homerjay

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> @jimmyJAKE!: perhaps they figured you'd already been robbed by Apple, so doing you over twice would just be cruel... :P

Step666

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> my mac was the only thing those damn assholes didn't take when they robbed me :( too heavy i guess

jimmyJAKE!

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> Wow. That is a sweet feature. Does Vista have this?

N@tedog

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> all I want is a thousand pound springs attached to either side of the laptop hinges that can be remotely triggered to snap that sucker shut on whoever is trying to handle it. That way you can give the fingers back to cops to process prints while the search the emergency wards.

sqeakytoy of the apocalypse

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> Another reason to love Macs. Let's see a Dell or HP do this out of the box.

justinpe

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> @booze: Is it you who doesn't want the arm anymore for posting twice?

smcallah

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> There are many perverted uses for Back to My Mac screen sharing...

LindsayJoy's MBP is into S+M

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> @Kaiser-Machead: Just pack some plastic explosives in the case along with a USB device attached to a detonator. Of course you'd have to be VERY careful not to take it through the airport with you...

IphtashuFitz

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> I have a product called Undercover from Orbicule installed on my Macbook so I can trace it if it's stolen. The thing that sold me on their products was the success stories they have posted on their website. You can check them out here: [www.orbicule.com]

IphtashuFitz

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> Woo hoo! White Plains, NY represent! XD

SuperCollider

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> @Coder4Life: It's a reverse connection, not just a service listening on a port like Remote Desktop.

geowrian

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> be happy you still have disheveled legs to stand on you despicable malefactor.

booze

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> I went to the source story, which includes mug shots of the two arrested men. Why is it criminals always look like dipshits? Here's the URL for one of these charming gents' photo:
[cmsimg.thejournalnews.com]
What ever happened to those glamourous days when a thief could look like Cary Grant and not asswipe mutants?

In other news...
(-4)

bosskev

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> @Coder4Life: back to my mac is strictly a .mac feature.

Adrian Covert

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> What the hell does that picture have to do with it?

shamoononon has a hebetudinous dog

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> @Kaiser-Machead: If you manufacture that, I'll buy one.

bpatten

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> where's that screen capture from that you guys used for the post? which chick is that?

oopsIsharted

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> girl in the background looks hot.. better leave her punishment to me

killarclown

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> how is backtomymac possible to login since your IP Address now would of changed since that person would be on a different IP service. Get it..

Story doesn't make alot of sense, unless this is some how connected to .MAC and uses some service...

Coder4Life

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> Booze is good in doubleshots.....but now I am missing both arms.... hmmm

Sixxtwo

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> So how do you disable this back to my mac feature?

zero1

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> Um...but why would they tell everything that they stole and recovered? Wouldn't that just make her a victim again? D'oh?

baristabrawl

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> Good.
Now where's my cleaver, someone's got an arm they don't want anymore...

booze

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> Good. Now where's my cleaver, someone's got an arm they don't want anymore.

booze

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> This certainly makes the Back to my Mac feature compelling. If I was able to make the computer lethally detonate in the face of the culprit, I'd gladly sacrifice my laptop to snuff out a lowlife :P

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen MacBook Victim Uses Screen Sharing and iSight to Bust Thieves]]> Too good! That's the best thing he'll have tasted for the next while!

blindaxs

]]>