Having something stolen from you is never a good time. Fortunately, we live in a day and age where most of our expensive gadgets can be tracked, and if the item in question can?t be recovered, at least you can share your story on the internet.
If you?re dealing with a smartphone or a tablet with GPS onboard, tracking down something that has been stolen is usually as simple as just waiting for the device to reconnect to something after you?ve reported it stolen. In fact, New York City has a task force assembled just for this sort of thing as a result of how frequently it happens and how easy it can be to track the hardware down. If you?re a WiFi-only user, there?s less chance of an immediate recovery, but there?s still the possibility of recovery. Unless, of course, your laptop finds its way out of the country before you can track it down.
Hidden App allows you to log into your hardware remotely and take a look at the person using your machine, which is exactly what Dom from London did when his laptop went missing. It took a little more than a month for the MacBook to log back onto the Internet, according to Dom?s hilarious Tumblr account dedicated to telling the tale of his MacBook?s new users. Through Hidden App, he was able to take photos through the camera on the laptop and see the many faces that have interacted with his beloved computer since it left him. He?d go get it if he could, but the MacBook managed to travel from London to Iran in the month since it had been stolen.
It?s entirely likely that Dom?s MacBook was sold to their new users, so it?s not helpful to look at them as though they were guilty of the theft themselves. As a result of Hidden App and its ability to grab screenshots and take photos, the Tumblr shows the new owners going about day to day tasks, surfing the web, and even playing Jenga. Since the new users didn?t bother wiping the laptop or re-installing OSX, it?s entirely possible that Dom will get to watch his laptop get used for a very long time.
Dom is responsible enough to black out the eyes of everyone he grabs photos of, but the Tumblr serves as an amusing lesson to everyone with a laptop, tablet, or smartphone today. It?s important to take the right precautions to make sure you can track your equipment should the worst happen. That way, even if you can?t recover your stolen property, you can make a funny story out of it.