10 replies to this topic

[FlameX]

Hey people ,

I have a problem out here. I have a friend of mine rather a client of mine , his laptop got robbed at the airport . It was an Apple MacBook.
What i wanna ask is how do i track down that laptop ?? is it possible to track the location of the laptop with the help of Serial Tag Number or any other requirements . I have the requirements with me .
If we can track down the location of the laptop then how is it possible to do so ??

Please friends help me out, and give me some solutions .

Thanks

[web_designer]

well maybe others know a way, for me i think there is not. i can only hope that you did tell the police about the robbery and you have luck that they will find it and return it back. good luck and sorry for your lost.

[BuffaloHelp]

One possible way to track down a pc/laptop is to wait for a thief to log into an account that is your client's. For example, if your client made an auto login for a messenger or any social networking sites you can wait until the next time the laptop is turned on and curiously logging into one of these accounts. Once you can confirm that the thief had logged in, ask the service provider (MSN, Yahoo, Facebook or such) to trace the IP address. And then let detectives request IP address information to obtain the service provider, location, customer and customer information.

Other than that, there's not much you can really do at this point.

Consider advising your client with Lojack for Laptops.

[Nik]

I don't think that the thief can be traced. How can you trace him, if he never try to connect to the internet. If you have the unique identification no of laptop then there is chances that you can trace him, but for this you will have to check each and every laptop and this is the tedious process that you don't want to follow. If he connects to the internet using that laptop then you can trace him, but you can trace him only when he is trying to sign in onto your email account otherwise you cannot.

[linekill]

There's a way to track lost/stolen/robbed laptop but it depends on the laptop. There's a service called "CompuTrace". It's available in HP laptops as an add-on to any customizable model. I don't know how it works, though, but I know it's effective.

A similar program may be available for Macbooks.

[deadmad7]

linekill, on 29 August 2010 - 02:51 PM, said:

There's a way to track lost/stolen/robbed laptop but it depends on the laptop. There's a service called "CompuTrace". It's available in HP laptops as an add-on to any customizable model. I don't know how it works, though, but I know it's effective.

A similar program may be available for Macbooks.

You are correct, there is a program called "UnderCover" for Macbook. You just have to install it and it runs in the background services. When you lose your macbook, you just have to go to the internet and log in to the website and report your Macbook lost. Now, when the robber/thief turns on the computer and has internet connection, undercover updates its status from the net and if its reported lost, it sends out its IP address and locks the computer. But to use this, you should have installed it before it got stolen.

I use Undercover for my iPad. It works great, I installed it after my iPhone got lost lesson learned for me

[mahesh2k]

I think it is too late now. Most of the trackable softwares need to be installed first before you can track them. There are some part serial numbers which you can track if dismantled but in this big world how you're going to find out if they dismantled it. Once software is installed they kinda protect using locking mechanism or serial number verification. But as it is already gone then there is no way to it. I think there is no software mentioned here in this thread. So you can take a look at superuser.com site and ask them or do a google search so that you can find software for your future needs.

[web_designer]

thank you for the useful information linekill and deadmad. now i know that the next laptop i should buy is HP . it is a great way to track our computers if they get stolen, and knowing about these tracking programs first will help a lot. now we all know and we will keep that in mind.for me i will do some researches to find out if there are the same for dell laptops or windows. thanks for sharing guys.

[Quatrux]

But are that kind of software which tracks effective? Usually a thief of a laptop don't use the OS available on the computer, usually he sells it for another user, which usually starts using it with installing a new OS through the boot menu. The thief of the laptop I think formats everything, otherwise maybe it could work..

To find your mobile phone is quite easy, when you have an IMEI code, you always send it, it doesn't matter what kind of phoen service you're using, so it's easy to detect it.. My phone was stolen one time and I got it back quite fast.. Bu with laptops, I think it's a different case, it's a small chance that you'll ever get your laptop back even with those tracking software? or am I missing something?

[deadmad7]

web_designer, on 30 August 2010 - 01:52 AM, said:

thank you for the useful information linekill and deadmad. now i know that the next laptop i should buy is HP . it is a great way to track our computers if they get stolen, and knowing about these tracking programs first will help a lot. now we all know and we will keep that in mind.for me i will do some researches to find out if there are the same for dell laptops or windows. thanks for sharing guys.

HP? I think MacBook is WAY better for tracking. It has more tools and it practically is MORE secure than Windows -- for now. The only thing is that it also costs more... like 2x more. But I don't think anybody is really going to be a company just cause you can track it easily I would rather that you buy a good quality one with the latest tech stuff rather than worrying about how to find it if you lost it

Quatrux, on 30 August 2010 - 06:05 AM, said:

But are that kind of software which tracks effective? Usually a thief of a laptop don't use the OS available on the computer, usually he sells it for another user, which usually starts using it with installing a new OS through the boot menu. The thief of the laptop I think formats everything, otherwise maybe it could work..

To find your mobile phone is quite easy, when you have an IMEI code, you always send it, it doesn't matter what kind of phoen service you're using, so it's easy to detect it.. My phone was stolen one time and I got it back quite fast.. Bu with laptops, I think it's a different case, it's a small chance that you'll ever get your laptop back even with those tracking software? or am I missing something?

Yes, I think thats usually true. The robber is going to format the computer and erase everything sooner or later, but who can resist the human temptation of finding out the info on the laptop? Go through their files, steal their passwords! When the robber does this, the tracking software can alert the website through its internet (if its connected to it).

And there is a HIGH chance that even if you have the tracking software, you are still going to need some luck to get it back.

[web_designer]

Quote

HP? I think MacBook is WAY better for tracking. It has more tools and it practically is MORE secure than Windows -- for now. The only thing is that it also costs more... like 2x more. But I don't think anybody is really going to be a company just cause you can track it easily I would rather that you buy a good quality one with the latest tech stuff rather than worrying about how to find it if you lost it

you are right, but i think it is an extra option that may encourage us to buy an HP laptop. and in general, HP laptops are a good brand, at least this is what i think and i decided long time ago that the next laptop i will buy will be HP, so hearing about this feature in it was only an extra option . and i don't think i will switch to mac even if it is more secure, i am still a faithful user for windows and if i wanted to change the operating system, then it will be linux.

and between: if i lost a laptop, i will feel sad about it but i will feel more angry rather than sad when i remember all the information stored in it, that can't be replaced. i hope flamex didn't have some valuable information in it.