Hidden App tracks stolen MacBook from London to Iran

[eipstudios]

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.

[seeandsee]

they dont know how to format HDD, fuckers

[rowan]

Brings up an interesting ethical question... if you have a reasonable belief that the person who is in possession of the laptop is probably not the person that stole it, are you breaching their privacy by surveilling them via the webcam?

[pinkz]

Originally Posted by rowan

Brings up an interesting ethical question... if you have a reasonable belief that the person who is in possession of the laptop is probably not the person that stole it, are you breaching their privacy by surveilling them via the webcam?

receiving stolen goods is a crime in itself, here in the UK even if you are unknowingly sold a stolen item you are at risk of prosecution if caught.

[Best-In-BC]

Originally Posted by pinkz

receiving stolen goods is a crime in itself, here in the UK even if you are unknowingly sold a stolen item you are at risk of prosecution if caught.

Yep, that is a fucking joke, and this is who my country wants to be like, fuck

[Rochard]

Originally Posted by rowan

Brings up an interesting ethical question... if you have a reasonable belief that the person who is in possession of the laptop is probably not the person that stole it, are you breaching their privacy by surveilling them via the webcam?

Valid point, but....

The laptop was stolen. He is posting pictures found on his laptop. If someone knowing posts pictures on his laptop, does't he have the legal right to use them and post them as he wants?

[stephane76]

Originally Posted by rowan

Brings up an interesting ethical question... if you have a reasonable belief that the person who is in possession of the laptop is probably not the person that stole it, are you breaching their privacy by surveilling them via the webcam?

Looks like he had to remove the pictures and replace them with drawings

Laptop update - apology

My name is Dom, and I live in London, UK.

My laptop was stolen from my home in February 2013 and in March 2013 tracking software revealed that it had turned up in Tehran, Iran!

I shared this information with the UK police dealing with the matter and they said that they were regretfully unable to help.

I regarded this as the end of the matter, and the end of my laptop.

On 12th April 2013 I decided to share the data the laptop recovered on this Tumblr blog as an amusing story for my friends to enjoy.

It seemed to me that a laptop that went missing from London and turned up in Iran was like a space probe landing on a distant planet and beaming back proof of intelligent life.

My friends really enjoyed the story.

And shared it with other friends.

Who also really enjoyed the story and shared it with other friends.

As the story circulated, I started to receive messages from concerned individuals warning of privacy issues and the possible harm and distress the blog may cause the people in the photos.

I hadn?t really considered any of this, as I hadn?t expected the story to get so much attention.

So I hid the identity of the people in the photos.

Then one of the people in the photos contacted me and asked me to remove the pictures. They were very upset.

I could understand why.

The people shown on the blog site are not thieves.

The safety and well being of private individuals is more important than any possession, although I still miss my laptop I do not wish ill on anyone.

The people who now have my laptop have been good enough to get in touch and therefore the tracking software has done it?s job.

Thank you for all your interest in my laptop.

[Dvae]

Originally Posted by Rochard

Valid point, but....

The laptop was stolen. He is posting pictures found on his laptop. If someone knowing posts pictures on his laptop, does't he have the legal right to use them and post them as he wants?

Anybody who steals a laptop will have no qualms about using anything on it as he or she sees fit.

[_Richard_]

Originally Posted by Best-In-BC

Yep, that is a fucking joke, and this is who my country wants to be like, fuck

indeed

[BareBacked]

what is that app called?

[L-Pink]

If you buy stolen merchandise you deserve what you get.

Think about it, who can't provide ONE of the following ? a receipt, copy of credit card charge, original box or literature, software disc, etc. Something that says you didn't grab the computer and run.

.

[candyflip]

Originally Posted by L-Pink

If you buy stolen merchandise you deserve what you get.

Think about it, who can't provide ONE of the following ? a receipt, copy of credit card charge, original box or literature, software disc, etc. Something that says you didn't grab the computer and run.

.

The people who think and are trading in the stolen stuff are smart enough to know and aside from the receipt, the rest of that stuff can be had on eBay...no problem.

[L-Pink]

Originally Posted by candyflip

The people who think and are trading in the stolen stuff are smart enough to know and aside from the receipt, the rest of that stuff can be had on eBay...no problem.

Yea, I guess if you steal for a living you do it professionally ???..

[shake]

I imagine the punishment for possessing stolen property in Iran wouldn't be pretty...

[MrBottomTooth]

Originally Posted by shake

I imagine the punishment for possessing stolen property in Iran wouldn't be pretty...

I'll say:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010...f-hand-cut-off

[pornguy]

Originally Posted by stephane76

Looks like he had to remove the pictures and replace them with drawings

No fucking way would I have taken those photos down.

You can bet your ass those people know that laptop is stolen. No one gets a Mac laptop for a few hundred without knowing.

[eipstudios]

Originally Posted by BareBacked

what is that app called?

http://hiddenapp.com/

[SilentKnight]

Yeah, it's not good to infringe on the privacy rights of someone who's in possession of your stolen laptop.

/sarcasm

[mardigras]

A while back I went to a convenience store I frequent in the next town over. I realized I didn't have my phone as I was pulling out of the parking lot and turned right around. The clerks helped me look and one called my number on her cell phone to make sure it hadn't dropped in some odd place in my car or around the store. No dice. I KNEW I had my phone when I pulled into the store because I had been streaming a radio station when I got there and had turned it off before I went in.

I came home and found a program called "Plan B" in the Google store that I was able to initiate installing from the web page. Immediately I started receiving email updates with Google maps and saw my phone traveling around town, including a brief stop just a few blocks from my house. I went next door to use my friend's phone, I was going to call the police, but first I called my mom because she (a nurse) was expecting an update before dark on an elderly relative I had checked on to know if she needed to go do anything for and to let her know to call my friend if she needed to reach me. She told me that she had my phone and would be by shortly to bring it to me. :O

Turns out that the store owner reviewed their security cam tape after I left. I had sat my phone on a small shelf right below the counter as I pulled out my card and signed the receipt. The guy right behind me picked up the phone and stuck it in his pocket. They recognized him as a regular customer and the clerk who had called my number when I was there kept redialing and the guy finally answered it. She told him that they had him on tape taking the phone and he needed to bring it back. He did and told them some BS that he thought his friend had left it. They checked my contacts and found "Mom" and called her.

When I went by the store a couple days later and thanked them for helping me recover it, we joked about it being dumb to steal a smartphone. I never got a pic of the guy who took it, when I checked my phone's history the only activity he had done on it was answering the call from the store clerk. I've been quite diligent about knowing where my phone is since.