[Hidden-tech] Stolen Macbook - Please Help

[Chris Hart]

Thank you for the detailed story, Monica

For Everyone's FYI....

In the iCloud options for your devices, the 'play sound' button is not related to the 'notify when found' option.

Play sound triggers the playback of a sonar/radar type ping sound on the device itself through its built-in speaker, to call attention to it (and to serve an audible beacon when you are trying to locate it in your immediate surroundings, if you misplaced it).

So, if you are trying to locate/apprehend someone with your stolen property, you probably don't want to click the 'play sound' button, if you don't want them to be alerted to you having some degree of access to the device.

If you only want to know when the device comes online and about its whereabouts, you would only click on the 'notify when found' checkbox and nothing else.

Ideally, you should have already enabled "Find My Mac/ipad/iphone" in the icloud control panel to begin with, as this gives you more control.  I also suggest that, on iOS devices, you enable the option "Send Last Location" as that allows you to at least be notified of the device's last known location, in the event that the battery dies.

I know that some people feel that options such as "Find My..." mean that 'corporate america' is tracking you all the time.  If you wear a tin foil hat to bed, then by all means don't turn on these functions.  But for the rest of us, they provide more benefits than detriments. 

Another option for locating your lost computer is the Prey project, which is an open source project.  They provide a software and service that also provides device location information, but adds the ability to activate the built-in webcam (if your computer has one) and 'see' who's sitting in front of your computer.  It works very well and I have it installed on my own devices, as well as those of some clients.  Of course be able to access the camera requires that you haven't covered over the camera due to 'privacy concerns' (which I personally think are over-rated when it comes to cameras.... do you really think anybody wants to watch you play air guitar in your undies?)
https://preyproject.com <https://preyproject.com/>

Chris Hart
     Computer Support & Technology Consulting
        for Connecticut and Western Massachusetts
            Tel: 860-291-9393
                chris at chrishart.net
                    http://www.MyMacTech.com
			


> On Mar 19, 2016, at 2:37 PM, Monica Goggins <monica.elise3 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hi All -
> 
> I apologize for the delayed response in getting back to you, but I've received quite a few e-mails back wondering how it all went down so here goes:  I received an e-mail from "Find My Mac" that read: Monica's Macbook was found near such and such address - keeping it confidential here folks - but it gave me an exact address and time.  It then proceeded to give me an option to view location and I got a perfect google satellite view of the house in which it was found.  I proceeded to call the police department in the county where it was located and told them of the whereabouts and not even an hour later they called me and said they'd retrieved my Macbook and arrested the kid who stole it.  He was charged with Larceny over $250 - a felony that could get him kicked out of school, sentenced to up to 5 years in prison depending and fined up to $25,000.  I sure hope he learned his lesson! and I hope this helps anyone who may have a piece of technology stolen from them in the future - though I hope this never happens to anyone.  Even if you didn't previously have Find my Mac turned on - as I did not - you can go under All Devices on Find My iPhone through iCloud or on your cellular device and hit Notify When Found and Play Sound which means whenever the laptop connects to an IP address or Wifi (not sure if this is the correct terminology) it will immediately notify you of its location regardless of if the laptop is locked or not - if it is turned on and in range, you'll get some type of notification.  Phew! That was a mouthful, but I wish you all well on your future endeavors and please feel free to contact me if you ever have any problems in regards to stolen devices - I'm pretty tech savvy.
> 
>                                            Best,
>                                              Monica Goggins
> 
> On Fri, Mar 11, 2016 at 11:00 AM, <tim at inksolutionsma.com <mailto:tim at inksolutionsma.com>> wrote:
> Hello All,
> 
>   
> 
>  
> 
>    I received a call from a client today, someone stole her MacBook and she is calling all the local shops to be on the lookout for this. I offered to put a post  for her on Hidden-Tech in order to spread the word. She said she would appreciate this so here I am.
> 
>  
> 
> The stolen MacBook is a Gold early 2015. The #9 key is missing from it, and the login page profile picture should show a cactus along with the clients name (Monica Doggins).
> 
> The serial number is – C02QC6JMGF84.
> 
>  
> 
> If anyone comes across this system please contact the Client and Police.
> 
>  
> 
> Monica Doggins
> 
> (413) 348-8677 <tel:%28413%29%20348-8677>
> Monica.elise3 at gmail.com <mailto:Monica.elise3 at gmail.com>
>  
> 
> The serial is already registered as stolen with Law Enforcement, and we are attempting to track the system if the culprit manages to get online with it.
> 
> Thank you everyone, I hope this helps Monica retrieve her system.
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net
> Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net
> 
> You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion list.
> If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the Members   
> page on the Hidden Tech Web site.
> http://www.hidden-tech.net/members

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.hidden-tech.net/pipermail/hidden-discuss/attachments/20160319/57dd8b4e/attachment.html