STINKING SCUMBAG THIEVES - stolen laptop....

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sproyd

79 posts

Master Geek

#40012 23-Aug-2009 13:51

So I leave my friend's place at half-time (ABs game) last night to get home and get some sleep for work today (Sunday) and walk into a literal nightmare...

House broken into and they got my passport, credit cards, xbox 360, watches, all of my business suits and many other items of my flatmates.

They also stole my MSI Wind netbook/laptop which had Windows 7 installed.

Is there any way I can track down these thieves either through them using my Xbox 360 on Live or the Windows 7 PC on the net? I have read up on tracking software that you have to pre-install that will help you track down thieves if they use the computer on the net but nothing that lets you retrospectively track it. I have the W7 cd-key and Xbox serial # (but not the Wind serial).

All help appreciated!

thecripplernz

252 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 3

#249830 23-Aug-2009 15:59

Thats really sucks dude, hope u catch the scumbags, which area you live in?

TheIntersect

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#249933 23-Aug-2009 21:57

Well there most likely going to format the computer and sell everyhting else.

What you could try is logging into xbox lives website http://www.xbox.com/en-NZ/?fbid=vsGELeIemzI and that will tell you when someone last logged in but that's about it. You might want to call xbox support maybe and ask if they can track it or something but i doubt they can. I am not sure if you will be able to track via the serial keys.

Hope you manage to get your stuff back!

Ragnor

8279 posts

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#250026 24-Aug-2009 10:18

Being burgled really sucks.

Hopefully
1: All your computers used password protected accounts not set to auto login
2: On resume from screensaver/standby/hibernate password protect was not turned off
3: You kept an off site backup of your critical data (mozy, jungle disk etc)

.. if not you just learnt a harsh lession in data security and you better get moving on changing all your passwords and logins for any site of service you used.

There is practically nothing you can do to track them without having pre-setup tracking software and I haven't heard of anyone being able to get the police interested in pursuing this kind of stuff (it's a dead end).

The best course of action is

1: Start changing all your passwords for everything
2: Claim on your contents insurance for the hardware lost
3: Restore your data from backup
4: Change any old passwords in your restored data

Perhaps get a gaurd dog I dunno !

browned

636 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 36

#250037 24-Aug-2009 11:14

From what the Police told me when I got broken into the first thing they will do is reformat the computer so any software that could be used for tracking is gone. I had hamachi installed so was watching for this particular computer to show up online where I would have been able to track a few things. However after 6 weeks it never showed up.

I now have a HP DV7 replacement which in the US comes with LoJack Laptop, http://www.absolute.com/products/lojack/technology

A bios agent is used to track the laptop and reinstall a service if the hardrive is wiped, swapped, or tampered with.

Another option could be http://preyproject.com/ not sure how it works though.

cheers
db

Home Server: AMD Threadripper 1950X, 64GB, 56TB HDD, Define R6 Case, 10GbE, ESXi 6.7, UNRAID, NextPVR, Emby Server, Plex Server.
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Main PC: Ryzen 7 2700, 16GB RAM, RX 570, 2 x 24"

sproyd

79 posts

Master Geek

#250050 24-Aug-2009 11:53

Ragnor: Being burgled really sucks.

Hopefully
1: All your computers used password protected accounts not set to auto login
2: On resume from screensaver/standby/hibernate password protect was not turned off
3: You kept an off site backup of your critical data (mozy, jungle disk etc)

1: No auto login to desktop and all websites (apart from banking)set to autologin
2: No screensaver or anything
3: I had a backup of all my data which was stashed in a small bag in my room. Also stolen. Offsite backup just isn't always feasible for personal stuff.

1: Start changing all your passwords for everything
2: Claim on your contents insurance for the hardware lost
3: Restore your data from backup
4: Change any old passwords in your restored data

1: done that for all important stuff like email/banking/trademe/facebook etc (anything else i've forgotten)??
2: GOT NONE. I thought a 1 inch deadbolt would protect the electronics in my room but I didn't count on them kicking the door in - literally fragments of door frame all through my room.
3: see 3 above
4: yeah see 3 above...

Basically I'm out of pocket about $5K that I really don't have and a huge amount of inconvenience.

DjShadow

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Subscriber

#250052 24-Aug-2009 12:06

You don't happen to live in Hamilton do you?
I'm without a computer at present due to being broken into myself last tuesday, still waiting for Insurance to sort out the claim.
Second time I've been broken into this year, they went after all the easy to grab and sell stuff like playstations, mobiles, laptops, etc.

Samsung

Shop now on Samsung phones, tablets, TVs and more (affiliate link).

browned

636 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 36

#250087 24-Aug-2009 14:21

I live in Hamilton. Neighbors got done last week, second time in a year but it is a rental so no alarms.

Best protection I got after being booken into was getting the wife pregenant hehe. She is at home most of the time but a decent 3 sensor alarm that calls your mobile will only cost $1k depending on the options you get.

Also it is best to try and deter them from coming again, my laptop was locked, but they still cut it, but only after they knocked the IP camera (unfortunately not working) off the desk and probably sh&* themselves.

I now have the server bolted to desk, laptop locked in again, and the TV is locked as well, and the camera is setup and ready to go when I want. If they get in again it won't be a quick or quiet job for them.

cheers
db

Ragnor

8279 posts

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#250094 24-Aug-2009 14:35

sproyd:
3: I had a backup of all my data which was stashed in a small bag in my room. Also stolen.

Bummer.

Offsite backup is really important, often overlooked. Even it's just taking a USB drive around to a relative's or good friend's place once every couple of months. At least you've still got most of your data then.