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how?

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  how? RichD <r_delaney2001@yahoo.com> - 2011-06-03 15:13 -0700
    Re: how? nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> - 2011-06-03 15:15 -0700
      Re: how? Alan Browne <alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca> - 2011-06-03 23:21 -0400
        Re: how? Michelle Steiner <michelle@michelle.org> - 2011-06-03 21:58 -0700
          Re: how? Alan Browne <alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca> - 2011-06-04 09:57 -0400
            Re: how? Michelle Steiner <michelle@michelle.org> - 2011-06-04 07:44 -0700
              Re: how? Alan Browne <alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca> - 2011-06-04 11:32 -0400
                Re: how? Michelle Steiner <michelle@michelle.org> - 2011-06-04 09:10 -0700
                  Re: how? Alan Browne <alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca> - 2011-06-04 12:21 -0400
              Re: how? Walter Bushell <proto@panix.com> - 2011-06-15 15:57 -0400
          Re: how? RichD <r_delaney2001@yahoo.com> - 2011-06-05 20:40 -0700
            Re: how? Jeffrey Goldberg <nobody@goldmark.org> - 2011-06-05 22:45 -0500
            Re: how? Wes Groleau <Groleau+news@FreeShell.org> - 2011-06-06 07:43 -0400
            Re: how? Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com> - 2011-06-06 08:31 -0500
        Re: how? George Kerby <ghost_topper@hotmail.com> - 2011-06-04 09:30 -0500
        Re: how? dcohenspam@talktalk.net (Daniel Cohen) - 2011-06-04 19:38 +0100
          Re: how? Alan Browne <alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca> - 2011-06-04 14:44 -0400
            Re: how? dcohenspam@talktalk.net (Daniel Cohen) - 2011-06-05 12:05 +0100
              Re: how? Tim Streater <timstreater@waitrose.com> - 2011-06-05 15:48 +0100
                Re: how? dcohenspam@talktalk.net (Daniel Cohen) - 2011-06-05 21:56 +0100
              Re: how? Alan Browne <alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca> - 2011-06-05 10:55 -0400
        Re: how? Calum <com.gmail@nospam.scottishwildcat> - 2011-06-10 19:44 +0100
          Re: how? Abu Yahya <abu_yahya@invalid.com> - 2011-06-12 00:00 +0530
    Re: how? George Kerby <ghost_topper@hotmail.com> - 2011-06-03 18:30 -0500
    Re: how? "robin" <robin51@dodo.mapson.com.au> - 2011-06-04 09:32 +1000
      Re: how? George Kerby <ghost_topper@hotmail.com> - 2011-06-03 18:45 -0500
    Re: how? Michael Vilain <vilain@NOspamcop.net> - 2011-06-03 16:42 -0700
      Re: how? George Kerby <ghost_topper@hotmail.com> - 2011-06-03 18:50 -0500
    Re: how? Big Bad Bob <BigBadBob-at-mrp3-dot-com@testing.local> - 2011-06-03 16:57 -0700
    Re: how? Michelle Steiner <michelle@michelle.org> - 2011-06-03 17:01 -0700
      Re: how? Big Bad Bob <BigBadBob-at-mrp3-dot-com@testing.local> - 2011-06-03 17:08 -0700
    Re: how? Bob Harris <nospam.News.Bob@remove.Smith-Harris.us> - 2011-06-03 20:23 -0400
      Re: how? Tevvin <Tevvin@walksincircles.com> - 2011-06-05 11:44 -0500
        Re: how? Alan Browne <alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca> - 2011-06-05 18:44 -0400
    Re: how? Jeffrey Goldberg <nobody@goldmark.org> - 2011-06-03 22:28 -0500
    Re: how? dividebyzer0 <dividebyzer0@gmail.com> - 2011-06-05 00:16 +0000
      Re: how? Gandalf  Parker <gandalf@the.dead.ISP.of.Community.net> - 2011-06-05 12:51 +0000
        Re: how? Big Bad Bob <BigBadBob-at-mrp3-dot-com@testing.local> - 2011-06-05 15:39 -0700
    Re: how? RichD <r_delaney2001@yahoo.com> - 2011-06-05 20:33 -0700
      Re: how? Big Bad Bob <BigBadBob-at-mrp3-dot-com@testing.local> - 2011-06-06 13:40 -0700
        Re: how? Michelle Steiner <michelle@michelle.org> - 2011-06-06 15:55 -0700
          Re: how? Doug Anderson <ethelthelogremovethis@gmail.com> - 2011-06-06 16:14 -0700
            Re: how? Wes Groleau <Groleau+news@FreeShell.org> - 2011-06-06 23:52 -0400
            Re: how? Big Bad Bob <BigBadBob-at-mrp3-dot-com@testing.local> - 2011-06-07 12:05 -0700
          Re: how? Big Bad Bob <BigBadBob-at-mrp3-dot-com@testing.local> - 2011-06-07 12:04 -0700
            Re: how? Michelle Steiner <michelle@michelle.org> - 2011-06-07 13:17 -0700
              Re: how? Alan Browne <alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca> - 2011-06-07 16:36 -0400
                Re: how? Michelle Steiner <michelle@michelle.org> - 2011-06-07 17:46 -0700
              Re: how? Big Bad Bob <BigBadBob-at-mrp3-dot-com@testing.local> - 2011-06-07 14:02 -0700
                Re: how? Michelle Steiner <michelle@michelle.org> - 2011-06-07 17:44 -0700
                  Re: how? your.name@isp.com (Your Name) - 2011-06-08 18:31 +1200
              Re: how? Paul Debrowski <pdebrowski@shitiou.org> - 2011-06-07 21:18 -0400
                Re: how? Big Bad Bob <BigBadBob-at-mrp3-dot-com@testing.local> - 2011-06-11 12:56 -0700
                  Re: how? your.name@isp.com (Your Name) - 2011-06-12 09:30 +1200
                    Re: how? Howard Brazee <howard@brazee.net> - 2011-06-11 18:44 -0600
    Re: how? AD <isquat@gmail.com> - 2011-06-27 06:38 -0700

Page 1 of 3  [1] 2 3  Next page →

#375 — how?

There was a recent news item, an Apple Mac was
stolen.  He had anti-theft software installed, which
snapped pictures at regular intervals through the webcam.

Then it said he activated the program remotely,
to send him the pictures, and the thief was eventually
caught.

My question is, how the heck did he accomplish this
'remote control'?  Like,  he sent a virus to the machine,
or what?


--
Rich

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#376

In article
<00addd67-75e8-4a93-85ed-d6aadba6dae2@q12g2000prb.googlegroups.com>,
RichD <r_delaney2001@yahoo.com> wrote:

> There was a recent news item, an Apple Mac was
> stolen.  He had anti-theft software installed, which
> snapped pictures at regular intervals through the webcam.
> 
> Then it said he activated the program remotely,
> to send him the pictures, and the thief was eventually
> caught.
> 
> My question is, how the heck did he accomplish this
> 'remote control'?  Like,  he sent a virus to the machine,
> or what?

the original owner had anti-theft software was installed. when the
macbook was stolen, he reported it which activated the phoning home.
there are a few products that can do this.

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#386

On 2011-06-03 18:15 , nospam wrote:
> In article
> <00addd67-75e8-4a93-85ed-d6aadba6dae2@q12g2000prb.googlegroups.com>,
> RichD<r_delaney2001@yahoo.com>  wrote:
>
>> There was a recent news item, an Apple Mac was
>> stolen.  He had anti-theft software installed, which
>> snapped pictures at regular intervals through the webcam.
>>
>> Then it said he activated the program remotely,
>> to send him the pictures, and the thief was eventually
>> caught.
>>
>> My question is, how the heck did he accomplish this
>> 'remote control'?  Like,  he sent a virus to the machine,
>> or what?
>
> the original owner had anti-theft software was installed. when the
> macbook was stolen, he reported it which activated the phoning home.
> there are a few products that can do this.

So all a thief has to do is erase the drive and re-install OS X?

-- 
gmail originated posts filtered due to spam.

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#388

In article <RsednclKrso8OXTQnZ2dnUVZ_qadnZ2d@giganews.com>,
 Alan Browne <alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca> wrote:

> So all a thief has to do is erase the drive and re-install OS X?

Yeah, but he doesn't get any of your personal data.  And if you discover 
that the computer is missing before he has a chance to do erase the drive, 
you have a good chance of locating the computer before he does.

-- 
Tea Party Patriots is to Patriotism as 
People's Democratic Republic is to Democracy.

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#389

On 2011-06-04 00:58 , Michelle Steiner wrote:
> In article<RsednclKrso8OXTQnZ2dnUVZ_qadnZ2d@giganews.com>,
>   Alan Browne<alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca>  wrote:
>
>> So all a thief has to do is erase the drive and re-install OS X?
>
> Yeah, but he doesn't get any of your personal data.  And if you discover
> that the computer is missing before he has a chance to do erase the drive,
> you have a good chance of locating the computer before he does.

A savvy thief could disable the WiFi if interested in content, then once 
the search for data is over erase the drive and install a fresh OS.

But I suspect most thieves wouldn't care about the data - just erase the 
disk and get the thing into the market.

There there is what Nad R says in his post - though I'm not completely 
convinced of how it would apply to Mac OS X and the Disk utility erase.


-- 
gmail originated posts filtered due to spam.

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#391

In article <EaGdnYmiCpVSpHfQnZ2dnUVZ_radnZ2d@giganews.com>,
 Alan Browne <alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca> wrote:

> >> So all a thief has to do is erase the drive and re-install OS X?
> >
> > Yeah, but he doesn't get any of your personal data.  And if you 
> > discover that the computer is missing before he has a chance to do 
> > erase the drive, you have a good chance of locating the computer 
> > before he does.
> 
> A savvy thief could disable the WiFi if interested in content, then once 
> the search for data is over erase the drive and install a fresh OS.
> 
> But I suspect most thieves wouldn't care about the data - just erase the 
> disk and get the thing into the market.

Most thefts of laptops (other than from stores and warehouses, that is) are 
thefts of opportunity by people who aren't very computer savvy.

-- 
Tea Party Patriots is to Patriotism as 
People's Democratic Republic is to Democracy.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#392

On 2011-06-04 10:44 , Michelle Steiner wrote:
> In article<EaGdnYmiCpVSpHfQnZ2dnUVZ_radnZ2d@giganews.com>,
>   Alan Browne<alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca>  wrote:
>
>>>> So all a thief has to do is erase the drive and re-install OS X?
>>>
>>> Yeah, but he doesn't get any of your personal data.  And if you
>>> discover that the computer is missing before he has a chance to do
>>> erase the drive, you have a good chance of locating the computer
>>> before he does.
>>
>> A savvy thief could disable the WiFi if interested in content, then once
>> the search for data is over erase the drive and install a fresh OS.
>>
>> But I suspect most thieves wouldn't care about the data - just erase the
>> disk and get the thing into the market.
>
> Most thefts of laptops (other than from stores and warehouses, that is) are
> thefts of opportunity by people who aren't very computer savvy.

But the buyers are.  And if they suspect* it was stolen, they will do 
whatever's possible to protect themselves.

*suspect: when the price is too good, and the point of purchase is "a 
cafe", in a car, etc. chances are it's stolen.

-- 
gmail originated posts filtered due to spam.

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#393

In article <hvidnVI3L4e7zXfQnZ2dnUVZ_i2dnZ2d@giganews.com>,
 Alan Browne <alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca> wrote:

> > Most thefts of laptops (other than from stores and warehouses, that 
> > is) are thefts of opportunity by people who aren't very computer 
> > savvy.
> 
> But the buyers are.

Not necessarily.  And even if they are, there's the time frame between 
theft and sale to use that tracking software, assuming that the thief 
didn't decide to keep the computer for himself.

> *suspect: when the price is too good, and the point of purchase is "a 
> cafe", in a car, etc. chances are it's stolen.

Or even Craig's List, eBay, or a newsgroup.

-- 
Tea Party Patriots is to Patriotism as 
People's Democratic Republic is to Democracy.

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#394

On 2011-06-04 12:10 , Michelle Steiner wrote:
> In article<hvidnVI3L4e7zXfQnZ2dnUVZ_i2dnZ2d@giganews.com>,
>   Alan Browne<alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca>  wrote:
>
>>> Most thefts of laptops (other than from stores and warehouses, that
>>> is) are thefts of opportunity by people who aren't very computer
>>> savvy.
>>
>> But the buyers are.
>
> Not necessarily.  And even if they are, there's the time frame between
> theft and sale to use that tracking software, assuming that the thief
> didn't decide to keep the computer for himself.

As you say, "not necessarily."

>
>> *suspect: when the price is too good, and the point of purchase is "a
>> cafe", in a car, etc. chances are it's stolen.
>
> Or even Craig's List, eBay, or a newsgroup.



Yeeeksss!  The MBA I bought for my SO was a CL ad!  And I transacted in 
a restaurant in Old Montreal!


(The seller was the manager of the resto, a fine establishment. 
Transaction was in his office where he had an iMac and his partner had a 
MBP.  I have the original receipt, packaging, disks and so on).


The real scam on CL is the "I'll send the computer by UPS, please use 
this online escrow service to deposit your money, when you receive the 
goods, just signal the escrow service to let the money go... I'll pay 
the fees and everything!"

-- 
gmail originated posts filtered due to spam.

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#476

In article <michelle-2C0242.07443904062011@news.eternal-september.org>,
 Michelle Steiner <michelle@michelle.org> wrote:

> In article <EaGdnYmiCpVSpHfQnZ2dnUVZ_radnZ2d@giganews.com>,
>  Alan Browne <alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca> wrote:
> 
> > >> So all a thief has to do is erase the drive and re-install OS X?
> > >
> > > Yeah, but he doesn't get any of your personal data.  And if you 
> > > discover that the computer is missing before he has a chance to do 
> > > erase the drive, you have a good chance of locating the computer 
> > > before he does.
> > 
> > A savvy thief could disable the WiFi if interested in content, then once 
> > the search for data is over erase the drive and install a fresh OS.
> > 
> > But I suspect most thieves wouldn't care about the data - just erase the 
> > disk and get the thing into the market.
> 
> Most thefts of laptops (other than from stores and warehouses, that is) are 
> thefts of opportunity by people who aren't very computer savvy.

Typically from internet coffee shops etcetera or burgled.

-- 
The Chinese pretend their goods are good and we pretend our money 
is good, or is it the reverse?

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#408

On Jun 3, Michelle Steiner <miche...@michelle.org> wrote:
> > So all a thief has to do is erase the drive and re-install OS X?
>
> Yeah, but he doesn't get any of your personal data.  
> And if you discover that the computer is missing before
> he has a chance to do erase the drive,
> you have a good chance of locating the computer
> before he does.

That's my question too - in order to erase the
disk, he has to start the machine, right?
And the undercover anti-theft program will load
itself automatically, I assume, and start doing
its thing immediately, snapping photos before
the thief goes through the process of reformatting.

--
Rich

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#409

On 11-06-05 10:40 PM, RichD wrote:

> That's my question too - in order to erase the
> disk, he has to start the machine, right?
> And the undercover anti-theft program will load
> itself automatically, I assume, and start doing
> its thing immediately, snapping photos before
> the thief goes through the process of reformatting.

It need to connect to the network to detect that it has been stolen, and
of course, to send those photos some place.

Cheers,

-j



-- 
Jeffrey Goldberg          http://goldmark.org/jeff/
I rarely read HTML or poorly quoting posts
Reply-To address is valid

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#411

On 06-05-2011 23:40, RichD wrote:
> On Jun 3, Michelle Steiner<miche...@michelle.org>  wrote:
>>> So all a thief has to do is erase the drive and re-install OS X?
>>
>> Yeah, but he doesn't get any of your personal data.
>> And if you discover that the computer is missing before
>> he has a chance to do erase the drive,
>> you have a good chance of locating the computer
>> before he does.
>
> That's my question too - in order to erase the
> disk, he has to start the machine, right?
> And the undercover anti-theft program will load
> itself automatically, I assume, and start doing
> its thing immediately, snapping photos before
> the thief goes through the process of reformatting.

Not exactly.  To erase the disk, you have to boot
from a disk other than the one you want to erase.
Most likely an install disk which does not contain
the tracking program.

-- 
Wes Groleau

   There are two types of people in the world …
   http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/barrett?itemid=1157

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#412

In article 
<819fb50b-15b0-4434-9021-8cdc3e98220f@35g2000prp.googlegroups.com>,
 RichD <r_delaney2001@yahoo.com> wrote:

> On Jun 3, Michelle Steiner <miche...@michelle.org> wrote:
> > > So all a thief has to do is erase the drive and re-install OS X?
> >
> > Yeah, but he doesn't get any of your personal data.  
> > And if you discover that the computer is missing before
> > he has a chance to do erase the drive,
> > you have a good chance of locating the computer
> > before he does.
> 
> That's my question too - in order to erase the
> disk, he has to start the machine, right?

Nah. He could just remove the drive and put it in another machine or 
enclosure. And he could just put his own brand-new drive into the 
machine.

-- 
Send responses to the relevant news group rather than email to me.
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my very hungry SPAM
filter. Due to Google's refusal to prevent spammers from posting
messages through their servers, I often ignore posts from Google
Groups. Use a real news client if you want me to see your posts.

JR

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#390

On 6/3/11 10:21 PM, in article
RsednclKrso8OXTQnZ2dnUVZ_qadnZ2d@giganews.com, "Alan Browne"
<alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca> wrote:

> On 2011-06-03 18:15 , nospam wrote:
>> In article
>> <00addd67-75e8-4a93-85ed-d6aadba6dae2@q12g2000prb.googlegroups.com>,
>> RichD<r_delaney2001@yahoo.com>  wrote:
>> 
>>> There was a recent news item, an Apple Mac was
>>> stolen.  He had anti-theft software installed, which
>>> snapped pictures at regular intervals through the webcam.
>>> 
>>> Then it said he activated the program remotely,
>>> to send him the pictures, and the thief was eventually
>>> caught.
>>> 
>>> My question is, how the heck did he accomplish this
>>> 'remote control'?  Like,  he sent a virus to the machine,
>>> or what?
>> 
>> the original owner had anti-theft software was installed. when the
>> macbook was stolen, he reported it which activated the phoning home.
>> there are a few products that can do this.
> 
> So all a thief has to do is erase the drive and re-install OS X?

Of course brain-dead Browne would agree with the resident troll. Why am I
not surprised?

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#395

Alan Browne <alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca> wrote:

> So all a thief has to do is erase the drive and re-install OS X?

Yes, if the thief is reasonably smart.

But very many thieves are casual ones, who wouldn't have access to an
install disk.

Also, it's possible to prevent startup from a drive other than the
internal one. Again, this can be overcome but it's another obstacle for
the thief.
-- 
<http://www.decohen.com>
The Labyrinth of the Heart: Changed Myths for Changing Lives 
book and e-book <http://www.decohen.com/labyrinth>
Send e-mail to the Reply-To address, not the From address.

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#396

On 2011-06-04 14:38 , Daniel Cohen wrote:
> Alan Browne<alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca>  wrote:
>
>> So all a thief has to do is erase the drive and re-install OS X?
>
> Yes, if the thief is reasonably smart.
>
> But very many thieves are casual ones, who wouldn't have access to an
> install disk.
>
> Also, it's possible to prevent startup from a drive other than the
> internal one. Again, this can be overcome but it's another obstacle for
> the thief.

Well as I said elsewhere the real thief is the client who knows (or 
suspects real hard) that the laptop is stolen.  That more knowledgeable 
client will more likely go to lengths to "protect" the laptop from being 
traced.

-- 
gmail originated posts filtered due to spam.

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#398

Alan Browne <alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca> wrote:

> Well as I said elsewhere the real thief is the client who knows (or 
> suspects real hard) that the laptop is stolen.  That more knowledgeable
> client will more likely go to lengths to "protect" the laptop from being
> traced.

Makes sense. But considering how many Mac users aren't computer savvy, I
suspect you are overstating this risk.

Of course, I may be understating it. There's no statistics on this.
-- 
<http://www.decohen.com>
The Labyrinth of the Heart: Changed Myths for Changing Lives 
book and e-book <http://www.decohen.com/labyrinth>
Send e-mail to the Reply-To address, not the From address.

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#400

In article <1k2dx06.1ov7kju19c7g0cN%dcohenspam@talktalk.net>,
 dcohenspam@talktalk.net (Daniel Cohen) wrote:

> Alan Browne <alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca> wrote:
> 
> > Well as I said elsewhere the real thief is the client who knows (or 
> > suspects real hard) that the laptop is stolen.  That more knowledgeable
> > client will more likely go to lengths to "protect" the laptop from being
> > traced.
> 
> Makes sense. But considering how many Mac users aren't computer savvy, I
> suspect you are overstating this risk.

I don't know what you mean by "computer savvy", but why should they need 
to be? In any case most users of other platforms aren't either.

-- 
Tim

"That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed,
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted"  --  Bill of Rights 1689

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#404

Tim Streater <timstreater@waitrose.com> wrote:

> In article <1k2dx06.1ov7kju19c7g0cN%dcohenspam@talktalk.net>,
>  dcohenspam@talktalk.net (Daniel Cohen) wrote:
> 
> > Alan Browne <alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca> wrote:
> > 
> > > Well as I said elsewhere the real thief is the client who knows (or
> > > suspects real hard) that the laptop is stolen.  That more knowledgeable
> > > client will more likely go to lengths to "protect" the laptop from being
> > > traced.
> > 
> > Makes sense. But considering how many Mac users aren't computer savvy, I
> > suspect you are overstating this risk.
> 
> I don't know what you mean by "computer savvy", but why should they need
> to be? In any case most users of other platforms aren't either.

I suspect there are many people who would just ake it for granted that
computers came with an operating system and applications, they would not
know about install disks.

Certainly, many  would not know anything about installing or removing
RAM
-- 
<http://www.decohen.com>
The Labyrinth of the Heart: Changed Myths for Changing Lives 
book and e-book <http://www.decohen.com/labyrinth>
Send e-mail to the Reply-To address, not the From address.

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