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Groups > comp.programming > #375 > unrolled thread

how?

Started byRichD <r_delaney2001@yahoo.com>
First post2011-06-03 15:13 -0700
Last post2011-06-27 06:38 -0700
Articles 20 on this page of 56 — 25 participants

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Contents

  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

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#401

FromAlan Browne <alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca>
Date2011-06-05 10:55 -0400
Message-ID<ypidnQUIatVtBXbQnZ2dnUVZ_qydnZ2d@giganews.com>
In reply to#398
On 2011-06-05 07:05 , 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.

You don't say?  Mac users are not computer savvy?  Oh.

Makes sense, of the three people closest to me that use Macs only one 
(my son) can get around it with complete ease - and he's no expert at 
all - he even wrote some C programs on it (for a class).  He just got in 
from school (in another city) in the middle of the night.  I'll do some 
maintenance on his MBP later today.

The next, a friend, is quite good, but can fall apart solving some 
simple issues (network, backups).

My SO is still putting off "Finder 101" that I want to give her as a 
series of courses to let her roam the machine a bit more.  In the 
meantime she can browse, do Word/Excel with no problems.

> Of course, I may be understating it. There's no statistics on this.

You're probably right.

-- 
gmail originated posts filtered due to spam.

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#457

FromCalum <com.gmail@nospam.scottishwildcat>
Date2011-06-10 19:44 +0100
Message-ID<istomg$9hd$1@speranza.aioe.org>
In reply to#386
On 04/06/11 04:21, Alan Browne wrote:

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

Most users of anti-theft software also set up a firmware password to 
make this somewhat more difficult. They also enable the guest login 
account to 'encourage' the thief to use that rather than re-installing, 
and thus give themselves away.

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#464

FromAbu Yahya <abu_yahya@invalid.com>
Date2011-06-12 00:00 +0530
Message-ID<it0c7g$s3t$5@speranza.aioe.org>
In reply to#457
On 6/11/2011 12:14 AM, Calum wrote:
> On 04/06/11 04:21, Alan Browne wrote:
>
>> So all a thief has to do is erase the drive and re-install OS X?
>
> Most users of anti-theft software also set up a firmware password to
> make this somewhat more difficult. They also enable the guest login
> account to 'encourage' the thief to use that rather than re-installing,
> and thus give themselves away.
True. Some don't even require logging-in...they run once the login 
prompt appears.

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#377

FromGeorge Kerby <ghost_topper@hotmail.com>
Date2011-06-03 18:30 -0500
Message-ID<CA0ED8D2.6F16B%ghost_topper@hotmail.com>
In reply to#375


On 6/3/11 5:13 PM, 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?
> 
> 
> --
> Rich

Welcome to the Mac forums Rich!

Here is how...

<http://hiddenapp.com/>

Sorry, not available for crappy PeeCees.

BTW: I thought disliked Apple (along with most everything else, LOL)?

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#378

From"robin" <robin51@dodo.mapson.com.au>
Date2011-06-04 09:32 +1000
Message-ID<4de96f33$0$89993$c30e37c6@exi-reader.telstra.net>
In reply to#375
"RichD" <r_delaney2001@yahoo.com> wrote in message 
news:00addd67-75e8-4a93-85ed-d6aadba6dae2@q12g2000prb.googlegroups.com...
| 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?

Why?  Do you have a stolen Mac? 

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#380

FromGeorge Kerby <ghost_topper@hotmail.com>
Date2011-06-03 18:45 -0500
Message-ID<CA0EDC55.6F17D%ghost_topper@hotmail.com>
In reply to#378


On 6/3/11 6:32 PM, in article
4de96f33$0$89993$c30e37c6@exi-reader.telstra.net, "robin"
<robin51@dodo.mapson.com.au> wrote:

> "RichD" <r_delaney2001@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:00addd67-75e8-4a93-85ed-d6aadba6dae2@q12g2000prb.googlegroups.com...
> | 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?
> 
> Why?  Do you have a stolen Mac?
> 
> 


LOL! Good one!

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#379

FromMichael Vilain <vilain@NOspamcop.net>
Date2011-06-03 16:42 -0700
Message-ID<vilain-E96EAD.16420203062011@news.individual.net>
In reply to#375
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?
> 
> 
> --
> Rich

As soon as laptop is connected to the internet, the pre-installed 
anti-theft software checks in with the anti-theft database on the 
server.  If it's flagged as stolen or "track me", then certain 
pre-installed services are turned on.  The network and camera report 
information on the IP address to the anti-theft site.  I don't know if 
laptops have any sort of GPS like an iTouch or iPhone, so that may be 
also tracked.  If WiFi network is used, there's probably additional info 
that can be added to the database.  AFAIK, you can't install this 
software after the fact.

If the thief had just pulled the hard drive or booted off a MacOS 
install media and reformatted the drive and reinstalled the OS, there 
wouldn't have been a problem.  The pre-installed tracking software would 
have been gone.  AFAIK, there's nothing in any of the boot PROMs on 
either Macintosh or PC that does this sort of tracking without software.  
And you have to connect to the Internet to send information back.

This sort of anti-theft software has been around for a while now.  A 
school system used it to spy on their students getting the VP and head 
of IT fired for invading the privacy of the students and the school 
district sued by the parents of the student that uncovered the spying.

-- 
DeeDee, don't press that button!  DeeDee!  NO!  Dee...
[I filter all Goggle Groups posts, so any reply may be automatically ignored]

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#381

FromGeorge Kerby <ghost_topper@hotmail.com>
Date2011-06-03 18:50 -0500
Message-ID<CA0EDD6C.6F17F%ghost_topper@hotmail.com>
In reply to#379


On 6/3/11 6:42 PM, in article
vilain-E96EAD.16420203062011@news.individual.net, "Michael Vilain"
<vilain@NOspamcop.net> 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?
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> Rich
> 
> As soon as laptop is connected to the internet, the pre-installed
> anti-theft software checks in with the anti-theft database on the
> server.  If it's flagged as stolen or "track me", then certain
> pre-installed services are turned on.  The network and camera report
> information on the IP address to the anti-theft site.  I don't know if
> laptops have any sort of GPS like an iTouch or iPhone, so that may be
> also tracked.  If WiFi network is used, there's probably additional info
> that can be added to the database.  AFAIK, you can't install this
> software after the fact.
> 

<http://hiddenapp.com/> explains how it works and it cannot be done after
the theft. There are no GPS, but can be pretty accurate in urban areas of to
less than a mile according to their FYI. Not bad for $15 a year...

> If the thief had just pulled the hard drive or booted off a MacOS
> install media and reformatted the drive and reinstalled the OS, there
> wouldn't have been a problem.  The pre-installed tracking software would
> have been gone.  AFAIK, there's nothing in any of the boot PROMs on
> either Macintosh or PC that does this sort of tracking without software.
> And you have to connect to the Internet to send information back.
> 

Most thieves aren't that sophisticated in the real world.

> This sort of anti-theft software has been around for a while now.  A
> school system used it to spy on their students getting the VP and head
> of IT fired for invading the privacy of the students and the school
> district sued by the parents of the student that uncovered the spying.

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#382

FromBig Bad Bob <BigBadBob-at-mrp3-dot-com@testing.local>
Date2011-06-03 16:57 -0700
Message-ID<zKidnfeAstdk6XTQnZ2dnUVZ_smdnZ2d@earthlink.com>
In reply to#375
On 06/03/11 15:13, RichD so wittily quipped:
> 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?

one method might be vnc.  Other methods might be commercial (a couple of 
applications come to mind, advertised on the radio and TV).  If your 
computer is set up to 'phone home' whenever it's connected to the 
internet, this would be even easier, since you would instantly know when 
it's online, and what the IP address is.  Apple's shell and utility 
environment is based on FreeBSD 5.x and is basically the same as linux 
or newer releases of BSD or UNIX.  As such, you could easily set up an 
ssh daemon or PPPoE or some other virtual networking method that would 
give you access whenever it's online.  Once you have access to the 
machine, if you're a computer-savvy hacker type it should be a 
no-brainer to make it take photos, report its location via GPS (assuming 
you have hardware for this), and so on.

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#383

FromMichelle Steiner <michelle@michelle.org>
Date2011-06-03 17:01 -0700
Message-ID<michelle-032DF6.17013303062011@news.eternal-september.org>
In reply to#375
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?

It's a commercial program that he installed on his own machine.  It's sorta 
like Find My Mac, but it can also take pictures using the built-in camera.  
There are a number of these utilities, from different companies, for sale.

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

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#384

FromBig Bad Bob <BigBadBob-at-mrp3-dot-com@testing.local>
Date2011-06-03 17:08 -0700
Message-ID<ILGdnTNey_Dy6nTQnZ2dnUVZ_hSdnZ2d@earthlink.com>
In reply to#383
On 06/03/11 17:01, Michelle Steiner so wittily quipped:
> 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?
>
> It's a commercial program that he installed on his own machine.  It's sorta
> like Find My Mac, but it can also take pictures using the built-in camera.
> There are a number of these utilities, from different companies, for sale.
>

nice utilities.

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#385

FromBob Harris <nospam.News.Bob@remove.Smith-Harris.us>
Date2011-06-03 20:23 -0400
Message-ID<nospam.News.Bob-B8B6AC.20232303062011@news.eternal-september.org>
In reply to#375
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?
> 
> 
> --
> Rich

There is an Open Source laptop finder app called "Pray"
<http://preyproject.com/>

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#403

FromTevvin <Tevvin@walksincircles.com>
Date2011-06-05 11:44 -0500
Message-ID<NnOGp.9$W01.1267@sooner.brightok.net>
In reply to#385
On 6/3/2011 7:23 PM, Bob Harris 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?
>>
>>
>> --
>> Rich
>
> There is an Open Source laptop finder app called "Pray"
> <http://preyproject.com/>

I use Prey on my laptop and smartphone, it has all those capabilities 
and a few more. Hopefully I'll never have to really use it, but it's 
there if I need to.

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#406

FromAlan Browne <alan.browne@FreelunchVideotron.ca>
Date2011-06-05 18:44 -0400
Message-ID<dJqdnSkCCZtOm3HQnZ2dnUVZ_v6dnZ2d@giganews.com>
In reply to#403
On 2011-06-05 12:44 , Tevvin wrote:
> On 6/3/2011 7:23 PM, Bob Harris 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?
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Rich
>>
>> There is an Open Source laptop finder app called "Pray"
>> <http://preyproject.com/>
>
> I use Prey on my laptop and smartphone, it has all those capabilities
> and a few more. Hopefully I'll never have to really use it, but it's
> there if I need to.

I haven't seen a claim that it is immune to a simple hard disk 
erase/re-format and re-install of OS X.

-- 
gmail originated posts filtered due to spam.

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#387

FromJeffrey Goldberg <nobody@goldmark.org>
Date2011-06-03 22:28 -0500
Message-ID<94tn2nFckpU1@mid.individual.net>
In reply to#375
On 11-06-03 5:13 PM, RichD wrote:

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

The owner had a specific utility installed.

I use Undercover (a different product, same idea) on my Macs.

You can get answers to all of the questions you are about to ask here:

  http://www.orbicule.com/undercover/mac/faq.php

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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#397

Fromdividebyzer0 <dividebyzer0@gmail.com>
Date2011-06-05 00:16 +0000
Message-ID<isehtg$2hdk$1@adenine.netfront.net>
In reply to#375
In alt.hacker 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?
> 
> 
> --
> Rich

I believe it is a piece of software, designed to work "within" OSX... correct?

--- Posted via news://freenews.netfront.net/ - Complaints to news@netfront.net ---

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#399

FromGandalf Parker <gandalf@the.dead.ISP.of.Community.net>
Date2011-06-05 12:51 +0000
Message-ID<Xns9EFB3B84BC914gandalfparker@199.245.68.61>
In reply to#397
dividebyzer0 <dividebyzer0@gmail.com> contributed wisdom to 
news:isehtg$2hdk$1@adenine.netfront.net: 

>> My question is, how the heck did he accomplish this
>> 'remote control'?  Like,  he sent a virus to the machine,
>> or what?
> 
> I believe it is a piece of software, designed to work "within" OSX...
> correct? 

This is coming from the alt.hacker (white-hat hackers) newsgroup that was 
included so consider it abit of a hacker viewpoint.

YES there are programs that do what has been requested. And as they 
become popular, 2 things will happen. ONE is that the people taking the 
machines will have easy access to black-hat info on how to spot and 
disarm such programs. They will even have access to downloadable scripts 
meant to search&bypass all of the popular programs for it. TWO is that 
the better ones will turned to the dark side. Someone will use the 
concept in an evil way just as auto-updates become viruses and nanny 
programs become keysniffers. But for now as far as I know they can all 
still be recommended.

The other note Id like to throw in here is, consider doing it yourself. 
Depending on your level of knowledge, how often the machine boots up, and 
what programs usually run. I do my own (on linux but the concept is the 
same). For every operating system thre is a directory or a script that 
basically says "whenever the machine boots up, run these". Add something 
there at least. Have it run something which might tell where it is. Then 
have it try to get you the information.

Such as... on my machine a common user (not even the admin account) 
whenever the machine boots will run a "traceroute" from itself to my ISP 
and email it to me at an account off of that machine. I have others also 
but thats an example.


Gandalf  Parker
-- 
Call ourselves something like "security expert" instead of "hacker"?
Sorry, but saying that security experts and white-hat hackers are the 
same is like saying that house painters and artists do basically the same 
thing.

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#405

FromBig Bad Bob <BigBadBob-at-mrp3-dot-com@testing.local>
Date2011-06-05 15:39 -0700
Message-ID<7ZidnUW408gvmHHQnZ2dnUVZ_oidnZ2d@earthlink.com>
In reply to#399
On 06/05/11 05:51, Gandalf Parker so wittily quipped:
> dividebyzer0<dividebyzer0@gmail.com>  contributed wisdom to
> news:isehtg$2hdk$1@adenine.netfront.net:
>
>>> My question is, how the heck did he accomplish this
>>> 'remote control'?  Like,  he sent a virus to the machine,
>>> or what?
>>
>> I believe it is a piece of software, designed to work "within" OSX...
>> correct?
>
> This is coming from the alt.hacker (white-hat hackers) newsgroup that was
> included so consider it abit of a hacker viewpoint.
>
> YES there are programs that do what has been requested. And as they
> become popular, 2 things will happen. ONE is that the people taking the
> machines will have easy access to black-hat info on how to spot and
> disarm such programs. They will even have access to downloadable scripts
> meant to search&bypass all of the popular programs for it. TWO is that
> the better ones will turned to the dark side. Someone will use the
> concept in an evil way just as auto-updates become viruses and nanny
> programs become keysniffers. But for now as far as I know they can all
> still be recommended.
>
> The other note Id like to throw in here is, consider doing it yourself.

related note: that would be like what I described earlier, i.e. writing 
a script that 'dials home' every time you connect to the internet

> Depending on your level of knowledge, how often the machine boots up, and
> what programs usually run. I do my own (on linux but the concept is the
> same). For every operating system thre is a directory or a script that
> basically says "whenever the machine boots up, run these". Add something
> there at least. Have it run something which might tell where it is. Then
> have it try to get you the information.

related note: if you run an ssh server at a fixed location [including 
dynamic DNS] you can have a process attempt to connect to it until it 
succeeds, then hold the connection until it times out, and perpetutally 
attempt to re-connect.  It could then give you full access to the remote 
laptop through an ssh tunnel.

> Such as... on my machine a common user (not even the admin account)
> whenever the machine boots will run a "traceroute" from itself to my ISP
> and email it to me at an account off of that machine. I have others also
> but thats an example.

heh, your way is simpler, and VERY hard to defeat until AFTER it's 
detected (oops, too late, e-mail already sent).  /me considers doing the 
same thing.

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#407

FromRichD <r_delaney2001@yahoo.com>
Date2011-06-05 20:33 -0700
Message-ID<9a2e298c-dcd1-420f-badb-d049c67106b3@z15g2000prn.googlegroups.com>
In reply to#375
On Jun 3, RichD <r_delaney2...@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?

http://tinyurl.com/stolen-mac


--
Rich

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#413

FromBig Bad Bob <BigBadBob-at-mrp3-dot-com@testing.local>
Date2011-06-06 13:40 -0700
Message-ID<NK-dnSGFf8ytpnDQnZ2dnUVZ_j-dnZ2d@earthlink.com>
In reply to#407
On 06/05/11 20:33, RichD so wittily quipped:
> On Jun 3, RichD<r_delaney2...@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?
>
> http://tinyurl.com/stolen-mac

"Kaufman submitted the information to police, but said they were 
unwilling to help and didn't respond to numerous follow-up emails."

our tax dollars at work.

Oh, and don't forget, California will be letting out a bunch of convicts 
because the prison system is 'too full', because gummint regs have 
forced prison costs to skyrocket beyond the level of sanity, i.e. more 
than what most people earn in a year per prisoner.  I guess we'll just 
_HAVE_ to take the law into our own hands, NOW.

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