Macbook Pro stolen.. creep is online right now deleting my stuff.. what can i do?

Woody_FX

Short version.

Laptop stolen last week from my house.

My dropbox folder is on both my laptops.. right now files are being deleted.

Anything I can do to track this mofo? Anything I can throw onto the laptop now via dropbox that could help me locate him?

Cheers,
-W

I can see his IP address from my dropbox account. An the ip that supplies this IP address also only does fixed IP addresses. Anything I can do to nail this sonofabitch?

Colonel Panic

Unauthorizing the laptop on the Dropbox website might be a good start. Note the IP address for the authorities.

Woody_FX

Why unauthorized it. I can just clear it of material and leave it linked.

Or install something to allow me to track him further somehow.

aidan_walsh

To install anything you would either need to get him to run it or have remote access to the computer to run it yourself. And if you have remote access you won't need to use Dropbox to transfer anything.

silvine

aidan_walsh wrote: »

To install anything you would either need to get him to run it or have remote access to the computer to run it yourself. And if you have remote access you won't need to use Dropbox to transfer anything.

If you have lion installed there's a find my mac application which can tell you where the mac is.

hattoncracker

writing the IP address down doesn't really work unless you can get them to track it within the next two weeks. They're dynamic, so they'll change every two weeks depending on the network settings.

Sean Quagmire

silvine wrote: »

If you have lion installed there's a find my mac application which can tell you where the mac is.

Yeah I was about to say that.

OP, if you have icloud set up (on Lion) go to: https://www.icloud.com/ and click 'find my mac'. If its is turned on, it'll show you on a map where it is.

best of luck.

aidan_walsh

silvine wrote: »

If you have lion installed there's a find my mac application which can tell you where the mac is.

If you had iCloud set up and that switched on before the Mac was stolen, yes.

M three

aidan_walsh wrote: »

If you had iCloud set up and that switched on before the Mac was stolen, yes.

Aidan, have read through the thread and its mainly about mac's. I looked at the app available from http://hiddenapp.com/ which should help you trace your mac if it is stolen.

Can someone tell me if there is there a similiar "app" for a laptop please?

muggyog

Woody, what are the Ip addresses?

aidan_walsh

muggyog wrote: »

Woody, what are the Ip addresses?

I'd rather he didn't.

aidan_walsh

M three wrote: »

Aidan, have read through the thread and its mainly about mac's. I looked at the app available from http://hiddenapp.com/ which should help you trace your mac if it is stolen.

Can someone tell me if there is there a similiar "app" for a laptop please?

I don't know of similar software for Windows. I'd suggest starting a thread in the Windows forum to find out.

nooneuno

aidan_walsh wrote: »

I don't know of similar software for Windows. I'd suggest starting a thread in the Windows forum to find out.

Take a look at this .... http://preyproject.com/

opinion guy

Is there a reason why you are not just phoning up the cops and giving them the IP address ?

Surely they have the ability to locate it with a phone call or two and send out a patrol car ?

Bigcheeze

opinion guy wrote: »

Is there a reason why you are not just phoning up the cops and giving them the IP address ?

Surely they have the ability to locate it with a phone call or two and send out a patrol car ?

They'd probably try and dial the IP address

Jagle

opinion guy wrote: »

Is there a reason why you are not just phoning up the cops and giving them the IP address ?

Surely they have the ability to locate it with a phone call or two and send out a patrol car ?

do you honestly think the cops know what an IP address is or what to do if they had one?

and do you think eircom/upc will act quickly enough?
red tape

partyatmygaff

Jagle wrote: »

do you honestly think the cops know what an IP address is or what to do if they had one?

and do you think eircom/upc will act quickly enough?
red tape

They do actually. The Gardaí that patrol the streets and man the front desks at stations aren't going to be the ones dealing with an IP trace.

As for Eircom/UPC acting i'm fairly sure they will. Perhaps not instantly but it doesn't matter. All you need is an IP and a Time/Date and that should be enough. You'll only have problems if the one who did it is smart and is using a proxy or VPN. That said, your average thief is an idiot so you should do alright.

Jagle

partyatmygaff wrote: »

They do actually. The Gardaí that patrol the streets and man the front desks at stations aren't going to be the ones dealing with an IP trace.

As for Eircom/UPC acting i'm fairly sure they will. Perhaps not instantly but it doesn't matter. All you need is an IP and a Time/Date and that should be enough.

Ya because in 2-3 weeks when upc/eircom get back to the the gardai, and the gardai decide to preform a search what are your chances? nill

even if you used trace my iphone/mac using apples services the police will rarely act on that into either

partyatmygaff

Jagle wrote: »

Ya because in 2-3 weeks when upc/eircom get back to the the gardai, and the gardai decide to preform a search what are your chances? nill

even if you used trace my iphone/mac using apples services the police will rarely act on that into either

I don't see why Eircom/UPC would need 2-3 weeks to complete a simple data request made by the Gardaí but even if they did need 2-3 weeks they would still have a positive ID on the location of the laptop and perhaps the person who stole it.

Jagle

partyatmygaff wrote: »

I don't see why Eircom/UPC would need 2-3 weeks to complete a simple data request made by the Gardaí but even if they did need 2-3 weeks they would still have a positive ID on the location of the laptop and perhaps the person who stole it.

well nothing happens qucikly, therefore i reckon itll be weeks before everything is done, keeping in mind they have precedures for this and these are slow processes.

secondly the info supplied from eircom/upc to the police is of very little help, they would be able to find out who owns/pays for the connection the stolen laptop connected through and what sites they viewed but thats that.

now lets imagine the thief used someone elses internet connection, therefore the info doesnt help locate the thief at all

partyatmygaff

Jagle wrote: »

well nothing happens qucikly, therefore i reckon itll be weeks before everything is done, keeping in mind they have precedures for this and these are slow processes.

secondly the info supplied from eircom/upc to the police is of very little help, they would be able to find out who owns/pays for the connection the stolen laptop connected through and what sites they viewed but thats that.

now lets imagine the thief used someone elses internet connection, therefore the info doesnt help locate the thief at all

The range of the average WiFi router is a couple of metres at best when taking in to account walls and other obstructions. If they aren't the owner of the connection they'll at least be able to narrow it down to someone who may be already known to them.

Jagle

partyatmygaff wrote: »

The range of the average WiFi router is a couple of metres at best when taking in to account walls and other obstructions. If they aren't the owner of the connection they'll at least be able to narrow it down to someone who may be already known to them.

?
just look at your possible internet connections

i live in a housing estate and removing my own one, i can access 6 other wifi networks in range, all easily cracked because of eircoms terrible security.

and
"A typical wireless access point using 802.11b or 802.11g with a stock antenna might have a range of 32 m (120 ft) indoors and 95 m (300 ft) outdoors"

partyatmygaff

That's rarely ever the case from my experience.

In any case, it's the only thing that can be done. There's no point in debating about it.

Jagle

partyatmygaff wrote: »

That's rarely ever the case from my experience.

In any case, it's the only thing that can be done. There's no point in debating about it.

whats rarely the case from your experience? your experience of what

partyatmygaff

Jagle wrote: »

whats rarely the case from your experience? your experience of what

Both things you mentioned. I haven't seen a WEP Eircom network for a long time and the ranges you got off Wikipedia are rarely seen in reality.

edanto

But bearing in mind the particular circumstances in this case, where the thief has just gone online with a stolen Mac, it's fairly safe to presume that they didn't go to the trouble of cracking the neighbours WiFi, even if it's as weak as eircom wep.

Another vote here for Prey Project by the way - I love that their stuff is open source. Even though I wouldn't understand a line of it, it's very re-assuring that they aren't putting any dodgy code on my phone because they've made the source open to people that do understand it.

OP - did you have any success with tracking the guy down? Any help from the guards?

Jagle

partyatmygaff wrote: »

Both things you mentioned. I haven't seen a WEP Eircom network for a long time and the ranges you got off Wikipedia are rarely seen in reality.

WEP and WPA are both easily accessable now with the right tools.

and perhaps making sure you are up to date on all internet technologies, router and internet using devices, but sorry your range is crap

Jagle

edanto wrote: »

But bearing in mind the particular circumstances in this case, where the thief has just gone online with a stolen Mac, it's fairly safe to presume that they didn't go to the trouble of cracking the neighbours WiFi, even if it's as weak as eircom wep.

unless they have been cracked before and he doesnt use his own network, or doesnt have his own one and jsut uses others, again just proving how IP address are useless when it comes to stuff like this

opinion guy

Contacting cops - chance of recovery = slim
Not contacting cops - chance of recovery = 0

Its not a tough decision really.....:rolleyes:


Also - if you don't contact cops there might be an insurance issue if you have it on the house/gadget insurance

Jagle

opinion guy wrote: »

Contacting cops - chance of recovery = slim
Not contacting cops - chance of recovery = 0

Its not a tough decision really.....:rolleyes:


Also - if you don't contact cops there might be an insurance issue if you have it on the house/gadget insurance

trace location of computer using macs built in software, get it back yourself

chance of recovery = (how strong you are):D

edanto

Jagle wrote: »

trace location of computer using macs built in software, get it back yourself

I didn't know Macs had built in software to do that. Can you give a linky?

Jagle

edanto wrote: »

I didn't know Macs had built in software to do that. Can you give a linky?

i can

www.google.com

its on all ipads/iphones/macs

edanto

Well, if that's all you have, then probably best not to continue the chat with you.

I'm much more interested in the original poster and you're spoiling his thread by being particularly argumentative.

Jagle

edanto wrote: »

Well, if that's all you have, then probably best not to continue the chat with you.

I'm much more interested in the original poster and you're spoiling his thread by being particularly argumentative.

sorry but i dont believe in pressing ctrl and T, and tab, then typing in Mac tracking software. when if you bothered to read the thread, you would of seen it being mentioned in post number 5, 7 -with a link, 8, 9..


but sure let me just get that info for you :rolleyes:

and im not particularly argumentative, im just not your search function

opinion guy

Jagle wrote: »

trace location of computer using macs built in software, get it back yourself

chance of recovery = (how strong you are):D

chance of you know the guy who broke into your house and stole your computer being a stabby motherf*cker = relatively high

Jagle

opinion guy wrote: »

chance of you know the guy who broke into your house and stole your computer being a stabby motherf*cker = relatively high

eh go with a few mates

partyatmygaff

Jagle wrote: »

eh go with a few mates

Why not get them to bring a few baseball bats too? It's a great negotiating tool...

Jagle

partyatmygaff wrote: »

Why not get them to bring a few baseball bats too? It's a great negotiating tool...

defo better then waiting for the cops to do nothing anyway

drunkmonkey

How did this end up? Any luck getting it back?

Chiparus

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f03_1327071465


some tips on how to get back at a mac thief?

Chiparus

Longer version of how he got the guy

http://hackaday.com/2010/12/25/a-hackers-marginal-security-helps-return-stolen-computer/