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See the original image at gizmodo.com

Stolen MacBook Victim Uses iSight to Bust Thieves

gizmodo.com — A White Plains, NY woman who was the victim of burglary, including her MacBook, used the Back To My Mac screen sharing feature to turn on her webcam and capture images of the unwitting culprits using the computer. As a result, police were able to arrest the thieves and recover most of the stolen goods.

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  • Apeezee, on 05/10/2008, -73/+8I wonder how many times this will happen before people GET A CLUE... Oh, and, OM NOM NOM NOM....
    • WCL23, on 05/10/2008, -0/+14What the....?
    • svetty, on 05/10/2008, -14/+11from urban dictionary:
      1. om nom nom nom
      The sound made by someone or something eating.
      Most commonly found in lolcats and similar macros. It usually translate as, "I am absorbed in eating this".
      The phrase may relate to the sound Cookie Monster makes on Sesame Street when eating cookies.
      Also "Om nom nom".

      *picture of kitten asleep in food bowl*
      "OM NOM NOM"

      Joe: So how's that burrito?
      Jack: Om nom nom nom!
      Joe: So good, then?
      • venuspcs, on 05/10/2008, -18/+2Me with a face full of p*$$y.....Om nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom
      • trappleton, on 05/11/2008, -0/+14chan catchphrases are the absolute worst.
    • standxstrongx, on 05/10/2008, -3/+4Why must you waste our time with such inane *****?
    • sv650touring, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1If you are referring to the image just above your comment, I agree.
  • MaxMWood, on 05/10/2008, -1/+404Whats with the image on the right?
    • Jambi, on 05/10/2008, -1/+148Digg now inserts random theme images for each article, even if it has nothing to do with the actual content. No, that's not the guy who stole her MacBook.
      • mptsxtps, on 05/10/2008, -0/+5Yeah, definitely looks like it. http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200 ...
        Which one is wearing the skirt and bra?
      • tech42er, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2Really? Why?
      • pyrates, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1No they don't. They give you the option of inserting an image that came from the link you submitted. You can submit no picture if none that are listed match up with the story. This is just the submitted liking that pic that popped up when he submitted the link.
    • mac9001, on 05/10/2008, -5/+43Don't knock it, just enjoy it...
    • mal1964, on 05/10/2008, -9/+3The Image.
    • ChristianMagic, on 05/10/2008, -1/+8Pic unrelated.
    • wafflez, on 05/10/2008, -0/+4That's jason chen. He's one of the writers for gizmodo and I'm assuming digg just grabbed that picture from somewhere on the page.
    • megamod, on 05/10/2008, -0/+2I was thinking that maybe the guy had sold one of the TV's and hired a hooker. that would've been a more interesting story
    • earthforce1, on 05/10/2008, -6/+2If you run firefox with ad & flash blocking you don't see anything you don't want to. Aside from your comments, I wouldn't have known it was there.

      • mrcabnit, on 05/10/2008, -0/+2If you can't see pictures, or even just cat pictures, then you must be missing out on half of the top 10
    • tyywebb, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1I don't see a picture on the page!! WTF!!!
    • davewho, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2Gizmodo's new unfunny trend.
  • DeanRed, on 05/10/2008, -10/+184I can't believe somebody got Back to my Mac working!
    • AvidPreatorian, on 05/10/2008, -4/+11works like a dream with all my family and friends who use it
    • DeanRed, on 05/10/2008, -0/+6any links on how to get it working? I have tried multiple ways and still no luck. I have a MacBook Pro and a imac and use a airport extreme...
      is there are common feature that I am using that is blocking all of this to work? if you know the secret to Back to my Mac... please tell as I have given up on that feature in leopard.
      • AvidPreatorian, on 05/10/2008, -0/+2google specific errors you're given and it should spit out some forums with answers. people are having problems with it so it shouldn't be hard to find
      • shmatt, on 05/10/2008, -0/+11Do you have a .mac account? BtMM only works for .mac subscribers, not a free service..
    • kreatre2007, on 05/10/2008, -1/+13It seems that Apple is working to get it working properly. When mine wasn't working, I complained to customer relations and someone from the .Mac support team actually called me. We got the whole thing straightened out and it works great. It turns out that my AT&T U-Verse gateway was the culprit. I turned off the firewall (which I didn't need anyway because my Macs have firewalls turned on) and all was well.
      • mcmlxxii, on 05/10/2008, -0/+3"I turned off the firewall"? Is there any reason why you can't just port forward the connection? Does this also mean that unsuspecting crooks are safe as long as they're connecting through a router using NAT?
    • TROY7, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1No kidding.
    • idavidcrockett, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1RTFM: http://images.apple.com/dotmac/docs/L358808A_BackM ...
  • chamberlanderic, on 05/10/2008, -72/+10macbook = 2000$, insurance=100$/mo, catching the idiot who stole your laptop = priceless
    • AvidPreatorian, on 05/10/2008, -4/+52don't use that line ever again, EVER
    • saleem, on 05/10/2008, -3/+35$100 a month? wow i didnt know just how stupid some people are
      • AvidPreatorian, on 05/10/2008, -1/+5it's $250 per year, this guy knows nothing. oh and macbook starts at $1100
    • TheHayze, on 05/10/2008, -5/+26A macbook is 2 grand? Since when? The top black Macbook is not more then 1500. You're thinking of the Macbook Pro... Besides, if you're the type of fool to buy it in a bigbox store, with a 100$/mo insurance policy, you deserve to get it stolen..
      • nebkiwi, on 05/10/2008, -2/+3well your up to scratch on your apple current affairs ;)
    • svetty, on 05/10/2008, -26/+5Ease up, nerds. That was a funny comment.
      • migitalwarfare, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1wrong. that joke is old old old. hell, even mastercard figured that out and dropped it
    • hello2usir, on 05/10/2008, -1/+25Drudging up overdone Mastercard parody that stopped being funny ten years ago = buried.
    • MonkeyFarts, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1The dollar sign goes in front. Ex: $100. Just pointing that out.
  • AvidPreatorian, on 05/10/2008, -1/+94iAlertU app will snap a photo of whoever disturbs your computer and e-mail to you behind the scenes. works great if you have a phone with e-mail because you know who is messing with your stuff ... even if most of the time it's your roommate or his ugly girlfriend he fell back on after he got dumped by the girl of his dream for cheating .. true story. but anyway, iAlertU.
    • sougly, on 05/10/2008, -0/+4Pics!
    • joeanon, on 05/10/2008, -22/+6It's illegal to record people secretly like that in many cases. Just as if you planted a secret cam to spy on your roommate.

      You wonder why you government feels it's ok to spy on you........ they don't know the law any better than common citizens nor do they care.

      I think you should be ashamed to spy on people like that even if you claim it's for your laptops defense. That's a bs excuse your just spying opportunistically like a traffic camera, but legally you should probably have a sticker or some public signs that says this laptop is under video surveillance because it's all good until your the one who gets spied on.

      .
      • Coolmatt49, on 05/10/2008, -0/+12It's not video recording nor is it spying. iAlertU takes a picture of someone who is using your laptop/desktop computer when you don't want them to.

        Besides, if someone is messing with your ***** without your permission, isn't that illegal as well?
      • Metis2be, on 05/10/2008, -0/+13Umm... if you don't want to get spied on, don't steal computers.
      • Kennerk, on 05/10/2008, -0/+8its called anti-theft.... if anti-theft is illegal, then wtf?
      • HeyaBILL, on 05/10/2008, -5/+4Thieves have rights too!
        • Coolmatt49, on 05/11/2008, -0/+4The right to remain silent.
        • OrangeSoda31, on 05/11/2008, -0/+3if they break their leg in your house they have the right to sue
          • MonkeyFarts, on 05/11/2008, -0/+3Which just goes to show how screwed up our legal system is. Seriously, you're better off legally to *kill* the intruder than to injure him. WTF?
      • Sawta, on 05/10/2008, -0/+8How dare he take pictures of people who are touching his personal possessions when he's not around!
        • gh0st3000, on 05/11/2008, -0/+4I know, since when does he think he has the right to defend his property from theft?
  • farfegnugen, on 05/10/2008, -4/+10That's cool. I wish there was some way I could do something like this to catch the crook who stole my phone the other day =(
    • trixterIreland, on 05/10/2008, -2/+10depends on the phone, windows mobile at least you have this ability and there are plenty of free programs out there that do exactly this. If the device is reset it will still preserve this and at the enxt power on send you SMSs (on their dime, noticing the sim card is different), it can even give you information about the BTS (mobile tower) they are associated to giving you location information.

      You can set it up to have several alarm type functions whether its a sim card change, or something else.

      I do not believe there is this functionality for non windows mobile phones though because of the way they operate. The iphone would be difficult without violating some EULA and at least jailbreaking. Apple would rather you buy a new phone instead of getting your old one back.
    • svetty, on 05/10/2008, -0/+12Try giving it a call.
    • rcfan, on 05/10/2008, -0/+4... or my bike.
  • GhostWithToast, on 05/10/2008, -4/+247They didn't follow protocol.
    1) Use technology to find dumb theives (with no awarness of current tech they've stolen)
    2) Post thieves images and story of thievery on blog
    3) Submit to Digg
    4) Create media firestorm, embarrass and destroy thieves
    5) Reaquire stolen goods
    6) Humiliate thieves on various websites as possible, including posting of personal information,
    myspace and facebook links, and home addresses of parents
    7) Wait for next moron thief, and repeat
    • billbugger, on 05/10/2008, -0/+22now thats justice! the scarlet letter of our day.
    • jc7012, on 05/10/2008, -5/+328)????
      9) meh nevermind..
    • mhuggins, on 05/10/2008, -1/+35I guess it's because the police defied standard protocol by actually helping the victim(s) in this situation.
    • mistergraves, on 05/10/2008, -6/+3i don't care what you all say. that kid could rap, yo!

      :)
    • HonestAbe, on 05/10/2008, -2/+6You know... I think you're onto something. Does anyone want to make this into a sport?
      • tyywebb, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2Wasn't that the plot of The Running Man?
    • joeanon, on 05/10/2008, -12/+7Not really.. in most cases if you don't use the police the person would likely just go sell the item not return it.

      That's what I would do. There is just no way same lame ass internet community really can do anything to me.
      No less could they realistically harm a criminal who has even less to lose.

      Most of these things are just kids who are easy to influence and scare. In reality, you don't have a warrant, you don't have anything, they can go sell it to a pawn shop and you can't prove a damn thing... PLUS it cost more to hire a lawyer than buying a replacement item.



      So, don't be dumb enough to rely on webcams or other ***** digital means of finding your stuff. Just don't be dumb enough to get your stuff stolen in the first place.

      I mean, face it, mostly only idiots get their ***** stolen Sorry, but that's your fault for who you know, where you live, what you do and such. Physical security is all you realistically need to worry about. Next time they might not just steal a laptop... they might rob or rape you. What's your webcam gonna do then ?

      Plus if you ***** them off enough, you must consider they know who you are, where you live and likely have a lot of personal info about you.

      So don't be stupid and get your stuff stolen in the first place and IF YOU DO, don't try to get it back yourself because usually that's illegal and you might wind up ***** off the type of people that it's worth far more than your laptop to not ***** off.

      So be smart and don't set yourself up for that situation. Because after you "catch" the thieves you might find your car or house vandalized or such especially when you fail to involve the police.

      You can lie and say... I think these are the guys.. but you shouldn't be telling the police how you illegally entered someones network to use your stolen laptop to secretly take their picture. It's not legal to do that that's breaking and entering via their ISP basically. Regardless of your cause you cannot break another persons rights without a warrant.

      Don't let the domestic spying plan influence the way law works... WE NEED WARRANTS to enter networks. It doesn't matter if they stole your laptop or your wifi sex toys. They legally own that network and you don't know if it's public or not so you can't enter their home network over their paid for ISP.

      Just as you can't go kicking their door in because you suspect them or you think you see a laptop that looks like yours.

      YOU CANT ENTER WITHOUT A WARRANT....... we need legal accountability in this nation.

      Change the law if you want, but while it's law, consider that if this is legal .. how long until software makers can legally spy on us because they suspect we have a cracked version of their software ?

      How long until itunes and media player report people using illegal downloads ?

      Why have privacy rights at all... ?
      • ChristianMagic, on 05/10/2008, -1/+2Tl dr
      • bcoop, on 05/10/2008, -1/+2Don't be a dumbass.
      • UnderWaterman, on 05/10/2008, -1/+3unlawful search and seizure applies to government officials

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_and_seizure
        • migitalwarfare, on 05/13/2008, -0/+2you still can't bust in on them to take your ***** back. that would be considered breaking and entering, and you can't justify it by saying "but he took my stuff, i was getting it back." if you don't have permission from the occupant to enter, you're doing it illegally and are just as much a criminal as they are.
          • JoshReflek, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1when someone steals your stuff and takes it to their house, isn't their house now related to the crime, like an accomplice?

            "breaking and entering" might actually apply in this case and be the law's view of it.....but tell me...you wouldn't feel justified getting your stolen items back if you knew they were behind the theif's door to his house?

            im not going to ask permission from the theif to search their house for my belongings...that's not realistic or rational, and no, i dont feel that it makes me a criminal, just someone paying attention that isn't afraid to do what cops (mostly) cannot be bothered to assist you with.
      • Coolmatt49, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1lol, wut?
  • sdipaola, on 05/10/2008, -15/+0seems like we first see news based on a first time an incident actually occurred in tech ( like having an integrated web cam nail a thief) -- they generally call this news -- then we have to read it again with the sole difference between the scores of time it has occurred since is that this news making time it happened on a mac.
  • Doktag, on 05/10/2008, -1/+78link to original (and more detailed) article: http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200 ...
  • WCL23, on 05/10/2008, -2/+17Probably one of the few occasions when not having a password on your laptop actually helped
    • Hodor, on 05/10/2008, -6/+5I always have an un-privileged account on my machine as a honey pot so I can catch a thief in this way.
    • superkendall, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1BackToMyMac does have a password, that you pre-configure. It's not like it's an open service.
  • MrZaiko, on 05/10/2008, -3/+21You know those girls that use your macbook to take pics, specially the explicit ones they delete right after...
    This just gave me an awesome Idea
  • TROY7, on 05/10/2008, -7/+31Apple can add this to the long list of reasons to buy a Mac...
    • drgmdp, on 05/10/2008, -1/+11apple can use this as the only reason to keep a .mac account
    • mcmlxxii, on 05/10/2008, -2/+4is it a word on each line?
    • pingster, on 05/10/2008, -9/+9Wrong, because even if you buy a ***** mac, get your ***** mac stolen, then get your ***** mac back. In the end you still just have a ***** mac.
      • Aphelion, on 05/10/2008, -1/+8yeah but if you buy a mac, get your mac stolen and get your mac back, in the end you'll have a mac
  • 0011002, on 05/10/2008, -3/+26Source w/ mugshots:
    http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20 ...
    • shmatt, on 05/10/2008, -1/+8Yeah. Gizmodo is garbage.
    • KiraDnote, on 05/10/2008, -1/+7Nice find. This is a MUCH better story. The thieves had attended a recent party at the victim's apartment. Be careful who you let into your digs (get it?).
      • Doktag, on 05/10/2008, -2/+4Nice find? It was linked at the bottom of the Gizmodo article. :/
        • shmatt, on 05/10/2008, -2/+5... which therefore makes it blogspam.
          • MScrip, on 05/10/2008, -2/+4Technically, yes. But what would Gizmodo be if it didn't link to other articles? Gizmodo doesn't do that much reporting, and when they do it's usually hardware unboxing and reviews. But Gizmodo is widely read. More eyeballs are on Gizmodo.com than LoHud.com. We wouldn't be reading this iSight article if Gizmodo didn't pick it up. The beauty if Gizmodo is they grab news from a variety or sources, and bring it to you... so you don't have to visit tons of different sites with one story each.

            My idea of blogspam is when an individual person writes a paragraph about an article in his blog, then links Digg or whatever. However, Gizmodo is a news destination.... Timmy's Wordpress blog is not.
  • inspecality, on 05/10/2008, -8/+138HOLY ***** THAT'S ME IN THE PICTURE! WTF
    • marx2k, on 05/10/2008, -2/+45You have a nice ass
    • inspecality, on 05/10/2008, -1/+106In the Gizmodo picture, I'm not kidding. They pulled it off my Flickr without my permission.
      • h3xley, on 05/10/2008, -10/+2your cute :P
      • Skootles, on 05/10/2008, -7/+5Link or it didn't happen.
      • whoooaaahhhh, on 05/10/2008, -17/+4I hate to point this out, but I'm 90% certain that Flickr is public domain...
        • santaliqueur, on 05/10/2008, -0/+20Come back to us when you are sure about the other 10%.
        • xedd, on 05/10/2008, -0/+11Haha. Looks like sometimes that last 10% is the most crucial.
        • manitoba98xp, on 05/10/2008, -0/+9I believe that users have the ability to choose the license (Public Domain, All Rights Reserved, Creative Commons, etc.)
    • daEvan, on 05/10/2008, -0/+8You have sparked my interest....Proof?
    • inspecality, on 05/10/2008, -0/+55Proof here.

      http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexheinz/2480218459/

      (There goes my anonymity.)
    • cleverdiggname, on 05/10/2008, -0/+20http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexheinz/514034592/
      http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexheinz/
      yeah it looks they stole your ***** =/
    • cleverdiggname, on 05/10/2008, -7/+2i swear your comment wasn't there when i posted, oh well proceed to bury me to digg hell
    • sougly, on 05/10/2008, -0/+9What are you gonna do about this?
      • inspecality, on 05/10/2008, -0/+13I emailed the editor a few hours ago telling him to remove it. No response.
        • MonkeyFarts, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1Well it looks like it worked. I'm not seeing the image any longer, even after disabling ad blocking.
    • WiZZLa, on 05/10/2008, -0/+14Not surprising. Gizmodo steals from other blogs; stealing from flickr is the next logical step.
    • Klarth, on 05/10/2008, -0/+2What do you expect? Gawker media = "if it's on the internet, we'll use it!"
    • FLarsen, on 05/10/2008, -0/+6@Photo on flickr:

      "Additional Information

      © All rights reserved
      This photo is public"
    • tama00, on 05/10/2008, -0/+4its only a short time untill you see, "brought to you by gizmodo" labeled on every picture and video. and not long after that gizmodo will change their name to gizmodo world.
    • BedPost, on 05/11/2008, -0/+9***** Gizmodo. They pull that huge dick move at CES, they steal from blogs, and apparently straight from flickr (inspecialty). I cannot understand why anyone would digg this or visit their website. They are complete and utter *****.
      • TROY7, on 05/11/2008, -2/+2Gizmodo's clearly better than Engadget though. Even Steve Jobs agrees...
  • Nemoso, on 05/10/2008, -11/+3Thanks for the tip. Now when I go to steal a MacBook, I know to cover the lens before I use it.
    • xedd, on 05/10/2008, -1/+1Ah. More proof of the great need for ethics classes in US high schools.
      Hell. Probably too late already.
      • Nemoso, on 05/10/2008, -0/+0Ah. More proof of the great need for a sense of humor.
        Hell. Maybe you were just born to be an asshole.
  • SweetChinMusic, on 05/10/2008, -9/+2Idiots should have reinstalled.
    • AvidPreatorian, on 05/10/2008, -3/+1or just disabled Back to Mac
    • Lewiji, on 05/10/2008, -0/+1Nice to see people advocating theft.
    • Zippo, on 05/10/2008, -0/+2chances are these guy didn't have an install disc, nor were intelligent enough to think of such a thing.
  • cyranthus, on 05/10/2008, -7/+3great... now can you find the dickface who broke into my car and stole my GPS?
    (and no, i didnt leave it out to see)
    • cleverdiggname, on 05/10/2008, -0/+4Hey a similar thing happened to my family. If you leave your GPS on your window it will leave a circle mark that robbers would look for. My brother lost his that way and now he's more careful with his new one.
      • cyranthus, on 05/10/2008, -0/+2had mine in the glove box, but even then i had the stand on the dash.. guess thats how they knew. bastards.
      • joeanon, on 05/10/2008, -2/+3Well you guys make extra $$$ to live in the city.... afford some off street parking or don't leave ***** worth money in your car... real simple.

        OR MOVE someplace safe

        You shouldn't support spying on people ...

        What if the laptop was already sold and she did this ?

        Then we'd have the wrong people in prison and a giant privacy mess. They just got lucky this time.
        • Goblin, on 05/10/2008, -0/+2Don't know about the US, but in the UK that would be receiving stolen goods, a crime in itself. If it was sold through a pawn shop, the original owner is still the owner and the laptop would be recovered from a possibly innocent party with no compensation to them.
        • MonkeyFarts, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2People make more money in the city but pay higher living costs, so there goes your logic there. Off-street parking isn't always available, and even parking in a garage doesn't always deter theft, so there goes your logic there. Moving someplace "safe" isn't always an option because moving is expensive, and people can't just pull the money out of their ass to do it, and find an equivalent job in the new area just like that, so there goes your logic there. These people *stole* the lap top, so this isn't spying; they were illegally taking possession of the person's private property, so the legal owner of the lap top has every right to take their picture and send it to the police and the thieves forfeit their rights (except the one to remain silent, the right to a fair and speedy trial, etc.) when committing this act, so there goes your logic there. And when you sell a lap top, you wipe the hard drive, and it's usually smart as the buyer to do the same, which means this anti-theft software wouldn't be on the computer, so there goes your logic there.

          All in all, you left a completely loaded, BS comment. Thanks for posting.
  • byrdgang, on 05/10/2008, -0/+40Would it have been impossible for you to link to the original article, which has details and mug-shots? Gizmodo is hardly useful. Unless you work for Gizmodo, there's no reason you should have linked to it instead of the original source (others have already provided a link to the original source).
  • brainscab, on 05/10/2008, -4/+1w00t
  • Typhoon2009, on 05/10/2008, -1/+8How the hell do you steal all of that without looking suspicious? Do they have some magical rucksack like in The Sims?
  • skoles, on 05/10/2008, -2/+10Thank god they told any potential thieves how to disable this handy feature.
    • mal1964, on 05/10/2008, -1/+1Thieves tend to steal what they know, Knowledgeable sales people make more money.
    • blackjack75, on 05/10/2008, -0/+6If you steal a laptop and don't even take 30 minutes to reformat it and reinstall it, you deserve to get caught anyway.
      • mal1964, on 05/10/2008, -0/+1Good thieves target items they can sell immediately, its usually gone within 30 minutes. A clean install would be the buyers responsibility.
  • mal1964, on 05/10/2008, -2/+5It would suck if it was someone you knew and were close with , friend, relative, teacher. coach. mom
  • Pegasus_Strain, on 05/10/2008, -2/+24Apple announces new feature "Give Me Back My Mac"
  • shmatt, on 05/10/2008, -6/+6We need a 'blogspam' option for burying. Had to click thru 2 pages to get to an actual news article. Gizmodo is crap, tuaw is better but I don't like giving traffic to these sites for nothing. It just encourages more of the same.
    • drgmdp, on 05/10/2008, -1/+1well, it has a spam option. i'm sure it includes the blogspam cathegory.
  • Hydroxyl, on 05/10/2008, -4/+11Man, what a lucky woman.

    I had my MacBook stolen a week ago; they broke into our car.

    :[

    Thief -- if you're reading this, can you at least leave my hard rive on my doorstep kay thanks.
    • drgmdp, on 05/10/2008, -11/+5it doesn't look like you gave it much value. i mean, no backup and left into your car... i'm not saying you deserved it, but you can't really complain
      • BaronVonZ, on 05/10/2008, -3/+6Really? How the hell do you justify that statement?
        • drgmdp, on 05/10/2008, -7/+2*** no backup and left into your car ***
    • d4nny, on 05/10/2008, -1/+2you shouldn't ever leave something valuable like that just laying around in your car...
    • thelock65, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1yeah man, no problem. i dont need that anyway
  • skeletorcares, on 05/10/2008, -3/+9So what stops the gov or apple from watching people this way? It sounded pretty easy. As the article states, the way to fix the problem is put tape over it. Anyone know?
    • joeanon, on 05/10/2008, -11/+5EXACTLY..... THIS IS ILLEGAL !!

      They needed a warrant to get pics because THEY INVADED THE CRIMINALS HOME NETWORK..

      AND I don't want to hear any of this ***** that criminal don't have rights.

      This is that SAME as domestic spying... warrantless *****.

      Apple is fairly secure because it uses BSD to random hacking isn't a big program like Windows which uses it's own kernel.

      BUT, what if this stolen laptop was already sold before she used the webcam to catch the wrong people ?

      It just shows why we need warrants and citizens shouldn't try to do police work. They totally skipped over the entire due process procedure and went straight to jail.

      I don't support thievery, but I think personal rights are more important than this lady's laptop. Our 200+ year old rights should fair somewhat higher on the great public interest ladder than they do.

      Using their network is just like breaking and entering. It's just like as if you kicked the door in because you suspected the laptop was there. You cannot break the law in the process of enforcing it... at least not without a warrant.
      • FLarsen, on 05/10/2008, -0/+3You're kind of SHOUTING A LOT, aren't you?
      • cerealjynx, on 05/10/2008, -1/+1It's called getting pwnd.
      • DeathJux, on 05/10/2008, -2/+2You're off your rocker. If someone sells a Mac without reformatting it, or at least disabling the .Mac account, they are morons. It's like selling a handgun with a round chambered... you just don't do it.

        Other than that bit, your entire argument falls apart as the machine was STOLEN, and the only way to get back to it was to know the password and account used on it. This has nothing to do with abuse of a personal network nor "breaking and entering." Please try to learn more about technology before you start screaming that the sky is falling.

        I would suggest upping your medication.
      • BedPost, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2The woman logged into her computer, and using the iSight, took pictures. Not illegal. She then went to the police and said "Hey, someone stole my laptop, I have these pictures of people using it after it was stolen (taken by my computer!)". That gives the police this fun thing called "probably cause". That allows them to obtain a warrant and arrest the thieves.

        You're out of your damn mind if you think that's "warrantless wiretapping".
    • skeletorcares, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2You're all missing my point. If it is that easy to turn on the camera through the network..... why can't the gov? I'm not talking about if you have access to the .mac account... bla bla. I'm talking if apple wants to spy on you (for whatever reason) or if the gov makes apple spy on you (for whatever reason)... it sounds pretty easy.
      • HolyChimp, on 05/11/2008, -1/+3Because the gov don't know your user name and password?
        • skeletorcares, on 05/12/2008, -1/+3BAH-HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA. yeah. Even if they didn't, one phone call about a potential 'terrorist' and guess who's 'remote detonation' device, who's owner is 'a threat to this god loving country', has their camera turned on.
          • mrBitch, on 05/13/2008, -1/+1I think you are still thinking in the "Windows" way - you can't just remote turn on a camera on a machine that runs Unix (without physically installing & configuring the software on said machine FIRST).
          • skeletorcares, on 05/14/2008, -0/+1way to not understand the situation, troll.
  • AsylumAleikum, on 05/10/2008, -10/+6You know times are hard when people begin to steal MacBooks.
    • MacParrot, on 05/10/2008, -1/+6Yes because a $600 Dell or HP laptop would fetch them some much more
    • hotpuck6, on 05/10/2008, -0/+3that would be funny if macs didn't retain their value so well.
      Go ahead and look for some 4 year old G4 ibooks, you'll find them for like $400 or more.
    • joeanon, on 05/10/2008, -4/+3Yea they are some cheap looking laptops and mostly for people who can't help their need to surf celebrity porn sites filled with malware... DAMN PC ALWAYS BREAK.... while I'm surfing porn sites.

      BUT, they do have a couple good programs like Logic and the game engine Unity which you can't get on PC.

      I'd use a mac for audio record at least maybe video, but WHY pay the extra price just to be trapped under the Apple umbrella of idiots.

      Plus of course your selection for free software is many times smaller, so that really kills Mac for most people.
      How are they supposed to borrow free software from their friends and such when everyone has PC.

      Use P2P you say... cmon now... these are Mac users we are talking about.

      People who fear having to install drivers and thing that because their OS has traditionally supported so little hardware that they should be immune from such things.

      I used to think highly of MAC.. until I tried using one in daily operations rather than just for what it was good at like running Logic and writing emails. The drivers were ***** and the wireless utilities sucked and It couldn't even log unto the AP because it didn't support the key correctly.

      If you don't need the versatility of PC .. Macs are great and overall they have to be more secure simply due to so little market share compared to the big target... MS.

      Apple is just steady making BSD less and less secure each year :)

      If l linux only ran more games and with better performance it might actually get a lot of users.

      I hate to see Apple eating up what would have been Linux's market share.
      • choopie911, on 05/10/2008, -0/+3If only you knew what you were talking about...
        "Use P2P you say... cmon now... these are Mac users we are talking about."
        Do you have any idea how stupid you sound? Heck I know a lot of mac users use P2P software even more because theres no risk of getting a virus if you download something malicious. At worst, it just doesn't work, and you download one that does.
        • MacParrot, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2Oddly enough, joeanon really doesn't understand how stupid he sounds. Of course he doesn't really understand much of anything at all.
      • OrangeSoda31, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2>If l linux only ran more games and with better performance it might actually get a lot of users.
        Yeah, the lower OS overhead in linux makes it so much slower than Windows. When a game natively supports linux, and your drivers are good (ATI hates me), then it will run better in linux.
  • wellgroomednerd, on 05/10/2008, -0/+2Damn, I wish I would've thought of this when my MacBook was stolen. I shall see you again MacBook in the afterlife.
  • OffPiste, on 05/10/2008, -15/+4Thieves use Macs?

    Oh right I forgot, Steve Jobs product. Makes sense.
    • choopie911, on 05/10/2008, -0/+3Hahahahahhahahhahaha, and Bill Gates never stole anything? Do you need a history of microsoft lesson, or do you want to remain ignorant?
  • MrESaulved, on 05/10/2008, -6/+4So your attached cameras can be turned on remotely without the computer operator knowing..I wonder what else can be done to your computer remotely without your knowing.
  • ChinezePanda, on 05/10/2008, -12/+5Thats ***** Epic.

    Thieves get what they deserve.

    In this day and age of the internet.. Kevin Rose said it best.. The internet is now a single voice. When we rise up and bust ***** that the goddamn cops we are paying out of our tax dollars CANT ***** DO because of their own lazy incompetence... It's ***** SWEET.

    /HIGH FIVE
  • artgrrl, on 05/10/2008, -0/+11i like this recovery story so much better. shows screenshots of what the suspect is doing on the stolen computer, and gives timestamps:

    http://www.orbicule.com/undercover/nc.html
    • kainan32, on 05/10/2008, -0/+3lol he starts playing WoW
    • casual7y, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1gross, he starts using it to watch porn too?

      i dont think i would want it back..
  • dcbebop, on 05/10/2008, -3/+7Step 1: Steal MacBook
    Step 2: Reinstall OSX
    Step 3: Profit
    • mrBitch, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1you forgot a few steps :
      1. steal macbook
      2. how do I re-install OSX without the DVD ?
      3. download OSX
      4. get photographed while downloading OSX
      5. go to jail
  • usingpond, on 05/10/2008, -5/+2When I saw this story aired on my local New York City affiliate (WABC/Ch. 7) the anchors after the story were all like "... aaaaaand that's why I have a Mac."
  • joeanon, on 05/10/2008, -11/+5Isn't that illegal, since she had to use their internet connection without their permission.

    I'm pretty sure that's not legal, though of course flawed law hopefully sides with the person who's stuff was stolen.

    However, we cannot also allow a double standard. NOW, if internet was free and not a pay service, it might be legal.

    BUT, gain access to a PC yours or not, without the network owners permission is surely illegal.

    • RSterkenburg, on 05/10/2008, -0/+4So pinging people is now illegal? And visiting peoples' websites without prior permission?
    • Pyromite78, on 05/10/2008, -0/+4Dude you're a moron... you're argument is so epically flawed it ridiculous and laughable.. we're all now dumber for having read that comment.. please shut down your computer now and never use the internet again.
    • Startemus, on 05/10/2008, -0/+3You're the reason someone can spill Coffee on themselves and sue because it was hot.
    • jellygraph, on 05/11/2008, -0/+3No, its not illegal...
  • Zippo, on 05/10/2008, -0/+2FlickrBooth and Back to my Mac (or another automatic DNS system)... tools of the trade.
  • judicar, on 05/10/2008, -0/+4I'm assuming she had Screen Sharing turned on and was running Photo Booth or iMovie on the other end to see the camera preview. Brilliant. You have to wonder what those meat heads thought every time the mouse moved when they weren't looking.
  • tito184, on 05/10/2008, -0/+7Good God! This is a link to a blog of a blog of the original story. Why don't people link to the original?
  • monsterette, on 05/10/2008, -0/+2Good...she got her Mac back!
    • jellygraph, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1or did the police keep it as evidence? :P
  • rosenblut, on 05/10/2008, -0/+3Glad "Back to my Mac" works for her - for me ( and ALOT of others - check Apple Discussions ) it simply won't work from an external network. So I guess I am ***** if my MacBook Pro gets stolen...
  • drifter, on 05/10/2008, -0/+3Is there anything similar for a Windows computer? This would be a good tool to have...but more so fun if used properly.
    • kaffein, on 05/10/2008, -0/+1Yes but the laptop would have to have a built-in cam...
      • DarkLaughingMan, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1Which most do have nowadays. Even the EEE PCs have them.
  • EureekaDee, on 05/10/2008, -1/+1Wow, I used to work with this girl and her boyfriend.
    Go girl! They didn't use her name in the article so I don't want to say it here but go Westchester Apple!!!
    I love and miss you guys!
  • encrypteduser, on 05/10/2008, -2/+6So the moral of the story is this: If you steal a MacBook, please be sure to cover the iSight with some tape. Otherwise, you could also be charged with a second degree felony.

    No! The moral of the story is don't steal or you will get caught! Why do they keep ***** telling thieves what the need to do to get away? Morons.
    • sphigel, on 05/10/2008, -1/+2That was a joke. Lighten up.
    • encrypteduser, on 05/10/2008, -1/+2That wasn't funny. Jokes are supposed to be funny. That was just dumb.
  • Benji099, on 05/10/2008, -10/+2Bitch should get arrested for hacking into that guys MacBook
    • choopie911, on 05/10/2008, -0/+3The shortest way I can put this is: ***** you.
  • ethana2, on 05/10/2008, -0/+0Vinagre + Cheese + open remote assistance on the Ubuntu Inspiron I'm going to get from Dell.
    I'll have to remember that, thanks.
  • Whiti, on 05/10/2008, -7/+6OSX more secure than windows, year right!
    • nebkiwi, on 05/10/2008, -1/+2um... they got their laptop back... and they got pics if the thieves..
    • jellygraph, on 05/11/2008, -1/+5Jackass, she didnt hack into her own machine, she logged into it remotely... you know, like remote desktop for windows... comprende?
    • D14BL0, on 05/11/2008, -1/+3Um, yeah. If this was a Windows machine, there's no chance in hell she'd get a remote connection to a webcam.
  • mrinsanity, on 05/10/2008, -3/+1GOOD ARTICLE!
  • mrgman79, on 05/10/2008, -1/+1This girl is the coolest ever, gotta love back to my mac


    buy .mac
  • Awla, on 05/11/2008, -3/+0MacBook recovered thanks to iSight!
    Stolen GM car recovered thanks to OnStar!
    Stolen Dodge car recovered thanks to LoJack!
    Guerilla marketing at its finest. Add it all to the growing list of "must-haves". As long as your neighbour and his neighbour's mother thinks it's cool, that means it's gotta be, right?? iSheep
  • pch0mey, on 05/11/2008, -6/+2If you're gonna steal a computer, then steal something actually worth stealing XD
    • Darph.Bobo, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2Yeah like the guy that stole your brain!
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