Stolen laptop recovery?

My wife is really happy with her new Air, but as others have noted, it's so easy for an unscruplous person to walk away with it, especially since there's no security slot for a cable lock. I know of three software tools intended to assist in recovery of a stolen laptop (of any sort) each of which claims to be the best ever. I wonder if anyone has direct experience - normal daily use, or an actual theft event - with any of them that they could share?
The candidates are:
1. LOJACK FOR LAPTOPS (http://lojackforlaptops.com/products/theft_recovery.asp) - the original in the field. Best sounding recovery service.
2. Orbicule (http://www.orbicule.com/) website vague on details, attractive rate for family license' offshore (Belgium) company which could be a disadvantage for US buyer.
3. GadgetTrack (http://www.gadgettrak.com/products/verey/) best price (one time fee); also has "coming soon" product for soon-to-be-my G3 iPhone which I like and stickers & service for other less exotic devices. Otherwise web site is vague on details.
Thanks!
Message was edited by: Michael King

I am always sorry to hear of misfortunes like yours.
The chances of you having the notebook back are very slim if you don't have LoJack for laptops installed and with an active subscription. I know it is not what you want to hear, but that is, unfortunately, reality.
With your next laptop, backup your data on an external disk at home in a safe place.
Best regards,
erico
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2015 Microsoft MVP - Windows Experience Consumer

Similar Messages

How to use sharing to find a stolen laptop

I saw a news story about a guy whose laptop was stolen. He accessed the laptop remotely and watched the activity on it. He finally saw the thief enter his name and address to register on a web site, then he sent the police to that address and they recovered the laptop. (That was a windows machine.) I saw another article - a few months ago - about a stolen Mac laptop that was recovered when the woman who owned it accessed it remotely and used the built-in camera to take a picture of the thief. Cool stuff - which I could not do!
I use a Mac laptop as my only computer, and I travel a lot. If it got stolen, I'd like to be able to access it remotely and try to recover it. I looked at the sharing preferences, and there are ten different options that can be turned on or off. And the descriptions of each of those options are very minimal.
After reading the news stories about people who recovered their stolen laptops, I'd really like to know how to set up sharing services on my Mac to be able to do the same thing.
Are there any articles or web sites or support notes on the topic of "How to set up and use sharing to recover a stolen Macintosh"? If there are, can you direct me to them? If not, this would a great article or support note for somebody to write.
What sharing services would you turn on? If there are configuration options for those services, how should the options be set? If the computer is stolen, what actions would take to track the computer and try to recover it?

that's correct but there are ways around that too (if one knows them). physical access to the computer trumps any safeguards you can put. of course, not every thief would know how to circumvent a firmware password. Still, it's not such a great secret. the method has been discussed many times on this forum for example. I'm not trying to discourage you from buying the software. I just wanted to explain that none of this is foolproof.

How to track stolen laptops?

I lost my Lenovo G580 Laptop last week.
It doesn't have any tracking programs installed.
But i have the serial number and MAC id of my Laptop.
Is there a way that i can be able to track my laptop...

hi Arul_Prakash_V,
Welcome to the Lenovo Community and sorry to hear about your trouble.
AFAIK, the only method to track a laptop is via the Anti Theft Technology. It's a lojack for laptops that's embedded on the motherboard's BIOS (chip) and is usually bundled with tracking software (subscription) like the Absolute's Computrace. When this chip is activated with the help of Absolute CompuTrace then they should be able to track or remotely lock the unit. Otherwise, there's no technology yet to track the laptop via the serial number without the abovementioned methods.
I recommend you report the stolen laptop to the local authorities so that you can claim the unit back once it's recovered. You can also contact lenovo and flag the laptop (via serial number) as "stolen" so anyone who calls for support on the unit will also be flagged.
Regards
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Stolen laptop shows up in Finder Sidebar?

I had my Macbook Pro stolen some months ago.
Recently (this week), a new device has appeared under the 'SHARED' section of the Finder window sidebars. The device is called "Azul azul's macbook pro", and has a Macbook Pro icon. (not a PC icon or desktop mac icon).
The 'computer name' of my stolen laptop under the Sharing preferences pane was 'Azul'.
I cannot connect to file sharing or screen sharing services on this device. I tried phoney username and passwords, and get told that isn't a valid account for this computer. This suggests the device is responding to connection attempts - as if I try to connect to (say) a non-mac device on the Network, I get a different kind of error.
I have turned off everything on our local network except for my one desktop Mac - but this rogue devcie still shows. I have turned off my desktop Mac, and left just my (new) Macbook on, and the device is still there. This suggests that the device is not some sort of ghost or VM system running on my desktop or new laptop.
So - what can it be? Seems a major coincidence that it has the same Computer name as my old laptop.
My router shows no network devices on the LAN side that I cannot account for.
Is my old laptop somehow using Back to My Mac or something to show up in my Finder sidebars? Is it possible for me to get the IP address of this device somehow?

Sounds like someone's using your stolen machine with your MobileMe account still active, which is a concern, obviously. However, it could work to your advantage. See:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/11/stolen-laptop-recovered-with-back-to-my-mac/
http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2008/04/15/using-back-to-my-mac-to-catch-a-thief/
http://mac.appstorm.net/reviews/security/hidden-track-and-recover-your-stolen-ma c/

How to get MAC Address of a stolen laptop by using Serial number?

Hi my Lenovo G560 laptop was stolen on 17/04/13. I have the serial number. In order to trace the laptop, I need the MAC address. Unfortunately I don't know the MAC address of my stolen laptop. My question is, is it possible to get the MAC address by using serial number?
Serial Number: xxxxxxxxxx
Moderator Note; s/n edited for member's own protection

hi Subrahmanya,
Sorry to hear about your trouble. Unfortunately, the only way to get the MAC address is to run a query on the unit (physically or or remotely). Using the serial number to query information on the system will list the devices that are included on the unit (this doesn't include the MAC address).
Regards,
neokenchi
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If you find a post helpful and it answers your question, please mark it as an "Accepted Solution"! This will help the rest of the Community with similar issues identify the verified solution and benefit from it.
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Any way to trace a stolen laptop?

I know the answer to this is probably no, but I was wondering if there is any way that anyone knows of to trace a stolen laptop?
I'm in the UK. I have the system disks, box (and therefore serial number). I also have the MAC address.
Its quite distinctive, as it has a few defects. Does anyone know of any noticeboards or anything?
Thanks

Sorry, but it's almost impossible to trace a stolen laptop, particularly if you didn't pre-install one of the utility/service combinations such as LoJack (if even they help at all). Except in one singular incident reported a couple of months ago (it involved the Back To My Mac service and the iSight camera), it's not been possible to trace a computer, even with the MAC address, over the Internet, and I can't imagine that posting a notice on some public web site would be fruitful (and it might even open you up to other problems). About all you can do is report the theft to your local police and hope for a lucky break. And of course your homeowner's insurance if you have same.
Good luck.
Message was edited by: Dave Sawyer

Possible to track a stolen laptop ?

Is it possible to track a stolen laptop ?
My Macbook Pro has been stolen and I am wondering if there is any way Apple can track if it is being used and by whom. I am guessing that when the thief (or whoever buys the laptop) signs on to the Apple server and quotes the number on the bottom then this information is recorded. I would like to get my computer back so I can carry on using it for my photography.

Sorry to hear about that -- I haven't used that service, but have never had problems with UPS or FedEx...although I know those are a lot more expensive in Europe than here....
Sorry about your loss. Apple does not track serial numbers either, except as they relate to repairs, they don't track who owns what when - macbooks change hands frequently within groups of friends, passed on through family members, or eBayed....they do not track anything for legal purposes.

Help with stolen laptop

Does anyone know if there is a place where I can contact Apple with the registration number for a stolen laptop so that if it is serviced by Apple or another service dealer I might get it back. I thought I had heard about something similar being done some time ago and wanted to know if this was possible.
Cheers,
Jesse

Hi, Jesse. Welcome to Apple Discussions.
No, Apple does not provide such a service. Such a task would be a monumental undertaking.
You need to contact your local law enforcement agency (which, I assume, you have already done).
If you have homeowner's or renter's insurance, it may cover a stolen iBook.
I would also advise checking eBay for iBooks whose descriptions match yours. Then use eBay's "Contact a Seller" feature to ask about the serial number. It would also be a good idea to watch your local pawn shops to see if it turns up there.
Good luck.

Help! Stolen Laptop.

Does Toshiba have a form I can fill out for a stolen laptop? If so, can someone post the link? Thanks in advace.

was it taken during shipment or was it taken from you. if it was taken during shipment to you and you never received it then call 1(800)457-7777 and see what they say. if it was taken after directly from you then it is not toshibas responsibility and they cant do anything to get it back for you. i doubt they will do anything about it.
-civicman4-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Post all info about your laptop and version of windows. We are working on it but still do not have the powers to read your mind.

ITunes Content on Stolen Laptop

I recently had two laptops stolen. Is there a way (1) to "deauthorize" the stolen laptops so the music on the laptops can be "authorized" for use on other laptops and (2) obtain copies of the lost music purchased from iTunes?

You cannot yourself deauthorize a computer that's not working or to which you no longer have access. If you really feel you need to deauthorize that system now - it won't do much other than getting you back that authorization to use on another computer if you're already approaching the limit - you can try contacting the iTunes Music Store customer support department through the form at the bottom of their web page and explaining the problem to them. They might be willing to clear your authorizations for you.
As to recovering the apps and music, applications can be downloaded again. If you didn't make a backup of your apps (something you absolutely should be doing on a regular basis), go through the purchase process as normal and it should allow you to download the apps again without being charged. Music, videos and movies are not the same, though; they cannot be downloaded more than once per purchase. You need to restore them from your backup or from an iPod, if you have one. If you have neither, you can try contacting iTunes Store Customer Service and explaining what happened. Reportedly in some cases Apple has allowed redownloading on a one-time basis, but don't count on it.

Deactivate the registration on a stolen laptop

How can I deactivate the Registration of a stolen Laptop, so that I can use the registration for a new Laptop again?

Suggest that you contact Adobe Support
http://www.adobe.com/support/download-install/supportinfo/

Stolen laptop reported to police without recovery software installed

Laptop is gone I have everything that came with it except the laptop and powercord. Box everything I desperately need it my whole life was on it I read you can track by ip or mac address but I didn't write it down anybody hsbe any magic they could work please I start classes this week also. Anything at all is appreciated

I am always sorry to hear of misfortunes like yours.
The chances of you having the notebook back are very slim if you don't have LoJack for laptops installed and with an active subscription. I know it is not what you want to hear, but that is, unfortunately, reality.
With your next laptop, backup your data on an external disk at home in a safe place.
Best regards,
erico
****Please click on Accept As Solution if a suggestion solves your problem. It helps others facing the same problem to find a solution easily****
2015 Microsoft MVP - Windows Experience Consumer

Recovering from a stolen laptop.

Hi all,
I'm posting this on my wife's account, since she owns the iPod in question, yet I'm lumped with trying to fix the thing.
For the fourth time, we've been broken into and on this occasion lost the laptop to which her iPod (which was not stolen) was authorised and synchronised. So what we have now is the situation where we have an iPod full of content that we can't do a **** thing with.
So far I've done the following:
o Installed iTunes 9.0.2.25 on Windows 7,
o Authorised the iPod again with the original account,
o Synchronised the iStore content back into the Library (and this is the point of contention)
What I can't seem to do is to synchronise "all" content. This software only lets me bring back into the Library content that was purchased through the store. How on earth is this a practical solution? The majority of the content is from our cd collection and the likes, and it's not particularly practical to have to sit down ripping content for the next weeks to months ahead trying to reconstruct the library as it exists now on the iPod.
I'm aware that I can copy the content in its raw format from the iPod at the filesystem level, but I'm unsure if there's any value in this, since the directory and file naming structure is randomised. There wouldn't be much point in bringing a directory named "AszDg" back onto the computer. I'm assuming the filenames wouldn't be an issue, since they should contain metadata with the correct information in them. But if the directory name is used in something like the "Artist" column, then that's the kind of thing I'm concerned about.
Am I missing something, or is there no other option here except to let iTunes do as it suggests and wipe the entire iPod? So, in a nutshell, if you have either your laptop or pod stolen, thereby creating a decoupling of the authorisation process, does Apple leave you high and dry?
Cheers,
Lain
Message was edited by: CandyPayne
Message was edited by: CandyPayne

Are you saying you have reformatted a PC drive that is now connected or installed in your MBP or are you asking how to recover files on a reformatted drive in a PC? If the latter you would need to purchase recovery software that works on a PC. You cannot use OS X software to recover PC files on a PC formatted drive although you could give it a try. You would need recovery software for OS X:
General File Recovery
If you stop using the drive it's possible to recover deleted files that have not been overwritten with recovery software such as Data Rescue II, File Salvage or TechTool Pro. Each of the preceding come on bootable CDs to enable usage without risk of writing more data to the hard drive.
The longer the hard drive remains in use and data are written to it, the greater the risk your deleted files will be overwritten.
Also visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on Data Recovery.
Much depends upon how you reformatted the drive. A standard full PC format (not a quick format) would render any data unrecoverable.

Is there any way to track a stolen laptop using the mac address, or by triangulating the wifi, or even by checking to see if the macbooks serial number has been registered online anywhere?

A little info on my question,
I had it stoeln on June 22nd 2013. I had recently bought it so had not installed any software on it nor did I have registered with icloud. I had contacted police, registered it stolen with Apple (but then just discovered this week that apple do not have a database for stolen products, which makes no sense at all).
I have contacted all the major pawn shops and computer stores in town etc etc. I have recently discovered that each laptop has a unique MAC address whcih begs the question, is that traceable somehow? I have been made aware that the router strips the mac address before it connects it to the internet but does the isp log the laptops MAC address? If i contacted all the major isp in my country would they have the ability to search for the mac address of my latop and then link that with an ip address?
Any help would be great please!

karlgporter wrote:
Yeah but I registered it stolen with Apple first thing, then called local police etc. Apple told me on the phone that the serial has been logged as stolen, which I assumed would limit the computers use online.
Every machine has a unique serial number what I was getting at is there must be some way to track the serial number and for example if the theif logged onto facebook using a stolen machine, if there were a register of stolen equipment then red flags would pop up, you know what I mean?
Well, I hadn't heard of that before. If it's true, then what you say should also be true but the Mac would have to publish its hardware serial number over the Internet and I haven't heard of that either. The only Apple tech that is supposed to constantly track you is iCloud.
You said you assumed the database would limit use online but if that's only an assumption, you need to ask Apple what exactly the stolen database does. It is possible that the serial number might only get flagged if it comes into an Apple Store for service, if it ever does. You need to clarify this with Apple.

Laptop Recovery

I have hp g6 series laptop. I have some problem with opening files,it is showing .dll file is missing. And i think virus also infected my laptop,So i thought of recovering my laptop for first time by myself(laptop is still under warranty period only). But when i switched on and pressed F11 and then i found out that system recovery is disabled. System Recovery is loading when i press F11 but i'm not able to click on System recovery(I can do system restore there but not recovery).
Windows 7 home basic OS in my laptop and i never changed OS in this laptop.
Can anyone know how to solve this?
Help me with this.
Thanks,
Kutty

Hi Kutty,
Have you created a set of Recovery Discs? If not, see the guide on the following link.
Create Recovery Discs - Windows 7.
If the above doesn't work, or you have already created a set of Recovery Discs and misplaced them, then the fact that the Recovery Partition does not give you the option to select System Recovery may well indicate it has corrupted in some way. This being the case, you'll need to purchase a set of Recovery Discs from HP - using these discs to reinstall the operating system, will also re-create the Recovery Partition as well as reinstalling all of the software that originally came with your machine - the only exception to this will be Office Starter.
Regards,
DP-K
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Stolen laptop recovery?

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